BILL NUMBER: AB 2033 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Torres
FEBRUARY 17, 2010
An act to add Section 50505.5 to the Health and Safety Code,
relating to homelessness.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2033, as amended, Torres. Homelessness: federal funding.
Under existing law, the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
administers various programs relating to homelessness ,
including the continuum of care program, which is a competitive award
program created to address the problems of homelessness in a
comprehensive manner. The program authorizes a state to apply for
program funding as a balance of state continuum of care that covers
geographic areas of the state not included within a community level
continuum of care .
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would ensure that California seeks federal funds for
the purpose of reducing and preventing homelessness, particularly in
rural areas of the state, by requiring that the Department of
Housing and Community Development apply for homelessness assistance
programs offered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community
Development to apply for McKinney-vento Homeless Assistance Act
funding by establishing a balance of state continuum of care program,
as described, on or before September 1, 2011. The bill would also
require, in the event that the department fails to apply for the
federal funding, that the department report the reasons that it
failed to apply for the funding prior to September 30, 2011. The bill
would make this reporting requirement inoperative on September 30,
2015.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) California has the largest homeless population of any state in
the country.
(b) Over 380,000 people in California are homeless for some period
of time during the course of each year.
(c) Seventy percent of homeless people in California live
unsheltered, which is the largest percentage in the nation.
(d) In 1994, the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) introduced the continuum of care planning process,
a competitive program designed to encourage communities to address
the problems of housing and homelessness in a more coordinated and
strategic fashion.
(e) The comprehensive continuum of care approach encourages
communities to identify and prioritize gaps in housing and services
available for people who are homeless. It also enables communities to
develop long-term strategies and action plans to address these gaps
using McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301)
funds and other federal, state, and local resources. The strategic
planning conducted through this program also forms the basis of a
state's or community's continuum of care plan and application to HUD
for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds.
(f) The fundamental components of a continuum of care program
include prevention, outreach, emergency shelter, transitional
housing, permanent housing, permanent supportive housing, and
supportive services.
(g) In order to receive funding through the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act, a state or community must develop a
continuum of care.
(h) Forty-four counties in the state participated in a continuum
of care that received a funding award in 2009.
(i) According to HUD estimates, 14 counties in the state have
unclaimed geography not currently included in a community continuum
of care. The unclaimed geography represents $900,000 in federal
funding that the state could access to address homelessness in
smaller, rural communities.
(j) Most states receive funding from HUD using a balance of state
continuum of care for areas that are not included in a local
community continuum of care. But this state has not taken the
necessary steps to establish a balance of state continuum of care to
receive the federal funding for areas in this state not included in a
local community continuum of care.
(k) It is the Legislature's intent that the state should access
all federal funding that is available to address homelessness by
submitting an application to receive funding under a balance of state
continuum of care.
SEC. 2. Section 50505.5 is added to the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
50505.5. (a) The department shall apply for funding pursuant to
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301) by
establishing a balance of state continuum of care continuum of care
program on or before September 1, 2011.
(b) For purposes of this section, a balance of state continuum of
care includes all geographic areas of the state that are not
currently receiving McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funding
through a community continuum of care and geographic areas of the
state that do receive federal funds through a community continuum of
care that choose to apply for its funding as part of the balance of
state continuum of care.
(c) (1) If the department fails to apply for McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance funding pursuant to this section, the department
shall report to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community
Development, prior to September 30, 2011, the reasons for its failure
to apply for the funding.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report pursuant to this
subdivision is inoperative on September 30, 2015, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would ensure that California seeks federal
funds for the purpose of reducing and preventing homelessness,
particularly in rural areas of the state, by requiring that the
Department of Housing and Community Development apply for
homelessness assistance programs offered by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development.