Chapter 3. Agency And Department Responsibilities of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 31. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 3.

This chapter sets forth the general responsibilities and roles of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the California Housing Finance Agency in carrying out state housing policies and programs. It is declaratory of existing law as to those roles and responsibilities, and shall not be construed as creating additional responsibilities.

The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services and Housing shall be responsible for allocating financial aid and contributions made available directly to state government or to the agency by any agency of the United States for the purpose of subsidizing housing for persons and families of low or moderate income. The agency shall have priority among all other units of state government for receipt of federal housing subsidies for use in connection with its lending and insurance programs.

The department shall be the principal state department responsible for coordinating federal-state relationships in housing and community development, except for housing finance, and for evaluating the operations and accomplishments of other state departments as they affect housing and community development. The department shall have primary responsibility for development and implementation of housing policy. In addition, the department shall be the primary agency in the implementation of that policy. The types of programs for which the department is responsible include, but are not limited to, technical assistance, rental subsidies, predevelopment loans, loans and grants for solar energy installation, grants and loans for the construction and rehabilitation of housing for persons and families of low or moderate income, and financial and other assistance to local public entities and nonprofit organizations for housing-related services. The department is also responsible for the development and enforcement of building and housing standards and regulations as provided by law to protect the public's health and safety. Nothing in this section is, however, intended to supersede Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13. All housing programs not expressly assigned to other agencies shall be assigned to the department for implementation.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this division or of law and except as provided in the State Building Standards Law, Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13, on and after January 1, 1980, the department or the agency shall not adopt nor publish a building standard as defined in Section 18909 unless the provisions of Sections 18930, 18933, 18938, 18940, 18943, 18944 and 18945 of this code are expressly excepted in the statute under which the authority to adopt rules, regulations, or orders is delegated. Any building standard adopted in violation of this section shall have no force or effect. Any building standard adopted before January 1, 1980, pursuant to this division and not expressly excepted by statute from such provisions of the State Building Standards Law shall remain in effect only until January 1, 1985, or until adopted, amended, or superseded by provisions published in the State Building Standards Code, whichever occurs sooner.

The department may promulgate regulations establishing habitability standards for dwelling units assisted by the department providing for the density, use, and physical standards of housing units shared pursuant to Section 19904, for the purpose of assuring decent, safe, and sanitary standards for those households while taking into account the special circumstances of shared housing. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, these regulations shall not be considered building standards and shall be treated as program regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

To further the goals of this division and to enable the success of a statewide housing program, it is essential, and the Legislature intends, that the agency and the department shall closely coordinate their activities to assure that the goals and purposes of this division are realized. To this end, the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services and Housing and the director of the department have been given a role on the board which administers the agency and approves major contractual agreements, and a veto power over agency regulations in certain policy areas as specified in Section 50462, and the agency is required to coordinate its activities with the department. Subject to these restrictions, however, and when carrying out its own unique responsibilities, the agency is relatively free of regulation by other agencies of state government.

The California Housing Finance Agency, within the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, is a primary agency in the implementation of state housing policy. The agency's role is to make financing opportunities available for the construction, rehabilitation, and purchase of housing for persons and families of low or moderate income by (a) borrowing in the securities markets and relending to housing sponsors, developers, and homeowners and (b) insuring loans made by the agency or by others for the same purposes. In general, the agency pays for its operations out of the excess of its interest revenue from loan repayments over the cost of the money it borrows or, in the case of insurance, by the excess of fees charged for the provision of insurance over the value of claims paid. The agency shall seek to implement the goals, policies, and objectives of the California Statewide Housing Plan and shall annually report on its progress toward compliance with priorities in the California Statewide Housing Plan.

The California Housing Finance Agency shall provide to the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst, in each annual report required by Section 51005, information concerning all units produced, assisted, or insured using agency funds. This information shall include, but shall not be limited to, the sales prices of these units, the number of units within various price ranges or price classifications, the rents being charged for the units, the number of rental units within each price range, the number of households by income level purchasing the units, and the number by household income occupying the rental units.