BILL ANALYSIS Ķ
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SR 84 Hearing Date: 8/11/2016
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|Author: |Hall |
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|Version: |8/4/2016 |
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|Urgency: | No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant|Alison Dinmore |
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SUBJECT: State of Emergency: Homelessness
DIGEST: This resolution requests that the Governor declare a
state of emergency on homelessness.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Creates the California Emergency Services Act, which empowers
the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency in an area
affected or likely to be affected thereby when:
a) He finds that a "state of emergency" exists. Defines
"state of emergency" as the duly proclaimed existence of
conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of
persons and property within the state caused by such
conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic,
riot, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or
animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an
earthquake or volcanic prediction, an earthquake, or other
conditions, which, by reason of their magnitude, are or are
likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel,
equipment, and facilities of any single local jurisdiction
and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or
regions to combat.
b) He is requested to do so in the case of a city by the
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mayor or chief executive or in the case of a county by the
chairman of the board of supervisors or the county
administrative officer.
c) He finds that local authority is inadequate to cope with
the emergency.
1)Permits the Governor, during a state of emergency, to the
extent he deems necessary, to have complete authority over all
agencies of the state government and the right to exercise all
police power vested in the state Constitution and laws of the
State of California to effectuate the purposes of the
emergency declaration. In exercise thereof, he shall
promulgate, issue, and enforce such orders and regulations as
he deems necessary.
2)Permits the Governor, during a state of emergency, to direct
all agencies of the state government to utilize and employ
state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance
of any and all activities to prevent or alleviate actual and
threatened damage due to the emergency; and he may direct such
agencies to provide supplemental services and equipment to
political subdivisions to restore any services which must be
restored in order to provide for the health and safety of the
citizens of the affected area. Any agency so directed by the
Governor may expend any of the funds which have been
appropriated to it in performing such activities, irrespective
of the particular purpose for which the money was
appropriated.
3)Requires the Governor to proclaim the termination of a state
of emergency at the earliest possible date that conditions
warrant. All of the powers granted to the Governor terminate
when the state of emergency has been terminated by
proclamation of the Governor or by concurrent resolution of
the Legislature declaring it at an end.
This resolution:
1)Requests that the Governor declare a state of emergency on
homelessness.
2)Resolves that the Senate recognizes that the challenge of
confronting homelessness requires the active engagement and
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leadership of all branches of government.
3)Resolves that the Senate must prioritize taking action on
homelessness prior to the adjournment of the 2015-16 Regular
Session of the Legislature.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, homelessness in California
has risen to historic levels and accounts for 21% of the
nation's homeless population. There are over 115,000 homeless
individuals in the state, and nearly 47,000 of them are in Los
Angeles County. The homeless crisis endangers the health and
safety of thousands of California residents, including
veterans, women, children, LGBT youth, seniors, and persons
with disabilities. The tremendous scale of homelessness
throughout the state and Los Angeles County threatens economic
stability by burdening public safety, emergency medical
services, and social services infrastructure.
2)California Emergency Services Act (Act). The stated purpose
of the Act is "to mitigate the effects of natural, manmade, or
war-caused emergencies that result in conditions of disaster
or in extreme peril to life, property, and the resources of
the state, and generally to protect the health and safety and
preserve the lives and property of the people of the state."
Specifically, the statute lists a number of conditions of
disaster as examples, primarily natural disasters, including
floods, drought, or earthquakes. Recently, the Governor
declared states of emergency in Kern County for the Erskine
fire (2016), San Bernardino County for the San Bernardino
Waterman incident (2015), and Napa and Solano counties for the
Napa earthquake (2014). Recent statewide emergencies were
declared for the ongoing drought (2014), which is enumerated
in the Act, and the El Niņo floods (1997).
3)Broad authority to the Governor. Under the Act, a declaration
of emergency grants the Governor powers necessary to address
the needs of the emergency. The Act explicitly grants the
Governor complete authority over all agencies of the state
government and to promulgate, issue, and enforce such orders
and regulations as he deems necessary. The Governor may
direct all agencies of the state government to utilize and
employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities to prevent
or alleviate the emergency. Additionally, the Governor
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maintains these powers until the emergency is ended as
determined by the Governor or a concurrent resolution by the
Legislature.
This authority could be used to draft new regulations, or
waive existing state statutes or local laws to deal with
homelessness. Given that homelessness has been exacerbated by
the lack of affordable housing in California, the solution to
ending homelessness is to create more affordable housing. One
way to encourage housing is to reduce regulatory barriers to
construction, including waiving environmental laws such as
CEQA or the Endangered Species Act, or reducing or waiving
local zoning laws. Additionally, unlike the natural disasters
enumerated in the Act, it is difficult to measure the end of
"homelessness," which means the state of emergency could
continue indefinitely. The committee may wish to consider the
implications of encouraging the Governor to take advantage of
an unchecked delegation of authority when there could be no
clear end date.
4)Precedent setting. States of emergency in California have
been declared for natural disasters, generally isolated to the
specific locality where the disaster took place. The
authority granted under the Act provides immediate assistance
to local jurisdictions when they cannot help themselves.
"Homelessness" is not an enumerated type of emergency within
the Act and the Governor would have to determine that it is an
"other condition" that poses a disaster or extreme peril to
the safety of people or property that is beyond the control of
the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any
single locality.
