BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1380|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1380
Author: Mitchell (D), et al.
Amended: 8/18/16
Vote: 21
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 3-0, 4/12/16
AYES: McGuire, Hancock, Liu
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Nguyen
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 9-1, 4/19/16
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire,
Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
NOES: Gaines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SENATE FLOOR: 29-7, 5/31/16
AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, Cannella, De León, Galgiani,
Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso,
Huff, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza,
Mitchell, Monning, Moorlach, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Wieckowski,
Wolk
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Gaines, Morrell, Nielsen, Stone, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Fuller, Nguyen, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-24, 8/29/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council
SOURCE: Poverty Matters
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Page 2
DIGEST: This bill requires a state agency or department that
funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides
housing or housing-related services to people experiencing
homelessness or at risk of homelessness to adopt guidelines and
regulations to include Housing First policies. It also
establishes the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council
(Council) to oversee implementation of the Housing First
regulations and, among other things, identify resources,
benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end
homelessness in California.
Assembly Amendments add legislative findings and declarations
regarding homeless youth and persons fleeing domestic violence,
add to the list of council goals, modify council membership, and
provide expectations and mandates for time-limited supported
services for homeless youth.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Defines, in federal statute, the word "homeless" for the
purpose of housing assistance, to mean an individual or
family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence, as specified. (42 CFR 91.5)
2) States legislative findings and declarations about
homelessness, the housing shortfall and other related issues.
(HSC 50003.3)
3) Establishes the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) program, which permits states to implement
the program under a state plan. (42 USC § 601 et seq.)
4) Establishes in state law the CalWORKs program to provide
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cash assistance and other social services for low-income
families through the TANF program. Under CalWORKs, each
county provides assistance through a combination of state,
county and federal TANF funds. (WIC 10530)
This bill:
1) Makes a series of legislative finding and declarations
regarding homelessness.
2) Defines "homeless," "Core Components of Housing First," and
"state programs."
3) Defines "Housing First" to mean the evidence-based model
that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for
recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless
people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing
First providers offer services as needed and requested on a
voluntary basis and that do not make housing contingent on
participation in services. It includes time-limited rental or
services assistance, so long as the housing and service
provider assists the recipient in accessing permanent housing
and in securing longer-term rental assistance, income
assistance, or employment.
4) Establishes requirements and expectations for time-limited,
supportive services programs serving homeless youth
5) Creates the Council and goals for the Council, including,
but not limited to the following:
a) To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and
services that can be accessed to prevent and end
homelessness in California.
b) To create partnerships among state and federal
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agencies and departments, local government agencies, and
nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless
services providers, and the private sector, for the
purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end
homelessness.
c) To promote systems integration to increase efficiency
and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to
address the needs of people experiencing homelessness,
including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age.
d) To coordinate existing funding and applications for
competitive funding. Any action taken pursuant to this
paragraph shall not restructure or change any existing
allocations or allocation formulas.
e) To make policy and procedural recommendations to
legislators and other governmental entities.
f) To identify and seek funding opportunities for state
entities that have programs to end homelessness and to
facilitate and coordinate those state entities' efforts to
obtain that funding.
g) To broker agreements between state agencies and
departments and between state agencies and departments and
local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources,
reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing
resources, and foster common applications for services,
operating, and capital funding.
h) To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and
policy development resource on ending homelessness in
California.
i) To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members,
and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce
homelessness.
j) To ensure accountability and results in meeting the
strategies and goals of the council.
aa) To identify and implement strategies to fight
homelessness in small communities and rural areas.
bb) To create a statewide data system or warehouse that
collects local data through Homeless Management
Information Systems, with the ultimate goal of matching
data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless
recipients of state programs, as specified.
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1) Requires agencies and departments administering state
programs created on or after July 1, 2017, to collaborate
with the Council to adopt guidelines and regulations to
incorporate core components of Housing First.
