Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1500
Ì862688_Î862688
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/20/2015 .
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The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs (Ring)
recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete everything after the enacting clause
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Subsection (3) of section 420.5087, Florida
6 Statutes, is amended to read:
7 420.5087 State Apartment Incentive Loan Program.—There is
8 hereby created the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program for
9 the purpose of providing first, second, or other subordinated
10 mortgage loans or loan guarantees to sponsors, including for
11 profit, nonprofit, and public entities, to provide housing
12 affordable to very-low-income persons.
13 (3) During the first 6 months of loan or loan guarantee
14 availability, program funds shall be reserved for use by
15 sponsors who provide the housing set-aside required in
16 subsection (2) for the tenant groups designated in this
17 subsection. The reservation of funds to each of these groups
18 shall be determined using the most recent statewide very-low
19 income rental housing market study available at the time of
20 publication of each notice of fund availability required by
21 paragraph (6)(b). The reservation of funds within each notice of
22 fund availability to the tenant groups specified in this
23 subsection must be at least in paragraphs (a), (b), and (e) may
24 not be less than 10 percent of the funds available at that time.
25 Any increase in funding required to reach the 10-percent minimum
26 must be taken from the tenant group that has the largest
27 reservation. The reservation of funds within each notice of fund
28 availability to the tenant group in paragraph (c) may not be
29 less than 5 percent of the funds available at that time. The
30 reservation of funds within each notice of fund availability to
31 the tenant group in paragraph (d) may not be more than 10
32 percent of the funds available at that time. The tenant groups
33 are:
34 (a) Commercial fishing workers and farmworkers;
35 (b) Families;
36 (c) Persons who are homeless;
37 (d) Persons with special needs; and
38 (e) Elderly persons. Ten percent of the amount reserved for
39 the elderly shall be reserved to provide loans to sponsors of
40 housing for the elderly for the purpose of making building
41 preservation, health, or sanitation repairs or improvements
42 which are required by federal, state, or local regulation or
43 code, or lifesafety or security-related repairs or improvements
44 to such housing. Such a loan may not exceed $750,000 per housing
45 community for the elderly. In order to receive the loan, the
46 sponsor of the housing community must make a commitment to match
47 at least 5 percent of the loan amount to pay the cost of such
48 repair or improvement. The corporation shall establish the rate
49 of interest on the loan, which may not exceed 3 percent, and the
50 term of the loan, which may not exceed 15 years; however, if the
51 lien of the corporation’s encumbrance is subordinate to the lien
52 of another mortgagee, then the term may be made coterminous with
53 the longest term of the superior lien. The term of the loan
54 shall be based on a credit analysis of the applicant. The
55 corporation may forgive indebtedness for a share of the loan
56 attributable to the units in a project reserved for extremely
57 low-income elderly by nonprofit organizations, as defined in s.
58 420.0004(5), where the project has provided affordable housing
59 to the elderly for 15 years or more. The corporation shall
60 establish, by rule, the procedure and criteria for receiving,
61 evaluating, and competitively ranking all applications for loans
62 under this paragraph. A loan application must include evidence
63 of the first mortgagee’s having reviewed and approved the
64 sponsor’s intent to apply for a loan. A nonprofit organization
65 or sponsor may not use the proceeds of the loan to pay for
66 administrative costs, routine maintenance, or new construction.
67 Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (3) and
68 subsections (4), (5), and (6) of section 420.622, Florida
69 Statutes, are amended to read:
70 420.622 State Office on Homelessness; Council on
71 Homelessness.—
72 (3) The State Office on Homelessness, pursuant to the
73 policies set by the council and subject to the availability of
74 funding, shall:
75 (a) Coordinate among state, local, and private agencies and
76 providers to produce a statewide consolidated inventory program
77 and financial plan for the state’s entire system of homeless
78 programs which incorporates regionally developed plans. Such
79 programs include, but are not limited to:
80 1. Programs authorized under the Stewart B. McKinney
81 Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11371 et seq.,
82 and carried out under funds awarded to this state; and
83 2. Programs, components thereof, or activities that assist
84 persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.
