34200-34219

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 34200-34219




34200.  This chapter may be cited as the Housing Authorities Law.



34201.  It is hereby declared:
   (a) That there exist in the State insanitary or unsafe dwelling
accommodations and that persons of low income are forced to reside in
such accommodations; that within the State there is a shortage of
safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations available at rents which
persons of low income can afford and that such persons are forced to
occupy overcrowded and congested dwelling accommodations; that these
conditions cause an increase in and spread of disease and crime and
constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, and welfare of the
residents of the State and impair economic values; that these
conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of
public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health and
safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and
facilities.
   (b) That these slum areas cannot be cleared, nor can the shortage
of safe and sanitary dwellings for persons of low income be relieved,
through the operation of private enterprise, and that the
construction of housing projects for persons of low income would
therefore not be competitive with private enterprise.
   (c) That the clearance, replanning, and reconstruction of the
areas in which insanitary or unsafe housing conditions exist and the
providing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of
low income are public uses and purposes for which public money may
be spent and private property acquired and are governmental functions
of state concern; that it is in the public interest that work on
such projects be commenced as soon as possible in order to relieve
unemployment which now constitutes an emergency; and the necessity in
the public interest for the provisions of this chapter is declared
as a matter of legislative determination.



34202.  Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions
contained in this article govern the construction of this chapter.



34203.  "Authority" means a public corporation created pursuant to
this chapter.



34204.  "City" means any city or city and county. "County" means any
county.


34205.  "Governing body" means the city council in the case of a
city or the board of supervisors in the case of a county.



34206.  "Mayor" means the mayor of the city or the officer charged
with the duties customarily imposed on the executive head of the
city.


34207.  "Clerk" means the clerk of the city or of the county.



34208.  "Area of operation," in the case of a city authority,
includes the city and the area within five miles of its territorial
boundaries. It does not include any area which lies within the
territorial boundaries of another city unless the governing body of
such other city has consented by resolution. It does not include any
area which lies within the unincorporated area of any county for
which an authority has been authorized to transact business. If a
county authority becomes empowered to transact business and exercise
its powers, a city authority empowered to transact business and
exercise its powers in any of the unincorporated area of the county
shall not initiate any further project within such unincorporated
territory.



34209.  "Area of operation," in the case of a county authority
includes all of the county except the area within the territorial
boundaries of any city for which an authority has been authorized to
transact business. Except as authorized by Section 34312.5, a county
authority shall not operate in any city located in the county and in
which an authority has not been authorized to transact business
unless the consent of the city governing body has been obtained. If
an authority of a city within a county becomes empowered to transact
business and exercise its powers, a county authority empowered to
transact business and exercise its powers has no power to initiate
any further project or leased housing within the territorial
boundaries of the city, except as provided in Section 34312.5.



34210.  "Federal Government" means the United States, the Federal
Emergency Administration of Public Works, or any other agency or
instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States.



34211.  "Slum" means any area where dwellings predominate which, by
reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement, or design,
lack of ventilation, light, or sanitary facilities, or any
combination of these factors, are detrimental to safety, health, and
morals.



34212.  "Housing project" means any work or undertaking to be
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, by providing financing through the
issuance of its debt obligations, or otherwise, for any one or a
combination of the following purposes:
   (a) To demolish, clear, or remove buildings from any slum area.
Such work or undertaking may embrace the adaptation of the area to
public purposes, including parks or other recreational or community
purposes.
   (b) To provide decent, safe, and sanitary urban or rural
dwellings, apartments, or other living accommodations for persons of
low income and persons and households eligible for housing assistance
pursuant to Section 34312.3. Such work or undertaking may include
buildings, land, equipment, facilities, and other real or personal
property for necessary, convenient, or desirable appurtenances,
streets, sewers, water service, parks, site preparation, gardening,
administrative, community, health, recreational, educational,
welfare, or other purposes.
   "Housing projects" also includes the planning of the buildings and
improvements, the acquisition of property, the demolition of
existing structures, the construction, reconstruction, alteration,
and repair of the improvements, and all other work in connection
therewith.
   For the purposes of this section, "state public body" means the
state, any city, county, city and county, borough, commission,
district, authority, or other subdivision or public body of the
state, including any housing authority.



