BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 718
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Brian Maienschein, Chair
AB 718
(Chu) - As Amended April 21, 2015
SUBJECT: Local government: powers.
SUMMARY: Prohibits a city, county, or city and county from
prohibiting or otherwise subjecting to civil or criminal
penalties the act of sleeping or resting in a lawfully parked
motor vehicle.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides, under the California Constitution, that a city may
make and enforce within its limits all local, police,
sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict
with general laws.
2)Authorizes a legislative body to pass ordinances not in
conflict with the Constitution and laws of the state or the
United States.
3)Prohibits local governments from regulating the movement or
parking of vehicles, unless specifically authorized by state
law. With respect to parking, under current law local
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governments may, by ordinance or resolution, do the following:
a) Prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking
of vehicles on a local road or on a state highway in their
jurisdiction with the approval of the Department of
Transportation;
b) Prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking
of vehicles that are six feet or more in height within 100
feet of any intersection, street, or highway during all or
certain hours of the day;
c) Prohibit or restrict the parking or standing of vehicles
on certain streets or highways, between the hours of 2 a.m.
and 6 a.m.;
d) Designate certain streets for the exclusive parking
privileges of residents and merchants adjacent to the
streets for their use or the use of their guests and issue
parking permits that exempt them from the restriction or
prohibition of the ordinance or resolution;
e) Authorize preferential parking permits for members of
organizations, professions, or other designated groups,
including, but not limited to, school personnel, to park on
specified streets, if the local authority determines that
the use of the permits will not adversely affect parking
conditions for residents and merchants in the area; and,
f) Establish procedures for the abatement and removal, as a
public nuisance, of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or
inoperative vehicles from private or public property.
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4)Makes it an infraction to violate any provision of the Vehicle
Code or any local ordinance adopted, pursuant to the Vehicle
Code.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS:
1)Background. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, California had 113,952 homeless people, or
20% of the nation's overall homeless population, as of January
2014. Of California's total homeless population, 27% were
chronically homeless, 20% were in households with at least one
parent and one child, 10% were veterans, and 10% were victims
of domestic violence. California also had the largest number
of homeless families, unaccompanied homeless youth, and
homeless veterans. California has one of the nation's highest
rates of "poor renters," or people that spend more than 50% of
their income on rent. While most homeless people in the U.S.
lived in emergency shelters or transitional housing in 2013,
most homeless people in California were unsheltered. For
example, in Los Angeles only 22% of homeless people had a
shelter bed in 2013. California's high housing costs and
shortage of shelters leave many homeless people with no
choice, but to rest and sleep in public.
The Policy Advocacy Clinic at the University of California,
Berkeley Law School released a report in February of this year
titled "California's New Vagrancy Laws: The Growing Enactment
and Enforcement of Anti-Homeless Laws in the Golden State."
The report states, "Homelessness is a persistent problem in
California. California cities have responded to this problem
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by enacting municipal codes that criminalize activities
associated with homelessness. Most of the current municipal
anti-homeless laws were enacted during the last 25 years.
This proliferation of laws shows no signs of abating.
Importantly, California cities are substantially more
restrictive than the national average in terms of
criminalizing sleeping, resting or lodging in legally parked
vehicles. While only 33% of non-California cities studied by
NLCHP [National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty]
restrict sleeping or lodging in vehicles, 74% of California
cities do so." Homelessness not only has grave human
consequences, it also creates challenges for local
governments, both rural and urban. The researchers at the
Policy Advocacy Clinic at the UC Berkeley Law School conclude
that enforcement efforts may burden cities with significant
financial costs.
In June of 2014 the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
struck down a Los Angeles ordinance that prohibited people
from using a vehicle parked or standing on any city street or
parking lot as living quarters either overnight, day-by-day,
or otherwise (Desertrain v. City of Los Angeles). The court
found that the ordinance paved the way for law enforcement to
target the homeless and was therefore unconstitutionally
vague. Additionally, the judge questioned if the conduct the
ordinance was trying to prohibit criminalized otherwise
innocent behavior, and posed a number of questions about what
types of behavior in a vehicle would subject an individual to
citation and arrest. The opinion stated "Is it impermissible
to eat food in a vehicle? Is it illegal to keep a sleeping
bag? Canned food? Books? What about speaking on a cell
phone? Or staying in the car to get out of the rain? For
many homeless persons, their automobile may be their last
major possession - the means by which they can look for work
and seek social services. The City of Los Angeles has many
options at its disposal to alleviate the plight and suffering
of its homeless citizens. Selectively preventing the homeless
and the poor from using their vehicles for activities many
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other citizens also conduct in their cars should not be one of
those options."
2)Bill Summary. This bill prohibits a city, county, or city and
county from prohibiting or otherwise subjecting to civil or
criminal penalties the act of sleeping or resting in a
lawfully parked vehicle.
This bill does not prevent local governments from establishing
local parking regulations, as authorized by the state, to
address the hours a vehicle can be parked on the street. For
example, this bill would not prevent a city from prohibiting
overnight parking, unless a vehicle obtains a residential
permit.
This bill is sponsored by Housing California.
