BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2033
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2033 (Torres)
As Amended April 19, 2010
Majority vote
HOUSING 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Torres, Arambula, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Bradford, Eng, Gilmore, | |Bradford, Coto, Davis, |
| |Knight, Saldana, Tran | |Hill, Hall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Directs the Department of Housing & Community
Development (HCD) to apply for federal funding for the purpose of
addressing homelessness. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings including the following:
a) California has the largest homeless population of any
state in the nation; and,
b) Fourteen counties in the state have unclaimed geography
not currently included in a community continuum of care (CoC)
which represents $900,000 in potential federal funding.
2)Requires HCD to apply for federal funding under the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Act (42 U.S.C. Section 11301) by
establishing a balance of state CoC program on or before
September 1, 2011.
3)Provides a balance of CoC includes all geographic areas of the
state that are not currently receiving McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance funding through a community CoC and geographic areas
of the state that do have their own CoC but choose to opt into
the balance of state CoC.
4)Provides that if HCD fails to apply for the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance funding, the Department must report to the
Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development prior to
September 30, 2011, the reason for not applying for the funding.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, based on the experiences of several rural counties that
have formed a collaborative, the costs of developing that initial
application would be in the range of $25,000. The state will be
able to use up to 6% of a total grant award to administer the
McKinney-Vento grants. If, as the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) has estimated, California receives a grant
of $900,000 for current counties without CoCs, HCD could use up to
$54,000 to administer the grant. Considering an initial grant
would only fund a small number of housing units and new data
systems, this funding would be more than adequate to fund an
annual survey of financial records, oversight of compliance with
accounting, and electronically gather the data subgrantees
collect. If additional communities decide to opt into a balance
of state CoC, California would receive a higher grant award,
providing additional administrative funds.
COMMENTS : California has the largest homeless population of any
state in the country. Over 380,000 people are homeless for some
period of time during the course of each year in California.
Seventy percent of homeless people in California live unsheltered,
the largest percentage in the nation. In 1994, HUD introduced the
CoC planning process, a competitive program designed to encourage
communities to address the problems of housing and homelessness in
a more coordinated and strategic fashion.
This comprehensive 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 funds and other federal, state,
and local resources. The strategic planning conducted through
this process also forms the basis of a state's or community's CoC
plan and application to HUD for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
funds.
The fundamental components of a CoC program include prevention,
outreach, emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent
housing, permanent supportive housing, and supportive services.
In order to receive funding through the McKinney-Vento,
communities must develop a CoC. Forty-four counties in the state
participated in a CoC that received an award in 2009. Based on
AB 2033
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applications made in 2008, HUD estimates that 13 counties in
California have unclaimed geography that is not currently included
in a CoC.
The unclaimed geography represents $900,000 in federal funding
that California could access to address homelessness in smaller,
rural communities. Many states receive the "balance of state" CoC
funding from HUD for areas that do not have a local CoC but
California has not taken the necessary steps to do so.
On February 9, 2010, HCD held an oversight hearing to discuss
coordinating federal and state resources to address homelessness.
The testimony included a discussion of the best models for
addressing homelessness, opportunities to draw down additional
federal funding and the benefits of a coordinated state approach
to ending homelessness. Witnesses representing the U.S.
Interagency Council on Homelessness informed the committee that
the state can receive free technical assistance to develop an
application for the balance of state funds. Technical assistance
provided by HUD or entities that contract with HUD, typically
includes developing a strategic assessment of the state's role in
serving as balance of state applicant.
Approximately 30 other states applied for funding on behalf of
smaller, geographic areas, usually rural areas that do not have
the resources to apply to HUD directly for competitive homeless
funding. AB 2033 requires HCD to apply for funding under the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act by developing an
application for the balance of state funding available to counties
that are not applying on their own by September 1, 2011. If HCD
does not apply by September 30, 2011, they are required to report
back to this committee regarding the reason for not applying.
According to the Regional Council of Rural Counties, the
application for McKinney-Vento funds is extremely labor intensive
requiring considerable staff time that is simply unavailable in
small counties. Counties ranging in population size from 1,200
(Alpine County) to 64,000 (Lake County) have not applied due to
the expense and staff time. AB 2033 would offer these counties an
opportunity to participate in this homeless funding while
alleviating the burden of a direct application.
Analysis Prepared by : Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
FN: 0004325
AB 2033
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