Bill Text: CA AB799 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Bill 799

Bill Title: Interagency Council on Homelessness: funding: state programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 263, Statutes of 2024. [AB799 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB799-Chaptered.html

Assembly Bill No. 799

CHAPTER 263

An act to amend Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.

[ Approved by Governor September 19, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State September 19, 2024. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 799, Luz Rivas. Interagency Council on Homelessness: funding: state programs.

Existing law requires the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness, consisting of specified members. Among other goals, existing law requires the council to coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding. Existing law requires the council to create a statewide data system, which is known as the Homeless Data Integration System, that collects local data through the Homeless Management Information System, with a goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. Existing law also requires the council to collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs. Existing law defines state programs as any programs a California state agency or department funds, implements, or administers for the purpose of providing housing or housing-based services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified.

This bill would additionally require the council to include the Governor’s Tribal Advisor. The bill would remove the above-mentioned reference to competitive funding and would instead require the council to coordinate applications for funding. The bill would require council staff to develop and regularly maintain a strategic funding guide and a calendar of new or existing funding opportunities. The bill would require agencies and departments administering state programs to provide the council updated information on new or existing funding opportunities on a quarterly basis. The bill would also require council staff to collect fiscal and outcome data, as defined, from state agencies and departments administering state homelessness programs with a grantee or entity that is required to enter data elements on the individuals and families it serves into its local Homeless Management Information System, as specified. The bill would require the state agencies and departments to submit the fiscal and outcome data to council staff on or before February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter. The bill would require council staff to make the data publicly available on or before June 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by SB 1443 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1443 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) California has the largest number of residents experiencing homelessness, with over 181,399 people experiencing homelessness on a given night, almost 30 percent of the nation’s number, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report.

(b) The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness in California are from California or lived in California for years before becoming homeless.

(c) A disproportionate number of Black and Indigenous Californians experience homelessness, and recent homeless data shows rapid rises of homelessness among Latinx Californians. Forty-five percent of Californians experiencing homelessness report a disabling condition.

(d) Homelessness is solvable with sustained investments in proven solutions for solving homelessness to the people of the State of California.

(e) Accountability in reducing homelessness and the number of Californians living unsheltered must begin with long-term state planning that sets state-level goals, along with collaboration between state, local, tribal, and federal entities in achieving those goals.

(f) The federal government has set a goal in their federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, published by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness in December 2022, to reduce homelessness by 25 percent by 2025.

(g) In determining whether recipients are using money effectively, the state must achieve transparency in how recipients are spending state funding and progress toward achieving state goals.

(h) To achieve reductions in homelessness, the state must ensure funding prioritizes evidence-based and data-informed solutions to homelessness through permanent housing placements and reducing racial disparities in housing outcomes.

SEC. 2.

Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

8257.

(a) The Governor shall create an Interagency Council on Homelessness.

(b) The council shall have all of the following goals:

(1) To oversee implementation of this chapter.

(2) To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.

(3) To create partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, federal agencies, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness.

(4) To promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age.

(5) To coordinate existing funding and applications for funding. Any action taken pursuant to this paragraph shall not restructure or change any existing allocations or allocation formulas.

(A) To ensure eligible applicants are informed of opportunities to apply for funding, council staff shall develop and regularly maintain a strategic funding guide and a calendar of new or existing funding opportunities.

(B) Agencies and departments administering state programs shall provide the council updated information on new or existing funding opportunities on a quarterly basis.

(6) To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities.

(7) To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities that have programs to end homelessness, including, but not limited to, federal and philanthropic funding opportunities, and to facilitate and coordinate those state entities’ efforts to obtain that funding.

(8) To broker agreements between state agencies and departments and between state agencies and departments and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources, reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing resources, and foster common applications for services, operating, and capital funding.

(9) To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California.

(10) To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness.

(11) To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council.

(12) To identify and implement strategies to fight homelessness in small communities and rural areas.

