Section 7097.

(a) The Department of Housing and Community Development shall rank applicant communities and shall designate the first ranking community whose governing body is applying as a community to be designated as a targeted tax area which meets at least four of the five following criteria:

(1) The average unemployment rate in the applicant community exceeded 7.5 percent in 1995.

(2) The average unemployment rate in the applicant community exceeded 7.5 percent in 1996.

(3) The median family income in the applicant community does not exceed thirty-two thousand seven hundred dollars ($32,700).

(4) The percentage of persons in the applicant community below the poverty level is at least 17.5 percent.

(5) The applicant community ranks in the top quartile, among California counties, in the percentage of population receiving Aid for Families with Dependent Children benefits, based on the Cash Grant Caseload Movement and Expenditures Report, July 1995 to June 1996.

(b) For purposes of applying any provision of the Revenue and Taxation Code, any targeted tax area designated pursuant to this section shall not be considered an enterprise zone designated pursuant to Chapter 12.8 (commencing with Section 7070).

(c) Except as provided in subdivision (e), the designation as a targeted tax area pursuant to this section shall be binding for a period of 15 years, commencing January 1, 1998.

(d) Only one targeted tax area shall be designated by the department, and a renewed or replacement designation shall not be made after the initial designation expires or is revoked.

(e) An audit of the program's operation shall be made by the department pursuant to Section 7076.1, on a periodic basis with the cooperation of the local governing board. If the department determines that the local jurisdiction is not complying with the terms of the memorandum of understanding, the department shall provide written notice of the program deficiencies and the governing body shall be given six months to correct the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not corrected, the designation shall be revoked.

(f) A county and any cities within the county may apply jointly as a community if the combination of the jurisdictions meets the criteria.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 718, Sec. 10. Effective September 29, 2006. Repealed as of January 1, 2014, pursuant to Section 7099.5.)