Senate Bill 0280

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 280

    By Senator Hargrett





    21-265-00

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to housing; providing

  3         legislative findings; amending s. 14.2015,

  4         F.S.; directing the Office of Urban Opportunity

  5         to give priority to projects receiving certain

  6         federal grants; amending s. 163.2523, F.S.;

  7         providing allocation criteria for the Urban

  8         Infill and Redevelopment Grant Program;

  9         amending s. 420.5087, F.S.; providing

10         allocation criteria for the State Apartment

11         Incentive Loan Program; amending s. 420.5089,

12         F.S.; providing allocation criteria for the

13         HOME Investment Partnership Program; amending

14         s. 420.5093, F.S.; giving priority to certain

15         projects in the State Housing Tax Credit

16         Program; amending s. 420.5099, F.S.; giving

17         priority to certain projects in the allocation

18         of low-income housing tax credits; providing an

19         effective date.

20

21         WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

22  Development awards grants under the Revitalization of Severely

23  Distressed Public Housing (HOPE VI) program to redevelop

24  distressed public housing sites, and

25         WHEREAS, these HOPE VI grants intend to create new

26  housing units and broader housing opportunities for families

27  who are eligible for public housing assistance, and

28         WHEREAS, older, distressed, or substandard public

29  housing sites can create a blighting influence on the

30  surrounding neighborhoods, and

31

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  1         WHEREAS, the redevelopment of these public housing

  2  sites creates unique opportunities to disperse the location of

  3  publicly owned or assisted housing and its low-income

  4  residents, and

  5         WHEREAS, such redevelopment offers an opportunity to

  6  spur the redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhoods, and

  7         WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the state should

  8  encourage the broader redevelopment of neighborhoods

  9  surrounding HOPE VI sites by working in partnership with the

10  public housing authority, the unit of local government, and

11  the residents of the public housing and surrounding

12  neighborhoods, NOW, THEREFORE,

13

14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

15

16         Section 1.  Subsection (9) of section 14.2015, Florida

17  Statutes, is amended to read:

18         14.2015  Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic

19  Development; creation; powers and duties.--

20         (9)(a)  The Office of Urban Opportunity is created

21  within the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.

22  The director of the Office of Urban Opportunity shall be

23  appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

24         (b)  The purpose of the Office of Urban Opportunity

25  shall be to administer the Front Porch Florida initiative, a

26  comprehensive, community-based urban core redevelopment

27  program that will empower urban core residents to craft

28  solutions to the unique challenges of each designated

29  community.

30         (c)  The selection criteria for designating Front Porch

31  Communities must give priority consideration to communities

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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 280
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  1  where there is an active grant award from the U.S. Department

  2  of Housing and Urban Development under the HOPE VI program and

  3  there is:

  4         1.  Documented support by the unit of local government

  5  to redevelop the neighborhoods surrounding the HOPE VI

  6  project.

  7         2.  A joint agreement between the local government and

  8  the public housing authority receiving the HOPE VI grant

  9  regarding the redevelopment of neighborhoods surrounding the

10  HOPE VI project.

11         3.  A plan to promote the redevelopment of the HOPE VI

12  neighborhoods; to disperse the location of publicly assisted

13  housing within the neighborhood and to promote mixed-income

14  neighborhoods; to promote home ownership; and to involve the

15  residents of the neighborhood in redevelopment.

16         Section 2.  Section 163.2523, Florida Statutes, is

17  amended to read:

18         163.2523  Grant program.--An Urban Infill and

19  Redevelopment Assistance Grant Program is created for local

20  governments. A local government may allocate grant money to

21  special districts, including community redevelopment agencies,

22  and nonprofit community development organizations to implement

23  projects consistent with an adopted urban infill and

24  redevelopment plan or plan employed in lieu thereof. Thirty

25  percent of the general revenue appropriated for this program

26  shall be available for planning grants to be used by local

27  governments for the development of an urban infill and

28  redevelopment plan, including community participation

29  processes for the plan. Sixty percent of the general revenue

30  appropriated for this program shall be available for

31  fifty/fifty matching grants for implementing urban infill and

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  1  redevelopment projects that further the objectives set forth

  2  in the local government's adopted urban infill and

  3  redevelopment plan or plan employed in lieu thereof. The

  4  remaining 10 percent of the revenue must be used for outright

  5  grants for implementing projects requiring an expenditure of

  6  under $50,000. Projects that provide employment opportunities

  7  to clients of the WAGES program, and projects within urban

  8  infill and redevelopment areas that include a community

  9  redevelopment area, Florida Main Street program, Front Porch

10  Florida Community, sustainable community, enterprise zone,

11  federal enterprise zone, enterprise community, or neighborhood

12  improvement district, and projects that include the recipient

13  of a HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and

14  Urban Development must be given an elevated priority in the

15  scoring of competing grant applications. The Division of

16  Housing and Community Development of the Department of

17  Community Affairs shall administer the grant program. The

18  Department of Community Affairs shall adopt rules establishing

19  grant review criteria consistent with this section.

20         Section 3.  Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section

21  420.5087, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

22         420.5087  State Apartment Incentive Loan

23  Program.--There is hereby created the State Apartment

24  Incentive Loan Program for the purpose of providing first,

25  second, or other subordinated mortgage loans or loan

26  guarantees to sponsors, including for-profit, nonprofit, and

27  public entities, to provide housing affordable to

28  very-low-income persons.

