Disaster recovery project areas: enforceable obligations.

The Community Redevelopment Law authorizes the establishment of redevelopment agencies in communities to address the effects of blight, as defined. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies and community development agencies, as of February 1, 2012, and provides for the designation of successor agencies. Existing law imposes various requirements on successor agencies and subjects successor agency actions to the review of oversight boards. Existing law requires each oversight board to direct the successor agency to, among other things, cease performance in connection with and terminate all existing agreements that do not qualify as enforceable obligations, as defined. This bill would provide that a loan provided by a city, county, or city and county to a redevelopment agency that was entered into prior to January 1, 2011, for the purposes of funding the installation and construction of roadways, public improvements, and public utilities in a disaster recovery project area, and for the provision of residential water system or other utility connection subsidies to low- and moderate-income residents of that project area is an enforceable obligation and may be repaid, as specified. The bill would authorize a city, county, city and county, or housing authority acting in its capacity as the successor to a former redevelopment agency to retain and use those loan proceeds pursuant to the loan agreement and would require the return of any funds previously deposited into the Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund of the former redevelopment agency to the entity that assumed the housing functions of the former redevelopment agency. The bill would also prohibit the Department of Finance, the State Board of Equalization, the State Controller, and a county auditor-controller from imposing any statutory remedies upon a city, county, city and county, or a successor agency and would require the reversal, within 30 days of the effective date of this bill, of any statutory remedy previously imposed. The bill would also make conforming changes.