BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 866|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 866
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 6/16/16
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/12/16
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Roth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/9/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SENATE FLOOR: 38-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,
Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone,
Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/11/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Veterans housing
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes a housing developer or service
provider, which provides housing or services under the Veterans
Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014 (VHHP), to
provide housing or services to veterans and their children in
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Page 2
women-only facilities in limited instances, as specified.
Assembly Amendments make one technical change.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Enacts the VHHP, also known as Proposition 41, which
authorizes the issuance of $600 million in general obligation
bonds to provide multifamily housing to veterans.
2)Requires specified state departments to collaborate in
establishing and implementing VHHP housing programs that focus
on veterans at risk for homelessness or experiencing temporary
or chronic homelessness.
3)Requires the departments, 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.
4) Prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national
origin/ancestry, familial status (households with children
under age 18), source of income, disability, and age.
This bill:
1)Establishes the "Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Act
of 2016: Proposition 41 Expenditures: Military Sexual Trauma."
2)Defines, for specified purposes, "women-only facilities" as
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those that may house and provide services to female veterans
only and their children, and shall not house or provide
services to any adult who is not a dependent of a female
veteran.
3)Provides that a housing developer or service provider - that
provides housing or service within the VHHP program - may
provide housing or services to female veterans and their
children in women-only facilities in limited instances,
specifically when a female veteran:
a) Has suffered any form of sexual abuse, trauma,
intimidation or harassment while in the military and is
seeking treatment for that sexual abuse, trauma, or
intimidation or harassment, or is seeking the housing or
services as a result of being a victim of sexual abuse or
domestic violence; or
b) Is seeking the housing or services as a result of being
a victim of sexual abuse or domestic violence.
4)Provides that a housing developer or service provider that
provides housing or services to female veterans in women-only
facilities shall ensure that the housing or services shall
provide supportive housing or services with a focus on, among
others, treating the effects of military sexual abuse, trauma,
or intimidation in a gender-specific manner.
5)Makes legislative findings and declarations:
a) The significant number of women veterans, as a
percentage of all veterans, and as California's share of
the nation's total population of women veterans.
b) The statistical percentage of women veterans who have
experienced military sexual trauma (MST).
c) The life-changing consequences of MST on victims,
including, for example, the increased risks post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) of becoming homeless following
separation from the military.
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d) The need to ensure that women veterans, particularly
those who have suffered MST and its negative consequences,
receive women-centered treatment, which has been
demonstrated to be "the most important factor contributing
to their comfort" with federal veterans' benefit services.
e) Providing gender-specific treatment and housing,
pursuant to this act:
i) Serves a compelling state interest, which interest
is providing the best possible treatment to female
veterans, who have served our country and who now face
additional hurdles that disproportionately affect female
veterans over male veterans.
ii) Is substantially related to the achievement
of those objectives.
Background
Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program. In
November 2014, voters approved the VHHP Bond Act of 2014, also
known as Proposition 41, which authorized the issuance of $600
million under AB 639.
The VHHP Program requires the Department of Housing and
Community Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and
California Housing Finance Agency to establish and implement a
program that focuses on veterans at risk of homelessness or
experiencing temporary or chronic homelessness. This 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.
Women Veterans. 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% from 2006 to 2010. During the same time frame, there
was a 45% increase in homelessness for male veterans.
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According to recently published research (March 2016) by the
California Women's Law Center: Women veterans are deterred from
seeking veteran-only housing or are effectively being denied
equal opportunity to use and enjoy such facilities because of
conditions such as MST-related PTSD. These disabilities are
exacerbated when women veterans who suffered MST are required to
live in an environment that triggers their experience of being
in the male-dominated military where they were assaulted or
harassed. Women veterans have legitimate concerns about their
mental and physical well-being living in such facilities because
veteran-only housing providers fail to make gender-specific
accommodations for MST-related disabilities.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 384 (Leyva, 2016), in order to help meet the specific housing
needs of underserved veterans, sets aside a percentage of any
state funds being used to acquire, construct, rehabilitate or
preserve multifamily housing units for underserved veterans.
(Pending in Assembly Appropriations.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill
has no significant state fiscal impact.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
American GI Forum of California
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
League of California Cities
National Association of Social Workers
Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council
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OPPOSITION: (Verified8/11/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roger Hernández, Low
Prepared by:Wade Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
8/12/16 13:23:57
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