Senate Bill No. 689

Introduced by Senator Huff

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 987.005 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating to veterans housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 689, as introduced, Huff. Veterans: housing.

Existing law requires the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish and implement housing programs that focus on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. Existing law requires the departments, to the extent feasible, to prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or physical rehabilitation.

This bill would instruct the departments to also prioritize projects that keep a mental health professional on staff or contract for the services of a mental health professional. This bill would include psychologists, professional clinical counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and psychiatrists as mental health professionals for its purposes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 987.005 of the Military and Veterans
Code is amended to read:

987.005.  

(a) The departments shall establish and implement
programs pursuant to the purposes of this article that focus on
veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary or
chronic homelessness. To the extent feasible, the departments shall
establish and implement programs that, among other things, do
the following:

(1) Leverage public (federal, state, and local), private, and
nonprofit program and fiscal resources.

(2) Prioritize projects that combine housing and supportive
services, including, but not limited to, job training, mental health
and drug treatment, case management, care coordination, or
physical rehabilitation.

begin insert

(3) Prioritize projects that keep a mental health professional
on staff or contract for the services of a mental health professional.
For the purposes of this paragraph a mental health professional
shall mean any of the following:

end insert begin insert

(A) A licensed psychologist as defined in Chapter 6.6
(commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(B) A licensed professional clinical counselor as defined in
Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10) of Division 2 of
the Business and Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(C) A licensed social worker as defined in Chapter 14
(commencing with Section 4991) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(D) A licensed marriage and family therapist as defined in
Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(E) A licensed physician and surgeon who is board certified in
psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

end insert begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  Promote public and private partnerships.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  Foster innovative financing opportunities.

begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert  Ensure program guidelines and terms provide threshold
requirements or scoring criteria, or both, to advance applicants
with experience in combining permanent or transitional housing,
or both, with supportive services for veterans, or for partnering
with housing developers or service providers with experience
offering housing or services to veterans.

(b) The departments shall ensure at least 50 percent of funds
awarded for capital development under this article provide housing
to veteran households with extremely low incomes, as defined in
Section 50106 of the Health and Safety Code.

(1) In determining whether a potential tenant is eligible for
supportive, affordable, or transitional housing targeted to extremely
low income households under this provision, eligibility shall take
into consideration all of a household’s income sources upon initial
tenancy.

(2) At least 60 percent of units funded targeting extremely low
income households shall be supportive housing.

(3) This section shall not deter the departments from funding
projects serving mixed-income populations.

(c) The departments may review, adopt, amend, and repeal
guidelines or terms, or both, to implement this article. Any
guidelines or terms adopted to implement this article shall not be
subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part
1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(d) Nothing in this article permits the departments or the board
to purchase, operate, or manage properties except in the event of
a foreclosure on a borrower or grantee.