Florida Senate - 2015 SB 1500
By Senator Latvala
20-00893A-15 20151500__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to housing for the homeless; amending
3 s. 420.5087, F.S.; requiring that the reservation of
4 funds within each notice of fund availability to
5 persons who are homeless and persons with special
6 needs be at least 10 percent of the funds available at
7 the time of the notice; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
8 requiring that the State Office on Homelessness
9 coordinate among certain agencies and providers to
10 produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the
11 state’s entire system of homeless programs which
12 incorporates regionally developed plans; directing the
13 Council on Homelessness to develop a statewide
14 Management Information System and requiring future
15 participation of certain award or grant recipients;
16 requiring the State Office on Homelessness to accept
17 and administer moneys appropriated to it to provide
18 annual Challenge Grants to certain lead agencies of
19 homeless assistance continuums of care; removing the
20 requirement that levels of grant awards be based upon
21 the total population within the continuum of care
22 catchment area and reflect the differing degrees of
23 homelessness in the catchment planning areas;
24 requiring certain continuum of care plans to implement
25 a coordinated assessment or central intake system in
26 conjunction with the statewide Management Information
27 System to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking
28 assistance to the appropriate service provider;
29 providing that preference for a grant award must be
30 given to those lead agencies that have demonstrated
31 the ability to leverage specified federal homeless
32 assistance funding with local government funding, as
33 well as private funding, for the provision of services
34 to homeless persons; requiring, rather than
35 authorizing, a lead agency to provide subgrants to a
36 local agency to implement programs or services or
37 provide housing identified for funding; decreasing the
38 maximum percent of funding that a lead agency may
39 spend on administrative costs; directing the State
40 Office on Homelessness to administer moneys
41 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing
42 assistance grants annually to lead agencies for
43 specified purposes; revising preference conditions
44 relating to grant applicants; requiring the State
45 Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with the
46 Council on Homelessness, to establish specific
47 objectives by which it may evaluate the outcomes of
48 certain lead agencies; requiring that any funding
49 through the State Office on Homelessness be
50 distributed to lead agencies based on their
51 performance and achievement of specified objectives;
52 revising the factors that may be included as criteria
53 for evaluating the performance of lead agencies;
54 amending s. 420.624, F.S.; revising requirements for
55 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan;
56 providing that the components of a continuum of care
57 plan should include Rapid ReHousing; requiring that
58 specified components of a continuum of care plan be
59 coordinated and integrated with other specified
60 services and programs; creating s. 420.6265, F.S.;
61 providing legislative findings and intent relating to
62 Rapid ReHousing; providing a Rapid ReHousing
63 methodology; amending s. 420.9073, F.S.; requiring the
64 corporation to first distribute a certain percentage
65 of the total amount to be distributed each fiscal year
66 from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund to the
67 Department of Children and Families, subject to
68 certain requirements; amending s. 420.9075, F.S.;
69 providing that a certain partnership process of the
70 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program should
71 involve lead agencies of local homeless assistance
72 continuums of care; encouraging counties and eligible
73 municipalities to develop a strategy within their
74 local housing assistance plans which provides program
75 funds for reducing homelessness; revising the criteria
76 that apply to awards made to sponsors or persons for
77 the purpose of providing housing; requiring that a
78 specified report submitted by counties and
79 municipalities include a description of efforts to
80 reduce homelessness; creating s. 420.9089, F.S.;
81 requiring that funds made available to the state from
82 the National Housing Trust Fund be deposited into the
83 State Housing Trust Fund and be used for certain
84 purposes; directing the Florida Housing Finance
85 Corporation to create a grant process for nonprofits
86 to distribute such funds subject to certain
87 requirements; amending s. 420.9071, F.S.; conforming a
88 provision to changes made by the act; providing an
89 effective date.
90
91 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
92
93 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 420.5087, Florida
94 Statutes, is amended to read:
95 420.5087 State Apartment Incentive Loan Program.—There is
96 hereby created the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program for
97 the purpose of providing first, second, or other subordinated
98 mortgage loans or loan guarantees to sponsors, including for
99 profit, nonprofit, and public entities, to provide housing
100 affordable to very-low-income persons.
