Article 3.2. The Veterans Housing And Homeless Prevention Act Of 2014 of California Military And Veterans Code >> Division 4. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 3.2.

This article may be cited as the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014.

(a) The purpose of this article is to provide the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable multifamily supportive housing, affordable transitional housing, affordable rental housing, or related facilities for veterans and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain housing stability.
  (b) A program established under this article shall be restricted to veterans and their families.
  (c) The California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, herein after "departments," shall work collaboratively pursuant to the memorandum of understanding, as specified in Section 987.006, to carry out the duties and functions of this article.

As used in this article:
  (a) "Supportive housing" has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code, but is not restrictive to only projects with five or more units.
  (b) "Transitional housing" has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, but is not restrictive to only projects with five or more units.
  (c) "Affordable rental housing" shall mean a rental housing development, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, with affordable rents, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 50675.2 of the Health and Safety Code, but neither definition is restrictive to only projects with five or more units.
  (d) "Veteran" means any person who served in the active military, naval, or air service of the United States, or as a member of the National Guard who was called to and released from active duty or active service, for a period of not less than 90 consecutive days or was discharged from the service due to a service-connected disability within that 90-day period.

The administration of this article is vested solely in the departments. Total costs of administering this article shall not exceed 5 percent of the bond funds issued.

(a) The departments shall establish and implement programs pursuant to the purposes of this article that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. To the extent feasible, the departments shall establish and implement programs that, among other things, do the following:
  (1) Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and nonprofit program and fiscal resources.
  (2) Prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or physical rehabilitation.
  (3) Promote public and private partnerships.
  (4) Foster innovative financing opportunities.
  (5) Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold requirements or scoring criteria, or both, to advance applicants with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing, or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering with housing developers or service providers with experience offering housing or services to veterans.
  (b) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds awarded for capital development under this article provide housing to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.
  (1) In determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to extremely low income households under this provision, eligibility shall take into consideration all of a household's income sources upon initial tenancy.
  (2) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely low income households shall be supportive housing.
  (3) This section shall not deter the departments from funding projects serving mixed-income populations.
  (c) The departments may review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines or terms, or both, to implement this article. Any guidelines or terms adopted to implement this article shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
  (d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.

(a) No later than August 15, 2014, the departments shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to address their respective and shared responsibilities in implementing, overseeing, and evaluating this article.
  (b) No later than August 15, 2014, the departments shall submit the memorandum of understanding to the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees.

The departments shall convene a stakeholder process to inform the development of guidelines for the implementation of any program pursuant to this article. Stakeholders represented shall include, but not be limited to, organizations that have experience providing housing or homeless services, or both, to veterans, housing developers, and public and private agencies that serve the veteran population.

(a) Pursuant to guidelines or terms developed pursuant to this article, a housing provider or sponsor may redesignate units within a project, so long as the same number of units financed under this act remain restricted to veterans and their families.
  (b) Pursuant to guidelines or terms pursuant to this article, any units financed as supportive or transitional housing units for veterans may be redesignated as affordable rental or supportive housing to allow a veteran resident to remain housed in the project.

Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, the proceeds of bonds deposited in the Housing for Veterans Fund pursuant to Section 998.544 shall be subject to annual appropriation, as determined by the Legislature.