Amended in Senate August 11, 2016

Amended in Senate September 1, 2015

Amended in Senate June 24, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 2, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 30, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 870

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 26, 2015

begin delete An act to add and repeal Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15290) of Part 6.6 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to housing. end delete begin insert An act to add and repeal Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 11366) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state agency regulations, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately end insert begin insert . end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 870, as amended, Cooley. begin delete Homelessness: rapid rehousing. end delete begin insert State government: administrative regulations: review. end insert

begin insert

Existing law authorizes various state entities to adopt, amend, or repeal regulations for various specified purposes. The Administrative Procedure Act requires the Office of Administrative Law and a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a regulation to review the proposed changes for, among other things, consistency with existing state regulations.

end insert begin insert

This bill, until January 1, 2020, would require each state agency to, on or before January 1, 2019, review that agency’s regulations, identify any regulations that are duplicative, overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date, revise those identified regulations, as provided, and report to the Legislature and Governor, as specified.

end insert begin insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

end insert begin delete

Existing federal law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, allocated, until September 30, 2011, $1.5 billion to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Homelessness Prevention Fund, to be used for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing. Existing federal law, known as the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, provides grants to states, local governments, and private nonprofit organizations, as specified, for specified housing assistance activities. Existing law, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act, provides housing supports to individuals if the administering county determines that the individual or his or her family is experiencing homelessness or housing instability that would be a barrier to self-sufficiency or child well-being and declares that it is the intent of the Legislature that housing supports utilize evidence-based models, including those established in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program.

end delete begin delete

This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish, upon appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act, an enhancement program for awarding grants to counties and private nonprofit organizations that operate a rapid rehousing program. The bill would require the department to develop guidelines to select 4 counties and private nonprofit organizations to receive these grant funds and require that eligible counties and private nonprofit organizations include those that are eligible to receive funds from the state pursuant to the Emergency Solutions Grants Program with a demonstrated high funding need. The bill would require the department to give priority to counties with existing programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in providing rapid rehousing for homeless individuals and veterans. This bill would require the department to distribute this money equally to each of the selected counties and private nonprofit organizations, less an amount of up to 5% deducted for administrative purposes. The bill would repeal these provisions as of July 1, 2018.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 11366)
is added to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert ,
to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 3.6. end insert Regulatory Reform

 

Article begin insert 1. end insert   Findings and Declarations

 

begin insert 11366. end insert   

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) The Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing
with Section 11340), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11370),
Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400), and Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 11500)) requires agencies and the Office
of Administrative Law to review regulations to ensure their
consistency with law and to consider impacts on the state’s
economy and businesses, including small businesses.

(b) However, the act does not require agencies to individually
review their regulations to identify overlapping, inconsistent,
duplicative, or out-of-date regulations that may exist.

(c) At a time when the state’s economy is slowly recovering,
unemployment and underemployment continue to affect all
Californians, especially older workers and younger workers who
received college degrees in the last seven years but are still
awaiting their first great job, and with state government improving
but in need of continued fiscal discipline, it is important that state
agencies systematically undertake to identify, publicly review, and
eliminate overlapping, inconsistent, duplicative, or out-of-date
regulations, both to ensure they more efficiently implement and
enforce laws and to reduce unnecessary and outdated rules and
regulations.

 

Article begin insert 2. end insert   Definitions

 

begin insert 11366.1. end insert   

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

(a) “State agency” means a state agency, as defined in Section
11000, except those state agencies or activities described in Section
11340.9.

(b) “Regulation” has the same meaning as provided in Section
11342.600.

 

Article begin insert 3. end insert   State Agency Duties

 

begin insert 11366.2. end insert   

On or before January 1, 2019, each state agency shall
do all of the following:

(a) Review all provisions of the California Code of Regulations
adopted by that state agency.

(b) Identify any regulations that are duplicative, overlapping,
inconsistent, or out of date.

(c) Adopt, amend, or repeal regulations to reconcile or eliminate
any duplication, overlap, inconsistencies, or out-of-date provisions,
and shall comply with the process specified in Article 5
(commencing with Section 11346) of Chapter 3.5, unless the
addition, revision, or deletion is without regulatory effect and may
be done pursuant to Section 100 of Title 1 of the California Code
of Regulations.

(d) Hold at least one noticed public hearing, which shall be
noticed on the Internet Web site of the state agency, for the
purposes of accepting public comment on proposed revisions to
its regulations.

(e) Notify the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of each
house of the Legislature of the revisions to regulations that the
state agency proposes to make at least 30 days prior to initiating
the process under Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) of
Chapter 3.5 or Section 100 of Title 1 of the California Code of
Regulations.