85 (b) Collect, maintain, and make available information
86 concerning persons who are homeless or at risk for homelessness,
87 including demographics information, current services and
88 resources available, the cost and availability of services and
89 programs, and the met and unmet needs of this population. All
90 entities that receive state funding must provide access to all
91 data they maintain in summary form, with no individual
92 identifying information, to assist the council in providing this
93 information. The State Office of Homelessness shall establish a
94 task force to make recommendations regarding the implementation
95 of a statewide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
96 The task force shall define the conceptual framework of such a
97 system; study existing statewide HMIS models; establish an
98 inventory of local HMIS systems, including providers and license
99 capacity; examine the aggregated reporting being provided by
100 local continuums of care; complete an analysis of current
101 continuum of care resources; and provide recommendations on the
102 costs and benefits of implementing a statewide HMIS. The task
103 force shall also make recommendations regarding the development
104 of a statewide, centralized coordinated assessment system in
105 conjunction with the implementation of a statewide HMIS. The
106 task force findings must be reported to the Council on
107 Homelessness no later than December 31, 2015. The council shall
108 explore the potential of creating a statewide Management
109 Information System (MIS), encouraging the future participation
110 of any bodies that are receiving awards or grants from the
111 state, if such a system were adopted, enacted, and accepted by
112 the state.
113 (4) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
114 of the Council on Homelessness, shall may accept and administer
115 moneys appropriated to it to provide annual “Challenge Grants”
116 to lead agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care
117 designated by the State Office on Homelessness pursuant to s.
118 420.624. The department shall establish varying levels of grant
119 awards up to $500,000 per lead agency. Award levels shall be
120 based upon the total population within the continuum of care
121 catchment area and reflect the differing degrees of homelessness
122 in the catchment planning areas. The department, in consultation
123 with the Council on Homelessness, shall specify a grant award
124 level in the notice of the solicitation of grant applications.
125 (a) To qualify for the grant, a lead agency must develop
126 and implement a local homeless assistance continuum of care plan
127 for its designated catchment area. The continuum of care plan
128 must implement a coordinated assessment or central intake system
129 to screen, assess, and refer persons seeking assistance to the
130 appropriate service provider. The lead agency shall also
131 document the commitment of local government and private
132 organizations to provide matching funds or in-kind support in an
133 amount equal to the grant requested. Expenditures of leveraged
134 funds or resources, including third-party cash or in-kind
135 contributions, are permitted only for eligible activities
136 committed on one project which have not been used as leverage or
137 match for any other project or program and must be certified
138 through a written commitment.
139 (b) Preference must be given to those lead agencies that
140 have demonstrated the ability of their continuum of care to
141 provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to
142 leverage federal homeless-assistance funding under the Stewart
143 B. McKinney Act with local government and private funding for
144 the provision of services to homeless persons.
145 (c) Preference must be given to lead agencies in catchment
146 areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and
147 services to the homeless, relative to the population of the
148 catchment area.
149 (d) The grant may be used to fund any of the housing,
150 program, or service needs included in the local homeless
151 assistance continuum of care plan. The lead agency may allocate
152 the grant to programs, services, or housing providers that
153 implement the local homeless assistance continuum care plan. The
154 lead agency may provide subgrants to a local agency to implement
155 programs or services or provide housing identified for funding
156 in the lead agency’s application to the department. A lead
157 agency may spend a maximum of 8 percent of its funding on
158 administrative costs.
159 (e) The lead agency shall submit a final report to the
160 department documenting the outcomes achieved by the grant in
161 enabling persons who are homeless to return to permanent housing
162 thereby ending such person’s episode of homelessness.
163 (5) The State Office on Homelessness, with the concurrence
164 of the Council on Homelessness, may administer moneys
165 appropriated to it to provide homeless housing assistance grants
166 annually to lead agencies for local homeless assistance
167 continuum of care, as recognized by the State Office on
168 Homelessness, to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate
169 transitional or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
170 These moneys shall consist of any sums that the state may
171 appropriate, as well as money received from donations, gifts,
172 bequests, or otherwise from any public or private source, which
173 are intended to acquire, construct, or rehabilitate transitional
174 or permanent housing units for homeless persons.
175 (a) Grant applicants shall be ranked competitively.
176 Preference must be given to applicants who leverage additional
177 private funds and public funds, particularly federal funds
178 designated for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation
179 of transitional or permanent housing for homeless persons; who
180 acquire, build, or rehabilitate the greatest number of units; or
181 and who acquire, build, or rehabilitate in catchment areas
182 having the greatest need for housing for the homeless relative
183 to the population of the catchment area.
