(a) The Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Program and the Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods (BEGIN) Fund are hereby created.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, moneys in the BEGIN Fund shall be made available upon appropriation by the Legislature to the department and administered by the department pursuant to the CalHome Program (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 50650), to make grants to qualifying cities, counties, or cities and counties that provide incentives or reduce or remove regulatory barriers as set forth in this chapter. These grants shall, except as otherwise provided by this chapter, be used for downpayment assistance to qualifying first-time home buyers of low- and moderate-incomes purchasing newly constructed homes in a BEGIN project.
(c) Any loan repayments shall be retained by the qualifying city, county, or city and county and reused for first-time home buyer downpayment assistance, home rehabilitation, home buyer counseling, home acquisition and rehabilitation, or self-help mortgage assistance for persons and families of low- or moderate-income, as defined in Section 50093.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 724, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003. Note: Condition in Sec. 3 of Ch. 724 was satisfied Nov. 5, 2002, by adoption of Prop. 46.)