AB 140

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law defines the duties of the Treasurer, which include, but are not limited to, receiving and keeping the vaults of the State Treasury, paying warrants drawn by the Controller in certain circumstances, and keeping an account of all money received and disbursed. This bill would require the Treasurer, in consultation with other specified state agencies, to develop a framework for the California Dream For All Program, the goals of which would include, but would not be limited to, making home ownership more affordable. The bill would require the Treasurer to submit a report outlining the framework for the program to the Legislature. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature that the program include certain elements. (2) Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services, with the consent of the state agency concerned and the approval of the governing body of any concerned local agency, to lease state-owned real property when the Director of General Services deems that leasing serves a beneficial public purpose limited to the development of housing, including emergency shelters or park and recreation facilities. Existing law requires that at least 25% of the housing units developed on state property leased pursuant to these provisions be available for the term of the lease to persons and families of very low, low, and moderate income, as provided. This bill would remove the above-described requirement that the leasing receive the approval of the governing body of any concerned local agency. The bill would expand the list of beneficial public purposes for which property may be leased to include permanent supportive housing and traditional housing. This bill would instead require that a minimum of 20% of housing units developed pursuant to these provisions be made available for the term of the lease to, and occupied by, lower income households and very low income households, as provided. The bill would authorize the Director of Housing and Community Development to prescribe alternative minimum percentages in each income category in specified instances. This bill would authorize the Director of General Services to permit commercial development on property leased pursuant to these provisions if the Director of Housing and Community Development deems the commercial development necessary for the successful delivery of housing to lower income households and deems the commercial development to provide community benefits. The bill would, upon a written formal recommendation from the Director of Housing and Community Development that it is in the best interest of the state and reasonably necessary to facilitate the development of affordable housing, authorize the Director of General Services to permit phased development, subject to specified terms and conditions, or to sell property or portions of a property that have been leased pursuant to these provisions for housing to a lessee for the purposes of affordable homeownership, consistent with specified affordability provisions. (3) The California Constitution prohibits the development, construction, or acquisition in any manner of a low-rent housing project by any state public body, as defined, until a majority of the qualified electors of the city, town, or county in which it is proposed to develop, construct, or acquire the same, voting upon that issue, approve the project by voting in favor at an election. The California Constitution, for purposes of this prohibition, defines low-rent housing project to mean any development composed of urban or rural dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of low income, financed in whole or in part by the federal government or a state public body or to which the federal government or a state public body extends assistance by supplying all or part of the labor, by guaranteeing the payment of liens, or otherwise. Existing law establishes exclusions from this definition of "low-rent housing project," including a development that consists of the acquisition, rehabilitation, reconstruction, alterations work, or any combination thereof, of lodging facilities or dwelling units using moneys received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This bill would expand that exclusion to include developments that consist of new construction and developments using moneys received from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund established by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) or moneys appropriated and disbursed pursuant to specified programs or to fund the uses and to accomplish objectives under specified law, thereby excluding these developments from the scope of the above-described constitutional provision. (4) Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. That law requires the department, in consultation with each council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need for housing in each region and further requires the appropriate council of governments, or the department for cities and counties without a council of governments, to adopt a final regional housing need plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county, as provided. This bill would establish the Regional Early Action Planning Grants Program of 2021 developed and administered by the department, in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, the Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, for the purpose of providing regions with funding, including grants, for transformative planning and implementation activities. The bill, upon appropriation, would require funds for the grants to be distributed in accordance with state planning priorities and considering geographic equity among regions of the state to specified entities, including councils of governments, certain regional entities, and multiagency working groups, as described, to be used for eligible transformative planning and implementation activities, as provided. The bill would specify that eligible entities shall determine the use of the funds and suballocations within their boundaries in a manner that appropriately addresses their unique housing, land use, transportation, climate change, equity and other planning priorities in compliance with eligible uses of these funds. The bill would authorize, in consultation with the department, any entity that receives an allocation of funds to suballocate moneys directly to eligible entities in the form of grants, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to set aside up to 5% of the total appropriation for program administration, as specified. This bill would authorize, until December 31, 2022, an eligible entity to request an allocation of funds by submitting an application containing specified information, including an explanation of how the proposed uses will meet the definition of transformative planning and implementation activities and an explanation of how the proposed uses will implement and achieve the housing goals that also result in per capita vehicle