2) Requires agencies and departments administering state
programs in existence prior to July 1, 2017, to collaborate
with the Council to adopt guidelines and regulations to
incorporate core components of Housing First by July 1, 2019,
if existing guidelines and regulations do not already do so.
3) Requires the Governor, within 180 days of enacting this
bill, to appoint up to 15 members to the Council, as
specified.
4) Requires the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of
the Assembly to each appoint one representative of the
council from two different stakeholder organizations.
5) Permits the Council to invite stakeholders, individuals who
have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic
communities, and experts to participate in meetings or
provide information to the Council.
6) Requires the Council to hold public meetings at least once
every quarter.
7) Requires that Council members shall serve at the pleasure of
the Governor.
8) Permits the Council to establish working groups, task
forces, or other structures from within its membership or
with outside members to assist it in its work within existing
funding. Working groups, task forces, or other structures
established by the Council shall determine their own meeting
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schedules.
9) Requires that Council members shall serve without
compensation, except that members who are, or have been,
homeless may receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or
other expenses.
10)Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development
(HCD) to provide staff for the Council.
11)Permits Council members to enter into memoranda of
understanding with other Council members to achieve the
Council goals in order to facilitate communication and
cooperation between the entities the Council members
represent.
Background
Poverty. A 2014 Stanford poverty center report found that 26.3
percent of children aged six or younger were living below the
poverty level as defined by the California Poverty Measure, and
24.9 percent were classified below poverty using the official
measure. The California Poverty Measure takes into account costs
of living besides food, including transportation, child care,
medical out of pocket expenses. Researchers have indicated that
California's high poverty rate is significantly impacted by the
state's high housing costs and other high costs of living.
Homelessness in California. According to the Annual Homeless
Assessment Report produced by the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development on a single night in January 2014, there were
113,952 homeless people in California, 71,437 of who were
unsheltered. According to the author, California has the
nation's largest homeless population -- 22 percent of the
nation's total.
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The health, personal, and economic challenges that chronically
homeless individuals and families face and the lack of
effective, coordinated services to address these problems often
lead to a vicious cycle of housing instability and health
deterioration. Health conditions of those experiencing
long-term homelessness often prevent housing stability, while
persistent homelessness impedes access to needed health and
employment services. Consequently, people who are chronically
homeless cycle through costly emergency-driven public systems -
emergency shelters, emergency rooms, detoxification centers,
criminal justice facilities - without getting the ongoing care
they need to address severe mental illness, substance abuse
disorders, or chronic health conditions.
Housing First. Housing First approaches homelessness by
providing permanent, affordable housing for families and
individuals, and then providing supportive services in order to
help people avoid returning to homelessness. Housing First is
premised on the idea that housing should not be denied to
anyone, even if they are abusing alcohol or other substances.
Under Housing First, supportive services are offered to maximize
housing stability and prevent returns to homelessness as opposed
to addressing predetermined treatment goals prior to providing
housing. Many current state programs, and some programs that are
under development, already embrace the Housing First model.
The Housing First model is contrasted with a model known as
"housing readiness," which is exhibited in some transitional
housing models. This model requires homeless people to earn
their way into transitional housing and make progress on certain
goals; when they are deemed well enough, they earn their spot in
permanent housing.
Housing and homeless programs. There are number of state
agencies involved in providing housing assistance, serving the
homeless, preventing homelessness, and financing the development
of affordable housing. In addition, the federal government has
its own programs and programs requirements. Below is a brief
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description of some of these state agencies and their programs:
HCD administers a variety of programs to meet a large range of
housing needs, including emergency shelters and transitional
housing, affordable rental housing, and affordable
homeownership.
The California Housing Finance Agency is the state's
affordable-housing bank and administers a number of programs
that support affordable housing, including issuing tax-exempt
revenue bonds and providing down-payment assistance
Tax Credit Allocation Committee within the State Treasurer's
Office allocates tax credits to developers of affordable
rental housing.
