BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
2033 (Torres)
Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 06/29/2010
Consultant: Mark McKenzie Policy Vote: T&H 7-0
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 2033 would require the Department of Housing
and Community Development (HCD) to establish a balance of state
continuum of care (COC) and apply for federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act funds by September 1, 2011. HCD would
be required to notify the Legislature's Housing Committees of
its efforts to establish a state COC by September 30, 2011. The
bill would also allow counties that have established COC
programs to join the state COC rather than administering their
own program.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
HCD admin $100 $50 $50 General
Potential federal funds up to $900 up to $900Federal
for allocation to locals
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
administers the Continuum of Care Program as part of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This competitive grant
program is designed to encourage cities and counties to address
the problems of housing and homelessness in a coordinated and
strategic fashion. In order to receive funding through the
federal program, a state or local jurisdiction must develop and
administer a COC. Forty-five counties in the state have
developed their own or participate in a multi-jurisdictional COC
that received a funding award in 2009. Thirteen counties in the
state are not currently covered by a continuum of care,
resulting in the loss of up to $900,000 in possible federal
funding for homelessness. The program authorizes a state to
apply for funding as a balance of state continuum of care that
covers geographic areas of the state not included within a local
COC.
AB 2033 would require HCD to form a balance of state COC by
September 1, 2011 for the 13 counties that are not currently
participating in the program, so that the state can apply for
additional federal homelessness funds. The bill would also
allow current participants in a community COC to instead apply
for funding through the balance of state COC.
This bill is intended to ensure that all areas of the state are
included in a COC, and are eligible to apply for federal funds
to address homelessness. HUD indicates that California could be
eligible for up to $900,000 in additional federal funds, and
technical assistance grants are available on a competitive basis
to train local entities on the specific requirements and
processes for preparing a grant application.
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AB 2033 (Torres)
In order to participate in the program HUD requires participants
to subscribe to a federal database system to operate a
homelessness management information system. Prior to applying
for additional federal funding, HCD would be required to conduct
a homeless census in each of the disparate communities that are
not currently covered by a COC, assess the availability of
shelters and transitional housing, develop a list of potential
projects for the application to address unmet needs, and create
a plan for allocation. HCD indicates that this bill would
require up to four staff on a part-time basis over several years
to establish a COC and submit an application, at a cost of
$125,000 to $165,000 per year. It is unlikely that HCD would be
able to comply with the deadline specified in the bill for
applying for McKinney-Vento COC funds.
HCD would also incur ongoing administrative costs for monitoring
and risk management assessments, including reporting
requirements and audits. Staff notes that, as a competitive
program, the state COC may not be able to attract the full
$900,000 in federal funds, which represents the maximum amount
that is available for the uncovered areas. The federal
guidelines indicate that up to six percent of the federal funds
would be available to offset some of HCD's administrative costs.
It is unlikely that this amount would be sufficient to cover
ongoing costs. Rural counties indicate that they have
insufficient staff and resources available to form a COC,
complete the labor-intensive application process, and comply
with ongoing auditing and reporting requirements. This bill
would require HCD to incur these costs on behalf of communities
that have not found it cost-beneficial to form their own
programs. HCD would also be required to expand the balance of
state COC if communities that currently administer their own
programs wish to transfer that responsibility to HCD, which has
the potential to impose additional costs on the department.