BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 812|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 812
          Author:   Ashburn (R)
          Amended:  1/13/10
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE  :  10-0, 4/28/09
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,  
            Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Oropeza

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  9-0, 1/21/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Liu, Price,  
            Walters, Yee


           SUBJECT  :    Housing elements and the housing needs of  
          persons with                                           
                        developmental disabilities

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires cities and counties when  
          developing their housing elements, obtain, assess, and  
          analyze appropriate information on the housing needs of  
          individual with developmental disabilities.

           ANALYSIS  :    The Planning and Zoning Law requires cities  
          and counties to prepare and adopt a general plan, including  
          a housing element, to guide the future growth of a  
          community.  Following a staggered statutory schedule,  
          cities and counties located within the territory of a  
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          metropolitan planning organization (MPO) must revise their  
          housing elements every eight years, and cities and counties  
          in rural non-MPO regions must revise their housing elements  
          every five years.  Before each revision, each community is  
          assigned its fair share of housing for each income category  
          through the regional housing needs assessment (RHNA)  
          process.  A housing element must identify and analyze  
          existing and projected housing needs, including special  
          housing needs of the elderly, persons with disabilities,  
          large families, farmworkers families with female heads of  
          households, and households in need of emergency shelter.  A  
          housing element must also identify adequate sites with  
          appropriate zoning to meet its share of the RHNA and ensure  
          that regulatory systems provide opportunities for, and do  
          not unduly constrain, housing development.  Where the  
          inventory of existing sites is inadequate to meet the RHNA  
          or where regulatory systems do constrain housing  
          development, the housing element must contain a program of  
          actions to address these deficiencies.  HCD reviews both  
          draft and adopted housing elements to determine whether or  
          not they are in substantial compliance with the law.  

          Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) represent a range of  
          complex developmental disabilities that cause problems with  
          social interaction and communication.  Currently, the  
          autism spectrum disorder includes autistic disorder  
          (typical autism), Asperger syndrome, and pervasive  
          developmental disorder not otherwise specified (atypical  
          autism).  Symptoms usually start before age three and can  
          cause delays or problems in many different skills that  
          develop from infancy to adulthood.

          The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) currently  
          provides community-based services to approximately 243,000  
          persons with developmental disabilities and their families  
          through a statewide system of 21 regional centers, four  
          developmental centers, and two community-based facilities.   
          ASD are the fastest growing developmental disability in  
          California, and within the next decade the state is  
          projected to face a massive influx of persons with ASD who  
          want to live independently.  Currently, approximately 6,000  
          adults with a diagnosis of ASD receive services from DDS.   
          In the next five years, more than 4,000 teenagers diagnosed  
          with ASD will reach adulthood.  By 2018, the number of  







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          adults with an ASD diagnosis who are receiving services  
          from DDS is expected to grow to 19,000.

          This bill require cities and counties to make a diligent  
          effort to obtain, assess, and analyze appropriate  
          information on the special housing needs of persons with  
          developmental disabilities, and include the analysis of  
          this information within the housing needs assessment  
          portion of the housing element.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2009-10     2001-11     
          2011-12   Fund  

          Mandate             Unknown, moderate costs to localLocal/
                                governments.  Unlikely to beGeneral
                                reimbursable

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  1/25/10)

          Housing California


          JJA:do  1/26/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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