34213.  "Persons of low income" means persons or families whose
income does not exceed that permitted by Section 50079.5, or persons
or families eligible as lower-income households for assistance
provided by state or federal housing programs intended primarily to
assist lower-income households, as defined by Section 50079.5.




34213.1.  "Construction loan" means a short-term loan secured by
real property, made for costs incurred in construction or
rehabilitation of a housing project.



34213.5.  "Tenant" means a person lawfully residing in rental
housing provided by or through an authority, including persons
residing in leased housing.
   A person residing in leased housing is not a tenant of any
authority other than the authority contracting with the owner, or the
owner if the owner is an authority.



34213.6.  "Mortgage loan" means a long-term loan which is secured by
a mortgage and is made for permanent financing, including
refinancing of existing mortgage obligations as authorized by a
resolution of the authority of a housing project.




34214.  "Bonds" means any bonds, notes, interim certificates,
debentures, or other obligations issued by the authority pursuant to
this chapter.


34215.  "Real property" includes all land, including improvements
and fixtures on it, and property of any nature appurtenant to it, or
used in connection with it, and every estate, interest, and right in
it, including terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage,
or otherwise, and the indebtedness secured by such liens.




34216.  "Obligee" includes any bondholder, trustee for any
bondholders, or lessor demising to the authority property used in
connection with a housing project, or any assignee of all or part of
such lessor's interest, and the Federal Government when it is a party
to any contract with the authority.



34217.  A housing authority created pursuant to this part may,
without the need to provide written documentation that consent has
been obtained from a client, provide information to a county welfare
department in order to aid that department in the administration of
public social services programs provided for pursuant to Division 9
(commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
This section may be implemented either through an automated data
exchange system or through a manual system. Any housing authority
maintaining and providing information pursuant to this section shall
comply with confidentiality and privacy laws concerning the
collection, maintenance, and dissemination of information, as
contained in Section 10850 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and
the federal Privacy Act of 1974 contained in Section 552a of Title 5
of the United States Code. The authority shall provide a written form
to each person about whom information is to be provided to a county
welfare department pursuant to this section. The form shall notify
the person that the information exchanges may occur. A copy of the
form may be retained by the person and the authority. The form shall
specify the purpose for which the information has been solicited, the
entities to which the information may be provided, the uses that may
be made of the information, as set forth in Section 552a(e)(3) of
Title 5 of the United States Code, and the right of the client to
request review of the information that has been provided to the
county welfare department. The authority may provide only information
that is necessary to determine eligibility for county welfare
department programs or services for which the client has applied or
which he or she is receiving. The authority shall allow the client to
review the information it has provided to a county welfare
department, upon request of the client. This section is not intended
to eliminate any other legal obligation of the authority to obtain
consent from a client before releasing information to another entity.



34218.  Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 3247) of Title 15 of Part
4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code applies to any housing project
constructed under this chapter. Notwithstanding the provisions of
this section, a housing authority may require a 20 percent cash
escrow or a 25 percent irrevocable letter of credit or the payment
bond required by this section if the contract is for work undertaken
pursuant to the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program
established by Section 14 of the United States Housing Act of 1937,
as amended (42 U.S.C.A. Secs. 1437d and 1437l), or the Public Housing
Modernization Act established by Section 5(c)(3)(C) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C.A. Secs. 1437d and
1437 l).



34218.  Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 9550) of Title 3 of Part
6 of Division 4 of the Civil Code applies to any housing project
constructed under this chapter. Notwithstanding the provisions of
this section, a housing authority may require a 20 percent cash
escrow or a 25 percent irrevocable letter of credit or the payment
bond required by this section if the contract is for work undertaken
pursuant to the Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program
established by Section 14 of the United States Housing Act of 1937,
as amended (42 U.S.C.A. Secs. 1437d and 1437l), or the Public Housing
Modernization Act established by Section 5(c)(3)(C) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C.A. Secs. 1437d and
1437l).



34219.  "Leased housing" includes, but is not limited to, low-rent
housing in private accommodations for which the federal government or
a state public body extends assistance by (1) leasing from the owner
at a higher rent than is charged to the tenant or (2) contracting
with the owner to make monthly payments in addition to rent paid by
the tenant.