(a) The Director of e-Government in the office of the Governor shall direct the development of, and shall make operational by July 1, 2003, an interactive Internet-based information site and inventory of all publicly assisted or publicly financed multiunit low-income rental housing in the state, where data are available. This site and inventory shall be referred to as the California Affordable Housing Connection. It is the intent of the Legislature that a technology center within a California institution of higher education develop a site and that state agencies allow access to relevant digital data for the development of the site. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Internet site be a resource to individuals and agencies interested in locating affordable housing for low-income persons and families.

(b) The interactive site shall contain specified information on publicly assisted or financed housing, including, but not limited to, housing assisted through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service, the California Housing Finance Agency, the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, and local housing and redevelopment agencies as data are available. The site shall be designed with the capacity to be updated by state and local housing entities as new data are available. It is the intent of the Legislature that those entities, to the extent feasible, enter new data as often as it becomes available.

(c) (1) The inventory information shall include, but not be limited to, (A) the name, address, number of units, and contact information of housing properties, and (B) subsidy program information, including program description, eligibility requirements, estimated rent levels, and application information.

(2) The information shall be organized to facilitate consumer inquiries based on geographic location and other individual or household factors. Consumer data gathered through the Internet interaction or interview process shall include, but not be limited to, the number of persons in the household, household income, heads of household and household members 62 years of age or older or with a disability, number of dependents and child care payments, family caretaking and medical expenses, the size of a desired apartment, such as efficiency or one or two bedrooms, and the city or ZIP Code for desired housing, including the opportunity to specify both urban and rural geographic preferences.

(d) The interactive site shall have the capacity to list housing options according to the degree that known program attributes match the consumer characteristics submitted to the site.

(e) To the extent that data are available, the site shall provide information on the accessibility of the housing included in the inventory. The site shall also utilize technology that facilitates access to the site for persons with disabilities.

(f) Information on the site shall be made available in English and Spanish.

(g) The site shall have disclaimers that include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) That the listing of housing programs or properties is a factual representation, and not an approval of the quality or physical characteristics of specific housing properties.

(2) That there is the potential of waiting lists for the properties and programs listed and that consumers or agencies should contact housing providers directly to inquire about availability of units.

(3) That all consumer information entered into the California Affordable Housing Connection by users shall remain confidential and shall not be used for any other purpose.

(h) The Director of e-Government shall also designate or request the technology center within a California institution of higher education chosen to develop the site to maintain and update the information contained in the inventory at least on a biannual basis, as new data become available, such as when affordable housing properties are added to California’s housing stock or previous properties no longer participate in affordable housing programs. It is the intent of the Legislature that the relevant state departments cooperate with the California institution of higher education by providing existing housing data pertinent to the Internet site.

(i) After data is compiled pursuant to this section for purposes of creating and maintaining an inventory, this data shall be available to the state at no cost.

(j) Two years following commencement of the development of the site pursuant to this section, the Director of e-Government shall provide a report to the Legislature detailing the participation of agencies in the California Affordable Housing Connection and a summary of the development of the site.

(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 577, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)