AB 513: 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.