184 (b) Funding for any particular project may not exceed
185 $750,000.
186 (c) Projects must reserve, for a minimum of 10 years, the
187 number of units acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated through
188 homeless housing assistance grant funding to serve persons who
189 are homeless at the time they assume tenancy.
190 (d) No more than two grants may be awarded annually in any
191 given local homeless assistance continuum of care catchment
192 area.
193 (e) A project may not be funded which is not included in
194 the local homeless assistance continuum of care plan, as
195 recognized by the State Office on Homelessness, for the
196 catchment area in which the project is located.
197 (f) The maximum percentage of funds that the State Office
198 on Homelessness and each applicant may spend on administrative
199 costs is 5 percent.
200 (6) The State Office on Homelessness, in conjunction with
201 the Council on Homelessness, shall establish performance
202 measures and specific objectives by which it may to evaluate the
203 effective performance and outcomes of lead agencies that receive
204 grant funds. Any funding through the State Office on
205 Homelessness shall be distributed to lead agencies based on
206 their overall performance and their achievement of specified
207 objectives. Each lead agency for which grants are made under
208 this section shall provide the State Office on Homelessness a
209 thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the program in
210 achieving its stated purpose. In evaluating the performance of
211 the lead agencies, the State Office on Homelessness shall base
212 its criteria upon the program objectives, goals, and priorities
213 that were set forth by the lead agencies in their proposals for
214 funding. Such criteria may include, but not be limited to, the
215 number of persons or households that are no longer homeless, the
216 rate of recidivism to homelessness, and the number of persons
217 who obtain gainful employment homeless individuals provided
218 shelter, food, counseling, and job training.
219 Section 3. Subsections (3), (7), and (8) of section
220 420.624, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
221 420.624 Local homeless assistance continuum of care.—
222 (3) Communities or regions seeking to implement a local
223 homeless assistance continuum of care are encouraged to develop
224 and annually update a written plan that includes a vision for
225 the continuum of care, an assessment of the supply of and demand
226 for housing and services for the homeless population, and
227 specific strategies and processes for providing the components
228 of the continuum of care. The State Office on Homelessness, in
229 conjunction with the Council on Homelessness, shall include in
230 the plan a methodology for assessing performance and outcomes.
231 The State Office on Homelessness shall supply a standardized
232 format for written plans, including the reporting of data.
233 (7) The components of a continuum of care plan should
234 include:
235 (a) Outreach, intake, and assessment procedures in order to
236 identify the service and housing needs of an individual or
237 family and to link them with appropriate housing, services,
238 resources, and opportunities;
239 (b) Emergency shelter, in order to provide a safe, decent
240 alternative to living in the streets;
241 (c) Transitional housing;
242 (d) Supportive services, designed to assist with the
243 development of the skills necessary to secure and retain
244 permanent housing;
245 (e) Permanent supportive housing;
246 (f) Rapid ReHousing, as specified in s. 420.6265;
247 (g)(f) Permanent housing;
248 (h)(g) Linkages and referral mechanisms among all
249 components to facilitate the movement of individuals and
250 families toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency;
251 (i)(h) Services and resources to prevent housed persons
252 from becoming or returning to homelessness; and
253 (j)(i) An ongoing planning mechanism to address the needs
254 of all subgroups of the homeless population, including but not
255 limited to:
256 1. Single adult males;
257 2. Single adult females;
258 3. Families with children;
259 4. Families with no children;
260 5. Unaccompanied children and youth;
261 6. Elderly persons;
262 7. Persons with drug or alcohol addictions;
263 8. Persons with mental illness;
264 9. Persons with dual or multiple physical or mental
265 disorders;
266 10. Victims of domestic violence; and
267 11. Persons living with HIV/AIDS.
268 (8) Continuum of care plans must promote participation by
269 all interested individuals and organizations and may not exclude
270 individuals and organizations on the basis of race, color,
271 national origin, sex, handicap, familial status, or religion.
