Affordable housing: Department of Housing and Community Development.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and makes the department responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, the Housing for a Healthy California Program, and the California Emergency Solutions Grants Program. This bill would require the department to create an online database of affordable housing listings, information, and applications, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to contract with one or more vendors to carry out this requirement. The bill would also require the department to cooperate and coordinate with relevant stakeholders, including specified public and private parties, and local, state, and federal governmental entities. The bill would make these provisions operable only upon appropriation by the Legislature, and would require the department to make the database accessible no later than 24 months after the appropriation. By expanding the duties of local governments this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.