29         (6)  On all state apartment incentive loans, except

30  loans made to housing communities for the elderly to provide

31  for lifesafety, building preservation, health, sanitation, or

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  1  security-related repairs or improvements, the following

  2  provisions shall apply:

  3         (c)  The corporation shall provide by rule for the

  4  establishment of a review committee composed of the department

  5  and corporation staff and shall establish by rule a scoring

  6  system for evaluation and competitive ranking of applications

  7  submitted in this program, including, but not limited to, the

  8  following criteria:

  9         1.  Tenant income and demographic targeting objectives

10  of the corporation.

11         2.  Targeting objectives of the corporation which will

12  ensure an equitable distribution of loans between rural and

13  urban areas.

14         3.  Sponsor's agreement to reserve the units for

15  persons or families who have incomes below 50 percent of the

16  state or local median income, whichever is higher, for a time

17  period to exceed the minimum required by federal law or the

18  provisions of this part.

19         4.  Sponsor's agreement to reserve more than:

20         a.  Twenty percent of the units in the project for

21  persons or families who have incomes that do not exceed 50

22  percent of the state or local median income, whichever is

23  higher; or

24         b.  Forty percent of the units in the project for

25  persons or families who have incomes that do not exceed 60

26  percent of the state or local median income, whichever is

27  higher, without requiring a greater amount of the loans as

28  provided in this section.

29         5.  Provision for tenant counseling.

30         6.  Sponsor's agreement to accept rental assistance

31  certificates or vouchers as payment for rent; however, when

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  1  certificates or vouchers are accepted as payment for rent on

  2  units set aside pursuant to subsection (2), the benefit must

  3  be divided between the corporation and the sponsor, as

  4  provided by corporation rule.

  5         7.  Projects requiring the least amount of a state

  6  apartment incentive loan compared to overall project cost.

  7         8.  Local government contributions and local government

  8  comprehensive planning and activities that promote affordable

  9  housing.

10         9.  Project feasibility.

11         10.  Economic viability of the project.

12         11.  Commitment of first mortgage financing.

13         12.  Sponsor's prior experience.

14         13.  Sponsor's ability to proceed with construction.

15         14.  Projects that directly implement or assist

16  welfare-to-work transitioning.

17         15.  Projects receiving HOPE VI grants from the U.S.

18  Department of Housing and Urban Development.

19         Section 4.  Subsection (6) of section 420.5089, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         420.5089  HOME Investment Partnership Program; HOME

22  fund.--

23         (6)  Applications for loans under any competitive

24  scoring process established by program rule must be approved

25  by a review committee established by corporation rule which

26  shall analyze factors, including, but not limited to, the

27  following:

28         (a)  Demographic targeting objectives of the

29  corporation.

30         (b)  Corporation portfolio diversification.

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  1         (c)  Developer's agreement to make units for the

  2  targeted group available for more than the minimum period

  3  required by rule.

  4         (d)  Leveraging of HOME funds.

  5         (e)  Local matching funds.

  6         (f)  The project's feasibility and long-term economic

  7  viability.

  8         (g)  Demonstrated capacity of the proposed project's

  9  development team.

10         (h)  Conformance with the consolidated plan for the

11  state and area in which the proposed project will be located.

12         (i)  Projects receiving HOPE VI grants from the U.S.

13  Department of Housing and Urban Development.

14         (j)(i)  Other factors determined and approved by the

15  corporation's board of directors.

16         Section 5.  Subsection (3) of section 420.5093, Florida

17  Statutes, is amended to read:

18         420.5093  State Housing Tax Credit Program.--

19         (3)  The corporation shall adopt allocation procedures

20  that will ensure the maximum use of available tax credits in

21  order to encourage development of low-income housing and

22  associated mixed-use projects in urban areas, taking into

23  consideration the timeliness of the application, the location

24  of the proposed project, the relative need in the area of

25  revitalization and low-income housing and the availability of

26  such housing, the economic feasibility of the project, and the

27  ability of the applicant to proceed to completion of the

28  project in the calendar year for which the credit is sought.

29  The allocation procedure must give priority to projects

30  receiving HOPE VI grants from the U.S. Department of Housing

31  and Urban Development.

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  1         Section 6.  Subsection (2) of section 420.5099, Florida

  2  Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         420.5099  Allocation of the low-income housing tax

  4  credit.--

  5         (2)  The corporation shall adopt allocation procedures

  6  that will ensure the maximum use of available tax credits in

  7  order to encourage development of low-income housing in the

  8  state, taking into consideration the timeliness of the

  9  application, the location of the proposed housing project, the

10  relative need in the area for low-income housing and the

11  availability of such housing, the economic feasibility of the

12  project, and the ability of the applicant to proceed to

13  completion of the project in the calendar year for which the

14  credit is sought. The allocation procedure must give priority

15  to projects receiving HOPE VI grants from the U.S. Department

16  of Housing and Urban Development.

17         Section 7.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

18  law.

19

20            *****************************************

21                          SENATE SUMMARY

22    Requires various state housing programs to give priority
      status to projects receiving grants from the U.S.
23    Department of Housing and Urban Development under the
      Revitalization of Severely Distressed Public Housing
24    (HOPE VI) program.

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