| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to affordable housing; amending s. |
| 3 | 420.5087, F.S.; requiring the scoring system for |
| 4 | applications submitted to the State Apartment Incentive |
| 5 | Loan Program to include specified projects in its |
| 6 | criteria; providing an effective date. |
| 7 |
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| 8 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of section |
| 11 | 420.5087, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 12 | 420.5087 State Apartment Incentive Loan Program.--There is |
| 13 | hereby created the State Apartment Incentive Loan Program for |
| 14 | the purpose of providing first, second, or other subordinated |
| 15 | mortgage loans or loan guarantees to sponsors, including for- |
| 16 | profit, nonprofit, and public entities, to provide housing |
| 17 | affordable to very-low-income persons. |
| 18 | (6) On all state apartment incentive loans, except loans |
| 19 | made to housing communities for the elderly to provide for |
| 20 | lifesafety, building preservation, health, sanitation, or |
| 21 | security-related repairs or improvements, the following |
| 22 | provisions shall apply: |
| 23 | (c) The corporation shall provide by rule for the |
| 24 | establishment of a review committee composed of the department |
| 25 | and corporation staff and shall establish by rule a scoring |
| 26 | system for evaluation and competitive ranking of applications |
| 27 | submitted in this program, including, but not limited to, the |
| 28 | following criteria: |
| 29 | 1. Tenant income and demographic targeting objectives of |
| 30 | the corporation. |
| 31 | 2. Targeting objectives of the corporation which will |
| 32 | ensure an equitable distribution of loans between rural and |
| 33 | urban areas. |
| 34 | 3. Sponsor's agreement to reserve the units for persons or |
| 35 | families who have incomes below 50 percent of the state or local |
| 36 | median income, whichever is higher, for a time period to exceed |
| 37 | the minimum required by federal law or the provisions of this |
| 38 | part. |
| 39 | 4. Sponsor's agreement to reserve more than: |
| 40 | a. Twenty percent of the units in the project for persons |
| 41 | or families who have incomes that do not exceed 50 percent of |
| 42 | the state or local median income, whichever is higher; or |
| 43 | b. Forty percent of the units in the project for persons |
| 44 | or families who have incomes that do not exceed 60 percent of |
| 45 | the state or local median income, whichever is higher, without |
| 46 | requiring a greater amount of the loans as provided in this |
| 47 | section. |
| 48 | 5. Provision for tenant counseling. |
| 49 | 6. Sponsor's agreement to accept rental assistance |
| 50 | certificates or vouchers as payment for rent. |
| 51 | 7. Projects requiring the least amount of a state |
| 52 | apartment incentive loan compared to overall project cost except |
| 53 | that the share of the loan attributable to units serving |
| 54 | extremely-low-income persons shall be excluded from this |
| 55 | requirement. |
| 56 | 8. Local government contributions and local government |
| 57 | comprehensive planning and activities that promote affordable |
| 58 | housing. |
| 59 | 9. Project feasibility. |
| 60 | 10. Economic viability of the project. |
| 61 | 11. Commitment of first mortgage financing. |
| 62 | 12. Sponsor's prior experience. |
| 63 | 13. Sponsor's ability to proceed with construction. |
| 64 | 14. Projects that directly implement or assist welfare-to- |
| 65 | work transitioning. |
| 66 | 15. Projects that reserve units for extremely-low-income |
| 67 | persons. |
| 68 | 16. Projects that include green-building principles, |
| 69 | storm-resistant construction, or other elements that reduce |
| 70 | long-term costs relating to maintenance, utilities, or |
| 71 | insurance. |
| 72 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |