Affordable Housing Catalyst Program.

(1) The corporation shall operate the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program for the purpose of securing the expertise necessary to provide specialized technical support to local governments and community-based organizations to implement the HOME Investment Partnership Program, State Apartment Incentive Loan Program, State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program, and other affordable housing programs. To the maximum extent feasible, the entity to provide the necessary expertise must be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization. It must have as its primary mission the provision of affordable housing training and technical assistance, an ability to provide training and technical assistance statewide, and a proven track record of successfully providing training and technical assistance under the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program. The technical support shall, at a minimum, include training relating to the following key elements of the partnership programs:

(a) Formation of local and regional housing partnerships as a means of bringing together resources to provide affordable housing.

(b) Implementation of regulatory reforms to reduce the risk and cost of developing affordable housing.

(c) Implementation of affordable housing programs included in local government comprehensive plans.

(d) Compliance with requirements of federally funded housing programs.

(2) In consultation with the corporation, the entity providing statewide training and technical assistance shall convene and administer biannual regional workshops for the locally elected officials serving on affordable housing advisory committees as provided in s. 420.9076. The regional workshops may be conducted through teleconferencing or other technological means and must include processes and programming that facilitate peer-to-peer identification and sharing of best affordable housing practices among the locally elected officials. Annually, calendar year reports summarizing the deliberations, actions, and recommendations of each region, as well as the attendance records of locally elected officials, must be compiled by the entity providing statewide training and technical assistance for the Affordable Housing Catalyst Program and must be submitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the corporation by March 31 of the following year.

(3) The corporation may contract with the entity providing statewide training and technical assistance to provide technical assistance to local governments to establish selection criteria and related provisions for requests for proposals or other competitive solicitations for use or lease of government-owned real property for affordable housing purposes. The entity providing statewide training and technical assistance may develop best practices or other key elements for successful use of public property for affordable housing, in conjunction with technical support provided under subsection (1).