There is no question that homelessness is a chronic problem
that needs real and lasting solutions, and that expeditious
action by the state is necessary. Additionally, California,
unlike other states in the nation, has seen a rise in
homelessness over the last year. This resolution, however,
seeks to address a chronic problem and not an acute one that
is traditionally considered an emergency. Arguably,
California faces many chronic social issues worthy of
addressing, including poverty, hunger, and drug abuse. The
committee may wish to consider whether such a request of the
Governor may set a precedent for other social crises that were
likely not enumerated in the Act as written.
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5)Impact of a Senate Resolution. The Legislature does not have
the power to declare a state of emergency; that authority
rests only with the Governor. In fact, under existing law,
the Governor has the ability to declare a state of emergency
on homelessness if he deems it necessary. The Legislature has
the power to pass resolutions, which are measures for stating
policies and expressing the views of the house. When the
Assembly passed HR 56 urging Governor Brown to declare a state
of emergency on homelessness, it was expressing its opinion
that homelessness is beyond the control of local authority and
requires state emergency assistance. This resolution would
send a message that the Senate believes the Governor should
take any measures he deems necessary to unilaterally combat
homelessness.
6)Fiscal impacts. Given the broad language in this resolution,
the Department of Finance (DOF) was unable to provide a fiscal
estimate to the state, but stated it could cost anywhere
between $0 and billions of dollars.
According to the Office of Emergency Services, it is unlikely
a declaration of a state of emergency for homelessness would
free up any additional federal dollars to combat homelessness.
In order to receive federal dollars, California would have to
be declared a "federal disaster area" to qualify, and
homelessness is unlikely to qualify as a "federal disaster."
Further, according to DOF, it is unlikely that funds in the
California Disaster Assistance Act (CDAA) account could be
used for addressing homelessness if a state of emergency were
declared. CDAA funds, which are continuously appropriated by
the legislature, are used for response and re-building costs
from natural disasters such as fires and floods.
7)Governor's response. Earlier this year, the Assembly passed
HR 56 (Santiago), which was identical to this resolution. On
June 16, 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported: "In a statement
via a spokeswoman, the Governor said [that day] that a
gubernatorial declaration of emergency 'is not appropriate.'"
The statement went on to say that the Governor "recognize[s]
the importance of addressing homelessness in our cities and
will continue to support local governments, which remain best
positioned to tackle challenges like this and tailor solutions
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to the needs of their communities."<1> The article was titled
"Governor Jerry Brown again refuses to declare a state of
emergency on homelessness," which indicates this is not the
first time he has contemplated and rejected the idea.
8)States of emergency for homelessness elsewhere. The City and
County of Los Angeles, like many other cities and counties in
California, are experiencing a homelessness crisis. Economic
shifts in the state have made even the most basic housing
unaffordable for many Californians, forcing them to live out
in the open. Recently, the Los Angeles City Council declared a
state of emergency on homelessness and called for the
expenditure of $100 million to help address the crisis.
Similarly, the City of Seattle declared the city's growing
homelessness an emergency and the mayor presented a $5.3
million plan to respond to the growing demand for shelters.
Similarly, the Governor of the State of Hawaii declared a
state of emergency due to the "homeless situation." The
Hawaii state statutes authorize the Governor to declare a
state of emergency if the Governor finds that an emergency or
disaster has occurred or that there is an imminent danger or
threat of an emergency or disaster in any portion of the
state. A disaster is defined as "any emergency, or imminent
threat thereof, which results or may likely result in loss of
life or property and requires, or may require, assistance from
other counties or states or from the federal government.<2>"
An emergency is defined as "any occurrence, or imminent threat
thereof, which results or may likely result in substantial
injury or harm to the population or substantial harm to or
loss of property.<3>" The governor is the sole judge of the
existence of the danger, threat, or circumstances that gives
rise to the declaration of a state of emergency.<4>
This language is considerably broader than the corresponding
California statute. To declare a state of emergency in
California due to homelessness, homelessness would need to
--------------------------
<1> Gov. Jerry Brown again refuses to declare a state of
emergency on homelessness. Los Angeles Times. June 16, 2016.
Accessed on August 9 here:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-governor-homelessness
-emergency-20160616-snap-story.html
<2> Hawaii Revised Statutes §127A-2
<3> Id.
<4> Hawaii Revised Statutes §127A-14(c)
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qualify as a condition of disaster or of extreme peril to the
safety of persons and property within the state, and
homelessness would need to be beyond, or likely to be beyond,
the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and
facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and
require the forces of a mutual aid region or regions to
combat. This is a much more stringent test than Hawaii's.
9)Opposition. This resolution was referred to the committee on
August 10, and thus the committee was not able to receive
input from all interested stakeholders before the hearing.
Environmental groups may raise concerns over the Governor's
ability to waive existing environmental laws that must be
considered when building housing. Local jurisdictions may
raise concerns over the Governor's ability to waive local
zoning ordinances, which have traditionally been part of their
police powers. Housing organizations and homeless advocacy
groups may have concerns over the ability for the Governor to
draft emergency regulations, which provide less time for
public input.
Related Legislation:
HR 56 (Santiago, 2016) - recognizes that the challenge of
confronting homelessness requires the active engagement and
leadership of all arms of government and requests that Governor
Brown declare a state of emergency on homelessness. This
resolution passed the Assembly on June 30, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
August 10, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (sponsor)
California State Association of Counties
Urban Counties of California
24,305 individuals (change.org petition)
OPPOSITION:
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None received
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