272 Faith-based organizations must be encouraged to participate. To
273 the extent possible, these components shall should be
274 coordinated and integrated with other mainstream health, social
275 services, and employment programs for which homeless populations
276 may be eligible, including Medicaid, State Children’s Health
277 Insurance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Food
278 Assistance Program, and services funded through the Mental
279 Health and Substance Abuse Block Grant, the Workforce Investment
280 Act, and the welfare-to-work grant program.
281 Section 4. Section 420.6265, Florida Statutes, is created
282 to read:
283 420.6265 Rapid ReHousing.—
284 (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT.—
285 (a) The Legislature finds that Rapid ReHousing is a
286 strategy of using temporary financial assistance and case
287 management to quickly move an individual or family out of
288 homelessness and into permanent housing.
289 (b) The Legislature also finds that, for most of the past
290 two decades, public and private solutions to homelessness have
291 focused on providing individuals and families who are
292 experiencing homelessness with emergency shelter, transitional
293 housing, or a combination of both. While emergency shelter and
294 transitional housing programs may provide critical access to
295 services for individuals and families in crisis, they often fail
296 to address their long-term needs.
297 (c) The Legislature further finds that most households
298 become homeless as a result of a financial crisis that prevents
299 individuals and families from paying rent or a domestic conflict
300 that results in one member being ejected or leaving without
301 resources or a plan for housing.
302 (d) The Legislature further finds that Rapid ReHousing is
303 an alternative approach to the current system of emergency
304 shelter or transitional housing which tends to reduce the length
305 of time of homelessness and has proven to be cost effective.
306 (e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to
307 encourage homeless continuums of care to adopt the Rapid
308 ReHousing approach to preventing homelessness for individuals
309 and families who do not require the intense level of supports
310 provided in the Permanent Supportive Housing model.
311 (2) RAPID REHOUSING METHODOLOGY.—
312 (a) The Rapid ReHousing approach to homelessness differs
313 from traditional approaches to addressing homelessness by
314 focusing on each individual’s or family’s barriers to returning
315 to housing. By using this approach, communities can
316 significantly reduce the amount of time that individuals and
317 families are homeless and prevent further episodes of
318 homelessness.
319 (b) In Rapid ReHousing, an individual or family is
320 identified as being homeless, temporary assistance is provided
321 to allow the individual or family to obtain permanent housing as
322 quickly as possible, and, if needed, assistance is provided to
323 allow the individual or family to retain housing.
324 (c) The objective of Rapid ReHousing is to provide
325 assistance for as short a term as possible so that the
326 individual or family receiving assistance does not develop a
327 dependency on the assistance.
328 Section 5. Paragraph (26) of section 420.9071, Florida
329 Statutes, is amended to read:
330 420.9071 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.907-420.9079, the
331 term:
332 (26) “Rent subsidies” means ongoing monthly rental
333 assistance. The term does not include initial assistance to
334 tenants, such as grants or loans for security and utility
335 deposits.
336 Section 6. Subsection (7) of section 420.9072, Florida
337 Statutes, is amended, present subsections (8) and (9) of that
338 section are redesignated as subsections (9) and (10),
339 respectively, and a new subsection (8) is added to that section,
340 to read:
341 420.9072 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program.—The
342 State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program is created for the
343 purpose of providing funds to counties and eligible
344 municipalities as an incentive for the creation of local housing
345 partnerships, to expand production of and preserve affordable
346 housing, to further the housing element of the local government
347 comprehensive plan specific to affordable housing, and to
348 increase housing-related employment.
349 (7) A county or an eligible municipality must expend its
350 portion of the local housing distribution only to implement a
351 local housing assistance plan or as provided in this subsection.
352 A county or an eligible municipality may not expend its portion
353 of the local housing distribution to provide rent subsidies;
354 however, this does not prohibit the use of funds for security
355 and utility deposit assistance.
356 (8) A county or an eligible municipality may not expend its
357 portion of the local housing distribution to provide ongoing
358 rent subsidies, except for:
359 (a) Security and utility deposit assistance.
360 (b) Eviction prevention not to exceed 6 months’ rent.
361 (c) A rent subsidy program for very-low-income households
362 with at least one adult who is a person with special needs as
363 defined in s. 420.0004 or homeless as defined in s 420.621. The
364 period of rental assistance may not exceed 24 months for any
365 eligible household.
366 (9)(8) Funds distributed under this program may not be
367 pledged to pay the debt service on any bonds.
368 (10)(9) The corporation shall adopt rules necessary to
369 implement ss. 420.907-420.9079.