(13) To create a statewide data system or warehouse, which shall be known as the Homeless Data Integration System, that collects local data through Homeless Management Information Systems, with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs, such as the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9) and CalWORKs (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9). Upon creation of the Homeless Data Integration System, all continuums of care, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that are operating in California shall provide collected data elements, including, but not limited to, health information, in a manner consistent with federal law, to the Homeless Data Integration System.

(A) Council staff shall specify the form and substance of the required data elements.

(B) Council staff may, as required by operational necessity, and in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision (d) of Section 8256, amend or modify data elements, disclosure formats, or disclosure frequency.

(C) (i) To further the efforts to improve the public health, safety, and welfare of people experiencing homelessness in the state, council staff may collect data from the continuums of care as provided in this paragraph.

(ii) Council staff shall, upon request, share personally identifiable, individual-level data from the Homeless Data Integration System with an agency or department that is a member of the council for purposes of measuring housing instability and examining the effectiveness of, and need for, housing and homelessness programs and other antipoverty programs among Californians.

(iii) Data disclosed pursuant to this subparagraph shall be in compliance with the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).

(D) Any health information or personal identifying information provided to, or maintained within, the Homeless Data Integration System shall not be subject to public inspection or disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(E) For purposes of this paragraph, “health information” includes “protected health information,” as defined in Section 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and “medical information,” as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 56.05 of the Civil Code.

(14) To set goals to prevent and end homelessness among California’s youth.

(15) To improve the safety, health, and welfare of young people experiencing homelessness in the state.

(16) To increase system integration and coordinating efforts to prevent homelessness among youth who are currently or formerly involved in the child welfare system or the juvenile justice system.

(17) To lead efforts to coordinate a spectrum of funding, policy, and practice efforts related to young people experiencing homelessness.

(18) To identify best practices to ensure homeless minors who may have experienced maltreatment, as described in Section 300, are appropriately referred to, or have the ability to self-refer to, the child welfare system.

(19) To collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs.

(A) (i) Commencing with the 2025–26 fiscal year, and every fiscal year thereafter, council staff shall collect fiscal and outcome data from state agencies and departments administering state homelessness programs with a grantee or entity that is required to enter data elements on individuals and families it serves pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 8256. The state agencies and departments shall submit the fiscal and outcome data to council staff on or before February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

(ii) Council staff, in collaboration with the respective administering state agencies or departments, shall specify the data elements, entry format, and disclosure frequency of fiscal and outcome data.

(iii) Council staff may aggregate fiscal and outcome data in a manner it sees fit, and, in consultation with the respective administering state agencies or departments, shall make the data publicly available on or before June 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

(B) For the purposes of this paragraph:

(i) “Fiscal data” includes, but is not limited to, funding sources, budget allocations, obligations, and expenditures, and any other financial data needed to assess a state homelessness program. Fiscal data collected pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be limited to only the data authorized to be collected or requested from a grantee by administering agencies and departments based on the specific program’s authority or grant agreement.

(ii) “Outcome data” includes, but is not limited to, data relating to people exiting into permanent housing and data elements described in subdivision (d) of Section 8256. Outcome data collected pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be limited to only the data authorized to be collected or requested from a grantee by administering agencies and departments based on the specific program’s authority or grant agreement.

(A) The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who both shall serve as cochairs of the council.

(B) The Director of Transportation.

(D) The Director of Social Services.

(E) The Director of the California Housing Finance Agency.

(F) The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services.

(G) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

(H) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

(I) The Governor’s Tribal Advisor.

(J) The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer’s office.

(K) The State Public Health Officer.

(L) The Director of the California Department of Aging.

(M) The Director of Rehabilitation.

(N) The Director of State Hospitals.

(O) The executive director of the California Workforce Development Board.

(P) The Director of Emergency Services.

(Q) A representative from the State Department of Education, who shall be appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

(R) A representative of the state public higher education system who shall be from one of the following:

(i) The California Community Colleges.

(ii) The University of California.

(iii) The California State University.

(2) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one member to the council from two different stakeholder organizations.

(3) The council may, at its discretion, invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or provide information to the council.

(4) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every quarter.

