(a) For purposes of this section “department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development.

(b) The department shall administer the Child Care and Development Facilities Loan Guaranty Fund and the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund. The department may administer the funds directly, through interagency agreements with other state agencies, through contracts with public or private entities, or through any combination thereof. If the department determines that a public or private entity is capable of making child care and development or preschool facilities loans or loan guarantees, the department may delegate the authority to review and approve those loans or guarantees to the public or private entity. The department is authorized to enter into interagency agreements to carry out the purposes of this section and Section 10305 by utilizing the services of small business financial development corporations established pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 5 of Division 3 of the Corporations Code. Toward this end, the department is authorized to transfer funds from the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund to the California Economic Development Grant and Loan Fund established by § 15327 of the Government Code and to transfer funds from the Child Care and Development Facilities Loan Guaranty Fund to the Small Business Expansion Fund established by § 14030 of the Corporations Code. Those funds shall be deposited into a Child Care Direct Loan Fund Account and a Child Care Loan Guaranty Fund Account hereby established in the respective funds. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15310) of Part 6.7 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 5 of Division 3 of the Corporations Code, the funds in these accounts shall be administered in compliance with the requirements of this section and Section 10305.

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(c) Eligible applicants for the loan guaranty program and the direct loan program shall include, but not be limited to, sole proprietorships, partnerships, proprietary and nonprofit corporations, and local public agencies that are responsible for contracting with or providing licensed child care and development services, preschool services, or both. Eligible facilities shall include licensed full-day and part-day child care and development facilities, preschool facilities, and licensed large family child care homes as described in § 1597.465 of the Health and Safety Code, and licensed small family child care homes as described in § 1597.44 of the Health and Safety Code.

(d) Loan guarantees and direct loans for family child care homes shall not be made for the purpose of purchasing a home or any real property.

(e) The State Department of Social Services shall provide input regarding program priorities that shall be considered in the funding of applications by the department. These priorities shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Geographic priorities based on the extent of need for child care and development and preschool supply-building efforts in different parts of the state.

(A) Not less than 30 percent of the loan guarantee and direct loan obligations shall benefit providers located in rural areas, as defined in subparagraph (B). If the amount of qualified applications from rural providers is insufficient to satisfy this requirement, the excess capacity reserved for rural providers may be made available to other qualified applications according to the policies and procedures of the department. The remaining 70 percent of funds shall be available to rural or urban areas and other priorities in accordance with this subdivision.

(B) For purposes of subdivision (a), rural communities are defined by any county with fewer than 400 residents per square mile.

(2) Age priorities based on the extent of need for child care and development or preschool supply-building efforts for children of different age groups.

(3) Income priorities shall include families transitioning to work or other lower income families. For purposes of this section, “lower income” shall have the same meaning as “income eligible” as set forth in Section 10271.5.

(4) Program priorities based on the extent of facilities needs among specific kinds of providers, including those that contract to administer state and federally funded child care and development or preschool programs administered by the State Department of Social Services or the State Department of Education, providers who have lost classrooms due to class size reduction or other state or local initiatives, or providers that need to expand to meet the needs of a child care or preschool initiative for recipients of aid under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3, or any successor program.

(f) The program priorities shall reflect input from representatives of diverse sectors of the child care and development or preschool fields, financial institutions, local planning councils, the Child Development Programs Advisory Committee, and the State Department of Social Services for purposes of identifying communities with high percentages of recipients of aid under Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3, or any successor program, who need child care or preschool to meet work requirements. As part of its annual report to the Legislature, required pursuant to § 50408 of the Health and Safety Code, the department shall assess and report, after consultation with the State Department of Social Services, on the performance, effectiveness, and fiscal standing of the Child Care and Development Facilities Loan Guaranty Fund and the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund. The report shall include information on the number of defaults, the types of facilities in default, and a review of the adequacy of the set-aside for rural areas specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e).

(g) The department shall adopt regulations and establish priorities, forms, policies and procedures for implementing and managing the Child Care and Development Facilities Loan Guaranty Fund and the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund and making the loan guarantees and direct loans authorized hereunder consistent with priorities provided by the State Department of Social Services. To the extent feasible, the department shall use applicant fees and points to cover its administrative costs. The department may utilize an amount of money from the Child Care and Development Facilities Loan Guaranty Fund and the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund, as appropriate, for reasonable administrative costs in any given fiscal year. Unless an appropriation for administrative costs is made in the annual Budget Act that exceeds the following limits, administrative expenditures shall not exceed 3 percent of the amount appropriated to each fund in the Budget Act of 1997.

(h) (1) The department shall adopt regulations to efficiently and effectively implement the microenterprise loan program described in this subdivision, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Making loans available from the Child Care and Development Facilities Direct Loan Fund to local microenterprise loan funds and other lenders who may relend the funds in appropriate amounts to eligible small family child care home providers described in § 1597.44 of the Health and Safety Code, large family child care home providers described in § 1597.465 of the Health and Safety Code, licensed child care and development facilities, and preschool facilities that serve up to 35 children.

(B) Authorizing a specified amount of guarantees of small loans by local microenterprise loan funds and other lenders serving eligible small family child care home providers described in § 1597.44 of the Health and Safety Code, large family child care home providers described in § 1597.465 of the Health and Safety Code, licensed child care and development facilities, and preschool facilities that serve up to 35 children.

(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section or Section 10305, a loan made pursuant to this subdivision shall not be made for less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or for more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and shall not be subject to the 75-percent investment restriction contained in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 10305.

(i) The department may adopt regulations for the purposes of this section as emergency 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 purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act, including § 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of the regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare, notwithstanding subdivision (e) of § 11346.1 of the Government Code. Notwithstanding subdivision (e) of § 11346.1 of the Government Code, any regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall not remain in effect more than 180 days unless the department complies with all provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, as required by subdivision (e) of § 11346.1 of the Government Code.

(Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 116, Sec. 260. (AB 131) Effective July 23, 2021.)