BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNANCE AND FINANCE
                         Senator Robert M. Hertzberg, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

                              
          
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          |Bill No:  |AB 718                           |Hearing    | 7/1/15  |
          |          |                                 |Date:      |         |
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          |Author:   |Chu                              |Tax Levy:  |No       |
          |----------+---------------------------------+-----------+---------|
          |Version:  |5/18/15                          |Fiscal:    |No       |
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          |Consultant|Favorini-Csorba                                       |
          |:         |                                                      |
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                               LOCAL GOVERNMENT: POWERS



          Prohibits local governments from penalizing, by impoundment or  
          other method, the act of sleeping in a lawfully parked motor  
          vehicle.


           Background and Existing Law

           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 bed in a shelter in 2013.  As  
          a result, many homeless people have no choice but to rest and  
          sleep in public.  

          The California Constitution allows a city to "make and enforce  
          within its limits, all local, police, sanitary, and other  







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          ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws,  
          known as the police power of cities."  It is from this  
          fundamental power that local governments derive their authority  
          to regulate behavior to preserve the health, safety, and welfare  
          of the public.  One way local governments exercise their police  
          power is by regulating certain aspects of the use of vehicles,  
          where not in conflict with state laws.  State law allows local  
          governments to regulate parking in a variety of ways, including  
          by establishing where vehicles may park or stop or requiring  
          permits for parking in some areas.

          Some localities have used their police power to prohibit or  
          penalize sleeping in cars.  The Policy Advocacy Clinic at the  
          University of California, Berkeley Law School released a report  
          in February 2015 titled "California's New Vagrancy Laws:  The  
          Growing Enactment and Enforcement of Anti-Homeless Laws in the  
          Golden State."  According to the report, California cities are  
          substantially more restrictive than the national average in  
          terms of passing ordinances that penalize sleeping, resting or  
          lodging in legally parked vehicles.  While only 33% of  
          non-California cities studied restrict sleeping or lodging in  
          vehicles, 74% of California cities do so.  Such a restriction  
          was struck down by the U.S Court of Appeals for the Ninth  
          Circuit in June 2014.  The ruling 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.  

          Some housing advocates want to restrict the ability of local  
          governments to prohibit sleeping or resting in cars.


           Proposed Law

           Assembly Bill 718 prohibits any city, county, or city and  
          county-including charter cities and counties-from prohibiting or  
          otherwise penalizing the act of sleeping or resting in a  
          lawfully parked vehicle.  It would also prohibit removing and  
          impounding a vehicle for the same reason. 

           State Revenue Impact








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           No estimate.


           Comments

           1.  Purpose of the bill.  Some local jurisdictions have enacted  
          ordinances that essentially criminalize the act of being  
          homeless by penalizing individuals for activities that they have  
          no choice but to perform.  However, for many individuals  
          experiencing homelessness, sleeping or living in a vehicle is  
          often the only option for shelter in the absence of adequate  
          shelter beds across the state.  Citing these individuals because  
          they sleep in their car can subject them to fines they may not  
          be able to afford to pay.  As a result, they run the risk of  
          arrest or vehicle seizure, which worsens their situation and  
          exacerbates mental health problems, ensuring that more people  
          remain homeless longer.  AB 718 protects some of California's  
          most vulnerable citizens by preventing local jurisdictions from  
          enacting or enforcing these policies and sends a clear message  
          that these types of policies must be prohibited.

          2.  Unreasonable restriction on police power  .  The police power  
          is a fundamental power of local governments.  Local ordinances  
          arise and are adopted by communities to address specific issues  
          affecting health, safety, and broader public welfare.  At the  
          same time, local governments are sensitive to the challenges  
          that the homeless face and the measures that are needed to  
          provide them with assistance.  These issues are debated in the  
          chambers of local governments across the state, and the policies  
          that result reflect elected officials' best judgments of how to  
          balance the needs of all of their constituents.  AB 718 would  
          severely constrain local governments from making and enforcing  
          laws that elected officials consider necessary to preserve the  
          welfare of their citizens.  Furthermore, this bill may make it  
          harder for local agencies to enforce other laws that preserve  
          public safety.  For example, would this bill prevent a police  
          officer from approaching a vehicle to investigate potential  
          criminal activity?  Finally, some people who are not homeless  
          may take advantage of AB 718 to camp on public streets, with  
          potential negative impacts on public safety, traffic, and local  
          businesses.  The Committee may wish to consider amending AB 718  
          to identify the local government policies that the bill is not  
          intended to restrict, as well as the individuals that this bill  








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          is intended to apply to. 

          3.  Sure, but will it work  ? AB 718 does not prevent local  
          governments from establishing local parking regulations 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.  
           As a result, municipalities that wish to regulate this behavior  
          may simply find other ways to enact and enforce laws that have  
          the effect of criminalizing actions associated with homelessness  
          without running afoul of the provisions of AB 718.  Furthermore,  
          AB 718 does not address the underlying factors that drive  
          homelessness in California, such as a lack of affordable  
          housing, access to jobs, and mental health treatment.

          4.  Charter city  .  The California Constitution allows cities and  
          counties that adopt charters to control their own "municipal  
          affairs."  In all other matters, charter cities and counties  
          must follow the general, statewide laws.  AB 718 says that it  
          applies to all cities and counties, including charter cities and  
          counties and includes a legislative finding and declaration that  
          the health and safety of homeless individuals is a matter of  
          statewide concern.

          5.  Related legislation  . AB 5 (Ammiano, 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) 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.  SB 608 is currently a two-year bill.

                                   Assembly Actions









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           Assembly Transportation Committee:           12-1
          Assembly Local Government Committee:         7-1
          Assembly Floor:                                   56-15
          


           Support and  
          Opposition   (6/25/15)


           Support  :  Housing California; Abode Services; Affordable  
          Homeless Housing Alternatives, Humboldt County; American Civil  
          Liberties Union of California; Caduceus Justice; California  
          Labor Federation; Coalition of California Welfare Rights  
          Organization; Corporation for Supportive Housing; County Welfare  
          Directors Association of California; East Bay Community Law  
          Center; Ella Baker Center for Human Rights; Homeless Lives  
          Matter - Berkeley; Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance; LA Human  
          Right to Housing Collective; Law Foundation of Silicon Valley;  
          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; 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.
























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            Opposition  :  City of Encinitas; League of California Cities;  
          American Planning Association, California Chapter; California  
          Business Properties Association; International Council of  
          Shopping Centers; California Law Enforcement Association of  
          Records Supervisors; California Police Chiefs Association;  
          California Association of Code Enforcement Officers; California  
          College and University Police Chiefs Association; City of  
          Ontario; Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; Venice  
          Stakeholders Association.

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