miles traveled reductions. The bill would authorize, if appropriated funds remain unallocated after December 31, 2022, the department to, at its discretion, make those funds available through a subsequent notice of funding availability in which funds are offered on a competitive basis, as prescribed. The bill would authorize, commencing January 1, 2022, certain eligible entities to request up to 10% of the funding available to it in advance of a full request for funding in order to develop and accelerate the implementation of certain program requirements as described in the application. This bill would require entities that receive funds to submit an annual report to the department, and to make that report publicly available on their internet website, containing specified information regarding the uses of funds allocated under the program. The bill would require, not later than June 30, 2025, each eligible entity that receives an allocation of funds to submit a final report on the use of those funds to the department. The bill would require the department to maintain records of specified information relating to the funds, and provide that information publicly on its internet website. The bill would require recipients of funds to post, make available and update, as appropriate on their websites, land use maps and vehicle miles traveled generation maps produced in the development of their adopted sustainable communities strategy; collaborate, and share progress, templates, and best practices with the department and fellow recipients in implementation of funds; and to expend those funds no later than June 30, 2024. This bill would authorize the department to monitor expenditures and activities of an applicant, as the department deems necessary; to ensure compliance with program requirements; to request the repayment of funds from an applicant, or pursue any other remedies available to it by law for failure to comply with program requirements; and in collaboration with the Office of Planning and Research, Strategic Growth Council, and the State Air Resources Board, to implement the program through the issuance of forms, guidelines, application materials, funding allocation methodologies, and one or more notices of funding availability, as provided. The bill would specify that the department's decision to approve or deny an application or request for funding pursuant to the program, and its determination of the amount of funding to be provided or request for repayment or other remedies for failure to comply with program requirements, would be final. (5) Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer various housing programs, including the Multifamily Housing Program, as described below. Existing law creates the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in that fund for, among other purposes, making deferred-payment rehabilitation loans for financing all or a portion of the cost of rehabilitating existing housing to meet rehabilitation standards, as provided. This bill would authorize the department, upon appropriation, to make loans or grants, or both loans and grants, to rehabilitate, capitalize operating subsidy reserves for, and extend the long-term affordability of department-funded housing projects that have affordability restriction that has expired, that have an affordability restriction with a remaining term of less than 5 years, or are otherwise at risk for conversion, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement this program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would authorize the department to establish loan processing or transaction fees for loans or grants authorized under these provisions. This bill would authorize the department, upon appropriation, to award a forgivable loan or grant to a qualified rental housing development to replace federal and state low-income housing credit equity, as specified. The bill would define "qualified rental housing development" for these purposes to mean a qualified low-income housing project that received an award letter from specified multifamily housing programs administered by the department. The bill would require that a loan awarded under these provisions be provided with an interest rate of zero. The bill would authorize the department to determine the terms under which a loan or grant awarded under these provisions is subject to repayment. The bill would require a rental housing development that receives a grant or loan under these provisions to commence construction within 180 days of issuance of an award letter, and would authorize the department to issue a 90-day extension, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement this program and exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would require any loan repayments under either of the loan programs established by the bill's provisions to be deposited in the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund, to be used for the purposes of the Multifamily Housing Program. By increasing the amount of money deposited in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (6) Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law requires assistance for projects under the program to be provided in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for eligible costs of specified types of development, as provided. Existing law requires that funds appropriated in the 2020 Budget Act or an act related to the 2020 Budget Act, including specified moneys received under specified law, to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses, as provided, but exempts assistance provided under these provisions from the requirement to provide assistance under that program in the form of deferred payment loans. This bill would require that funds appropriated to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses, and would provide that the above-described deferred payment loan requirement under the program would not apply to assistance provided pursuant to these provisions, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines for the expenditure of funds appropriated to the department under these provisions. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature on the use of the funds in the department's annual report, including, among other things, an explanation of how funding decisions were made and the number of individuals housed, or likely to be housed, using the funds. Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would, until July 1, 2024, exempt from CEQA a project described above and funded pursuant to these provisions if certain requirements are met, including that the project proponent submits to the lead agency a letter of support from a county, city, or other local public entity for any proposed rehabilitation, construction, or major alteration work. If the lead agency determines that a project is not subject to CEQA and the lead agency determines it will approve or carry out the project, the bill would require the lead agency to file a notice of exemption, as specified. (7) Existing law establishes, among various other programs intended to address homelessness in this state, the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges informed by a best-practices framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, and counties in 2 rounds, the first of which is administered by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the 2nd of which is administered by the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. This bill would provide for the allocation of a total of $2,000,000,000 in a 3rd and 4th round of funding under the program, to be administered by the council. Upon appropriation, the bill would require the council to distribute $1,000,000,000 in the 2021–22 fiscal year and $1,000,000,000 in the 2022–23 fiscal year. The bill would require the council to allocate up to 80% of the amount available for each fiscal year to cities, counties, and continuums of care, in a manner similar to existing provisions of the program and used for similar purposes, to set aside up to 18% for awarding bonus funds, as provided, and to allocate the remaining 2% to federally recognized tribal governments, as provided. Except as provided, the bill would require that all round 3 program funds be expended by June 30, 2026, and that all round 4 program funds be expended by June 30, 2027. The bill would require that any round 3 program funds not expended by June 30, 2026, be available for round 4 of the program and that any round 4 programs not expended by June 30, 2027, revert to the General Fund. The bill would require a recipient of a round 3 or round 4 program allocation, including tribal recipients, to expend funds on evidence-based solutions that address and prevent homelessness among eligible populations, as specified. For allocations of round 3 program funds to cities, counties, and continuums of care, the bill would require the council to issue a standard agreement for applicants to apply for funding no later than September 15, 2021, and would require applicants to submit an agreement within 30 days after the date the council issues that agreement. Upon receipt of an agreement, the bill would require the council to allocate 20% of the eligible city's, county's, or continuum of care's allocation of round 3 funds, or 25% of that allocation if the city, county, or continuum of care applies jointly with a counterpart entity or entities, as provided. In order to receive the balance of its round 3 allocation, the bill would require the applicant to submit an application to the council by June 30, 2022, that includes a local homelessness action plan and specific outcome goals developed in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require the council to either approve the application or return it to the applicant with written, detailed comments and request specified amendments to the application within 30 days. The bill would require a recipient to contractually obligate not less than 50% of round 3 program allocations no later than May 31, 2024, except that the bill would require a recipient that is a county to contractually obligate the full amount of its allocation by that date, and would require the reversion of funds not contractually obligated in accordance with this requirement, as provided. The bill would require recipients to demonstrate whether they have successfully met their outcome goals no later than June 30, 2024, and provide for the award of bonus funds to jurisdictions that have met those goals. For allocations of round 4 program funds to cities, counties, and continuums of care, the bill would require the council to make applications available no later than September 30, 2021, and would require the applicant to submit an application to the council within 60 days after the date the council makes those applications available. The bill would require that the application include an updated local homelessness action plan and new specific outcome goals developed in accordance with specified requirements. The bill would require the council to either approve the application or return it to the applicant with written, detailed comments and request specified amendments to the application within 30 days. Upon approval of an application, the bill would require the council to disburse 50% of an eligible city's, county's, or continuum of care's total allocation of round 4 funds. The bill would require a recipient to contractually obligate not less than 75%, and to expend not less than 50%, of its initial round 4 program allocation no later than May 31, 2025, and would require the reversion of funds not contractually obligated in accordance with this requirement, as provided. Upon demonstration by a recipient city, county, or continuum of care that it has complied with the requirement to contractually obligate and expend a minimum amount of its round 4 program allocation, the bill would require the council to disburse to that recipient the remaining 50% of its total round 4 allocation. The bill would require recipients to demonstrate whether they have successfully met their outcome goals no later than June 30, 2025, and provide for the award of bonus funds to jurisdictions that have met those goals. The bill would make various conforming changes to the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program with respect to round 3 and round 4 of the program, as described above. (8) Existing law requires a recipient of funds under the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program, by January 1 of the year following receipt of the funds and annually on that date thereafter until all funds have been expended, to submit a report to the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency that includes specified information, including the number of homeless individuals served by the program funds in that year. Existing law, beginning in 2021, requires applicants to provide additional information for round 1 and round 2 of program allocations, as provided. Existing law requires an applicant that receives a round 1 program allocation to submit a final report to the agency no later than January 1, 2026. Existing law requires the agency to post the information received under these provisions on its internet website and provide notice to specified committees of the Legislature. This bill would revise these provisions to require recipients under the program to submit an annual report and a final report on round 1 program allocations to the council instead of the agency. The bill would also require the council, rather than the agency, to post this information on its internet website and provide notice to specified committees of the Legislature. The bill, beginning with round 3 of the program, would require applicants to provide additional information for all rounds of program allocations relating to the applicant's outcome goals, as described above. The bill would require a recipient that receives a round 3 program allocation to submit a final report to the council no later than October 1, 2026, and a recipient that receives a round 4 program