BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: AB 1167
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Fong
VERSION: 6/21/11
Analysis by: Erin Riches FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: July 5, 2011
SUBJECT:
California Interagency Council on Homelessness
DESCRIPTION:
This bill creates a state Interagency Council on Homelessness,
with specified membership and duties.
ANALYSIS:
Under existing law, several state agencies have prescribed
responsibilities relating to homeless persons.
This bill :
Creates the California Interagency Council on Homelessness
(Council), with a mission to construct cross-agency and
community cooperation in response to homelessness, as well as
identifying and applying for increased federal funding to
address homelessness.
Requires the Governor to designate a lead agency or
representative of the Governor's staff to direct the Council's
work.
Requires the Council membership to include:
o Representatives from the Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
Department of Housing and Community Development, Department
of Mental Health, Department of Social Services, and
Department of Veterans Affairs.
o Two representatives from local law enforcement, county
or city government, or organizations representing those
interests, to be appointed by the Senate Rules Committee
and the Assembly Speaker.
o Representatives from two nonprofit or faith-based
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organizations whose primary mission is to prevent or end
homelessness, provide services or health care to people who
are homeless, or to create housing for people who are
homeless, to be appointed by the Senate Rules Committee and
the Assembly Speaker.
o Two individuals who have experienced homelessness, to be
appointed by the Senate Rules Committee and the Assembly
Speaker.
o A chair and a vice chair, to be appointed by the
Governor.
Requires the Council to:
o Hold a public meeting at least once every quarter.
o Seek all available federal funding to fund the Council
and its activities.
o Serve without compensation, except for minimal
compensation for consumer representatives if private funds
are available.
o Operate within the current budget of each department and
agency represented. Each department and agency must
cooperate with the Council and provide information and
assistance necessary or useful to the Council's work.
Authorizes the Council to:
o Act as the lead for coordinating and planning the
state's response to homelessness, including identifying
federal funding sources and determining how the state
should apply for this funding.
o Establish work groups, task forces, or other structures
to assist in its work, within current costs or with private
support.
o Engage or accept the services of agency personnel and
nonprofit organizations or employ council staff, with
private or other non-state funding.
o Invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced
homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and
experts to participate in meetings or provide information
to the Council.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . The author notes that homelessness is on
the rise, particularly among seniors and families with
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children. A March 2009 report by the National Center on
Family Homelessness found that one in 50 children is homeless
in the United States, with California having the highest
number. The report found that California has inadequate state
planning to address this problem. Unlike the federal
government and many other states, California has failed to
establish an interagency council on homelessness. As a
result, the state continues to have a fragmented approach to
homelessness.
According to the author, an active agency composed of state
and local representatives will bring in federal money to fund
shelters, as well as generating innovative ideas to streamline
resources, improve efficiency, reduce duplication, and create
greater accountability from the state. The sponsor notes that
establishing the Council "would make California eligible to
receive federal funds we currently do not receive because of
the absence of a coordinating body."
2.History . In 2002, Governor Davis established an Interagency
Council on Homelessness made up of many of the state agencies
listed in this bill and headed by the Office of Planning and
Research. That council focused its efforts on prevention and
homelessness, particularly how improved discharge planning and
a more coordinated service approach could prevent chronically
homeless individuals from cycling in and out of various
systems with no agency ultimately responsible for ending the
cycle. The council advocated for housing the chronically
homeless in supportive housing. The life of the council did
not extend beyond the end of the Davis administration. In
November 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger announced the
governor's homeless initiative, which included plans to form
an interagency coordinating council to reduce homelessness.
To date, however, no council has been formed or met.
3.Efforts at the federal and state levels . The United States
Interagency Council on Homelessness, which is made up of 19
departments and agencies, released a report in June 2010
titled "Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and
End Homelessness." The plan pledges to end veterans' and
chronic homelessness by 2015 and to end homelessness among
children, families, and youth by 2020. According to Housing
California, 33 states have established interagency councils on
homelessness
4.Homelessness in California . California has the largest
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population of homeless persons in the country. According to
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, on a single
night in 2008, California communities counting people living
on streets or in shelters reported a total of 157,277 homeless
persons. A new report by the Institute for Children, Poverty,
and Homelessness notes that California had an estimated 8,810
homeless families on a single night in 2010, with providers
serving nearly three times their bed capacity over the course
of the year. In the rest of the country, most homeless people
are sheltered, temporarily living in shelters or transitional
housing. In California, 70 percent of homeless people live
unsheltered, the largest percentage in the nation.
5.Related Legislation . A similar bill, AB 1177 (Fong), was held
on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee last year.
AB 1177, in addition to the provisions of this bill, required
the Council to establish a plan of responsibilities for each
participating agency, produce a plan to reduce and end
homelessness in California, and create a centralized database
on homelessness.
AB 557 (J. P�rez), which passed the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee on June 28, 2011, creates the California Interagency
Council on Veteran Services and Programs.
Previous Votes:
Senate GO: 8-3
Asm Floor: 56-22
Asm Appr: 12-5
Asm Housing: 7-0
Asm BP & CP: 6-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 29,
2011)
SUPPORT: Corporation for Supportive Housing (co-sponsor)
Housing California (co-sponsor)
Butte Countywide Homeless Continuum of Care
California Association of Social Rehabilitation
Agencies
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
City of Santa Monica
Homeless Action Center
National Alliance on Mental Illness, California
National Association of Social Workers,
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California Chapter
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
United Homeless Healthcare Partners
Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition
Western Center on Law and Poverty
29 individuals
OPPOSED: None received.