Multifamily Housing Program: total assistance calculation.

Existing law creates the Multifamily Housing Program under the administration of the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide a standardized set of program rules and features applicable to all housing types, based on the existing California Housing Rehabilitation Program. Existing law requires that of the total assistance provided under the Multifamily Housing Program, a specified percentage that is proportional to the percentage of lower income renter households in the state that are lower income elderly renter households, as reported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on the basis of the most recent decennial census conducted by the United States Census Bureau, be awarded to units restricted to senior citizens. That calculation, known as the total assistance calculation, excludes assistance for certain projects related to housing for homeless youths and supportive housing for target populations. Existing law defines target populations for these purposes as adults with low incomes having one or more disabilities, including mental illness, HIV or AIDS, substance abuse, or other chronic health conditions, or individuals eligible for services provided under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act and may, among other populations, include families with children, elderly persons, young adults aging out of the foster care system, individuals exiting from institutional settings, veterans, or homeless people. This bill would, instead, require the total assistance calculation described above use data as reported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development on the basis of the most recent American Community Survey or successor survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau. The bill would limit the assistance that is excluded from the total assistance calculation to assistance for projects related to target populations and would, for that purpose, define target populations as persons, including persons with disabilities, and families who are homeless or who are homeless youth, as specified.