Income taxes: credits: low-income housing: farmworker housing: building standards: housing and home finance.

(1) Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program pursuant to which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit, and farmworker housing projects. Existing law limits the total annual amount of the state low-income housing credit for which a federal low-income housing credit is required to the sum of $70,000,000, as increased by any percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the preceding calendar year, any unused credit for the preceding calendar years, and the amount of housing credit ceiling returned in the calendar year. Existing law additionally allows a state credit, which is not dependent on receiving a federal low-income housing credit, of $500,000 per calendar year for projects to provide farmworker housing. For purposes of determining the credit amount, existing law defines the term "applicable percentage" depending on, among other things, whether the qualified low-income building is a new building that is not federally subsidized, a new building that is federally subsidized, or is an existing building that is "at risk of conversion." Existing law defines "at risk of conversion" with respect to an existing property satisfying certain criteria, including that (1) the property is a multifamily rental housing development in which at least 50% of the units receive government assistance pursuant to specified federal programs and (2) the restrictions on rent and income levels will terminate or the federally insured mortgage on the property is eligible for prepayment any time within 5 years before or after the date of application to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. This bill, under the law governing the taxation of insurers, the Personal Income Tax Law, and the Corporation Tax Law, would modify that criteria necessary for an existing property to qualify as being "at risk of conversion" by expanding the eligible government assistance programs to include an additional federal program and also receiving state loans or grants through programs administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would instead require that the restrictions on rent and income levels will terminate or the federally insured mortgage or rent subsidy contract on the property is eligible for prepayment or termination any time within those 5 years before or after the date of application to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee. (2) Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. Existing law requires certain model codes, as defined to mean any building code drafted by a private organization, including, but not limited to, Appendix Chapter 1 of the Uniform Code for Building Conservation of the International Conference of Building Officials, to serve as the basis for the California Building Standards Code adopted by the commission. Existing law requires the building standards contained in the model codes as referenced in the California Building Standards Code to apply to all occupancies throughout the state. This bill would update the list of those model codes drafted by a private organization and would remove that appendix from the list. The bill would require those model codes adopted by reference into the California Building Standards Code and any other building standards adopted into this code to apply to all occupancies throughout the state. The bill would also make other related nonsubstantive changes. Existing law requires the California Building Standards Commission to receive proposed building standards from state agencies for consideration in an 18-month code adoption cycle. Existing law requires the commission to develop regulations setting forth the procedures for the 18-month adoption cycle and requires these regulations to ensure that the procedures meet the intent of specified administrative adjudication procedures. This bill would instead require that specified rulemaking procedures are complied with. (3) Existing law governing redevelopment construction loans authorizes an agency, as defined, to determine the location and character of any residential construction to be financed and to make mortgage or construction loans to participating parties through qualified mortgage lenders, purchase mortgage or construction loans without premium made by qualified mortgage lenders to participating parties, or make loans to qualified mortgage lenders, for financing specified residential construction projects. Existing law requires not less than 20% of the units in any residential project financed pursuant to these provisions to be occupied by, or made available to, individuals of low and moderate income. If the sponsor elects to establish a base rent for units reserved for lower income households, existing law requires the base rents to be adjusted for household size, as provided. Of those units, existing law requires not less than 12 of the units to be occupied by, or made available to, very low income households. Existing law prohibits the rental payments for those units paid from exceeding a specified amount, which is adjusted for family size, as provided. This bill would require those adjustments to be made either by adjusting household or family size, as specified, or by utilizing occupancy assumptions that are appropriate and commercially reasonable for financing extended pursuant to the law governing redevelopment construction loans. (4) Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, authorizes a housing authority of a city or county to, among other things, provide financing for the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, refinancing, or development of dwelling accommodations, as specified. Existing law requires not less than 20% of all units in housing projects assisted by an authority pursuant to this authorization to be available for occupancy on a priority basis to persons of low income. Existing law requires, if the sponsor elects to establish a base rent for units reserved for lower income households, the base rents to be adjusted for household size, as specified. This bill would, if the sponsor elects to establish a base rent for lower income households, require the authority to either adjust base rents for household size, as specified, or utilize occupancy assumptions that are appropriate and commercially reasonable for financing extended pursuant to the above-described authorization. (5) Existing law, the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act, authorizes a sponsor to apply for loans for one or more rental or transitional housing developments. Existing law authorizes a housing development to utilize any combination of federal, state, local, and private financial resources necessary to make the development affordable, for the term of the state's regulatory agreement, to the eligible households. Existing law authorizes the term of a loan to be extended for additional 10-year terms as long as the rental housing development is operated in a manner consistent with the regulatory agreement and the sponsor requires an extension in order to continue to operate in a manner consistent with the act. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this act. (6) Existing law, the Multifamily Housing Program, is administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development to address renter housing needs through an omnibus multifamily housing program. Under the program, assistance provided to a project is required to be provided in the form of a deferred payment loan to pay for the eligible costs of development. Existing law authorizes the term of a loan and the time for repayment to be extended for additional 10-year terms if certain requirements are met. This bill, subject to specified terms, would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to approve an extension of an existing loan, the subordination of an existing loan to new debt, or an investment of tax credit equity if the rental housing development is being operated in a manner consistent with the regulatory agreement and the development requires an extension in order to continue to operate in that manner. (7) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 12206, 17058, and 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code proposed by AB 571 to be operative only if this bill and AB 571 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (8) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.