3)Author's Statement. According to the author, "Local
ordinances make it illegal for a person to rest or sleep in
their own private vehicle, even if otherwise lawfully parked
on a public way within a local jurisdiction. The aim of this
type of ordinance has no other legitimate purpose than to
target people experiencing homelessness. In fact, punishing
people who have no other form of shelter by ticketing,
citing/arresting them, or impounding their vehicle, has a
disastrous effect on the person experiencing homelessness who
rests in their vehicle. Many people who sleep in vehicles are
women and children who do not feel safe in a shelter, are
ineligible to stay in a family or women's shelter because of
the gender and age combination of their children, or who do
not feel safe out on the street or in other unsheltered
spaces. Contrary to belief, many people who rest in vehicles
have some type of employment. For them, the vehicle is
transportation to work as well as shelter. For a parent with
children, it is transportation to a school or medical
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appointment. For all of these people, the vehicle is
sometimes the last personal asset they own. Punishing a
person with fines, impoundment or seizure of a vehicle that is
shelter, transportation, the connection to employment,
education or medical care, and an asset only deepens poverty
and prolongs homelessness. Increasing the number of people
without shelter or deepening their poverty reduces public
safety and increases other types of local costs."
4)Related Legislation. AB 5 (Ammiano) of 2013 would have
established a number of rights for homeless people. Among the
numerous provisions in AB 5, the bill would have provided the
right to occupy a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle either
to rest, sleep, or use for the purposes of shelter, provided
that the vehicle is legally parked on public property, without
being subject to criminal or civil sanctions, harassment, or
arrest from law enforcement, public or private security
personnel, or Business Improvement District agents. AB 5 was
held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Similarly, SB 608 (Liu), currently pending in the Senate
Transportation and Housing Committee, would enact the Right to
Rest Act and contains many of the same provisions as AB 5. SB
608 also includes the right to occupy a motor vehicle or a
recreational vehicle, provided the vehicle is legally parked
on public property or parked on private property with the
permission of the property owner.
5)Policy Considerations. The Committee may wish to consider the
following:
a) Charter Cities and Counties. In order to fulfill the
author's intent that this bill applies to all cities and
counties, the author may wish to clarify that this bill
applies to all general law and chartered cities and
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counties.
b) Impoundment. In support of the bill, the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU) requests that the bill is clarified
to include an explicit prohibition on the impoundment
of vehicles. In order to fulfill the author's intent, the
author may wish to clarify that the prohibition in the bill
includes, but is not limited to, the impoundment of
vehicles.
6)Arguments in Support. Supporters argue, "Tragically, an
increasing number of local jurisdictions have enacted
ordinances that punish people for the mere fact that they
sleep in a vehicle. This type of punishment reflects an
alarming level of ignorance to the daily reality of people who
experience homelessness. For many women and children
experiencing homelessness, sleeping or living in a vehicle
affords them a sense of safety that they cannot experience
sleeping outdoors, which is often the only other option in the
absence of adequate shelter beds across the state. A vehicle
is not simply shelter for them, but also the transit source
that connects them to their only source of income. Likewise,
a vehicle can also represent the difference between whether a
homeless child gets to school or a disabled individual keeps
in touch with a medical provider. Educational attainment is a
major predictor for leaving homelessness in adulthood. Access
to healthcare is critical for people subjected to life's
elements. The average life span for an adult experiencing
chronic homelessness is less than fifty years of age.
"Finally, a vehicle is perhaps the only asset that many people
experiencing homelessness have left. Citing vehicle owners
because they sleep in their car, subjecting them to fines they
can never afford to pay, and putting them at risk of vehicle
seizure deepens homelessness, exacerbates mental health
problems, leads to increased contact with law enforcement, and
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lowers public health in the community. Further miring
individuals, families, and children in homelessness by
ticketing them for their poverty only deepens their health,
education and economic problems, and ensures that more people
remain homeless longer."
7)Arguments in Opposition. Opposition argues, "This bill is a
preemption of local authority to regulate and enforce laws
governing the use of public and private space. Local
ordinances arise and are adopted by communities to address
specific issues affecting health, safety, and broader public
welfare. The issues raised by this bill are less about
parking and more about the use of vehicles for human
habitation, including sleeping and resting. City parking
locations whether on public or private property - other than
campgrounds - were never intended or designed for residential
occupancy.
"While this bill seeks to remove local authority to regulate
such activity, the community impacts that will be imposed by
this bill cannot be avoided. By combining the terms 'sleeping
and 'resting' within a vehicle, to the time that the occupant
may be otherwise outside of the vehicle, the bill appears to
be designed to allow an individual to live in a vehicle
anywhere on either public or private property where it is not
otherwise forbidden to park a vehicle. It is one thing to
park an empty car in front of someone's house; it is quite
another for an occupied vehicle to be parked 'resting' in
front of the house for hours and days. Commercial properties
would face similar issues. One or more vehicles could park in
front of a business removing potential parking spots for
customers, and depending on the conduct of the occupants,
potentially intimidate the public from visiting the location."
8)Double-Referral. This bill was heard by the Transportation
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Committee on April 24, 2015, where it passed with a 12-1 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Housing California [SPONSOR]
Abode Services
Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives, Humboldt County
American Civil Liberties Union of California
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Caduceus Justice
California Labor Federation
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organization
Corporation for Supportive Housing
East Bay Community Law Center
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance
LA Human Right to Housing Collective
Los Angeles Anti-Eviction Campaign
Los Angeles Community Action Network
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and
Youth
River City Food Bank
Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee
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Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness
San Diego Housing Federation
San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness
Share the Bulb
St. Anthony Foundation
St. Mary's Center
Venice Community Housing Corporation
WellSpace Health
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Western Regional Advocacy Project
Opposition
American Planning Association, California Chapter
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California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California Business Properties Association
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Law Enforcement Association of Records Supervisors
California Police Chiefs Association
International Council of Shopping Centers
League of California Cities
Analysis Prepared by:Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958