BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 870 (Cooley) - Homelessness: rapid rehousing
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|Version: June 24, 2015 |Policy Vote: T. & H. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: July 13, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 870 would appropriate $2 million from the General
Fund to the Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) to administer a two-year program to provide grants to four
counties or private nonprofit organizations with a demonstrated
high funding need for rapid re-housing programs.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time appropriation of $2 million from the General Fund,
allocated over two years. Each year, HCD would allocate equal
amounts to each of the four participating entities, or about
$237,500 after subtracting administrative costs.
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One-time HCD costs of approximately $50,000 for 1/2 PY of
staff time to develop and adopt guidelines for the selection
of participating entities, and ongoing costs of approximately
$30,000 annually for 1/4 PY of staff time for monitoring costs
over several years. These costs would be subtracted from the
appropriated amount prior to distribution of funds to
participating entities. (General Fund)
Background: The federal Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program provides
funding to states for homeless prevention and rapid rehousing
activities. ESG grants fund projects that serve homeless
individuals and families with supportive services, emergency
shelter/transitional housing, assisting persons at risk of
becoming homeless with homelessness prevention assistance, and
providing permanent housing. The program was reconstituted under
the federal Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition
to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, which placed new emphasis on
assisting people to quickly regain stability in permanent
housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness.
HCD administers the distribution of ESG funds to specified
eligible counties, cities, and nonprofit organizations on a
competitive basis, and retains four percent of the funds for
administrative purposes. Funds may only be used to reimburse
costs for eligible expenditures related to six program
components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness
prevention, rapid re-housing, a homelessness management
information system, and administration. Eligible expenditures
under the rapid re-housing component consist of the following:
Short and medium-term rental assistance, which includes
up to 24 months of assistance and up to six months of
rental payments in arrears.
Housing relocation and stabilization services, which
includes financial costs associated with moving, utility
deposits and payments, housing search and placement
services, housing stability case management, mediation,
legal services, and credit repair.
Staff salaries related to carrying out these activities.
In 2014, HCD distributed a total of $9.96 million in federal ESG
AB 870 (Cooley) Page 2 of
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funds. The maximum grant amount was $200,000, but some
recipients received multiple grants for different program
components and purpsoses.
Proposed Law:
AB 870 would appropriate $2 million from the General Fund to
HCD for a rapid re-housing enhancement program. Specifically,
the bill would:
Require HCD to develop guidelines to select four
counties or private nonprofit organizations to participate
in the enhancement program. Eligible grantees include
counties or providers eligible to receive ESGs from the
state with a demonstrated high funding need.
Require HCD to give priority to entities with existing
rapid re-housing programs with a demonstrated effectiveness
in providing re-housing for individuals and veterans
experiencing homelessness. Participating entities must
comply with state and federal ESG reporting requirements.
Cap allocations at $1 million each year, which would be
distributed equally to participating entities, less any
amount deducted for HCD's administrative costs.
Authorize HCD to use up to 5 percent of the appropriated
amount for administrative purposes.
Specify that the provisions of the bill would sunset on
January 1, 2018.
Staff
Comments: This bill is intended to provide state funds to
supplement existing federal ESG programs and is limited to
funding four counties or private nonprofit entities with
existing rapid re-housing programs. Each participating entity
would approximately $237,500 for each of the two years, after
deducting HCD's administrative costs.
Existing HCD regulations for the ESG program indicate that
federal funds are distributed on a regional basis, with 33
percent provided for northern California, 24 percent for
southern California, 19 percent for rural counties, and 15
percent for general allocations. AB 870 does not require
geographical distribution among the four recipients, but does
require that the entity operate an existing rapid re-housing
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program and provides priority to those with a demonstrated
effectiveness for providing rapid re-housing for homeless
individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness. The bill
could create future cost pressures to the extent the demand for
funds goes beyond the four recipients and exceeds the available
resources.
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