101 (3) During the first 6 months of loan or loan guarantee
102 availability, program funds shall be reserved for use by
103 sponsors who provide the housing set-aside required in
104 subsection (2) for the tenant groups designated in this
105 subsection. The reservation of funds to each of these groups
106 shall be determined using the most recent statewide very-low
107 income rental housing market study available at the time of
108 publication of each notice of fund availability required by
109 paragraph (6)(b). The reservation of funds within each notice of
110 fund availability to the tenant groups specified in this
111 subsection must be at least in paragraphs (a), (b), and (e) may
112 not be less than 10 percent of the funds available at that time.
113 Any increase in funding required to reach the 10-percent minimum
114 must be taken from the tenant group that has the largest
115 reservation. The reservation of funds within each notice of fund
116 availability to the tenant group in paragraph (c) may not be
117 less than 5 percent of the funds available at that time. The
118 reservation of funds within each notice of fund availability to
119 the tenant group in paragraph (d) may not be more than 10
120 percent of the funds available at that time. The tenant groups
121 are:
122 (a) Commercial fishing workers and farmworkers;
123 (b) Families;
124 (c) Persons who are homeless;
125 (d) Persons with special needs; and
126 (e) Elderly persons. Ten percent of the amount reserved for
127 the elderly shall be reserved to provide loans to sponsors of
128 housing for the elderly for the purpose of making building
129 preservation, health, or sanitation repairs or improvements
130 which are required by federal, state, or local regulation or
131 code, or lifesafety or security-related repairs or improvements
132 to such housing. Such a loan may not exceed $750,000 per housing
133 community for the elderly. In order to receive the loan, the
134 sponsor of the housing community must make a commitment to match
135 at least 5 percent of the loan amount to pay the cost of such
136 repair or improvement. The corporation shall establish the rate
137 of interest on the loan, which may not exceed 3 percent, and the
138 term of the loan, which may not exceed 15 years; however, if the
139 lien of the corporation’s encumbrance is subordinate to the lien
140 of another mortgagee, then the term may be made coterminous with
141 the longest term of the superior lien. The term of the loan
142 shall be based on a credit analysis of the applicant. The
143 corporation may forgive indebtedness for a share of the loan
144 attributable to the units in a project reserved for extremely
145 low-income elderly by nonprofit organizations, as defined in s.
146 420.0004(5), where the project has provided affordable housing
147 to the elderly for 15 years or more. The corporation shall
148 establish, by rule, the procedure and criteria for receiving,
149 evaluating, and competitively ranking all applications for loans
150 under this paragraph. A loan application must include evidence
151 of the first mortgagee’s having reviewed and approved the
152 sponsor’s intent to apply for a loan. A nonprofit organization
153 or sponsor may not use the proceeds of the loan to pay for
154 administrative costs, routine maintenance, or new construction.
155 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3),
156 subsections (4), (5), and (6) of section 420.622, Florida
157 Statutes, are amended to read:
158 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on
159 Homelessness.—
160 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the
161 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of
162 funding, shall:
163 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and
164 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventory program
165 and financial plan for the state’s entire system of homeless
166 programs which incorporates regionally developed plans. Such
167 programs include, but are not limited to:
168 1. Programs authorized under the Stewart B. McKinney
169 Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11371 et seq.,
170 and carried out under funds awarded to this state; and
171 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist
172 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
173 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information
174 concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness,
175 including demographics information, current services and
176 resources available, the cost and availability of services and
177 programs, and the met and unmet needs of this population. All
178 entities that receive state funding must provide access to all
179 data they maintain in summary form, with no individual
180 identifying information, to assist the council in providing this
181 information. The council shall develop explore the potential of
182 creating a statewide Management Information System (MIS),
183 requiring encouraging the future participation of any bodies
184 that are receiving awards or grants from the state, in the if
185 such a system were adopted, enacted, and accepted by the state.
186 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
187 of the Council on Homelessness, shall may accept and administer
188 moneys appropriated to it to provide annual “Challenge Grants”
189 to lead agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care
190 designated by the State Office on Homelessness pursuant to s.