CalWORKs Housing Support Program is an evidence-based rapid
rehousing support program for CalWORKs families that are
experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Included in
the Program are rental assistance and security costs,
caseworker engagement with the clients' landlord, home
finding, credit repair, and financial literacy. This program
contains core components of Housing First.
CalWORKs Homeless Assistance Program offers temporary shelter
assistance and permanent housing assistance to homeless
families under the CalWORKs program.
Transitional Housing Program-Plus (THP-Plus) is a transitional
housing program for young adults who exited from foster care
(including those supervised by probation) on or after their
18th birthday who are not yet 24 years of age.
What programs would be affected? In recent years, the federal
government has shifted its focus towards funding Housing First
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programs. In fact, federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Grants must be used for Housing First programs. As a result,
housing programs under the HCD, such as the Veterans Housing and
Homeless Prevention Program, already integrate core components
of Housing First. Existing programs under other state agencies,
however, such as the THP-Plus administered by the Department of
Social Services (DSS), and other housing programs at the state
level that fund other housing models, would likely have to adopt
core Housing First principles.
Under this bill, new programs created on or after July 1, 2017,
will be required to adopt guidelines and regulations to
incorporate the core components of Housing First. Existing
programs that do not already incorporate the core components of
Housing First will be required to revise or adopt guidelines and
regulations that incorporate the core components of Housing
First.
Prior Legislation
AB 2821 (Chiu, 2016) would create the Housing for a Healthy
California Program to provide rental assistance to individuals
who are homeless and receive services from the Whole Person Care
pilot program, Health Homes, or another locally controlled
funding source. The bill is pending in the Assembly awaiting
concurrence on Senate amendments.
AB 998 (Fong, 2013) would have created the California
Interagency Council on Homelessness and required various state
agencies to meet quarterly to coordinate efforts on
homelessness. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1167 (Fong, 2011) would have created a state Interagency
Council on Homelessness, with specified membership and duties.
The bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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AB 1177 (Fong, 2010) was substantially similar to AB 1167 noted
above. The bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1875 (Fong, 2009) would have created a state Interagency
Council on Homelessness, with specified membership and duties.
The bill was held in the Assembly Business, Professions, and
Consumer Protections Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Council: One-time and ongoing costs potentially in excess of
$200,000 (GF) to the HCD to staff and facilitate meetings, as
well as collaborate with agencies on activities as outlined
under the listed goals of the Council. The costs for a
representative of HCD to participate in Council meetings are
estimated to be minor.
DSS: Minor costs to participate on the Council. Potentially
significant workload (GF) to review existing housing
assistance programs to ensure compliance with the core
components of the Housing First model.
Department of Veterans Affairs: Minor costs to participate on
the Council. No significant impact to existing housing
programs, as they currently adhere to the core components of
the Housing First model.
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR):
Potentially significant impacts (GF) to the Division of Adult
Parole Operations to the extent specific components of the
Housing First model are inconsistent with current policy and
practices utilized for parolee services.
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State Treasurer's Office: Minor costs of less than $10,000
(GF) to have a representative participate on the Council.
Compliance with Housing First components: Unknown,
potentially significant costs to DSS and CDCR to bring
existing housing and housing-related assistance programs into
compliance with the Housing First core components including
but not limited to the component specifying case managers and
service coordinators who are trained in and actively employ
evidence-based practices.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/29/16)
Poverty Matters (source)
Brownie Mary Democrats of California
California National Organization for Women
Century Housing Corporation
City of Santa Monica
Coalition for Youth
Corporation for Supportive Housing
County Health Executives Association of California
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Destination: Home
Health Officers Association of California
Housing California
Malibu Democratic Club
Office of the Lieutenant Governor of California
Office of the Mayor of San Francisco
Residents United Network
Rural County Representatives of California
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Upward Bound House
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/29/16)
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None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-24, 8/29/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla,
Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu,
Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber,
Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones,
Lackey, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson,
Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder
Prepared by: Taryn Smith / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524
8/30/16 20:24:27
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