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California Congress House of REP.

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OFFERED
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January 28, 2015
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Senate Bill No. 5850
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8Principal Author: Robert Wilson
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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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Affordable Housing Act of 2015
13PURPOSE SECTION
14 FOR the purpose of creating a process by which the State of California may
15reduce the amount of people living in public areas, and providing a safe and
16comfortable home for low-income persons to live in.
17PREAMBLE
18WHEREAS, the population of homeless children is up 3% since 2005; and,
19WHEREAS, the United States needs 7,000,000 more affordable housing for low income
20persons; and,
21WHEREAS, the lack of affordable housing is a primary cause for homelessness; and,
22WHEREAS, there are at least 600,000 homeless persons in the United States on any
23given night; and,
24WHEREAS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development loses approx. 10,000
25affordable housing units every year; and,
26WHEREAS, one in five homeless persons suffer from untreated severe mental illness;
27and,
28WHEREAS, 24% of cities make it illegal to beg in public; and,
29WHEREAS, 18% of cities make it illegal to sleep anywhere in public; and,
30THEREFORE BE IT ENACTED BY THE CONGRESS of the STATE OF
31CALIFORNIA that the California Department of Housing and Community will be
32required to oversee the official count of homeless people in the state of California
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34Section 1 - ENACTMENT CLAUSE
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36All cities in the State of California shall provide three affordable housing units for
37every ten previously counted homeless people. Occupants of affordable housing units
38must pay no more than thirty percent of a households monthly income.
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40Affordable housing units shall be built or converted from original units on the expense of
41the city and/or by raising taxes by a maximum of 1%.
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43Owners of apartments containing affordable housing units shall be required to request to
44confirm the monthly income of the resident(s) living in the affordable units on the
45first of every month, the date a new resident moves in, or after a residents job change.
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47A person can be considered homeless if they do not own a house, are begging in public,
48and/or who sleep in public places, or a car.
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50All affordable housing units must meet all building codes required in California, and
51meet the California sanitation standards.
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53Section 2 ENFORCEMENT
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55The California Department of Housing and Community shall conduct, and make public
56the results, a count to find the official homeless population in the city to determine how
57many affordable housing units are required to be built, or original units to be converted.
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59The California Department of Housing and Community shall inspect the monthly income
60of each resident living in an affordable housing unit on April 15, and shall check to see
61that the city has complied with this bill by creating the required amount of units.
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63Failure to comply with this bill by a will be punishable by a fine of 250 dollars per unit
64that has not been built or converted from an original.
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66Section 3 - CLOSING SECTION
67The requirements and processes stated within this bill will take effect 78 days after
68passage.
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70SECTION 4. All laws in conflict with this legislation are hereby declared null and void.
71Introduced by.
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75Robert Wilson