191 420.624. The department shall establish varying levels of grant
192 awards up to $500,000 per lead agency. Award levels shall be
193 based upon the total population within the continuum of care
194 catchment area and reflect the differing degrees of homelessness
195 in the catchment planning areas. The department, in consultation
196 with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a grant award
197 level in the notice of the solicitation of grant applications.
198 (a) To qualify for the grant, a lead agency must develop
199 and implement a local homeless assistance continuum of care plan
200 for its designated catchment area. The continuum of care plan
201 must implement a coordinated assessment or central intake system
202 in conjunction with the statewide Management Information System
203 (MIS) to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking assistance to
204 the appropriate service provider. The lead agency shall also
205 document the commitment of local government and private
206 organizations to provide matching funds or in-kind support in an
207 amount equal to the grant requested.
208 (b) Preference must be given to those lead agencies that
209 have demonstrated the ability of their continuum of care to
210 provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to
211 leverage federal homeless-assistance funding under the Stewart
212 B. McKinney Act with local government and private funding for
213 the provision of services to homeless persons.
214 (c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment
215 areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and
216 services to the homeless, relative to the population of the
217 catchment area.
218 (d) The grant may be used to fund any of the housing,
219 program, or service needs included in the local homeless
220 assistance continuum of care plan. The lead agency may allocate
221 the grant to programs, services, or housing providers that
222 implement the local homeless assistance continuum care plan. The
223 lead agency shall may provide subgrants to a local agency to
224 implement programs or services or provide housing identified for
225 funding in the lead agency’s application to the department. A
226 lead agency may spend a maximum of 5 8 percent of its funding on
227 administrative costs.
228 (e) The lead agency shall submit a final report to the
229 department documenting the outcomes achieved by the grant in
230 enabling persons who are homeless to return to permanent housing
231 thereby ending such person’s episode of homelessness.
232 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
233 of the Council on Homelessness, shall may administer moneys
234 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants
235 annually to lead agencies for local homeless assistance
236 continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office on
237 Homelessness, to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate
238 transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
239 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may
240 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts,
241 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which
242 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate transitional
243 or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
244 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively.
245 Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional
246 private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds
247 designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation
248 of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who
249 acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or
250 and who acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas
251 having the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative
252 to the population of the catchment area.
253 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed
254 $750,000.
255 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 10 years, the
256 number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated through
257 homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve persons who
258 are homeless at the time they assume tenancy.
259 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any
260 given local homeless assistance continuum of care catchment
261 area.
262 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in
263 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan, as
264 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the
265 catchment area in which the project is located.
266 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office
267 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative
268 costs is 5 percent.
269 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with
270 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance
271 measures and specific objectives by which it may to evaluate the
272 effective performance and outcomes of lead agencies that receive
273 grant funds. Any funding through the State Office on
274 Homelessness shall be distributed to lead agencies based on
275 their overall performance and their achievement of specified
276 objectives. Each lead agency for which grants are made under
277 this section shall provide the State Office on Homelessness a
278 thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in
279 achieving its stated purpose. In evaluating the performance of
280 the lead agencies, the State Office on Homelessness shall base
281 its criteria upon the program objectives, goals, and priorities
282 that were set forth by the lead agencies in their proposals for
283 funding. Such criteria may include, but not be limited to, the
284 number of persons or households that are no longer homeless, the
285 rate of recidivism to homelessness, and the number of persons
286 who obtain gainful employment homeless individuals provided
287 shelter, food, counseling, and job training.
288 Section 3. Subsections (3), (7), and (8) of section
289 420.624, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
290 420.624 Local homeless assistance continuum of care.—
291 (3) Communities or regions seeking to implement a local
292 homeless assistance continuum of care are encouraged to develop
293 and annually update a written plan that includes a vision for
294 the continuum of care, an assessment of the supply of and demand
295 for housing and services for the homeless population, and
296 specific strategies and processes for providing the components
297 of the continuum of care. The State Office on Homelessness, in
298 conjunction with the Council on Homelessness, shall include in
299 the plan a methodology for assessing performance and outcomes.
