For the purpose of providing disaster relief to those owners of owner-occupied single-family dwellings that were damaged or destroyed as a result of the Los Angeles-Whittier Narrows Earthquake on October 1, 1987, or subsequent aftershocks, resulting in a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor pursuant to § 8625 of the Government Code, financial assistance may be provided to disaster victims as prescribed in this chapter under the following special conditions, which shall prevail over conflicting provisions of this chapter and administrative regulations:

(a)  The loans shall be provided in the counties proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of disaster (1) to persons who do not qualify for loan assistance from an agency of the United States for rehabilitation of the damage caused by the earthquakes of October 1987, (2) to the extent that federally provided or assisted financing may be insufficient to accomplish the necessary rehabilitation, and (3) to the extent required to enable the recipient to obtain and afford loan assistance from an agency of the United States to finance the necessary rehabilitation. The loans shall be made only to households that are victims of the earthquakes specified in this section and only to the extent that other federal, state, local, or private resources are not available or do not provide the assistance or coverage needed to rehabilitate or reconstruct their homes.

(b)  The loans shall be for the purpose of rehabilitating, including reconstruction, of single-family dwellings that are owner-occupied or would be owner-occupied but for the damage caused by the earthquake or earthquakes.

(c)  The maximum loan amount shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), except that the department may waive this limitation in individual cases to permit compliance with health and safety standards or to restore the dwelling to a condition substantially similar to its condition prior to the earthquakes.

(d)  The loan, together with any existing indebtedness encumbering the security property, shall not exceed 100 percent of the after-rehabilitation value of the property, except that the department may waive this limitation in individual cases to permit compliance with health and safety standards or to restore the dwelling to a condition substantially similar to its condition prior to the earthquakes.

(e)  The department shall impose no income criteria or other means test as a prerequisite to obtaining a loan under this section.

(f)  Repayment of the principal amount of a loan under this section and interest thereon shall not be required until the borrower transfers ownership of the rehabilitated property. Payments of principal and interest on the loans shall, notwithstanding Section 50661, be deposited in the General Fund.

(g)  The adoption by the department of rules for implementation of this chapter shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(h)  No commitments of loan funds under this section may be made after December 31, 1990.

(i)  Section 50668 does not apply to loans made pursuant to this section.

(Added by Stats. 1987, 1st Ex. Sess., Ch. 2, Sec. 2. Effective November 16, 1987.)