allocation to submit a final report to the council no later than October 1, 2027. (9) Existing law requires the Governor to create the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, and specifies the duties of the coordinating council to include creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, and specified federal agencies and private entities, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Encampment Resolution Funding program to assist cities, counties, and continuums of care in ensuring the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments, to provide encampment resolution grants to resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing, and to encourage a data-informed, coordinated approach to address encampment concerns. The bill would authorize a continuum of care, city, or county to submit a specified application to the council for a program grant, and would require the council to prioritize funding applicants that demonstrate a commitment to cross-systems collaboration and innovative efforts to resolve encampment issues or have 50 or more individuals living in the encampment. The bill would require the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to administer the program in accordance with a specified timeline, and would require the council to award initial grants by March 1, 2022. The bill would require grant recipients to provide specified data elements, including health information, in a manner consistent with state and federal law, to their local Homeless Management Information System for tracking in the statewide Homeless Data Integration System. (10) Existing law specifies the duties of the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, including creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, and specified federal agencies and private entities, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would require the coordinating council to conduct, or contract with an entity to conduct, a statewide assessment to, among other things, identify state programs that provide housing or services to persons experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined, and collect and analyze data from those programs necessary to provide a comprehensive view of the homelessness response system. The bill would authorize local governments to collaborate with the coordinating council or other entity conducting the assessment to share existing data from existing local analyses of system needs or gaps to complement other data requested. The bill would require the council to submit an interim report by July 1, 2022, and a final report by December 31, 2022, on the assessment to specified legislative committees. The bill would require a state agency with a member on the coordinating council to provide the requested data within 60 days, as specified. (11) Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges. Existing law commits the administration of this program with the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. This bill would create the Family Homelessness Challenge Grants and Technical Assistance Program, which would be administered by the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. The program would provide one-time grants and technical assistance to local jurisdictions for the purpose of addressing and ending family homelessness. The bill would prescribe various elements of the program, including when applications are required to be available, when applications are required to be submitted to the council, and when the council is required to act upon them. The bill would prescribe percentages of funds, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature, that would be applied to 2 rounds of competitive grants, as specified, intensive technical assistance to local jurisdictions, as specified, and administrative expenses. Among other things, the bill would require that program funds be expended by June 30, 2026, and would require funds that are not expended by this date to revert to the General Fund. The bill would exempt the administration of the program from the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would require recipients of program funds to provide specified data to their local Homeless Management Information System for tracking in the statewide Homeless Data Integration System. The bill would authorize the council to specify the form and substance of the data, and would provide that health information would not be subject to public inspection or disclosure. The bill would require all recipients of funds to provide information and products developed with grant funds on service delivery models in support of the overall program goal to create scalable solutions to family homelessness, as specified. (12) Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to dispose of surplus state real property, as defined, by sale, lease, exchange, or a sale combined with an exchange, or other manner of disposition of property, subject to legislative authorization and specified requirements. Executive Order No. N-06-19 required the Department of General Services to create a digitized inventory of all state-owned parcels that are in excess of foreseeable needs, as provided. The executive order also required the Department of General Services, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development, to issue requests for proposals on individual parcels and accept proposals from certain developers of affordable housing, as provided. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establish the Excess Sites Local Government Matching Grants Program to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would require the department to allocate grants of up to $10,000,000 to development partners selected under an Executive Order No. N-06-19 program to enter a ground lease with the state to create affordable housing on excess state-owned property and that will receive contributions from a local government in support of that affordable housing. The bill would require the department to award grant moneys based on several factors, including value of the local government contribution and the creation of new permanent housing options. The bill would authorize a selected developer and a local government to submit, for expeditious review, a joint application that includes, among other things, a budget demonstrating the amount of the local government's contribution and a commitment and strategy from the local government to support the selected developer, as specified. The bill would limit the total amount of moneys awarded under the program to $30,000,000, and would require the department to set aside up to 5% of appropriated moneys for program administration. (13) Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to, among other things, administer various programs intended to fund the acquisition of property to develop or preserve affordable housing. This bill would create the Foreclosure Intervention Housing Preservation Program, which would be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The goal of the program would be to preserve affordable housing and promote resident ownership or nonprofit organization ownership of residential real property. The bill would also require the department to contract with one or more fund managers to manage the program until at least June 30, 2026, as specified. The bill would also authorize the department to hire one or more third-party consultants to assist with administering the program, so long as each consultant has demonstrated certain expertise. The bill would require the department to adopt guidelines for the administration of the program. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, to provide eligible borrowers loans and grants to pay the acquisition costs and associated transaction costs of certain real property purchased through a trustee's sale, as specified, subject to a preforeclosure intervention sale, as defined, or subject to a foreclosure risk intervention sale. The bill would require that funds only be expended for specified purposes and that borrowers who receive funds from a loan or grant made pursuant to the program ensure that vacant units are restricted in certain ways, including that the units are made available for rent or purchase by lower income households, as defined and specified. The bill would also allow loans made pursuant to the program to be partially or fully converted to grants if certain conditions are met. The bill would provide that any funds that are uncommitted or returned as of December 31, 2025, shall be made available for purposes of the Housing Preservation Program. The bill would provide that, notwithstanding the requirements of that program, uncommitted or returned funds may also be used to assist projects funded by the department or other public entities. The bill would require the department to report on the implementation of the Foreclosure Intervention Housing Preservation Program no later than May 15, 2023. The bill would require that loan principal and interest payments be deposited into the Housing and Rehabilitation Loan Fund, to be used for purposes of the program, including, but not limited to, loans or grants to pay for repairs, maintenance, or improvements on properties acquired pursuant to the program. (14) Existing law establishes the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019, which requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature, to establish and administer a grant program to allocate those funds to capital improvement projects that are an integral part of, or necessary to facilitate the development of, a qualifying infill project or qualifying infill area, as those terms are defined, pursuant to specified requirements. Existing law requires the department to administer a competitive application process for grants for selected capital improvement projects for large jurisdictions and requires the department to administer an over-the-counter application process for grants for capital improvement projects for small jurisdictions. This bill would, upon appropriation of the Legislature, authorize the department to expend $250,000,000 for the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019. In this regard, the bill would allocate $160,000,000 of those funds for selected capital improvement projects for large jurisdictions under the program and $90,000,000 for over-the-counter grants for capital improvement projects for small jurisdictions under the program. The bill would authorize up to 5% of these funds to be set aside for program administration, including state operations expenditures and technical assistance. (15) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified lands outside its boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires that the housing element include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. Existing law requires that this inventory of land be used to identify sites throughout the community that can be developed for housing within the planning period and that are sufficient to provide for the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need for all income levels, as specified. Existing law specifies various densities deemed appropriate to accommodate housing for lower income levels under these provisions that vary based on a jurisdiction's classification and provides for that classification, as specified. Existing law requires that a qualifying infill project or qualifying infill area for which a capital improvement grant may be awarded under the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019 meet specified conditions, including that the project or area include average residential densities on the parcels to be developed that are equal to or greater than the densities described in the above-described provisions of the Planning and Zoning Law or, if the project is located in a rural area, as defined, 10 units per acre. Existing law, until January 1, 2023, authorizes a city with a population of greater than 100,000 in a standard metropolitan statistical area or a population of less than 2,000,000 to petition the Department of Housing and Community Development for an exception to the jurisdiction's classification under the above-described provisions of the Planning and Zoning Law, if the city believes it is unable to meet the density requirements specified for purposes of the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019. This bill would extend the operation of this authorization for a city to petition for an exception to its classification under these provisions from January 1, 2023, to January 1, 2026. (16) Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to, among other things, foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. Existing law requires that the department be conducted under the control of an executive officer known as the Director of Industrial Relations, who the Governor appoints subject to confirmation by the Senate. Among other things, existing law requires the director to determine the general prevailing rate of per diem wages in accordance with specified standards. This bill would require the director to establish and maintain a strategic enforcement unit focused on construction, alteration, and repair projects. The bill would require that the unit enhance the department's enforcement of the Labor Code in construction, alteration, and repair projects, including projects funded pursuant to the provisions of the Multifamily Housing Program added by this bill, as described above, and other publicly funded residential construction projects. The bill would confer on the unit primary responsibility for enforcement of The Labor Code in construction projects subject to the provisions of the Multifamily Housing Program added by this bill. The bill would also require the unit to provide technical assistance to local public entities, as specified. (17) This bill would make findings and declarations related to a gift of public funds. (18) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (19) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.