300 The State Office on Homelessness shall supply a standardized
301 format for written plans, including the reporting of data.
302 (7) The components of a continuum of care plan should
303 include:
304 (a) Outreach, intake, and assessment procedures in order to
305 identify the service and housing needs of an individual or
306 family and to link them with appropriate housing, services,
307 resources, and opportunities;
308 (b) Emergency shelter, in order to provide a safe, decent
309 alternative to living in the streets;
310 (c) Transitional housing;
311 (d) Supportive services, designed to assist with the
312 development of the skills necessary to secure and retain
313 permanent housing;
314 (e) Permanent supportive housing;
315 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265;
316 (g)(f) Permanent housing;
317 (h)(g) Linkages and referral mechanisms among all
318 components to facilitate the movement of individuals and
319 families toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency;
320 (i)(h) Services and resources to prevent housed persons
321 from becoming or returning to homelessness; and
322 (j)(i) An ongoing planning mechanism to address the needs
323 of all subgroups of the homeless population, including but not
324 limited to:
325 1. Single adult males;
326 2. Single adult females;
327 3. Families with children;
328 4. Families with no children;
329 5. Unaccompanied children and youth;
330 6. Elderly persons;
331 7. Persons with drug or alcohol addictions;
332 8. Persons with mental illness;
333 9. Persons with dual or multiple physical or mental
334 disorders;
335 10. Victims of domestic violence; and
336 11. Persons living with HIV/AIDS.
337 (8) Continuum of care plans must promote participation by
338 all interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude
339 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color,
340 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion.
341 Faith-based organizations must be encouraged to participate. To
342 the extent possible, these components shall should be
343 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social
344 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations
345 may be eligible, including Medicaid, State Children’s Health
346 Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Food
347 Assistance Program, and services funded through the Mental
348 Health and Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Investment
349 Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program.
350 Section 4. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is created
351 to read:
352 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.—
353 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
354 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a
355 strategy of using temporary financial assistance and case
356 management to quickly move a person or family out of
357 homelessness and into permanent housing.
358 (b) The Legislature also finds that, for most of the past
359 two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have
360 focused on providing individuals and families who are
361 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
362 housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter and
363 transitional housing programs may provide critical access to
364 services for individuals and families in crisis, they often fail
365 to address their long-term needs.
366 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households
367 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents
368 them from paying rent or a domestic conflict that results in one
369 member being ejected or leaving without resources or a plan for
370 housing.
371 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing is
372 an alternative approach to the current system of emergency
373 shelter or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length
374 of time of homelessness and has proven to be cost effective.
375 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
376 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Rapid
377 ReHousing approach to preventing homelessness for individuals
378 and families who do not require the intense level of supports
379 provided in the Permanent Supportive Housing model.
380 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.—
381 (a) The Rapid ReHousing approach to homelessness differs
382 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by
383 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to returning
384 to housing. By using this approach, communities can
385 significantly reduce the amount of time that individuals and
386 families are homeless and prevent further episodes of
387 homelessness.
388 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, an individual or family is
389 identified as being homeless, temporary assistance is provided
390 to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent housing as
391 quickly as possible, and, if needed, assistance is provided to
392 allow the individual or family to retain housing.
393 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide
394 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the
395 individual or family receiving assistance does not develop a
396 dependency on the assistance.
397 Section 5. Present subsections (5) through (7) of section
398 420.9073, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
399 through (8), and a new subsection (5) is added to that section,
400 to read:
401 420.9073 Local housing distributions.—
402 (5) Notwithstanding subsections (1)-(4), the corporation
403 shall first distribute 4 percent of the total amount to be
404 distributed in a given fiscal year from the Local Government
405 Housing Trust Fund to the Department of Children and Families
406 and the Department of Economic Opportunity as follows:
407 (a) The Department of Children and Families shall receive
408 95 percent of such amount to provide operating funds and other
409 support to the designated lead agency in each continuum of care
410 for the benefit of the designated catchment area as described in
411 s. 420.624.