370 Section 7. Present subsections (5) through (7) of section
371 420.9073, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (6)
372 through (8), and a new subsection (5) is added to that section,
373 to read:
374 420.9073 Local housing distributions.—
375 (5) Notwithstanding subsections (1) through (4), the
376 corporation shall first distribute 4 percent of the total amount
377 to be distributed in a given fiscal year from the Local
378 Government Housing Trust Fund to the Department of Children and
379 Families and the Department of Economic Opportunity as follows:
380 (a) The Department of Children and Families shall receive
381 95 percent of such amount to provide operating funds and other
382 support to the designated lead agency in each continuum of care
383 for the benefit of the designated catchment area as described in
384 s. 420.624.
385 (b) The Department of Economic Opportunity shall receive 5
386 percent of such amount to provide training and technical
387 assistance to lead agencies receiving operating funds and other
388 support under paragraph (a) in accordance with s. 420.606(3).
389 Training and technical assistance funded by this distribution
390 shall be provided by a nonprofit entity that meets the
391 requirements of s. 420.531.
392 Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
393 420.9075, Florida Statutes, is amended, paragraph (f) is added
394 to subsection (3), subsection (5) of that section is amended,
395 and paragraph (i) is added to subsection (10) of that section,
396 to read:
397 420.9075 Local housing assistance plans; partnerships.—
398 (2)(a) Each county and each eligible municipality
399 participating in the State Housing Initiatives Partnership
400 Program shall encourage the involvement of appropriate public
401 sector and private sector entities as partners in order to
402 combine resources to reduce housing costs for the targeted
403 population. This partnership process should involve:
404 1. Lending institutions.
405 2. Housing builders and developers.
406 3. Nonprofit and other community-based housing and service
407 organizations.
408 4. Providers of professional services relating to
409 affordable housing.
410 5. Advocates for low-income persons, including, but not
411 limited to, homeless people, the elderly, and migrant
412 farmworkers.
413 6. Real estate professionals.
414 7. Other persons or entities who can assist in providing
415 housing or related support services.
416 8. Lead agencies of local homeless assistance continuums of
417 care.
418 (3)
419 (f) Each county and each eligible municipality is
420 encouraged to develop a strategy within its local housing
421 assistance plan which provides program funds for reducing
422 homelessness.
423 (5) The following criteria apply to awards made to eligible
424 sponsors or eligible persons for the purpose of providing
425 eligible housing:
426 (a) At least 65 percent of the funds made available in each
427 county and eligible municipality from the local housing
428 distribution must be reserved for home ownership for eligible
429 persons.
430 (a)(b) At least 75 percent of the funds made available in
431 each county and eligible municipality from the local housing
432 distribution must be reserved for construction, rehabilitation,
433 or emergency repair of affordable, eligible housing.
434 (b)(c) Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available
435 in each county and eligible municipality from the local housing
436 distribution may be used for manufactured housing.
437 (c)(d) The sales price or value of new or existing eligible
438 housing may not exceed 90 percent of the average area purchase
439 price in the statistical area in which the eligible housing is
440 located. Such average area purchase price may be that calculated
441 for any 12-month period beginning not earlier than the fourth
442 calendar year prior to the year in which the award occurs or as
443 otherwise established by the United States Department of the
444 Treasury.
445 (d)(e)1. All units constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise
446 assisted with the funds provided from the local housing
447 assistance trust fund must be occupied by very-low-income
448 persons, low-income persons, and moderate-income persons except
449 as otherwise provided in this section.
450 2. At least 30 percent of the funds deposited into the
451 local housing assistance trust fund must be reserved for awards
452 to very-low-income persons or eligible sponsors who will serve
453 very-low-income persons and at least an additional 30 percent of
454 the funds deposited into the local housing assistance trust fund
455 must be reserved for awards to low-income persons or eligible
456 sponsors who will serve low-income persons. This subparagraph
457 does not apply to a county or an eligible municipality that
458 includes, or has included within the previous 5 years, an area
459 of critical state concern designated or ratified by the
460 Legislature for which the Legislature has declared its intent to
461 provide affordable housing. The exemption created by this act
462 expires on July 1, 2013, and shall apply retroactively.
463 (e)(f) Loans shall be provided for periods not exceeding 30
464 years, except for deferred payment loans or loans that extend
465 beyond 30 years which continue to serve eligible persons.
