Cal. Health and Safety Code § 50105

(a) “Very low income households” means persons and families whose incomes do not exceed the qualifying limits for very low income families as established and amended from time to time pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. These qualifying limits shall be published by the department in the California Code of Regulations as soon as possible after adoption by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In the event the federal standards are discontinued, the department shall, by regulation, establish income limits for very low income households for all geographic areas of the state at 50 percent of area median income, adjusted for family size and revised annually. (b) “Very low income households” includes extremely low income households, as defined in Section 50106. The addition of this subdivision does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law. (c) As used in this section, “area median income” means the median family income of a geographic area of the state.