(f) (1) Report to the Governor and the Legislature on the state
agency’s compliance with this chapter, including the number and
content of regulations the state agency identifies as duplicative,
overlapping, inconsistent, or out of date, and the state agency’s
actions to address those regulations.

(2) The report shall be submitted in compliance with Section
9795 of the Government Code.

begin insert 11366.3. end insert   

(a) On or before January 1, 2019, each agency listed
in Section 12800 shall notify a department, board, or other unit
within that agency of any existing regulations adopted by that
department, board, or other unit that the agency has determined
may be duplicative, overlapping, or inconsistent with a regulation
adopted by another department, board, or other unit within that
agency.

(b) A department, board, or other unit within an agency shall
notify that agency of revisions to regulations that it proposes to
make at least 90 days prior to a noticed public hearing pursuant
to subdivision (d) of Section 11366.2 and at least 90 days prior to
adoption, amendment, or repeal of the regulations pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 11366.2. The agency shall review the
proposed regulations and make recommendations to the
department, board, or other unit within 30 days of receiving the
notification regarding any duplicative, overlapping, or inconsistent
regulation of another department, board, or other unit within the
agency.

begin insert 11366.4. end insert   

An agency listed in Section 12800 shall notify a state
agency of any existing regulations adopted by that agency that
may duplicate, overlap, or be inconsistent with the state agency’s
regulations.

begin insert 11366.45. end insert   

This chapter shall not be construed to weaken or
undermine in any manner any human health, public or worker
rights, public welfare, environmental, or other protection
established under statute. This chapter shall not be construed to
affect the authority or requirement for an agency to adopt
regulations as provided by statute. Rather, it is the intent of the
Legislature to ensure that state agencies focus more efficiently
and directly on their duties as prescribed by law so as to use scarce
public dollars more efficiently to implement the law, while
achieving equal or improved economic and public benefits.

 

Article begin insert 4. end insert   Chapter Repeal

 

begin insert 11366.5. end insert   

This chapter shall remain in effect only until January
1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert begin insert

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

end insert begin insert

In order for state agencies to timely complete a full review of
regulations by the 2019 deadline, it is necessary that this act take
effect immediately.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) In 2013, the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) reported that California has nearly 40,000
chronically homeless persons, which is 36 percent of the total
chronically homeless population of the United States. This is due
in large part to an insufficient amount of affordable housing in
California.

(b) HUD also reported that there are over 15,000 homeless
veterans in California.

(c) Several studies, including one by the Journal of the American
Medical Association, have demonstrated that it is far more cost
effective and efficient to provide the homeless with permanent,
supportive housing through “rapid rehousing” and “housing first”
initiatives. These measures also reduce the cost to governments
of funding shelters and emergency services.

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15290) is added
to Part 6.6 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to
read:

 

Chapter  1. Rapid Rehousing Enhancement Program

 

15290.  

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

(a) “Department” means the Department of Housing and
Community Development.

(b) “Homeless” has the same meaning as defined in Section
576.2 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(c) “Enhancement program” means the program established
pursuant to this chapter for distributing funds to counties and
private nonprofit organizations.

(d) “Private nonprofit organization” has the same meaning as
defined in Section 11371 of Title 42 of the United States Code.

15290.5.  

(a) Upon appropriation of funds in the annual Budget
Act, the department shall establish an enhancement program for
awarding grants to counties and private nonprofit organizations
that operate a rapid rehousing program. The department shall
administer the enhancement program.

(b) The department shall develop guidelines to select four
counties or private nonprofit organizations to participate in the
enhancement program. Eligible counties and private nonprofit
organizations shall include counties and private nonprofit
organizations eligible to receive funds from the state pursuant to
the federal Emergency Solutions Grants Program (42 U.S.C. Sec.
11371 et seq.) with a demonstrated high funding need. The
department shall select counties and private nonprofit organizations
by giving priority to those counties or private nonprofit
organizations with existing rapid rehousing programs that have
demonstrated effectiveness in providing rapid rehousing for
individuals and veterans of the United States military experiencing
homelessness.

(c) Counties and private nonprofit organizations selected to
receive funds pursuant to this section shall comply with the
reporting requirements as required by the department under state
and federal regulations implementing the Emergency Solutions
Grants Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11371 et seq.).

(d) The department shall distribute an equal amount of the
money received pursuant to this section each year, less any amount
deducted for administrative purposes, to each of the selected
counties and private nonprofit organizations.

(e) The department may use up to 5 percent of the money
received pursuant to this section for the purpose of administering
this chapter.

15291.  

This chapter shall remain in effect only until July 1,
2018, and as of that date is repealed.

end delete