466 (f)(g) Loans or grants for eligible rental housing
467 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from the local
468 housing assistance trust fund must be subject to recapture
469 requirements as provided by the county or eligible municipality
470 in its local housing assistance plan unless reserved for
471 eligible persons for 15 years or the term of the assistance,
472 whichever period is longer. Eligible sponsors that offer rental
473 housing for sale before 15 years or that have remaining
474 mortgages funded under this program must give a first right of
475 refusal to eligible nonprofit organizations for purchase at the
476 current market value for continued occupancy by eligible
477 persons.
478 (g)(h) Loans or grants for eligible owner-occupied housing
479 constructed, rehabilitated, or otherwise assisted from proceeds
480 provided from the local housing assistance trust fund shall be
481 subject to recapture requirements as provided by the county or
482 eligible municipality in its local housing assistance plan.
483 (h)(i) The total amount of monthly mortgage payments or the
484 amount of monthly rent charged by the eligible sponsor or her or
485 his designee must be made affordable.
486 (i)(j) The maximum sales price or value per unit and the
487 maximum award per unit for eligible housing benefiting from
488 awards made pursuant to this section must be established in the
489 local housing assistance plan.
490 (j)(k) The benefit of assistance provided through the State
491 Housing Initiatives Partnership Program must accrue to eligible
492 persons occupying eligible housing. This provision shall not be
493 construed to prohibit use of the local housing distribution
494 funds for a mixed income rental development.
495 (k)(l) Funds from the local housing distribution not used
496 to meet the criteria established in paragraph (a) or paragraph
497 (b) or not used for the administration of a local housing
498 assistance plan must be used for housing production and finance
499 activities, including, but not limited to, financing
500 preconstruction activities or the purchase of existing units,
501 providing rental housing, and providing home ownership training
502 to prospective home buyers and owners of homes assisted through
503 the local housing assistance plan.
504 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph paragraphs
505 (a) and (b), program income as defined in s. 420.9071(24) may
506 also be used to fund activities described in this paragraph.
507 2. When preconstruction due-diligence activities conducted
508 as part of a preservation strategy show that preservation of the
509 units is not feasible and will not result in the production of
510 an eligible unit, such costs shall be deemed a program expense
511 rather than an administrative expense if such program expenses
512 do not exceed 3 percent of the annual local housing
513 distribution.
514 3. If both an award under the local housing assistance plan
515 and federal low-income housing tax credits are used to assist a
516 project and there is a conflict between the criteria prescribed
517 in this subsection and the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal
518 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the county or eligible
519 municipality may resolve the conflict by giving precedence to
520 the requirements of s. 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
521 as amended, in lieu of following the criteria prescribed in this
522 subsection with the exception of paragraph (d) paragraphs (a)
523 and (e) of this subsection.
524 4. Each county and each eligible municipality may award
525 funds as a grant for construction, rehabilitation, or repair as
526 part of disaster recovery or emergency repairs or to remedy
527 accessibility or health and safety deficiencies. Any other
528 grants must be approved as part of the local housing assistance
529 plan.
530 (10) Each county or eligible municipality shall submit to
531 the corporation by September 15 of each year a report of its
532 affordable housing programs and accomplishments through June 30
533 immediately preceding submittal of the report. The report shall
534 be certified as accurate and complete by the local government’s
535 chief elected official or his or her designee. Transmittal of
536 the annual report by a county’s or eligible municipality’s chief
537 elected official, or his or her designee, certifies that the
538 local housing incentive strategies, or, if applicable, the local
539 housing incentive plan, have been implemented or are in the
540 process of being implemented pursuant to the adopted schedule
541 for implementation. The report must include, but is not limited
542 to:
543 (i) A description of efforts to reduce homelessness.
544 Section 9. Section 420.9089, Florida Statutes, is created
545 to read:
546 420.9089 National Housing Trust Fund.—The Legislature finds
547 that more funding for housing to assist the homeless is needed
548 and encourages the state entity designated to administer funds
549 made available to the state from the National Housing Trust Fund
550 to propose an allocation plan that includes strategies to reduce
551 homelessness in this state. These strategies to address
552 homelessness shall be in addition to strategies under s.
553 420.5087.
554 Section 10. Subsection (25) of section 420.9071, Florida
555 Statutes, is amended to read:
556 420.9071 Definitions.—As used in ss. 420.907-420.9079, the
557 term:
558 (25) “Recaptured funds” means funds that are recouped by a
559 county or eligible municipality in accordance with the recapture
560 provisions of its local housing assistance plan pursuant to s.
