BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 702
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Salas
VERSION: 6/1/09
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: Yes
Hearing date: July 7, 2009
SUBJECT:
Emergency Housing Assistance Program: veteran set-aside
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community
Development each year to set aside a portion of Emergency
Housing Assistance Program - Operations Grant funds that is
equal to the percentage of veterans within the homeless
population for veterans-only projects or projects that give
preference to veterans.
ANALYSIS:
Under current law, the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) administers the Emergency Housing Assistance
Program (EHAP) to help finance emergency shelters and
transitional housing. EHAP provides two separate types of
assistance: 1) grants to cover a portion of a facility's
operating costs (EHAP-OG for operations grants); and 2)
forgivable loans for the construction, rehabilitation, and
expansion of facilities (EHAP-CD for capital development).
Historically, the EHAP-OG component has been funded from the
General Fund at a level of $4 million per year. Last year,
Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this funding from the budget, and
at this time the budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year contains
no new funding for this component of the program. Proposition
46 and Proposition 1C, the housing bonds of 2002 and 2006,
provided funding for the EHAP-CD component, which HCD continues
to award.
AB 1594 (Veterans Affairs Committee), Chapter 776, Statutes of
2003, allows EHAP recipients to restrict occupancy on the basis
AB 702 (SALAS) Page 2
of military veteran status if the veterans served possess
significant barriers to social reintegration and employment,
need specialized treatment and services, and the EHAP recipient
provides such treatment and services.
This bill :
Requires HCD, in conjunction with the Department of Veterans
Affairs, to use existing data to annually determine the
percentage of veterans within the homeless population.
Requires HCD each fiscal year to allocate a percentage of
EHAP-OG funds equal to the percentage of veterans in the
homeless population to sponsors of veterans-only projects or
projects that give preference to veterans.
Provides that HCD shall allocate any veteran-setaside funds
not fully utilized within a given fiscal year to other
applicants within the same fiscal year.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . According to the author, veterans
represent a significant portion of the homeless population.
Although veterans account for only 11% of the total population
age 18 and older, homeless veterans represent 26% of the total
homeless population. Also, the author notes that regardless of
gender, veterans are more likely to be homeless than their
non-veteran counterparts, with male veterans being 1.25 times
more likely to be homeless and female veterans three times
more likely to be homeless than non-veterans. To address this
disproportionate need, the author would like to set-aside for
veteran-only or veteran-preference a portion of EHAP-OG funds
that is equal to the percentage of homeless persons who are
veterans.
2.The problem with setasides . While set-asides are not unheard
of in state housing programs, they are problematic in that
they essentially favor one special needs group over others.
Are veterans more deserving of emergency shelter than
emancipated foster youth, victims of domestic violence, or
families with children? Moreover, if set-asides for one group
are allowed, then all groups will want their own set-asides
until ultimately there is no shelter for homeless persons who
do not fit into a favored group. As a policy matter,
set-asides should only be used when there is some structural
reason that the special needs group cannot compete on an even
playing field. The author has provided no such evidence in
AB 702 (SALAS) Page 3
the case of veteran-only shelters. The committee may wish to
consider whether or not it is generally appropriate to
encourage set-asides of housing funds for specific special
needs groups, and if so, whether a set-aside is appropriate in
this case.
3.No applications . Since 2004, veteran-only and
veteran-preference shelters and transitional housing
facilities have had the ability to apply for both EHAP-CD and
EHAP-OG funding. According to HCD, in the five years that
this authority has been in place, a number of veteran-only or
veteran-preference facilities have received EHAP-CD funds, but
HCD has received no such applications under the EHAP-OG
program to which this bill applies. Given that no
veteran-shelter providers have applied for funding in the last
five years, the committee may wish to consider the need and
utility of a set-aside for veteran-oriented facilities.
4.No funding . The Legislature and governor last appropriated
funds to the EHAP-OG program of fiscal year 2007-2008. The
governor vetoed funding from last year's budget, and he did
not propose, nor did the Legislature add, funding to the
2009-2010 budget. As a result, the EHAP-OG program is
currently dormant. While this bill would affect allocations
in future years when funding is possibly restored, it would
have no immediate impact.
5.Veterans already being served . While it is true that veterans
make up a significant portion of the homeless population, this
bill presumes that existing facilities are not serving
veterans at all. Though they may not restrict occupancy to
veterans or give preference to veterans, it is likely that all
existing facilities have served and do serve a significant
number of veterans among their general populations. The
author has provided no evidence that veterans are currently
being underserved by the EHAP-OG program. Moreover, by
setting-aside a share of funding for veteran-only or
veteran-preference shelters, this bill will actually guarantee
that veterans are disproportionately overserved, because those
shelters that do not receive the set-aside will continue to
serve veterans.
6.What is the percentage of homeless veterans ? This bill
requires HCD each year to calculate the percentage of veterans
within the homeless population. While this task is not
entirely straight forward and the data is not particularly
AB 702 (SALAS) Page 4
reliable, there are datasets that HCD could use. Statewide
homeless data is compiled by aggregating the biennial
single-night homeless counts conducted by cities and counties
that wish to receive federal housing funding. According to
these counts, California had a homeless population of 160,000
persons in January 2007. This dataset does not include data
on the number of veterans in California.
It appears that the most useful data on homeless veterans is
contained in the annual Project CHALENG for Veterans report,
compiled in coordination with the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). This data is based on estimates reported by the
CHALENG points of contact, usually local VA homeless program
coordinators from around the country. The most recent report
estimates that during the January 2008 point-in-time survey
there were approximately 26,800 homeless veterans in
California. Although the time periods covered by these two
surveys are not the same, if HCD were to use this data, the
percentage of homeless veterans within the homeless population
would be 16.75 percent.
7.Technical amendments .
On page 3, line 38 strike "in the Emergency Housing and
Assistance Fund" and insert "made available in any Notice
of Funding Availability issued after January 1, 2010"
On page 3, line 40 strike "during any fiscal year"
On page 4, line 7 strike "during the fiscal year" and
insert "within a specific funding round"
On page 4, line 8 strike "in that fiscal year" and
insert "within that same funding round"
Previous Votes:
Senate VA: 6-0
Assembly Floor: 78-0
Assembly Appr: 12-5
Assembly VA: 6-0
Assembly HCD: 6-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
July 1, 2009)
SUPPORT: None received.
OPPOSED: None received.