2007 California Health and Safety Code Chapter 3.7. Farmworker Housing Assistance Program

CA Codes (hsc:50199.50-50199.58)

50199.50.  For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
   (a) "Agricultural worker" or "farmworker" shall have the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 1140.4 of the
Labor Code.
   (b) "Compliance period" means, with respect to any farmworker
housing, the period of 30 consecutive taxable or income years,
beginning with the taxable or income year in which the credit is
allowable.
   (c) "Eligible costs" shall have the same meaning as "eligible
basis," as defined in Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.
   (d) "Farmworker housing" means housing for agricultural workers
and may include, but need not be limited to, conventionally
constructed units and manufactured housing.
   (e) "Farmworker housing tax credits" means the tax credits
authorized by Sections 17053.14, 23608.2, and 23608.3 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code.
   (f) "Household" has the same meaning as defined in Section 7602 of
Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations.
   (g) "Committee" means the California Tax Credit Allocation
Committee as defined in Section 50199.7.



50199.51.  The committee shall perform those duties delegated to it
pursuant to this chapter and the responsibilities related to receipt
by taxpayers of farmworker housing tax credits.



50199.52.  All housing assisted pursuant to this chapter shall
comply with the following requirements:
   (a) (1) The recipient of a tax credit pursuant to Section
17053.14, 23608.2, or 23608.3 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, or
the owner of the farmworker housing assisted pursuant to Section
17053.14 or 23608.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall enter
into those agreements required by the committee to further the
purposes of this chapter and the applicable farmworker housing tax
credit sections.
   (2) The owner shall agree that the farmworker housing units
assisted with the farmworker housing tax credits shall be utilized,
maintained, and operated pursuant to this chapter for the compliance
term specified by the applicable farmworker housing tax credit
statute.
   (b) (1) The farmworker housing assisted pursuant to this chapter
shall be available to, and occupied by, only farmworkers and their
households.  However, in the event of a natural disaster or other
critical occurrence, as determined by the committee, the housing may
be utilized at the discretion of the owner for households needing
shelter for up to 60 days if there are no farmworkers who have
submitted an application to reside, or to continue to reside, in the
housing.  The occupants of the housing need not be limited to
farmworkers employed by the property owner.
   (2) In addition, where the housing is designed and operated as a
dormitory, the owner and operator may restrict occupancy by sex.
However, in awarding credits pursuant to this chapter, the committee
shall give preference to proposed farmworker housing that is designed
and operated for families rather than for single sex dormitories.
   (c) The expenditures upon which the amount of the farmworker
housing tax credit is based shall be eligible costs.



50199.53.  The committee shall enter into an agreement with the
owner of the farmworker housing to ensure compliance with the terms
and conditions of the program.  The agreement shall be subordinated,
when required, to a lien or encumbrance of any bank or other
institutional lender to the project.  The provisions in the agreement
shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (a) Provisions establishing the location and number of units or
sleeping areas and their rents.
   (b) The requirement of an annual report, including occupancy,
income, and maintenance information.
   (c) Provisions allowing and governing state approval of the
assignment, transfer, and assumption of the housing, to ensure that
the requirements of this program are binding on successors.
   (d) Provisions ensuring a term of use at least equal to the
compliance period.
   (e) A requirement that the agreement be recorded in the official
records of the county in which the qualified farmworker housing
project is located.
   (f) A provision stating that the agreement is enforceable by the
committee, and by the city or county in which the farmworker housing
is located, and by the tenants as third-party beneficiaries.
   (g) Provisions defining how the rents will be established and
maintained so that they are affordable to the intended population of
farmworkers.



50199.54.  (a) In the event that the owner who receives a credit
pursuant to Section 17053.14 or 23608.2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code demonstrates, to the committee's satisfaction, that there is no
further need for farmworker housing or that it is no longer
economically feasible to operate the farmworker housing, the owner
shall pay to the Franchise Tax Board a pro rata portion of the credit
previously allowed equal to the amount of any tax credit previously
allowed, multiplied by the ratio of the number of years not elapsed
in the compliance period divided by 30.
   (b) In the event that the farmworker housing is damaged or
destroyed by a casualty not caused by the owner, the compliance
period has not expired, and the owner commences reasonable action to
repair or replace the farmworker housing, the taxpayer may continue
to claim the credit as if no destruction had taken place.




50199.55.  (a) The committee shall allocate farmworker housing tax
credits on a regular basis in each calendar year during which
applications may be filed and considered. The committee shall
establish application forms and instructions, application filing
deadlines, and the approximate date on which allocations shall be
made. As a condition of submitting an application, or as a condition
of receiving an allocation or reservation of tax credits, the
committee may charge a fee to a tax credit applicant to defray the
committee's costs in administering this chapter.  In review of
applications, the committee shall require the following criteria in
order to ensure compliance with all provisions of this chapter:
   (1) The project's proposed financing, including tax credit
proceeds, shall be sufficient to complete the project.
   (2) The proposed operating budget shall be adequate to operate the
project for the compliance period.
   (3) The recipient or owner shall have sufficient expertise and the
financial capacity to ensure project completion and operation for
the compliance period.
   (4) The project shall have enforceable financing commitments,
either construction or permanent financing, for at least 50 percent
of the total estimated financing of the project.
   (5) Development fees included in subdivision (c) of Section
50199.52 shall not exceed a percentage of the total project cost,
excluding land costs, prior to the inclusion of the fees in the total
project cost, as determined by the committee. The amount of
development fees determined by the committee shall be consistent with
the amount of development fees allowed by the committee under the
low-income housing tax credit program (Chapter 3.6 (commencing with
Section 50199.4)).
   (b) Following approval, the committee shall issue a certificate to
the taxpayer that states the total amount of the allocated tax
credit to which the taxpayer is entitled for each income or taxable
year.


50199.56.  The committee may adopt regulations in accordance with
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code for the administration of this
chapter.


50199.57.  The committee shall be responsible for enforcement of the
agreement described in Section 50199.55, and shall report promptly
to the Franchise Tax Board any violations of this chapter or the
farmworker housing tax credit statutes.




50199.58.  The Legislature finds and declares both of the following:

   (a) It is too speculative to determine the income levels of the
agricultural workers residing in farmworker housing at any given
time, and many agricultural workers earn sufficient income, when they
are fully employed, to qualify as persons and families of moderate
income.
   (b) The farmworker housing assisted pursuant to this chapter is
not a low-rent housing project, as defined by Section 1 of Article
XXXIV of the California Constitution.