Article 5y. The Veterans Housing And Homeless Prevention Bond Act Of 2014 of California Military And Veterans Code >> Division 4. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 5y.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014.
(a) California is home to almost two million veterans,
more than any other state in the nation, and with the winding down of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an unprecedented number of
California veterans will return to our communities, many in need of
housing, employment, mental health and drug treatment, and physical
rehabilitation.
(b) Unfortunately, California also leads the nation in the number
of homeless veterans, roughly 25 percent of the nation's homeless
veterans live in California, approximately 19,000 veterans. According
to the California Research Bureau, Los Angeles is number one in
terms of the number of homeless veterans followed by the San Diego
region at number three, and the San Francisco Bay Area at number
nine.
(c) Moreover, the face of the nation's homeless veterans'
population is changing as more OIF/OEF veterans find themselves in a
downward spiral towards homelessness and, increasingly, female
veterans and their children comprise more and more of the homeless
veteran demographic.
(d) With their higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder,
substance abuse, and unemployment, as well as the higher incidence of
sexual trauma experienced by our female veterans, current homeless
veterans, all too often, cycle in and out of our jails, hospitals,
and treatment programs, disproportionately drawing down services
without receiving the proper services to stabilize their lives.
(e) The Legislature must advance a comprehensive, coordinated, and
cost-effective approach to respond to the housing needs of our
veterans. Such an approach should leverage public and private
resources as well as align housing and services.
(f) Five years ago, Californians overwhelmingly affirmed their
gratitude to our veterans by approving Proposition 12, a nine hundred
million dollars ($900,000,000) general obligation bond intended to
help veterans specifically purchase single family homes, farms, and
mobilehomes through the CalVet Home Loan Program.
(g) As a result of the nation's economic crisis and state's
housing downturn coupled with the changing demographics of our
veterans, the Farm and Home Loan Program, as approved by Proposition
12, has been significantly undersubscribed. Five years since its
passage, the full nine hundred million dollars ($900,000,000) remains
unspent as does a portion of the five hundred million dollars
($500,000,000) from Proposition 32, which was approved by the voters
in 2000.
(h) Meanwhile, the need of veterans for multifamily housing that
is affordable, supportive, and transitional remains unmet and public
and private resources available for these purposes remain
underutilized.
(i) California voters should be granted the opportunity to
restructure the Proposition 12 veterans' bond program to better
respond to the housing needs as well as the changing demographics of
the current veteran population.
(j) The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014
will restructure six hundred million dollars ($600,000,000) of the
existing Proposition 12 bond moneys to allow for the construction and
rehabilitation of multifamily housing for veterans and prioritize
projects that align housing with services. Even with this
restructuring of bond moneys, the act still preserves over half a
billion dollars for the existing CalVet Farm and Home Loan Program.
(k) The Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014
will expand housing and service options for veterans,
cost-effectively leverage public dollars, reduce the number of
homeless veterans and its attendant public costs, and place
California at the forefront of our nation's efforts to end veterans'
homelessness by 2015.
(a) The State General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code), as amended from time to time, except as
otherwise provided herein, is adopted for the purpose of the
issuance, sale, and repayment of, and otherwise providing with
respect to, the bonds authorized to be issued by this article, and
the provisions of that law are included in this article as though set
out in full in this article. All references in this article to
"herein" refer both to this article and that law.
(b) For purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, the
Department of Veterans Affairs is designated the board. The
Department of Veterans Affairs shall carry out the board duties in
consultation with the California Housing Finance Agency and the
Department of Housing and Community Development.
As used herein, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(a) "Board" means the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(b) "Bond" means a veterans' bond, a state general obligation
bond, issued pursuant to this article adopting the provisions of the
State General Obligation Bond Law.
(c) "Bond act" means this article authorizing the issuance of
state general obligation bonds and adopting the State General
Obligation Bond Law by reference.
(d) "Committee" means the Housing for Veterans Finance Committee,
established pursuant to Section 998.547.
(e) "Fund" means the Housing for Veterans Fund, established
pursuant to Section 998.544.
(a) Bonds in the total amount of six hundred million
dollars ($600,000,000), or so much thereof as is necessary, not
including the amount of any refunding bonds, or so much thereof as is
necessary, may be issued and sold to provide a fund to be used for
carrying out the purposes expressed in subdivision (b) and to
reimburse the General Obligation Bond Expense Revolving Fund pursuant
to Section 16724.5 of the Government Code. The bonds, when sold,
shall be and constitute a valid and binding obligation of the State
of California, and the full faith and credit of the State of
California is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of both
principal of, and interest on, the bonds as the principal and
interest become due and payable.
