Bill Text: CA AB513 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: California Individual Assistance Act.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-09-01 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB513 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB513-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 10, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 513

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Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

February 07, 2023

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An act relating to state employment. to add Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 8688) to Chapter 7.5 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to disaster assistance, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 513, as amended, Rodriguez. State employment: memorandum of understanding: State Bargaining Unit 6. California Individual Assistance Act.

Existing law, the California Disaster Assistance Act, requires the Director of Emergency Services to provide financial assistance to local agencies for their personnel costs, equipment costs, and the cost of supplies and materials used during disaster response activities, incurred as a result of a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, subject to specified criteria. The act continuously appropriates moneys in the Disaster Assistance Fund and its subsidiary account, the Earthquake Emergency Investigations Account, without regard to fiscal year, for purposes of the act.

This bill would enact the California Individual Assistance Act to establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals for specified costs related to a disaster, as prescribed. The bill would require the director to allocate from the fund, subject to specified conditions, funds to meet the cost of expenses for those purposes. By authorizing increased expenditure of moneys from a continuously appropriated fund for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.

This bill would authorize the director to adopt regulations, as determined to be necessary, to govern the administration of the program. The bill would require the director to enter into agreements with local agencies or community-based organizations to retroactively provide individual and family grants for specific disaster events.

Existing law provides that a provision of a memorandum of understanding reached between the state employer and a recognized employee organization representing state civil service employees that requires the expenditure of funds does not become effective unless approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.

This bill would approve provisions requiring the expenditure of funds in a memorandum of understanding, to be identified by date, entered into between the state employer and State Bargaining Unit 6 (SBU 6), but would specify that the provisions will not take effect unless funds for those provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature. The bill would require the state employer and SBU 6 to meet and confer to renegotiate the affected provisions if funds for those provisions are not specifically appropriated by the Legislature.

This bill, notwithstanding the requirement for approval in the annual Budget Act, would require the provisions of the memorandum of understanding requiring the expenditure of funds to also become effective if they are approved by the Legislature in legislation other than the annual Budget Act.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NOYES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares the purpose of this act is to establish in California a program within the Office of Emergency Services to quickly provide assistance to California residents following the declaration of a local or state emergency that may not warrant federal disaster assistance for individuals.

SEC. 2.

 Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 8688) is added to Chapter 7.5 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

Article  4.5. California Individual Assistance Act

8688.

 This article shall be known and may be cited as the California Individual Assistance Act.

8688.1.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to provide local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals with the assistance they need to quickly recover following a disaster.

8688.2.

 Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, the definitions in this section govern the construction of this article:

(a) “Community-based organization” means a public or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that represents a community or significant segments of a community and provides support and services to individuals in the community.

(b) “Disaster” means a fire, flood, storm, tidal wave or tsunami, earthquake, act of terrorism, epidemic, extreme heat or cold event, or other similar calamity that the Governor determines presents a threat to public safety.

(c) “Housing assistance” means assistance available to homeowners and renters to repair disaster-related damages not covered by insurance or by other governmental financial assistance programs, including, but not limited to, costs that are reasonable and necessary to make the essential living areas of a primary residence safe, sanitary, and functional.

(d) “Individual” means a person residing in California.

(e) “Individual and family grants” means housing assistance and other needs assistance provided pursuant to this article.

(f) “Local emergency” means a condition of extreme peril to persons or property proclaimed as such by the governing body of the local agency affected, in accordance with Section 8630.

(g) “Other needs assistance” means assistance to offset expenses and losses in income not covered by insurance or by other financial assistance resources, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1) Income losses.

(2) Costs to clean, repair, or replace essential personal property items.

(3) Medical, dental, and funeral expenses resulting from the local emergency.

(4) Other potentially eligible expenses authorized by the director.

(h) “Unusual circumstances” means unavoidable delays that result from recurrence of a disaster, prolonged severe weather within a one-year period, or other conditions beyond the control of the applicant.

8688.3.

 (a) From the Disaster Assistance Fund, and subject to the conditions specified in this article, the director shall allocate funds to meet the cost of expenses for the purposes described in subdivision (b).

(b) Moneys from the Disaster Assistance Fund may be used to provide financial assistance to local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals for the following purposes:

(1) To fund local agency and community-based organization personnel costs, equipment costs, translation services, and the cost of supplies and materials used during disaster response activities, incurred as a result of a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, excluding the normal hourly wage costs of employees engaged in emergency work activities.

(2) To reimburse local agencies or community-based organizations that provide individual and family grants.

(3) To provide direct individual and family grants, including housing assistance and other needs assistance, to individuals.

(4) To fund indirect administrative costs and any other assistance deemed necessary by the director.

(5) To fund necessary and required site preparation costs for evacuation and local assistance centers as deemed necessary by the director.

8688.4.

 (a) When certified by the director, claims of community-based organizations and local agencies shall be presented to the Controller for payment out of funds made available for that purpose.

(b) The director shall adopt regulations, as determined to be necessary, to govern the administration of the program authorized by this article in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3). These regulations shall include specific eligibility requirements, a procedure for local agencies and community-based organizations to request the implementation of this article, and a method for evaluating these requests by the Office of Emergency Services.

8688.5.

 An allocation may be made to a local agency, community-based organization, or an individual, if, within 10 days after the actual occurrence of a disaster, the local agency has proclaimed a local emergency and that proclamation is acceptable to the director, or upon the order of the Governor when a state of emergency proclamation has been issued.

8688.6.

 A local agency, community-based organization, or an individual shall make application to the director for state financial assistance pursuant to this article within 60 days after the date of the proclamation of a local emergency. The director may extend the time for this filing only under unusual circumstances.

8688.7.

 The director shall develop procedures for a local agency or community-based organization to receive an advance of funds to expedite the delivery of individual and family grants following a disaster.

8688.8.

 Notwithstanding any other law, including Section 8688.6, the director shall enter into agreements with local agencies or community-based organizations to retroactively provide individual and family grants for the following events:

(a) The December 20, 2022, magnitude 6.4 earthquake off the Northern California coastline near the City of Ferndale in Humboldt County.

(b) The severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides for areas designated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency declaration DR-4683-CA for the period December 27, 2022, to January 31, 2023, inclusive.

(c) The severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides for areas designated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency declaration DR-4699-CA for the period February 21, 2023 to ____, inclusive.

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this act is to approve an agreement pursuant to Section 3517.5 of the Government Code entered into by the state employer and the recognized employee organization.

SEC. 2.

The provisions of the memorandum of understanding prepared pursuant to Section 3517.5 of the Government Code and entered into by the state employer and State Bargaining Unit 6, dated ____, and requiring the expenditure of funds, are hereby approved for the purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 3517.6 of the Government Code and Section 3517.61 of the Government Code.

SEC. 3.

The provisions of the memorandum of understanding approved by Section 2 of this act requiring the expenditure of funds shall not take effect unless funds for these provisions are specifically appropriated by the Legislature. If funds for these provisions are not specifically appropriated by the Legislature, the state employer and the affected employee organization shall meet and confer to renegotiate the affected provisions.

SEC. 4.

Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 3517.6 of the Government Code and Section 3517.61 of the Government Code, the provisions of the memorandum of understanding included in Section 2 of this act requiring the expenditure of funds shall also become effective if the provisions of the memorandum of understanding are approved by the Legislature in legislation other than the annual Budget Act.