BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       


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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS
                                        

          Bill No:  SB 1593
          Author:   Burton (D), et al
          Amended:  8/25/00
          Vote:     21

            
          PRIOR SENATE VOTES NOT RELEVANT
           
           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  52-25, 8/28/00 - See last page for vote
           

           SUBJECT  :    Housing Programs

           SOURCE  :     Author

           
           DIGEST  :    This bill implements numerous recommendations of  
          the Senate Task Force on Homelessness by making various  
          changes to the state housing assistance programs.

           Assembly Amendments  delete the prior version.  As it left  
          the Senate, the bill was authored by Senator Alarcon and  
          established the CalHome Program to facilitate home  
          ownership by low- and very low-income households.

           ANALYSIS  :    The Multifamily Housing Program provides  
          deferred payment loans for the construction,  
          rehabilitation, or acquisition of transitional or rental  
          housing.  The Emergency Housing and Assistance Program  
          allocates funds to counties on a formula grant basis to  
          provide a variety of services, such as emergency shelter or  
          transitional housing, counseling, and residential rental  
          assistance or housing vouchers.  The Supportive Housing  
          Program awards competitive grants to either local or  
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          nonprofit agencies that provide integrated housing and  
          support services to very low-income Californians.

          This bill changes to various programs within the State  
          Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for  
          the benefit of homeless persons.  Specifically, this bill:

           1.Requires HCD to evaluate and report on the number of  
             successful applications funded within the Multifamily  
             Housing Program for each applicant type and make  
             adjustments to the award process, if needed, to ensure  
             an equitable distribution of awards among applicant  
             types, including hard-to-serve special needs  
             populations.

           2.States legislative intent to encourage coordination  
             among public agencies that fund or provide services to  
             homeless individuals and agencies that discharge people  
             from their institutions (i.e., child welfare agencies,  
             health care programs, and jails and prisons).

           3.States legislative intent to increase the availability  
             of year-round shelter to meet the special needs of  
             people who are unable or unwilling to comply with  
             traditional housing programs, and a safe haven hat  
             provides supportive housing for seriously mentally ill  
             homeless persons.

           4.Defines a "safe haven" as supportive housing for  
             seriously mentally ill homeless persons with substance  
             abuse problems that have been unwilling or unable to  
             participate in high demand housing programs.

           5.Requires providers of emergency shelter or transitional  
             housing to provide adequate facilities within their  
             range of services so that all members of a family may be  
             housed together regardless of gender or age, to the  
             greatest extent feasible.

           6.Requires Emergency Housing And Assistance Program (EHAP)  
             funds allocated to nonurban counties for facilities  
             operation that are not awarded after one fiscal year to  
             be allocated to an urban county in the following year.








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           7.Requires EHAP funds allocated to nonurban counties for  
             capital development that are not awarded after two  
             fiscal years to be allocated to an urban county in the  
             following fiscal year.

           8.Requires HCD to consider increasing maximum EHAP grant  
             limits to $300,000 for operating grants and $500,000 for  
             capital grants by June 30, 2001.

           9.Increases the amount any eligible organization within a  
             region may receive in an EHAP funding round from  
             $500,000 to $1 million.

          10.Provides that eligible designated local boards may use a  
             percentage of the regional award funds for  
             administrative costs.

          11.Requires HCD to determine the percentage of regional  
             award funds that designated local boards may use for  
             administrative costs, but limits the amount to no more  
             than two percent.

          12.Requires designated local boards to include a statement  
             of how the priorities in their local shelter strategy  
             will complement the local continuum of care planning  
             process.

          13.Requires designated local boards to include a statement  
             of how grant recipients will be encouraged to develop  
             year-round emergency shelters and transitional housing  
             for various populations including families, youth,  
             physical and mentally disabled persons, substance  
             addicted persons, persons living  with HIV/AIDS, the  
             elderly and pregnant women.

          14.Requires the designated board to describe how the local  
             plan serves the needs of individuals and families at  
             risk of homelessness as a result of eviction.

          15.Adds veterans to the list of low-income individuals  
             included in the target population for the Supportive  
             Housing Program.

          16.Adds the Tax Credit Allocation Committee to the list or  







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             directors of various state agencies participating in the  
             Supportive Housing Program Council.

          17.Provides that grants from funds transferred to HCD and  
             awarded for housing costs may be awarded for a period  
             not to exceed 15 years.

          18.Provides that recipients of grants awarded from the  
             Supportive Housing Grants Program (SHGP) shall provide  
             $1.50 in matching funds for each $1 awarded in the third  
             and subsequent years.

          19.Requires lead agencies in the SHGP to give preference to  
             proposals that demonstrate linkages to programs  
             established under the Adult and Older Adult Mental  
             Health System of Care Act or other integrated services  
             projects supported with state and local government  
             funds.

          20.Allows up to ten percent of the funds allocated for  
             local assistance to the SHGP to be used for  
             administrative costs.

          21.Requires lead agencies in the SHGP to make all grant  
             awards from budget funds in the Budget Act of 2000 by  
             June 30, 2001.

          22.Requires lead agencies in the SHGP to expend all funds  
             allocated for grants in the Budget Act of 2000 by June  
             30, 2004, except for grants awarded for housing costs.

          23.Requires a report to be prepared by the lead agency that  
             receives funding under the Supportive Housing Initiative  
             Act and requires the report to include:

             A.    The number of persons housed pursuant to the  
                program.

             B.    The extent of housing stability.

             C.    Demographics of the persons housed pursuant to the  
                program, such as veterans, persons with mental  
                illness, people with substance abuse histories,  
                single adults, and families with children.







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             D.    The counties in which the housing is located.

             E.    The changes in income levels of those housed.

             F.    Improvements in health status, to the extent  
                available.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza,  
            Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cunneen, Davis, Ducheny, Dutra,  
            Firebaugh, Florez, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice, Honda,  
            Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Longville,  
            Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Mazzoni, Migden, Nakano,  
            Rod Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Scott,  
            Shelley, Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson,  
            Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,  
            Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Hertzberg
          NOES:  Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin,  
            Baugh, Brewer, Briggs, Campbell, Cox, Dickerson, House,  
            Kaloogian, Leonard, Maddox, Margett, McClintock, Olberg,  
            Oller, Robert Pacheco, Runner, Strickland, Thompson,  
            Zettel


          NC:cm  8/30/00   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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