Public sector and hospital employer-sponsored housing policy.

(1) The Legislature finds that it is in the best interests of the state and the state’s economy to provide affordable housing to state residents employed by hospitals, health care facilities, and governmental entities in order to attract and maintain the highest quality labor by incentivizing such employers to sponsor affordable housing opportunities. Section 42(g)(9)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that a qualified low-income housing project does not fail to meet the general public use requirement solely because of occupancy restrictions or preferences that favor tenants who are members of a specified group under a state program or policy that supports housing for such specified group. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to establish a policy that supports the development of affordable workforce housing for employees of hospitals, health care facilities, and governmental entities.

(2) For purposes of this section, the term:

(a) “Governmental entity” means any state, regional, county, local, or municipal governmental entity of this state, whether executive, judicial, or legislative; any department, division, bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision of the state; any public school, state university, or Florida College System institution; or any special district as defined in s. 189.012.

(b) “Health care facility” has the same meaning as provided in s. 159.27(16).

(c) “Hospital” means a hospital under chapter 155, a hospital district created pursuant to chapter 189, or a hospital licensed pursuant to chapter 395, including corporations not for profit that are qualified as charitable under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and for-profit entities.

(3) It is the policy of the state to support housing for employees of hospitals, health care facilities, and governmental entities and to allow developers in receipt of federal low-income housing tax credits allocated pursuant to s. 420.5099, local or state funds, or other sources of funding available to finance the development of affordable housing to create a preference for housing for such employees. Such preference must conform to the requirements of s. 42(g)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code.