(d) The council shall regularly seek guidance from and, at least twice a year, meet with an advisory committee. Notwithstanding Section 11123.5 of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), all members of the advisory committee may participate remotely in advisory committee meetings, including meetings held with the council, and no members are required to be present at the designated primary physical meeting location. The cochairs of the council shall appoint members to this advisory committee that reflects racial and gender diversity, and shall include the following:

(1) A survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness.

(2) Representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program.

(3) Stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states.

(4) Representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence.

(5) A currently or formerly homeless person who lives in California.

(6) A currently or formerly homeless youth who lives in California.

(7) A currently or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability.

(8) This advisory committee shall designate one of the above-described members to participate in every quarterly council meeting to provide a report to the council on advisory committee activities.

(e) Within existing funding, the council may establish working groups, task forces, or other structures from within its membership or with outside members to assist it in its work. Working groups, task forces, or other structures established by the council shall determine their own meeting schedules.

(f) Upon request of the council, a state agency or department that administers one or more state homelessness programs, including, but not limited to, an agency or department represented on the council pursuant to subdivision (c), the agency or department shall be required to do both of the following:

(1) Participate in council workgroups, task forces, or other similar administrative structures.

(2) Provide to the council any relevant information regarding those state homelessness programs.

(g) (1) The members of the council, advisory committee, or working groups who are or have been homeless may receive per diem and reimbursement for travel or other expenses as follows:

(A) A member of the council who is or has been homeless shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day during which that member is engaged in the performance of official duties and shall also be reimbursed for travel and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties.

(B) A member of the advisory committee who is or has been homeless shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day during which that member is engaged in the performance of official duties and shall also be reimbursed for travel and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties.

(C) A member of a working group, as defined and managed by council staff, who is or has been homeless shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day during which that member is engaged in the performance of official duties and shall also be reimbursed for travel and other expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties.

(2) (A) A per diem or reimbursement request pursuant to paragraph (1) is subject to funding availability.

(B) Notwithstanding any other law, assistance provided pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to be income for purposes of the Personal Income Tax Law (Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code) or used to determine eligibility for any state program or local program financed wholly or in part by state funds.

(3) (A) For purposes of complying with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as it pertains to this subdivision, the Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(i) The specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the exemptions created by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) are as follows:

(I) The objective is to facilitate the participation of individuals with lived homelessness experience in order to include valuable insight from those lived experiences in shaping policy recommendations.

(II) The goal is to prevent members with lived homelessness experience from incurring tax liability because of their participation.

(III) The purpose is to enable participants with lived homelessness experience to receive the full benefit of their per diem and reimbursements.

(ii) The performance indicators the Legislature can use to determine if the exemption is achieving the goals, purposes, and objectives stated in clause (i) shall be as follows:

(I) Whether the council, advisory committee, or working group members with lived homelessness experience incur any tax liability because of their participation on the committee.

(II) The number of people with lived homelessness experience who serve on the council, advisory committee, and working groups.

(B) (i) For purposes of complying with paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as it pertains to this subdivision, the Legislative Analyst’s Office shall deliver to the Legislature on or before April 1 of each year a written report that includes both of the following:

(I) The estimated aggregate tax liability incurred by council, advisory committee, or working group members with lived homelessness experience because of their participation on the committee.

(II) The estimated number of people with lived homelessness experience who serve on the council, advisory committee, or working groups that excluded qualified amounts from gross income as described in paragraph (1).

(ii) A report submitted pursuant to this subparagraph shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(iii) The reporting requirement pursuant to this subparagraph shall become inoperative on April 1, 2028, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “the performance of official duties” includes, but is not limited to, attending a council, advisory, or working group meeting and reviewing agenda materials for no more than one day in preparation for each council, advisory, or working group meeting.

(h) The appointed members of the council or committees, as described in this section, shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority.

(i) The Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency shall provide staff for the council.

(j) The members of the council may enter into memoranda of understanding with other members of the council to achieve the goals set forth in this chapter, as necessary, in order to facilitate communication and cooperation between the entities the members of the council represent.

(k) There shall be an executive officer of the council under the direction of the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing.

(l) The council shall be under the direction of the executive officer and staffed by employees of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.

SEC. 2.5.