Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program.

Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law continuously appropriates 20% of the annual proceeds of the fund to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, administered by the Strategic Growth Council, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through projects that implement land use, housing, transportation, and agricultural land preservation practices to support infill and compact development and that support other related and coordinated public policy objectives. This bill would require 20% of moneys available for allocation under the program to be allocated to eligible projects in rural areas, as defined. The bill would further require at least 50% of those moneys to be allocated to eligible affordable housing projects. The bill would require the council to amend its guidelines and selection criteria consistent with these requirements and to consult with interested stakeholders in this regard.