(b) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this section
shall be made available to the board for the purposes of creating a
fund to provide multifamily housing to veterans and their families
pursuant to the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act of 2014
(Article 3.2 (commencing with Section 987.001)), and any subsequent
statutory enactment that amends that act or enacts or amends any
successor act for the purpose of providing housing to veterans and
their families.
(c) The Legislature may, from time to time, by majority vote,
amend the provisions of this act for the purpose of improving program
efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, or for the purpose of
furthering overall program goals.
(d) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article
shall be deposited in the Housing for Veterans Fund, which is hereby
created.
The bonds authorized by this article shall be prepared,
executed, issued, sold, paid, and redeemed as provided in the State
General Obligation Bond Law (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
16720) of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
and all of the provisions of that law, except subdivisions (a) and
(b) of Section 16727 of the Government Code, shall apply to the bonds
and to this article and are hereby incorporated in this article as
though set forth in full in this article.
Solely for the purpose of authorizing the issuance and
sale pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law of the bonds
authorized by this article, the Housing for Veterans Finance
Committee is hereby created. For purposes of this article, the
Housing for Veterans Finance Committee is "the committee" as that
term is used in the State General Obligation Bond Law. The committee
consists of the Controller, Treasurer, Director of Finance, Secretary
of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing, and Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, or their designated representatives. The Treasurer
shall serve as chairperson of the committee. A majority of the
committee may act for the committee.
The committee shall determine whether or not it is
necessary or desirable to issue bonds authorized pursuant to this
article in order to carry out the actions specified in Section
998.544 and, if so, the amount of bonds to be issued and sold.
Successive issues of bonds may be authorized and sold to carry out
those actions progressively, and it is not necessary that all of the
bonds authorized to be issued be sold at any one time.
There shall be collected each year and in the same manner
and at the same time as other state revenue is collected, in addition
to the ordinary revenues of the state, a sum in an amount required
to pay the principal of, and interest on, the bonds each year. It is
the duty of all officers charged by law with any duty in regard to
the collection of the revenue to do and perform each and every act
that is necessary to collect that additional sum.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,
there is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in the State
Treasury, for the purposes of this article, an amount that will equal
the total of the following:
(a) The sum annually necessary to pay the principal of, and
interest on, bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article, as the
principal and interest become due and payable.
(b) The sum necessary to carry out Section 998.551, appropriated
without regard to fiscal years.
For the purposes of carrying out this article, the
Director of Finance may authorize the withdrawal from the General
Fund of an amount not to exceed the amount of the unsold bonds that
have been authorized by the committee to be sold for the purpose of
carrying out this article. Any amounts withdrawn shall be deposited
in the fund. Any money made available under this section shall be
returned to the General Fund from proceeds received from the sale of
bonds for the purpose of carrying out this article.
All money deposited in the fund that is derived from
premium and accrued interest on bonds sold, in excess of any amount
of premium used to pay costs of issuing the bonds, shall be reserved
in the fund and shall be available for transfer to the General Fund
as a credit to expenditures for bond interest.
Pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 16720) of
Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code, all or a
portion of the cost of bond issuance may be paid out of the bond
proceeds, including any premium derived from the sale of the bonds.
These costs shall be shared proportionally by each program funded
through this bond act.
The board may request the Pooled Money Investment Board to
make a loan from the Pooled Money Investment Account, including
other authorized forms of interim financing that include, but are not
limited to, commercial paper, in accordance with Section 16312 of
the Government Code, for purposes of carrying out this article. The
amount of the request shall not exceed the amount of the unsold bonds
that the committee, by resolution, has authorized to be sold for the
purpose of carrying out this article. The board shall execute any
documents required by the Pooled Money Investment Board to obtain and
repay the loan. Any amounts loaned shall be deposited in the fund to
be allocated by the board in accordance with this article.
The bonds may be refunded in accordance with Article 6
(commencing with Section 16780) of Chapter 4 of Part 3 of Division 4
of Title 2 of the Government Code, which is a part of the State
General Obligation Bond Law. Approval by the voters of the state for
the issuance of the bonds described in this article includes the
approval of the issuance of any bonds issued to refund any bonds
originally issued under this article or any previously issued
refunding bonds.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, or of
the State General Obligation Bond Law, the Treasurer may maintain
separate accounts for the investment of bond proceeds and for the
investment of earnings on those proceeds. The Treasurer may use or
direct the use of those proceeds or earnings to pay any rebate,
penalty, or other payment required under federal law or take any
other action with respect to the investment and use of those bond
proceeds required or desirable under federal tax law or to obtain any
other advantage under federal law on behalf of the funds of this
state.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that, inasmuch
as the proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by this article are
not "proceeds of taxes" as that term is used in Article XIII B of
the California Constitution, the disbursement of these proceeds is
not subject to the limitations imposed by that article.