BILL NUMBER: AB 2256 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Maienschein
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Brough and Chávez )
( Coauthor: Senator Bates
)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) to Division
8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2256, as amended, Maienschein. Homelessness: report.
Existing law provides for various programs to provide services for
people who are homeless within the California Health and Human
Services Agency.
This bill would require a homeless services provider
provider, as defined, to submit a
report, as provided, an annual report to the
California Health and Human Services Agency that contains specified
data regarding homeless children or youth and homeless persons.
The bill would define, among other things, a "homeless
services provider" to mean a governmental or nonprofit provider that
receives federal, state, or county or municipal funding to provide
services to homeless children or youth and homeless persons or that
is under contract to provide those services by a local homeless
continuum of care organization. The bill would require the
data reported to the California Health and Human Services Agency to
be published on the California Health and Human Services Open Data
Portal.
By imposing new duties upon certain local
governments, entities to report this data, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares both of the
following:
(a) The purpose of asking homeless services providers to submit
the information required by this act is to develop a statewide
database of information regarding homeless children or youth and
homeless persons and the public services being used.
(b) The data will enable state and local governments to develop
better programs to target the needs of these individuals and utilize
funding and other resources in the most efficient manner.
SEC. 2. Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) is added to
Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7. HOMELESSNESS REPORT
8260. (a) On or before January 1, 2018, and on or before January
1 each year thereafter, a homeless services provider shall submit a
report to the California Health and Human Services Agency that
contains all of the following data for the previous calendar year
regarding homeless children or youth and homeless persons:
(1) The number of ambulance rides.
(2) The number of hospital stays and length of each stay.
(3) The number of emergency room visits.
(4) The number of arrests and length of each incarceration.
(5) The number of homeless children or youth and homeless persons
using services provided by the homeless services provider.
(6) Latest estimate by a local agency in the area in which
services are provided on the total number of homeless persons in that
area, if available.
(b) The report shall be submitted in an open format that meets all
of the following requirements:
(1) Retrievable, downloadable, indexable, and electronically
searchable by commonly used Internet search applications.
(2) Platform independent and machine readable.
(3) Available to the public free of charge and without any
restriction that would impede the reuse or distribution of the data,
if applicable.
(4) Retains the data definitions and structure present when the
data was compiled, if applicable.
(c) The data reported to the California Health and Human Services
Agency shall be published on the California Health and Human Services
Open Data Portal.
(d) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(e) This section shall only apply to homeless services providers
that have access to the data listed in subdivision (a).
(f) A homeless services provider that reports data pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall ensure that the data submitted is as accurate
as practicable.
(e)
(g) For purposes of this section, all of the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Homeless children or youth" has the same definition as that
term is defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
(2) "Homeless persons" has the same definition as that term is
defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
11301 et seq.).
(3) "Homeless services provider" means a governmental or
nonprofit provider that receives federal, state, or county or
municipal funding to provide services to homeless children or youth
and homeless persons or that is under contract to provide those
services by a local homeless continuum of care organization.
has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (d) of Section 103577 of the Health and Safety Code.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.