Bill Text: CA SB1380 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016. [SB1380 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SB1380-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1380	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 14, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 28, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Mitchell
   (Coauthors: Senators Allen, Hertzberg, Liu, and Wieckowski)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Campos and Thurmond)

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) to Division
8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to 
homelessness, and making an appropriation therefor.  
homelessness. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1380, as amended, Mitchell. Homeless Coordinating and Financing
Council.
   Existing law establishes various programs, including, among
others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide
assistance to homeless persons.
   This bill would require a state agency or department that funds,
implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or
housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at
risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt
guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First
policies. The bill would also establish the Homeless Coordinating and
Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First
guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify
resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and
end homelessness in California.  The bill would establish
the Homeless Trust Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to receive
specified grant moneys and fund the administrative costs of the
council, as specified.  
   By authorizing the deposit of moneys into a continuously
appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation:  yes   no
 . 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 all of the
following:
   (a) California leads the nation in the number of homeless
residents with 115,738 people experiencing homelessness at some
point, which is 21 percent of the nation's total. California also
leads the nation in the number and ratio of chronically homeless
residents with 29,178 chronically homeless residents at any point in
time, which is 31 percent of the nation's total.
   (b) Homelessness is expensive to the state and local governments.
A homeless person receiving general assistance in Los Angeles County,
for example, incurs $2,897 per month in crisis response services.
   (c) A chronically homeless Californian moving into "supportive
housing" is able to reduce costs he or she incurs by almost 80
percent. Moving an individual or family experiencing chronic
homelessness to housing stability costs less than the resulting
savings in public expenditures.
   (d) Following the example of other states, as well as
jurisdictions within California, it is the intent of the Legislature
to adopt a "Housing First" model for all state programs funding
housing for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of
homelessness.
   (e) Housing First is an evidence-based model of ending all types
of homelessness and is the most effective approach to ending chronic
homelessness. The federal government recognizes that Housing First
yields high-housing retention rates, low returns to homelessness, and
significant reductions in crisis or institutional care.
   (f) Homelessness affects multiple systems in California. Though
almost every state with significant homeless populations has
established a council to coordinate a Housing First-oriented response
to homelessness, California does not have any entity to manage the
state's response to homelessness.
   (g) California participated in a federally funded Policy Academy
to reduce chronic homelessness. That Policy Academy succeeded in
revising programs California's Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) administers, and in attracting federal funding
opportunities requiring collaboration between the HCD and the State
Department of Health Care Services. To implement additional
successes, it is essential that California have a coordinating
council on homelessness.
  SEC. 2.  Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8260) is added to
Division 8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 7.  HOUSING FIRST AND COORDINATING COUNCIL


   8260.  For purposes of this chapter:
   (a) "Coordinating Council" means the Homeless Coordinating and
Financing Council established pursuant to Section 8262.
   (b) "Core components of Housing First" means all of the following:

