California Tax Credit Allocation Committee: low-income housing credit: women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises.

(1) Under existing law, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee administers the federal and state low-income housing tax credit programs. Existing law requires the committee to allocate the housing credit on a specified regular basis, and to only allocate credits to a project if the housing sponsor enters into a specified regulatory agreement. Existing law authorizes the committee to make any allocation or reservation of the state's housing credit ceiling to a housing credit applicant subject to specified terms and conditions. This bill would require a housing sponsor that receives a credit allocation on or after January 1, 2024, and that has completed 5 or more housing projects by January 1, 2023, or that has received an annual low-income housing tax credit allocation of $1,000,000 or more, to annually submit a report to the committee, in a form and at the time designated by the committee, that includes, among other things, a detailed and verifiable supplier and contractor plan for increasing procurement from women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises, as defined, and short- and long-term diversity goals and timetables. The bill would require a housing sponsor that has not completed 5 or more housing projects by January 1 2023, or has not received an annual low-income housing tax credit allocation of $1,000,000 or more to comply with the plan and reporting requirements in the year following the commencement of construction on their 5th housing project for which the housing sponsor has received public money or in the year following the receipt of an annual low-income housing tax credit allocation of $1,000,000 or more. The bill would not limit or otherwise affect eligibility for, or the requirements for compliance with specified provisions governing, the state low-income housing tax credit. This bill would require the committee to develop guidelines for housing sponsors to use in preparing the detailed and verifiable supplier and contractor diversity plans, including a requirement that women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises are certified by a third party. By requiring business enterprises to be certified, thereby expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the committee to annually consider the information and data from the housing sponsor reports and would authorize the committee to modify the guidelines. The bill would additionally, by March 1, 2028, require the committee to establish supplier and contractor participation goals for women, minority, disabled veteran, and LGBT business enterprises. The bill would provide that its provisions are severable. (2) Existing law also requires the committee to annually submit to the Legislature a report on its activities during the previous calendar year, related to the allocation of low-income housing credits and the projects and units that benefit from the credits, as specified. Commencing in the 2025 calendar year, this bill would require the committee to also include in its annual report an aggregation of the information submitted by housing sponsors, as described above, for all projects that have received an allocation on or after January 1, 2024. (3) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.