50517.5. (a) (1) The department shall establish the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program under which, subject to the availability of funds, there shall be made to local public entities, nonprofit corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships, any of the following:
(A) Loans for the construction or rehabilitation of rental housing for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, including the cost of acquiring the land and any building related thereto and constructing or rehabilitating-related support facilities necessary to the housing. For the funds loaned under this subparagraph, the department shall do all of the following:
(i) Make funds available at the same time it makes funds, if any, available under the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675)).
(ii) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675)), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this paragraph in addition to those used in the Multifamily Housing Program.
(iii) Administer funds subject to this chapter in a manner consistent with the Multifamily Housing Program (Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675)), except that assisted units may serve agricultural employees and their families with incomes of up to 80 percent of the area median income. Loan terms shall be consistent with Section 50675.6 and any other requirements concerning loan terms in Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 50675).
(iv) Only applications meeting the threshold requirements of this subparagraph, and any additional threshold requirements established by the department, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this subparagraph.
(B) Loans that assist development projects involving multiple home ownership units, including single-family subdivisions, for lower-income agricultural employees and their families, including the cost of acquiring the land and constructing or rehabilitating-related support facilities necessary to the housing. Upon completion of construction, the department may convert project loans into grants for programs of assistance to lower-income agricultural employees and their families consistent with the process described in subdivision (c) of Section 50650.3. For the funds loaned under this subparagraph, the department shall do all of the following:
(i) Make funds available at the same time it makes funds, if any, available under the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(ii) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this paragraph in addition to those used in the CalHome Program.
(iii) Administer funds subject to this chapter in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650). Loan terms shall be consistent with loan terms in the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(iv) Only applications meeting the threshold requirements of this subparagraph, and any additional threshold requirements established by the department, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this subparagraph.
(C) Grants for programs that assist lower-income agricultural employees and their families to become or remain homeowners consistent with the eligible funding purposes described in Section 50650.3. For the funds granted under this subparagraph, the department shall do all of the following:
(i) Make funds available at the same time it makes funds, if any, available under the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(ii) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this paragraph in addition to those used in the CalHome Program.
(iii) Administer funds subject to this chapter in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(iv) Only applications meeting the threshold requirements of this subparagraph, and any additional threshold requirements established by the department, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this subparagraph.
(D) Grants for the acquisition of manufactured housing as part of a program to address and remedy the impacts of current and potential displacement of lower-income farmworker families from existing labor camps, mobilehome parks, or other housing, including the cost of acquiring the land related to the housing and constructing or rehabilitating-related support facilities necessary to the housing. For the funds granted under this subparagraph, the department shall do all of the following:
(i) Make funds available at the same time it makes funds, if any, available under the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(ii) Rate and rank applications in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650), except that the department may establish additional point categories for the purposes of rating and ranking applications that seek funding pursuant to this paragraph in addition to those used in the CalHome Program.
(iii) Administer funds subject to this chapter in a manner consistent with the CalHome Program authorized by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650).
(iv) Only applications meeting the threshold requirements of this subparagraph, and any additional threshold requirements established by the department, shall be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this subparagraph.
(2) With respect to any moneys appropriated for the purposes of this section, the department shall determine the amounts, if any to be made available for each of the purposes described in paragraph (1).
(b) (1) The Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department for making grants or loans, or both, pursuant to this section and Section 50517.10, for purposes of Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 50710), and for costs incurred by the department in administering these programs.
(2) There shall be paid into the fund the following:
(A) Any moneys appropriated and made available by the Legislature for purposes of the fund.
(B) Any moneys that the department receives in repayment or return of grants or loans from the fund, including any interest therefrom.
(C) Any other moneys that may be made available to the department for the purposes of this chapter from any other source or sources.
(D) All moneys appropriated to the department for the purposes of Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 50710) and any moneys received by the department from the occupants of housing or shelter provided pursuant to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 50710). These moneys shall be separately accounted for from the other moneys deposited in the fund.
(c) (1) If funds granted or loaned pursuant to this section constitute less than 25 percent of the total development cost or value, whichever is applicable, of a project assisted under this section, the department may adopt, criteria for determining the number of units in a project to which the restrictions on occupancy contained in the agreement apply. In no event may these regulations provide for the application of the agreement to a percentage of units in a project that is less than the percentage of total development costs that funds granted or loaned pursuant to this section represent.
(2) Prior to funds granted pursuant to this section being used to finance the acquisition of a manufactured home, the grantee shall ensure that the home either is already installed in a location where it will be occupied by the eligible household or that a location has been leased or otherwise made available for the manufactured home to be occupied by the eligible household.
(3) The department shall provide linguistically appropriate services and publications, or require grantees to do so, as necessary to implement the purposes of this section.
(d) The department shall include in its annual report required by Section 50408, a current report of the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) the number of households assisted, (2) the average income of households assisted and the distribution of annual incomes among assisted households, (3) the rents paid by households assisted, (4) the number and amount of grants or loans, or both, made to each grantee in the preceding year, (5) the dollar value of funding derived from sources other than the state for each project receiving a grant or loan, or both, under this section, and an identification of each source, (6) recommendations, as needed, to improve operations of the program and respecting the desirability of extending its application to other groups in rural areas identified by the department as having special need for state housing assistance, and (7) the number of manufactured housing units assisted under this section.
(e) As used in this section:
(1) “Agricultural employee” has the same meaning as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1140.4 of the Labor Code, but also includes any person who works on or off the farm in the processing of any agricultural commodity until it is shipped for distribution, whether or not this person is encompassed within the definition specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1140.4 of the Labor Code.
(2) “Grantee” means the local public entity, nonprofit corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership that is awarded the grant or loan, or both, under this section.
(3) “Housing” may include, but is not necessarily limited to, conventionally constructed units and manufactured housing installed pursuant to either Section 18551 or 18613.
(4) “Local public entity” includes, but is not limited to, the duly constituted governing body of an Indian reservation or rancheria or a tribally designated housing entity as defined in Section 4103 of Title 25 of the United States Code and Section 50104.6.5.
(5) “Limited liability company” means a limited liability company where all the members are nonprofit public benefit corporations.
(6) “Limited partnership” means a limited partnership where all of the general partners are either nonprofit public benefit corporations, limited liability companies, or a combination of nonprofit public benefit corporations and limited liability companies.
(7) “Nonprofit corporations” includes, but is not limited to, a tribally designated housing entity as defined in Section 4103 of Title 25 of the United States Code and Section 50104.6.5.
(f) The department may provide the assistance offered pursuant to this chapter in any area where there is a substantial unmet need for farmworker housing.
(g) The department may adopt guidelines to administer this chapter. Guidelines adopted pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the requirements of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2022.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 632, Sec. 6. (SB 1252) Effective January 1, 2023.)