As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Area median income” (AMI) means either of the following:

(1) The median family income for the metropolitan statistical area (MSA), if a person or geography is located in an MSA, or for the metropolitan division, if a person or geography is located in an MSA that has been subdivided into metropolitan divisions.

(2) The statewide nonmetropolitan median family income, if a person or geography is located outside an MSA.

(b) “Community development investment” means an investment where all or a portion of the investment has as its primary purpose community development for, or that directly benefits, California underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, or communities. “Community development investment” includes, but is not limited to, investments in California in the following:

(1) Affordable housing, including multifamily rental and ownership housing, for underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals or families.

(2) Community facilities or community services providers (including providers of education, health, or social services) directly benefiting underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, or communities.

(3) Economic development that demonstrates benefits, including, but not limited to, job creation, retention, or improvement, or provision of needed capital, to underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, or communities, including urban or rural communities, or businesses or nonprofit community service organizations that serve these communities.

(4) Activities that revitalize or stabilize underserved or low-to-moderate-income communities.

(5) Investments in or through California Organized Investment Network (COIN)-certified community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and investments made pursuant to the requirements of federal, state, or local community development investment programs or community development investment tax incentive programs, if these investments directly benefit underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, and communities and are consistent with this article.

(6) Community development infrastructure investments.

(7) Investments in a commercial property or properties located in underserved or low-to-moderate-income geographical areas and are consistent with this article.

(8) Investments in reservation-based communities. “Reservation-based” means an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the jurisdiction of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, provided that the tribe is named on the most current list of “Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services From the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” or successor document, as published in the Federal Register by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

(9) Investments in rural areas. “Rural area” means any open country or any place, town, village, or city that, by itself and taken together with any other places, towns, villages, or cities that it is part of or associated with, has either a population not exceeding 10,000 persons or has a population not exceeding 50,000 persons and is contained within a nonmetropolitan area. “Rural area” also means any open country, place, town, village, or city located within a standard MSA if the population of that area does not exceed 50,000 persons, the area is not part of, or associated with, an urban area, and the area is rural in character.

(c) “Community development infrastructure” means California debt, including all debt issued by the State of California or a California state or local government agency, if all or a portion of the debt has as its primary purpose community development for, or that directly benefits, underserved or low-to-moderate-income communities and is consistent with subdivision (b).

(d) “Geography” means a census tract delineated by the United States Bureau of the Census in the most recent decennial census.

(e) “Green investments” means investments that emphasize renewable energy projects, economic development, and affordable housing focused on infill sites so as to reduce the degree of automobile dependency and promote the use and reuse of existing urbanized lands supplied with infrastructure for the purpose of accommodating new growth and jobs. “Green investments” also means investments that can help communities grow through new capital investment in the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure so that the reuse and reinvention of city centers and existing transportation corridors and community space, including projects offering energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy generation, including, but not limited to, solar and wind power, water and waste management, sustainable agriculture, mixed-use development, affordable housing opportunities, multimodal transportation systems, and transit-oriented development, can advance economic development, jobs, and housing.

(f) “Impact investments” means investments that provide a social or environmental benefit to underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, or communities in California.

(g) “High-impact investments” means investments that are innovative, responsive to community needs, not routinely provided by insurers, and provide a minimum of 50 percent social or environmental benefits to underserved or low-to-moderate-income individuals, families, or communities in California.

(h) “Insurer” means an admitted insurer as defined in Section 24, including the State Compensation Insurance Fund, or a domestic fraternal benefit society as defined in Section 10990.

(i) “Investment” means a lawful equity or debt investment, or loan, or deposit obligation, or other investment or investment transaction allowed by the Insurance Code.

(j) “Low-income” means an individual income that is less than 50 percent of the AMI, or a median family income that is less than 50 percent of the AMI in the case of a geographical area.

(k) “MSA” means a metropolitan statistical area as defined by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(l) “Moderate-income” means an individual income that is at least 50 percent but less than 80 percent of the AMI, or a median family income that is at least 50 percent but less than 80 percent of the AMI in the case of a geographical area.

(m) “Nonmetropolitan area” means any area that is not located in an MSA.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 186, Sec. 2. (AB 1099) Effective January 1, 2020.)