BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 866 (Roth) - Veterans housing
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|Version: March 14, 2016 |Policy Vote: V.A. 4 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 9, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill authorizes a housing developer or service
provider that receives bond moneys under the Veterans Housing
and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014 (VHHP) to provide
housing or services to female veterans and their children in
women-only facilities in limited instances, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
The Department of Housing and Community does not anticipate a
significant fiscal impact.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) estimates
negligible costs to implement this bill.
Background: In November 2014, voters approved the VHHP Bond Act, also
known as Proposition 41, which authorized the issuance of $600
SB 866 (Roth) Page 1 of
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million in general obligation bonds to provide multifamily
housing to veterans. The program will fund the acquisition,
construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable
multifamily supportive housing, affordable transitional housing,
affordable rental housing, or related facilities for veterans
and their families to allow veterans to access and maintain
housing stability.
The law requires the Department of Housing and Community,
Department of Veterans Affairs, and the California Housing
Finance Agency to collaborate in establishing and implementing
VHHP housing programs that focus on veterans at risk for
homelessness or experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness.
These departments are, to the extent feasible, to prioritize
VHHP 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.
A recent report by the federal Government Accountability Office
found that women veterans identifying themselves as homeless
more than doubled, increasing by more than 140 percent from 2006
to 2010. During the same time, there was a 45 percent increase
in homelessness for male veterans.
According to the author, the VA has reported that approximately
1 in 4 female veterans report experiences military sexual trauma
(MST). Concern for their own safety often leads women,
especially those who have suffered from MST, to be deterred from
accessing the housing and supportive services they need and
deserve. California must ensure that women-centered treatment
is available under the housing built with Proposition 41 bonds.
Existing law prohibits discrimination in housing based on race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status,
national origin/ancestry, familial status, source of income,
disability, and age. This law may hinder the ability to deliver
women-centric housing and treatment under the VHHP program.
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Proposed Law:
This bill authorizes a housing developer or service provider
that receives bond moneys under the VHHP to provide housing or
services to female veterans and their children in women-only
facilities in limited instances in which a female veteran has
either (1) suffered any form of sexual abuse, trauma, or
intimidation or harassment while serving in the military and is
seeking treatment for that sexual abuse, trauma, or intimidation
or harassment, or (2) is seeking the housing or services as a
result of being a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence.
Housing or services provided, as described above, are required
to have a focus on treating the effects of military sexual
trauma, or intimidation in a gender-specific manner.
Related
Legislation: SB 384 (Leyva, 2015) in order to help meet the
specific housing needs of underserved veterans, sets aside a
percentage of any funds being used to acquire, construct,
rehabilitate, or preserve multifamily housing units for
underserved veterans. SB 384 is pending in the Assembly
Veterans Affairs Committee.
AB 639 (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2013) authorizes issuance of
$600 million in general obligation bonds to fund the
acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of
multifamily supportive housing, affordable transitional housing,
affordable rental housing, and related facilities for veterans
and their families, if approved by voters.
Staff
Comments: According to the Department of Housing and Community, the VHHP
program already allows and accommodates requests for funding
women-only housing for applicants housing veterans with specific
needs, if the applicant can demonstrate that such a restriction
does not violate fair housing law that prohibits discrimination
on the basis of gender.
This bill is, in part, an attempt to address the concerns that
existing anti-discrimination law may hinder the ability to
deliver women-centric housing and treatment under the VHHP
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program by authorizing the existence of these types of homes in
limited instances. The Women's Law Center argues military
sexual trauma victims who suffer from post-traumatic stress
disorder, depression, and other mental health illness qualify as
"disabled" under the fair housing laws and are entitled to their
protections. However, to the extent an application for
women-only facilities is submitted, the Department of Housing
and Community would likely conduct a review by legal staff to
ensure compliance with fair housing laws, which is consistent
with current practice without the enactment of this bill.
Therefore, it is unlikely that this bill would result in
significant workload to the department that is beyond what
already exists under current law. The department indicates that
no funding requests for women-only housing have been received
out of the 45 projects awarded to date. These projects comprise
of 3,345 rental housing units, of which over 1,500 are VHHP
units.
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