412 (b) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall receive 5
413 percent of such amount to provide training and technical
414 assistance to lead agencies receiving operating funds and other
415 support under paragraph (a) in accordance with s. 420.606(3).
416 Training and technical assistance funded by this distribution
417 shall be provided by a nonprofit entity that meets the
418 requirements of s. 420.531.
419 Section 6. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
420 420.9075, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (f) is added
421 to subsection (3), subsection (5) of that section is amended,
422 and paragraph (i) is added to subsection (10) of that section,
423 to read:
424 420.9075 Local housing assistance plans; partnerships.—
425 (2)(a) Each county and each eligible municipality
426 participating in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership
427 Program shall encourage the involvement of appropriate public
428 sector and private sector entities as partners in order to
429 combine resources to reduce housing costs for the targeted
430 population. This partnership process should involve:
431 1. Lending institutions.
432 2. Housing builders and developers.
433 3. Nonprofit and other community-based housing and service
434 organizations.
435 4. Providers of professional services relating to
436 affordable housing.
437 5. Advocates for low-income persons, including, but not
438 limited to, homeless people, the elderly, and migrant
439 farmworkers.
440 6. Real estate professionals.
441 7. Other persons or entities who can assist in providing
442 housing or related support services.
443 8. Lead agencies of local homeless assistance continuums of
444 care.
445 (3)
446 (f) Each county and each eligible municipality is
447 encouraged to develop a strategy within its local housing
448 assistance plan which provides program funds for reducing
449 homelessness.
450 (5) For The following criteria apply to awards made to
451 eligible sponsors or eligible persons for the purpose of
452 providing eligible housing,:
453 (a) At least 65 percent of the funds made available in each
454 county and eligible municipality from the local housing
455 distribution must be reserved for home ownership for eligible
456 persons.
457 (b) At least 75 percent of the funds made available in each
458 county and eligible municipality from the local housing
459 distribution must be reserved for construction, rehabilitation,
460 or emergency repair of affordable, eligible housing.
461 (c) Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available in
462 each county and eligible municipality from the local housing
463 distribution may be used for manufactured housing.
464 (d) The sales price or value of new or existing eligible
465 housing may not exceed 90 percent of the average area purchase
466 price in the statistical area in which the eligible housing is
467 located. Such average area purchase price may be that calculated
468 for any 12-month period beginning not earlier than the fourth
469 calendar year prior to the year in which the award occurs or as
470 otherwise established by the United States Department of the
471 Treasury.
472 (e)1. all units constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise
473 assisted with the funds provided from the local housing
474 assistance trust fund must be occupied by very-low-income
475 persons, low-income persons, and moderate-income persons except
476 as otherwise provided in this section.
477 2. At least 30 percent of the funds deposited into the
478 local housing assistance trust fund must be reserved for awards
479 to very-low-income persons or eligible sponsors who will serve
480 very-low-income persons and at least an additional 30 percent of
481 the funds deposited into the local housing assistance trust fund
482 must be reserved for awards to low-income persons or eligible
483 sponsors who will serve low-income persons. This subparagraph
484 does not apply to a county or an eligible municipality that
485 includes, or has included within the previous 5 years, an area
486 of critical state concern designated or ratified by the
487 Legislature for which the Legislature has declared its intent to
488 provide affordable housing. The exemption created by this act
489 expires on July 1, 2013, and shall apply retroactively.
490 (f) Loans shall be provided for periods not exceeding 30
491 years, except for deferred payment loans or loans that extend
492 beyond 30 years which continue to serve eligible persons.
493 (g) Loans or grants for eligible rental housing
494 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from the local
495 housing assistance trust fund must be subject to recapture
496 requirements as provided by the county or eligible municipality
497 in its local housing assistance plan unless reserved for
498 eligible persons for 15 years or the term of the assistance,
499 whichever period is longer. Eligible sponsors that offer rental
500 housing for sale before 15 years or that have remaining
501 mortgages funded under this program must give a first right of
502 refusal to eligible nonprofit organizations for purchase at the
503 current market value for continued occupancy by eligible
504 persons.
