Amended in Assembly April 8, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 998

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert Fong begin insert and Atkins end insert

begin delete

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)

end delete

February 22, 2013

An act to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) to Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 998, as amended, Fong. begin delete Elderly and dependent adults: civil actions. end delete begin insert Homelessness: Interagency Council on Homelessness. end insert

Under existing law, several agencies have prescribed responsibilities relating to homeless persons.

This bill would create the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. This bill would provide that the council be composed of specified members and would authorize the council to perform various duties, including providing a state plan to begin delete end end delete begin insert respond to end insert homelessness. This bill would authorize the council to seek all available federal funding for purposes of funding the council and its activities.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California has the highest rate of homelessness and the
highest ratio of homeless people per resident, with 135,000 people
sleeping on the streets or in shelters on any given night.

(b) Homelessness is traumatic for those who suffer it, often
leading to separated families, exacerbation of health conditions, a
rise in avoidable emergency room use, social and academic delays
among children, and greater likelihood of incarceration.

(c) Many people who lack permanent shelter and the ability to
access regular support ricochet through separate and expensive
public systems: overburdened corrections systems, overcrowded
hospital emergency rooms, mental health programs, substance
abuse treatment and detox facilities, shelters, and emergency
housing. As a result, people experiencing chronic homelessness
use a disproportionate share of state and local services.

(d) Innovative approaches across the nation and within
California show promise for reducing homelessness and the
resulting impact on state services.

(e) Changing the system and reducing homelessness requires
coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local
governments, as well as private sector organizations.

(f) Creation of a statewide coordinating council is an important
and effective tool in supporting initiatives to end homelessness in
California.

(g) Creation of a statewide coordinating council will stem
avoidable costs of maintaining the number of homeless persons
and will, therefore, result in reducing avoidable costs to multiple
programs.

(h) Homelessness affects multiple systems in California at a
very high public cost, including housing, mental health and
substance abuse, education, corrections, foster care, health care,
and veterans services. Reducing homelessness would produce cost
savings for all these systems. The state adopted a Ten-Year Chronic
Homelessness Action Plan in February 2010, but has no mechanism
in place to assess progress or hold state agencies accountable to
the action steps in the plan. A codified, structured interagency
council on homelessness would help fill this gap.

(i) In November 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger created the
Governor’s Chronic Homelessness Initiative, which included plans
to form an interagency coordinating council to reduce
homelessness. The Business, Transportation and Housing Agency’s
2005-10 Consolidated Plan further indicates the importance of an
interagency council on homelessness. Despite these intentions, a
council has not met regularly or publicly since the Governor
adopted his Chronic Homelessness Initiative.

(j) California must give priority to developing consolidated,
coordinated, and cooperative approaches to issues of homelessness,
including, but not limited to, specific issues addressing homeless
youth, families, veterans, parolees, victims of domestic violence,
people with mental health and substance use disorders, people
experiencing chronic homelessness, seniors, and disabled people.

(k) Working within current costs, a revitalized Interagency
Council on Homelessness will reduce duplication of efforts and
the costs of homelessness and will redirect resources to more
effective approaches, developing a more integrated system and
eliminating fragmentation. Other states have created interagency
councils without initial investment of resources.

(l) California is not accessing all of the federal funds for
homelessness that it should due to a lack of coordination among
some agencies. For example, 30 other states apply for funds
through the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
programs. Application for these funds could total millions of
dollars, and requires state agency collaboration.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) is added
to Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

 

Chapter  7. California Interagency Council on
Homelessness

 

8260.  

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) “Council” means the California Interagency Council on
Homelessness.

(b) “Stakeholder organization” means a nonprofit or faith-based
organization whose primary mission is to prevent or end
homelessness, to provide services or health care to people who are
homeless, or to create housing for people who are homeless.

8261.  

(a) There is hereby created in state government the
California Interagency Council on Homelessness with a mission
to construct cross-agency and community cooperation in
responding to homelessness, and to identify and apply for increased
federal funding to respond to homelessness.

(b) The Governor shall designate a lead agency or representative
from the Governor’s staff to direct the work of the council.

(c) The council shall seek all available federal funding,
including, but not limited to, grant and technical assistance funds
under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), for purposes of funding the council
and its activities.

(d) Membership of the council shall include all of the following:

(1) At least one representative with decisionmaking authority
from each of the following:

(A) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

(B) The Department of Housing and Community Development.

(C) The California Health and Human Services Agency.

(D) The State Department of Social Services.

(E) The Department of Veterans Affairs.

(2) Two representatives among local law enforcement, county
or city government, or organizations representing these interests.
One representative appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules,
and one representative appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

(3) Representatives of two stakeholder organizations, with one
to be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the other to
be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

(4) Two begin delete people end delete begin insert individuals end insert who have experienced homelessness,
with one to be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and the
other to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.

(e) The council may, at its discretion, invite stakeholders, begin delete people end delete
begin insert individuals end insert who have experienced homelessness, members of
philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings
or provide information to the council.

(f) The Governor shall appoint a chairperson and vice
chairperson from among, or in addition to, the members of the
council specified in subdivision (d). Within current costs, the
council may establish working groups, task forces, or other
structures from within its membership or with outside members
to assist it in its work. Working groups, task forces, or other
structures established by the council shall determine their own
meeting schedules.

(g) Members of the council shall serve without compensation,
except that consumer representatives shall receive minimal
compensation if private funds are available. State funds shall not
be used to compensate members of the council.

8262.  

(a) The council shall hold public meetings at least once
every quarter.

(b) The council may, but is not required to, do all of the
following:

(1) Act as the lead for coordinating and planning the state’s
response to homelessness, including identifying federal funding
sources and determining how the state should apply for these
resources.

(2) Engage or accept the services of agency personnel and
nonprofit organizations, or employ council staff to operate, manage,
or conduct the business of the council, only if these services are
provided by private, philanthropic, or other nonstate funding
resources available for that purpose or the Legislature makes a
future appropriation for that purpose.

8263.  

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the council
shall operate within the current budget of each department and
agency represented. Each department and agency shall cooperate
with the council and furnish it with information and assistance that
is necessary or useful to further the purposes of this chapter.