   (1) Tenant screening and selection practices that promote
accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety or use of
substances, completion of treatment, or participation in services.
   (2) Applicants are not rejected on the basis of poor credit or
financial history, poor or lack of rental history, criminal
convictions unrelated to tenancy, or behaviors that indicate a lack
of "housing readiness."
   (3) Acceptance of referrals directly from shelters, street
outreach, drop-in centers, and other parts of crisis response systems
frequented by vulnerable people experiencing homelessness.
   (4) Supportive services that emphasize engagement and problem
solving over therapeutic goals and service plans that are highly
tenant-driven without predetermined goals.
   (5) Participation in services or program compliance is not a
condition of permanent housing tenancy.
   (6) Tenants have a lease and all the rights and responsibilities
of tenancy, as outlined in California's Civil, Health and Safety, and
Government codes.
   (7) The use of alcohol or drugs in and of itself, without other
lease violations, is not a reason for eviction.
   (8) In communities with coordinated assessment and entry systems,
incentives for funding promote tenant selection plans for supportive
housing that prioritize eligible tenants based on criteria other than
"first-come-first-serve," including, but not limited to, the
duration or chronicity of homelessness, vulnerability to early
mortality, or high utilization of crisis services. Prioritization may
include triage tools, developed through local data, to identify
high-cost, high-need homeless residents.
   (9) Case managers and service coordinators who are trained in and
actively employ evidence-based practices for client engagement,
including, but not limited to, motivational interviewing and
client-centered counseling.
   (10) Services are informed by a harm-reduction philosophy that
recognizes drug and alcohol use and addiction as a part of tenants'
lives, where tenants are engaged in nonjudgmental communication
regarding drug and alcohol use, and where tenants are offered
education regarding how to avoid risky behaviors and engage in safer
practices, as well as connected to evidence-based treatment if the
tenant so chooses.
   (11) The project and specific apartment may include special
physical features that accommodate disabilities, reduce harm, and
promote health and community and independence among tenants.
   (c) "Homeless" has the same definition as that term is defined in
Section 91.5 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (d) (1) "Housing First" means the evidence-based model that uses
housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that
centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent
housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer
services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and that does
not make housing contingent on participation in services.
   (2) "Housing First" includes time-limited rental or services
assistance, so long as the housing and service provider assists the
recipient in accessing permanent housing and in securing longer-term
rental assistance, income assistance, or employment.
   (e) "State programs" means 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, with the exception of
federally funded programs with requirements inconsistent with this
 chapter.   chapter or programs that fund
emergency shelters. 
   8261.  (a) Agencies and departments administering state programs
created on or after July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with the
Coordinating Council to adopt guidelines and regulations to
incorporate core components of Housing First.
   (b) By July 1, 2019, agencies and departments administering state
programs in existence prior to July 1, 2017, shall collaborate with
the Coordinating Council to revise or adopt guidelines and
regulations that incorporate the core components of Housing 
First.   First, if the existing guidelines and
regulations do not already incorporate the core components of 
 Housing First. 
   8262.  (a) Within 180 days of the effective date of the measure
adding this chapter, the Governor shall create a Homeless
Coordinating and Financing Council.
   (b) The Coordinating Council shall have 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, 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.
   (5) To coordinate existing funding and applications for
competitive funding.  Any action taken pursuant to this paragraph
shall not restructure or change a   ny existing allocations
or allocation formulas. 
   (6) To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators
and other government entities.
   (7) To identify and seek  money  funding
opportunities for state entities that have programs  to end
homelessness, including, but not limited to, federal and
philanthropic funding  opportunities.  
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  the single   a 
statewide  facilitator, coordinator, and policy development
resource on ending  homelessness  planning and policy
development resource.   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. 
   (c)  (1)    The Governor shall appoint up to 15
members of the Coordinating Council as follows: 
   (1) 
    (A)  A representative of the Governor's office. 

   (2) 
    (B)  A representative of the Department of Social
Services. 
   (3) 
    (C)  A representative of the California Housing Finance
Agency. 
   (4) 
    (D)  A representative of the Department of Health Care
Services. 
   (5) 
    (E)  A representative of the Department of Veterans
Affairs. 
   (6) 
    (F)  A representative of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation. 
   (G) A representative from the California Tax Credit Allocation
Committee in the Treasurer's Office.  
   (7) 
    (H)  People who are, or have been, homeless in
California, to the extent funding is available to pay for travel
costs and stipends. 
   (8) 
    (I)  Representatives of local agencies or organizations
that participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Continuum of Care Program. 
   (9) State advocates and other members 
    (J)     A state advocate or other member
 of the public or state agencies, according to the Governor's
discretion. 
   (2) 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.  
   (d) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every
quarter.  
   (d) 
    (e)  The members of the council shall serve at the
pleasure of the Governor. The Governor shall appoint a
chairperson, who may rotate among members at terms set by the
Governor.  
   (f) 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.  
   (e) 
    (g)  The members shall serve without compensation,
except that members who are, or have been, homeless may receive
reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses. 
   (f) 
    (h)  The Assistant Director for Homeless and Housing
Policy within the Department of Housing and Community Development
shall provide staff for the council. 
   (i) The council members may enter into memoranda of understanding
with other council members to achieve the goals set forth in this
chapter, as necessary, in order to facilitate communication and
cooperation between the entities the council members represent. 

   8263.  There is hereby established in the State Treasury the
Homeless Trust Fund. Moneys in the fund shall consist of funds
awarded to the state through philanthropic, federal, or other grants
the Coordinating Council, or departments within the Coordinating
Council, receive that are not otherwise designated to be administered
by another agency and that are expressly restricted for use only for
the purposes set forth in this chapter. Moneys in the fund are
hereby continuously appropriated as follows:
   (a) For the purposes of the grant.
   (b) For the administrative costs of the Coordinating Council, when
appropriate and available.