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 |7/8/15 |
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|Author: |Chu |Tax Levy: |No |
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|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
AB 718 (Chu) 5/18/15 Page 2
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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
AB 718 (Chu) 5/18/15 Page 3
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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
AB 718 (Chu) 5/18/15 Page 4
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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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