California Assembly Bill AB870 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 870AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act to add Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15290) to Part 6.6 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to housing, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 870, as amended, Cooley. Homelessness: rapid  re-housing.   rehousing. Existing federal law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, allocated, until September 30, 2011, $1.5 billion to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Homelessness Prevention Fund, to be used for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing. Existing law, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act, provides housing supports to individuals if the administering county determines that the individual or his or her family is experiencing homelessness or housing instability that would be a barrier to self-sufficiency or child well-being and declares that it is the intent of the Legislature that housing supports utilize evidence-based models, including those established in the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program. This bill would establish a pilot program within the Department of Housing and Community Development for awarding grants to counties that operate a rapid rehousing program. The bill would require the department to select 4 counties to receive these grant funds, giving priority to counties with existing programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in providing supporting housing for homeless individuals and veterans. This bill would continuously appropriate $1 million  each year  from the General Fund to the department and require the department to distribute $250,000 of this money to each of the 4 counties. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) In 2013, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that California has nearly 40,000 chronically homeless persons, which is 36 percent of the total chronically homeless population of the United States. This is due in large part to an insufficient amount of affordable housing in California. (b) HUD also reported that there are over 15,000 homeless veterans in California. (c) Several studies, including one by the Journal of the American Medical Association, have demonstrated that it is far more cost effective and efficient to provide the homeless with permanent, supportive housing through "rapid rehousing" and "housing first" initiatives. These measures also reduce the cost to governments of funding shelters and emergency services. SEC. 2. Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 15290) is added to Part 6.6 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read: CHAPTER 1. RAPID RE-HOUSING PILOT PROGRAM 15290. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:  (a) "Chronically homeless" means a homeless individual with a condition limiting his or her activities of daily living who has been continuously homeless for a year or more, or had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.   (b)   (a) "Department" means the Department of Housing and Community Development.  (c)   (b)  "Homeless" has the same meaning as defined in Section 91.5 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  (d)   (c)  "Pilot program" means the program established pursuant to this chapter for distributing funds to counties. 15290.5. (a) There is hereby established a pilot program in the department for awarding grants to counties that operate a rapid rehousing program. The department shall administer the pilot program. (b) The department shall select four counties to participate in the pilot program. The department shall select counties by giving priority to those counties with existing rapid rehousing programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in providing  supporting   supportive  housing  and homelessness prevention  for  homeless  individuals and veterans of the United States military experiencing homelessness. 15291. Notwithstanding Section 13340, the sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, from the General Fund each year to the department, exclusively to be distributed to the counties selected pursuant to Section 15290.5. The department shall distribute two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) of the money received pursuant to this section each year to each of the four counties.