BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 873
Page 1
( Without Reference to File )
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 873 (Chau)
As Amended September 6, 2013
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 16, 2013) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 12, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |6-0 |(September 12, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|(H. & C.D.) | |2013) | | |
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Original Committee Reference: H. & C.D.
SUMMARY : Establishes new eligible uses and priorities for funding
under the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program (EHAP), with an
added focus on providing permanent supportive housing for homeless
families and individuals.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill and
instead:
1)Allow the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
to award EHAP capital development (EHAP-CD) funds in the form of
a 20-year forgivable loan for the conversion of emergency
shelters or transitional housing to permanent supportive housing
for homeless families or individuals.
2)Allow HCD to award EHAP operating facility grant (EHAP-OFG) funds
for the rapid rehousing of homeless clients.
3)With respect to EHAP award rounds that HCD initiates between
January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, allow HCD to award funds
pursuant to requirements exempt from the Administrative
Procedures Act and require HCD to:
a) Make funding available on a competitive basis statewide;
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b) In addition to traditional applicants, accept applications
from public housing authorities, tribal governments, and
continuum of care entities;
c) Give priority for EHAP-CD funds to applicants proposing to
convert existing emergency shelters or transitional housing to
permanent supportive housing for homeless families or
individuals; and
d) Give priority for EHAP-OFG funds to applicants that propose
rapid rehousing activities that leverage additional funding
sources or focus on high-cost users of more than one system of
care.
4)Require HCD to transfer any EHAP-CD funds derived from the
Proposition 46 or 1C housing bonds that remain as of June 30,
2015, to the supportive housing component of the Multifamily
Housing Program (MHP-SH).
5)Include chaptering amendments to address conflicts with AB 1109
(Bonilla) of the current legislative session.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill clarified the definition of
"supportive housing" for purposes of Housing Element Law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)Minor and absorbable one-time costs to HCD to issue a new notice
of funding availability (NOFA). (Emergency Housing and
Assistance Fund).
2)One-time diversion of approximately $500,000 in general
obligation bond funds in 2015 from the Emergency Housing and
Assistance Fund to the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Fund for use
in the Multifamily Housing Program.
3)Potential future cost pressures to provide more operational funds
for supportive services that are offered in conjunction with
supportive housing.
COMMENTS : The Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP),
administered by HCD, supports the development and operation of
emergency shelters, transitional housing facilities, and safe
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havens, each of which has a limited term of tenancy. EHAP has two
components, EHAP-CD, which funds capital needs, and EHAP-OFG, which
funds operating costs. Historically, EHAP-CD has received bond
funds that may only be spent on capital expenditures and EHAP-OFG
has received General Fund support.
HCD makes EHAP-OFG funds available in the form of grants, with each
county allocated a share of available funding based on poverty and
unemployment rates. HCD awards EHAP-CD funds through a statewide
competition and makes the awards available in the form of
forgivable loans with terms of five years for projects involving
rehabilitation, seven years for substantial rehabilitation, and 10
years for acquisition and rehabilitation or new construction. HCD
defers payments on these loans and forgives them at the completion
of the term as long as applicants use the facilities as emergency
shelters or transitional housing.
Existing law allows counties to apply for HCD designation as a
designated local board (DLB). Once designated, a DLB awards
EHAP-OFG funds within its county subject to an HCD-approved local
emergency shelter strategy. A DLB also prioritizes EHAP-CD
applications from its county, which HCD uses in its competition. In
the last round of EHAP-OFG funding, DLBs represented 22 counties.
In addition to EHAP, HCD administers the Multifamily Housing
Program, which includes a supportive housing component (MHP-SH)
that funds the development of permanent rental homes (i.e., housing
that has no time limit on length of stay) with support services for
persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
This bill allows HCD to award EHAP-CD funds in the form of a
20-year forgivable loan for the conversion of existing emergency
shelters or transitional housing to permanent supportive housing
for homeless families or individuals. The bill additionally allows
HCD to award EHAP-OFG funds for the rapid rehousing of homeless
clients. For any EHAP award rounds that HCD initiates between
January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, the bill requires HCD to give
priority to applicants that will use the funds for these newly
authorized activities and to make funding available on a
competitive statewide basis rather than delegating funds and
prioritization to the DLBs.
According to the author, the federal government has adopted a new
approach to combating homelessness that focuses funding priority on
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permanent housing rather than on transitional housing and on
rapidly rehousing homeless individuals and families rather than on
shelters. This bill aligns EHAP with these evidence-based
strategies in order to both improve outcomes and increase the
competitiveness of California applicants for federal funding
opportunities.
EHAP-CD currently has about $7 million available and EHAP-OFG has
about $1 million available. Given these relatively small amounts,
the bill seeks to streamline the award process by allowing HCD to
make the bill's changes to the program without adopting regulations
and by temporarily foregoing the DLB prioritization process in
favor of a statewide competition. In addition, to the extent that
any EHAP-CD funds remain after one more round of awards, the bill
requires HCD to transfer the funds to MHP-SH.
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly
version of this bill was deleted. The contents of this bill have
not been heard in an Assembly policy committee.
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
FN:
0002861