561 420.9075(5)(g) s. 420.9075(5)(h) from eligible persons or
562 eligible sponsors, which funds were not used for assistance to
563 an eligible household for an eligible activity, when there is a
564 default on the terms of a grant award or loan award.
565 Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
566
567
568 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
569 And the title is amended as follows:
570 Delete everything before the enacting clause
571 and insert:
572 A bill to be entitled
573 An act relating to housing for the homeless; amending
574 s. 420.5087, F.S.; requiring that the reservation of
575 funds within each notice of fund availability to
576 persons who are homeless and persons with special
577 needs be at least 10 percent of the funds available at
578 the time of the notice; amending s. 420.622, F.S.;
579 requiring that the State Office on Homelessness
580 coordinate among certain agencies and providers to
581 produce a statewide consolidated inventory for the
582 state’s entire system of homeless programs which
583 incorporates regionally developed plans; directing the
584 State Office on Homelessness to create a task force to
585 make recommendations regarding the implementation of a
586 statewide Homeless Management Information System
587 (HMIS) subject to certain requirements; requiring the
588 task force to include in its recommendations the
589 development of a statewide, centralized coordinated
590 assessment system; requiring the task force to submit
591 a report to the Council on Homelessness by a specified
592 date; deleting the requirement that the Council on
593 Homelessness explore the potential of creating a
594 statewide Management Information System and encourage
595 future participation of certain award or grant
596 recipients; requiring the State Office on Homelessness
597 to accept and administer moneys appropriated to it to
598 provide annual Challenge Grants to certain lead
599 agencies of homeless assistance continuums of care;
600 removing the requirement that levels of grant awards
601 be based upon the total population within the
602 continuum of care catchment area and reflect the
603 differing degrees of homelessness in the respective
604 areas; allowing expenditures of leveraged funds or
605 resources only for eligible activities subject to
606 certain requirements; providing that preference for a
607 grant award must be given to those lead agencies that
608 have demonstrated the ability to leverage specified
609 federal homeless-assistance funding with local
610 government funding, as well as private funding, for
611 the provision of services to homeless persons;
612 revising preference conditions relating to grant
613 applicants; requiring the State Office on
614 Homelessness, in conjunction with the Council on
615 Homelessness, to establish specific objectives by
616 which it may evaluate the outcomes of certain lead
617 agencies; requiring that any funding through the State
618 Office on Homelessness be distributed to lead agencies
619 based on their performance and achievement of
620 specified objectives; revising the factors that may be
621 included as criteria for evaluating the performance of
622 lead agencies; amending s. 420.624, F.S.; revising
623 requirements for the local homeless assistance
624 continuum of care plan; providing that the components
625 of a continuum of care plan should include Rapid
626 ReHousing; requiring that specified components of a
627 continuum of care plan be coordinated and integrated
628 with other specified services and programs; creating
629 s. 420.6265, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
630 intent relating to Rapid ReHousing; providing a Rapid
631 ReHousing methodology; amending s. 420.9071, F.S.;
632 redefining the term “rent subsidies”; amending s.
633 420.9072, F.S.; prohibiting a county or an eligible
634 municipality from expending its portion of the local
635 housing distribution to provide ongoing rent
636 subsidies; specifying exceptions; amending s.
637 420.9073, F.S.; requiring the Florida Housing Finance
638 Corporation to first distribute a certain percentage
639 of the total amount to be distributed each fiscal year
640 from the Local Government Housing Trust Fund to the
641 Department of Children and Families and to the
642 Department of Economic Opportunity, respectively,
643 subject to certain requirements; amending s. 420.9075,
644 F.S.; providing that a certain partnership process of
645 the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program
646 should involve lead agencies of local homeless
647 assistance continuums of care; encouraging counties
648 and eligible municipalities to develop a strategy
649 within their local housing assistance plans which
650 provides program funds for reducing homelessness;
651 revising the criteria that apply to awards made to
652 sponsors or persons for the purpose of providing
653 housing; requiring that a specified report submitted
654 by counties and municipalities include a description
655 of efforts to reduce homelessness; creating s.
656 420.9089, F.S.; providing legislative findings and
657 intent; amending s. 420.9071, F.S.; conforming a
658 provision to changes made by the act; providing an
659 effective date.