BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 781|
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VETO
Bill No: SB 781
Author: Speier (D), et al
Amended: 9/7/99
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING & COMM. DEV. COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/19/99
AYES: Alarcon, Bowen, Costa, Escutia, Johannessen,
Monteith, Vasconcellos
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 6/8/99
AYES: Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette, McPherson,
Perata, Vasconcellos
NOES: Johnston, Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, Mountjoy
SENATE FLOOR : 25-12, 9/10/99
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Baca, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro,
Costa, Dunn, Escutia, Figueroa, Hayden, Hughes, Karnette,
McPherson, Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata,
Schiff, Sher, Solis, Speier, Vasconcellos, Wright
NOES: Brulte, Haynes, Johannessen, Johnston, Kelley,
Knight, Leslie, Lewis, Monteith, Mountjoy, Poochigian,
Rainey
NOT VOTING: Johnson, Morrow, Polanco
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-30, 9/10/99 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Housing subsidies: counties
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the State Department of
CONTINUED
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Social Services to oversee a rental housing subsidy program
for families participating in the CalWORKs program.
Assembly Amendments make numerous changes without changing
the intent. They further define and clarify requirements
of the subsidy progress.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/15/99 (a) transfer
administration of the program from the State Department of
Housing and Community Development to the State Department
of Social Services and (b) appropriate $5 million from the
federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant
funds.
ANALYSIS : At the state level, three state agencies
administer various housing programs to encourage the
construction of affordable housing: California Housing
Finance Agency, the State Department of Housing and
Community Development, and Treasurer's Office. State
housing programs target housing for low to moderate
individuals and families.
After Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the state enacted
the Welfare to Work Act of 1997 (AB 1542, Thompson et al,
1997). Under the 1997 Act, the CalWORKs program requires
families on welfare to participate in welfare-to-work
activities.
In high cost housing areas, it is difficult for families to
move from welfare to work because they have to pay so much
for housing. San Francisco officials want to develop a
housing subsidy program to help CalWORKs families live in
the community that they work in.
This bill establishes a rental housing subsidy program for
families participating in the CalWORKs program.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Requires the State Department of Social Services (DSS)
to oversee a rental housing subsidy program to be
administered by counties at their option.
2.Limits eligibility for a housing subsidy under this
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program to families that are paying 50 percent or more
of their grant and income for rent, or are homeless or
at risk of homelessness due to living in shared or
temporary living conditions, and are:
A. CalWORKs families who are meeting CalWORKs work
participation, or
B. Former CalWORKs recipients who are receiving employment
retention services within a year of leaving aid, whose
income is less than 150% of the federal poverty level.
3.Permits counties to establish additional eligibility
criteria.
4.Limits subsidies to three years and to the fair market
rent in the local area, as defined by an acceptable
market study, not to exceed:
A. 50% of the family's rent in the first year.
B. 40% of the family's rent in the second year.
C. 30% of the family's rent in the third year.
5.Requires that rental units subsidized under this program
shall meet acceptable housing quality standards.
6.Requires DSS to establish a competitive county grant
application process to obtain funds under this program
and requires competing counties to meet the requirements
of this bill and any additional requirements DSS may
establish which further the goals of the program.
7.Requires counties to provide a 15% match from CalWORKs
maintenance of effort funds and prohibits the match to
be taken from the CalWORKs single allocation or
incentive funds.
8.Requires DSS and representatives of county welfare
departments to develop an allocation formula that takes
into account the size of the CalWORKs population, the
number of CalWORKs families paying more than 50% of
their grant and income in rent, and the Housing and
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Urban Development fair market rent levels.
9.Permits counties to designate a local agency to
implement the program.
10.Requires counties to develop a local plan, which must be
approved by the board of supervisors or chief elected
local official, that outlines program design, amount and
source of matching funds, housing quality standards and
evidence of consultation with local stakeholders.
11.Requires DSS to ensure that each county fulfills its
responsibility under the plan and its application to
DSS.
12.Requires each participating county to provide a status
report on the program to DSS by March 1, 2003, and
requires DSS to provide a report to the Legislature by
September 1, 2003.
13.Appropriates $5 million from the federal Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families block grant to DSS to fund
the program.
14.Beginning in the 2000-2001 fiscal year, requires
counties that elect to implement the housing subsidy
program to receive funds necessary to operate the
program within their single CalWORKs allocation.
This bill includes legislative findings and declarations.
Comments
Welfare-to-Work Participants . According to San Francisco
officials, more than 60 percent of CalWORKs families have
to pay more than 50% of their income and grant moneys on
rent. High housing costs prevent families from being truly
self-sufficient because they are constantly at risk of
losing their housing. In some cases, families are forced
to move to lower cost areas away from jobs in order to
obtain housing. This bill provides housing assistance to
CalWORKs families in high cost areas.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
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Local: No
The bill appropriates $5 million from federal block grant
funds to support the program. The Assembly Appropriations
Committee found actual costs could be significantly greater
than this amount, potentially exceeding $50 million
annually, depending on the amount of counties that
participate in the program, and the number of families each
county elects to serve.
SUPPORT : (Unable to reverify at time of writing)
Association of Bay Area Governments
Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation
Californians for Justice
California Interfaith Coalition
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Catholic Charities of San Bernardino/Riverside counties
City and County of San Francisco
Coachella Valley Housing Coalition
Coalition for Ethical Welfare Reform
Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County
Counties of Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Emergency Services Network of Alameda County
Friends Committee on Legislation
Gubb & Barshap, LLP
Homebase/The Center for Common Concerns
Housing California
Lake County Community Action Agency
League of Women Voters
Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger & Homelessness
Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California
National Center for Youth Law
Ocean Park Community Center
Orange County Homeless Issues Task Force
Rural California Housing Corporation
SRO Housing Corporation
Shelter for the Homeless (Orange County)
Sonoma County Interfaith Shelter Network
Southern California Association of Non Profit Housing
The California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
The California Reinvestment Committee
The Homeless Prenatal Program
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The Public Interest Law Project
Western Center on Law and Poverty
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"This bill would require the state to provide $5
million to counties for a rental housing subsidy
program for CalWORKs participants.
"Although I am sensitive to the needs of CalWORKs
families, counties may already use their CalWORKs
incentives and allocations to provide housing
subsidies for needy CalWORKs families. Furthermore,
by increasing the CalWORKs program costs, this bill
would restrict the flexibility of the State to fund
future program costs within the fixed amount of
funding provided by the federal government."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-30, 9/10/99
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Brewer, Calderon, Cardenas,
Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cunneen, Davis,
Ducheny, Dutra, Firebaugh, Gallegos, Havice, Hertzberg,
Honda, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville,
Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Mazzoni, Migden, Papan,
Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley, Soto, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Vincent, Washington,
Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Villaraigosa
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin,
Baugh, Briggs, Campbell, Cox, Dickerson, Florez,
Frusetta, Granlund, House, Kaloogian, Leach, Leonard,
Maddox, Margett, McClintock, Olberg, Oller, Robert
Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Pescetti, Runner, Strickland,
Thompson, Zettel
NOT VOTING: Floyd, Nakano, Wayne
NC:cm 1/5/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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