Local government assistance: Regional Early Action Planning Fund.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about the activities allowed under 'housing-related planning tasks'.

Regional Early Action Planning Fund for Housing

This law establishes a fund to provide one-time grants to councils of governments, regional entities, and jurisdictions to help them meet housing needs in their regions.

What This Bill Does

• Establishes the Regional Early Action Planning Fund in the State Treasury to provide funding for planning activities related to housing needs assessments.
• Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to allocate funds from this new fund to eligible councils or regional entities upon appropriation by the Legislature.
• Authorizes these groups to use the funds for activities that support the development, improvement, or implementation of methodologies for assessing regional housing needs.
• Allows them to provide technical assistance, planning, temporary staffing, and consultant needs associated with updating local planning and zoning documents.
• Requires jurisdictions receiving suballocations to only spend it on housing-related planning tasks.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local governments and councils of governments in California
• Regional entities involved in housing planning

Terms To Know

Councils of Governments

Groups that represent multiple local government areas to work together on regional issues.

Housing Element

A part of a city or county's general plan that focuses on housing needs and goals.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much money will be in the fund.
• It is unclear what specific activities are allowed under 'housing-related planning tasks'.
• The effectiveness of the fund depends on future legislative appropriations.

Official Summary Text

AB 2002, as introduced, Solache.
Local government assistance: Regional Early Action Planning Fund.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development, 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. Existing law establishes the Local Government Planning Support Grants Program, administered by the department, for the
purpose of providing regions and jurisdictions with one-time funding, including grants for planning activities to enable jurisdictions to meet the sixth cycle of the regional housing need assessment, as provided.
This bill would establish the Regional Early Action Planning Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of providing councils of governments, regional entities, and jurisdictions with one-time funding, including grants for planning activities, to enable those entities to meet the 7th and subsequent cycles of the regional housing need assessment. The bill would require the department to allocate funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Regional Early Action Planning Fund to each council of governments or regional entity responsible for allocating regional housing need that applies and qualifies for those moneys, as specified. The bill would authorize a council of governments or regional entity to expend funds awarded for certain purposes,
including for activities that support the development, improvement, or implementation of the methodology for the 7th and subsequent regional housing needs assessment cycles, and for providing jurisdictions with technical assistance, planning, temporary staffing, or consultant needs associated with updating local planning and zoning documents, as provided. The bill would require a jurisdiction that receives a suballocation of funds to only use that suballocation for housing-related planning activities, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to monitor expenditures and activities of an applicant, as the department deems necessary, to ensure compliance with program requirements.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies.
This bill would require the department to issue guidelines to
implement the above-described provisions and would exempt those guidelines from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF