BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2064
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Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2064 (John A. Perez and Bass) - As Amended: May 6, 2010
Policy Committee: Housing and
Community Development Vote: 8 - 1
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) to release a Notice of Funding Availability
(NOFA) for the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Department of Finance (DOF) to determine how much
General Fund money is available in the Emergency Housing
Shelter Operations Grant Account within the Emergency Housing
and Assistance Fund.
2)Requires HCD to issue a NOFA for EHAP no later than 30 days
after this bill is enacted indicating the amount available for
the NOFA, as determined by DOF.
FISCAL EFFECT
The governor's proposed 2010 - 2011 budget sweeps $4.2 million
in unspent General Fund from the Emergency Housing Shelter
Operations Grant Account. This bill would require that those
funds be restored and distributed as EHAP grants.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . AB 2064 requires the Department of Housing and
Community Development (HCD), no later than 30 days from
enactment of this measure, to issue a Notice of Funding
Availability for the balance of funds currently available in
the Emergency Housing Assistance Program Shelter Operations
Grant Account.
AB 2064
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Specifically, this bill reaffirms the Legislature's past
direction to HCD to make available the funds previously
appropriated for HCD's statewide shelter operations grants
program. The author argues that "?for the past two years,
over $4 million has stagnated in [EHAF] instead of being made
available to shelters across the state to help Californians in
need."
2)Background . EHAP-Operations Grants (OG) is the only
state-funded program that supports the operational costs of
emergency shelters and transitional housing. Historically,
the program has been funded from the GF at a level of $4
million per year, providing approximately 10% of the overall
funding for local homeless shelters. However, the Legislature
and governor last appropriated funds to EHAP-OG in the
2007-2008 fiscal year. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this
funding from the 2008-2009 budget, and did not include money
for the program in his 2009-2010 proposed budget. The
Assembly added $4 million for the program for 2009-2010, but
it was removed in conference committee.
With the veto of funding in the FY 08-09 budget and no funding
in the FY 09-10 budget, the Legislature's understanding was
that there was no money available for EHAP. However, the
governor's budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year includes a
sweep of $4.2 million from EHAF to the General Fund. This
money was apparently in the fund even as the EHAP-OG program
effectively was being eliminated, but the Legislature was not
made aware of its existence.
3)Emergency Housing and Assistance Program . The Emergency
Housing and Assistance Program (EHAP), administered by HCD,
funds emergency shelters, transitional housing, safe havens,
rental assistance programs, and cold wet weather providers.
The funds are used to assist housing programs with operational
costs and provides for the expansion of bed capacity and/or
supportive services offered to homeless clients. Within the
EHAP program are two different funding programs: EHAP-CD which
funds construction to increase capacity and EHAP Operations
Grants which provide funding for emergency shelters,
transitional housing projects, and supportive services for
homeless individuals and families.
4)Related Legislation . In 2009, AB 702 (Salas) as heard in this
committee appropriated $4 million from the General Fund to the
AB 2064
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Emergency Housing and Assistance Fund, for operating
facilities and capital development grants. That bill was
amended to require that a certain percentage of the EHAP
funding be targeted toward serving homeless veterans. That
bill is awaiting hearing in the Senate Transportation and
Housing Committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081