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
    21-265-00
  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.
31
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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 280
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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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    Florida Senate - 2000                                   SB 280
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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
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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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