Meet three BCAs that play big roles in California affordable housing

April 2019

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC), California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC), and California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA)

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) assists persons seeking housing, developers building housing, and the owners and managers of existing tax credit projects that benefit low-income housing residents.

CTCAC is based in Sacramento within the State Treasurer’s Office. It administers the federal and state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Programs. The tax credit programs were created by the Legislature to stimulate private investment in affordable rental housing for low-income Californians.

Credits are available to developers who assure the creation of a certain number of affordable housing units in new construction projects, or at existing properties undergoing rehabilitation.

How it works: The committee allocates tax credits to developers who sell them to investors and this provides a project with equity, spurring the construction of affordable housing.

Developers can apply for 9-percent federal tax credits twice per calendar year, and for 4-percent federal tax credits throughout the year. There are also state tax credits available. Applications for noncompetitive, 4-percent tax credits are reviewed within 60 days. A staff recommendation follows each review and is made to a committee that is chaired by Treasurer Fiona Ma. The committee votes whether to approve the project. Similarly, 9-percent credits are reviewed within 90 days through a competitive process and successful applications are recommended by staff to the committee for approval.

In 2018, TCAC awarded $109.9 million in competitive 9-percent federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits to 70 proposed housing projects and – this is the important part – induced $1.1 billion in private equity investment into the projects, which developed 4,143 affordable housing units.

There were another 135 projects financed with tax-exempt bond proceeds and reserved 4-percent tax credits in 2018. Bond authority used to finance the projects was issued by another program that benefits affordable housing and is overseen by Treasurer Ma, The California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC).

CDLAC was created to set California’s annual debt ceiling and administratively allocate the state’s tax-exempt bond authority to issue debt. CDLAC’s programs are used primarily to finance affordable housing developments for low-income Californians.

How it works: CDLAC operates by allocating private activity bonds for Multifamily Qualified Residential Rental Projects (QRRP) and bond allocation for Single Family Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCC) and Mortgage Revenue Bonds (MRB). In 2018 133 QRRP projects and 8 Single Family projects were awarded allocation totaling $4.3 billion. It is estimated the 141 projects will produce approximately 15,352 multifamily units and 1,322 single-family units when construction on the projects ends.

The California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA) operates the California Recycle Underutilized Sites (CALReUSE) Assessment and Remediation Programs, which assist with the creation of housing in California. CPCFA’s assessment and remediation programs are critical steps in unlocking the potential of vacant and underutilized Brownfield properties for housing and local economic development initiatives.

How it works: The program has turned railyards, auto repair facilities and contaminated properties into community assets by providing forgivable loans and grants to transform Brownfields and add affordable housing.

CALReUSE has created 7,540 new housing units, of which 80 percent are affordable. The projects are located in 12 counties and strewn across the state from Humboldt in the north, through Santa Clara in the central region, to San Diego in the south.

Fifty-one percent of CALReUSE funded projects are located in disadvantaged communities and 75 percent are located in low-income communities. There are an estimated 90,000 Brownfield sites statewide and more than half are located in low-income communities.

For more information on the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) go to: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdlac/index.asp

For more information on the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) go to: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/index.asp

For more information on the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA) CALReUSE Program go to: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cpcfa/calreuse.asp

Note: Each month we will be sharing information on one of our BCAs and explain how the programs behind the acronym are enhancing the lives of Californians all across the state -- and how you, your family, or your business can share in, and contribute to, California's prosperity