505 (h) Loans or grants for eligible owner-occupied housing
506 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from proceeds
507 provided from the local housing assistance trust fund shall be
508 subject to recapture requirements as provided by the county or
509 eligible municipality in its local housing assistance plan.
510 (i) The total amount of monthly mortgage payments or the
511 amount of monthly rent charged by the eligible sponsor or her or
512 his designee must be made affordable.
513 (j) The maximum sales price or value per unit and the
514 maximum award per unit for eligible housing benefiting from
515 awards made pursuant to this section must be established in the
516 local housing assistance plan.
517 (k) The benefit of assistance provided through the State
518 Housing Initiatives Partnership Program must accrue to eligible
519 persons occupying eligible housing. This provision shall not be
520 construed to prohibit use of the local housing distribution
521 funds for a mixed income rental development.
522 (l) Funds from the local housing distribution not used to
523 meet the criteria established in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b)
524 or not used for the administration of a local housing assistance
525 plan must be used for housing production and finance activities,
526 including, but not limited to, financing preconstruction
527 activities or the purchase of existing units, providing rental
528 housing, and providing home ownership training to prospective
529 home buyers and owners of homes assisted through the local
530 housing assistance plan.
531 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a) and
532 (b), program income as defined in s. 420.9071(24) may also be
533 used to fund activities described in this paragraph.
534 2. When preconstruction due-diligence activities conducted
535 as part of a preservation strategy show that preservation of the
536 units is not feasible and will not result in the production of
537 an eligible unit, such costs shall be deemed a program expense
538 rather than an administrative expense if such program expenses
539 do not exceed 3 percent of the annual local housing
540 distribution.
541 3. If both an award under the local housing assistance plan
542 and federal low-income housing tax credits are used to assist a
543 project and there is a conflict between the criteria prescribed
544 in this subsection and the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal
545 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the county or eligible
546 municipality may resolve the conflict by giving precedence to
547 the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
548 as amended, in lieu of following the criteria prescribed in this
549 subsection with the exception of paragraphs (a) and (e) of this
550 subsection.
551 4. Each county and each eligible municipality may award
552 funds as a grant for construction, rehabilitation, or repair as
553 part of disaster recovery or emergency repairs or to remedy
554 accessibility or health and safety deficiencies. Any other
555 grants must be approved as part of the local housing assistance
556 plan.
557 (10) Each county or eligible municipality shall submit to
558 the corporation by September 15 of each year a report of its
559 affordable housing programs and accomplishments through June 30
560 immediately preceding submittal of the report. The report shall
561 be certified as accurate and complete by the local government’s
562 chief elected official or his or her designee. Transmittal of
563 the annual report by a county’s or eligible municipality’s chief
564 elected official, or his or her designee, certifies that the
565 local housing incentive strategies, or, if applicable, the local
566 housing incentive plan, have been implemented or are in the
567 process of being implemented pursuant to the adopted schedule
568 for implementation. The report must include, but is not limited
569 to:
570 (i) A description of efforts to reduce homelessness.
571 Section 7. Section 420.9089, Florida Statutes, is created
572 to read:
573 420.9089 National Housing Trust Fund.—Funds made available
574 to the state from the National Housing Trust Fund shall be
575 deposited into the State Housing Trust Fund. Such funds shall be
576 used to develop and construct housing to reduce homelessness in
577 this state. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation shall create
578 a grant process to award funds to nonprofits, based on a
579 demonstration of need and local government participation, to
580 construct housing for extremely low-income individuals and
581 families.
582 Section 8. Subsection (25) of section 420.9071, Florida
583 Statutes, is amended to read:
584 420.9071 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.907-420.9079, the
585 term:
586 (25) “Recaptured funds” means funds that are recouped by a
587 county or eligible municipality in accordance with the recapture
588 provisions of its local housing assistance plan pursuant to s.
589 420.9075(5)(h) from eligible persons or eligible sponsors, which
590 funds were not used for assistance to an eligible household for
591 an eligible activity, when there is a default on the terms of a
592 grant award or loan award.
593 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.