Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, establishes a housing authority within each county and city to undertake specified activities relating to housing for persons of low income, subject to the adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring the need for an authority.

Existing federal law provides housing assistance to low-income individuals and households in the form of vouchers, commonly known as Housing Choice Vouchers.

This bill would require the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda to, by January 1, 2026, conduct an evaluation and review of its internet website for the purpose of ensuring that the website is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31, 2025, publish Housing Choice Voucher program waitlist data on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the authority to, by September 30 of each year, develop and publish on its internet website a report that includes certain information, including information regarding employment with the authority and data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the authority, as specified. By requiring the authority to review its internet website, publish data, and develop an annual report, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, establishes a housing authority within each county and city to undertake specified activities relating to housing for persons of low income, subject to the adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring the need for an authority.

Existing federal law provides housing assistance to low-income individuals and households in the form of vouchers, commonly known as Housing Choice Vouchers.

This bill would require the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda to, by January 1, 2026, conduct an evaluation and review of its internet website for the purpose of ensuring that the website is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31, 2025, publish Housing Choice Voucher program waitlist data on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the authority to, by September 30 of each year, develop and publish on its internet website a report that includes certain information, including information regarding employment with the authority and data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the authority, as specified. By requiring the authority to review its internet website, publish data, and develop an annual report, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, establishes a housing authority within each county and city to undertake specified activities relating to housing for persons of low income, subject to the adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring the need for an authority.

Existing federal law provides housing assistance to low-income individuals and households in the form of vouchers, commonly known as Housing Choice Vouchers.

This bill would require the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda to, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its internet website for the purpose of ensuring that the website is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31, 2025, publish Housing Choice Voucher program waitlist data on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31 September 30 of each year, develop and publish on its internet website a report that includes specified certain information, including data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the authority, data regarding properties managed by the authority, and information regarding employment with the authority. authority and data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the authority, as specified. By requiring the authority to review its internet website and develop an annual report, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, establishes a housing authority within each county and city to undertake specified activities relating to housing for persons of low income, subject to the adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring the need for an authority.

Existing federal law provides housing assistance to low-income individuals and households in the form of vouchers, commonly known as Housing Choice Vouchers.

This bill would require the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda to, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its internet website for the purpose of ensuring that the website is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31, 2025, publish Housing Choice Voucher program waitlist data on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the authority to, by March 31 of each year, develop and publish on its internet website a report that includes specified information, including data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the authority, data regarding properties managed by the authority, and information regarding employment with the authority. By requiring the authority to review its internet website and develop an annual report, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 1357

Author: Wahab (D)

Amended: 5/20/24

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/19/24

AYES: Skinner, Ochoa Bogh, Blakespear, Caballero, Padilla, Seyarto, Umberg, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cortese, Menjivar

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SENATE FLOOR: 39-0, 4/11/24 (Consent)

AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/19/24 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Housing Authority of the County of Alameda

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to: (a) conduct a specified evaluation and review of its website to ensure information is easily accessible; and, (b) develop a specified annual report related to the efficacy of its programs, data about the properties it manages, and employment within the Authority, as specified.

Assembly Amendments

require the authority to develop an annual report beginning September 30, 2025 rather than March 31, 2025 and reorganize the data required to be included in the report.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and enacts rules and regulations governing the operation of the program.
2. Creates in each county and city a public body known as the Public Housing Authority (PHA) of the county or city and grants certain powers to those PHAs.

This bill:

1. Requires the Authority, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure it is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers.
2. Requires the evaluation of the website to ensure high visibility for the following: audits, budgets, policies, information regarding consumer rights, as specified, financial information of the Authority, information regarding the administration of housing programs, and meeting agendas.
3. Requires the Authority, beginning March 1, 2025, to publish Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program waitlist data on its website, which, at a minimum, shall include all of the following:
4. The number of households that are on the waitlist;
5. Data regarding the configuration of households on the waitlist; and
6. The number of households that were selected from the waitlist in the preceding 12 months.
7. Requires the Authority, beginning September 30, 2025, and each year thereafter, to develop a data-driven annual report for the preceding fiscal year that includes, at a minimum, information regarding employment with the Authority, including all of the following:
8. The total number of vacancies;
9. The number of vacancies filled by promotion;
10. The number of new hires;
11. Trainings offered to staff; and
12. Data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the Authority, including all of the following:
13. The total number of individuals housed in the preceding four years;
14. The total number of households on the HCV program waitlist and average length of time on the wait list;
15. The progress and success of the Authority in achieving the goals outlined in its five-year public agency plan;
16. The total number of vouchers committed to homelessness and percentage for homeless voucher programs;
17. The total number of rental vouchers allocated to each program, rental vouchers issued, and rental vouchers utilized; and
18. The data regarding households participating in the Family Self-Sufficiency program, including the number of participants, the total amount in an interest-bearing escrow account, and a description of the goals established in contracts with a participant, the rate of achieving the goals, and the number of participants who successfully graduated.
19. Requires the annual report to be posted on the Authority's website and to be cumulative of past years.

Background

PHAs and the Voucher System. The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country. More than 5 million people in over 2 million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households as of January 2022. The HCV program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants, and the federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant's income. Because the amount of federal funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher. While the voucher generally covers the portion of the tenant's rent that exceeds 30% of their income, payment standards for metro areas determine how much rent beyond 30% the HCV is allowed to cover. Payment standards are based on fair market rents (FMRs) that HUD calculates each year for middle-range housing units in an area, and generally units cannot exceed 110% of the FMR for the area without an "exception payment" allowance from HUD.

The HCV program is administered by PHAs, which are independent public entities created by state law and almost entirely funded by the federal government. This independence results in PHAs varying significantly from one region to the next. This variation stems from differences in funding, governance structures, and local policies.

Comments

1. HCV usage in California. Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCVs available in each region, most PHAs require applicants to join a voucher waitlist, intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. In practice, because the HCV program is so impacted and there is such a lack of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH, or unsubsidized housing where rents are naturally affordable) in the state, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist, and some PHAs have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods of time due to overwhelming demand.

Given the high cost of housing in California, low payment standards across PHAs in California also contribute to the challenges voucher recipients face in finding and leasing a unit, as lower payment standards restrict the number of eligible units to those with asking rents that do not exceed roughly 110% of the FMR. These and other factors can create discrepancies between a PHA's "utilization rate," generally the share of an agency's authorized vouchers in use on average over a calendar year, and their "voucher success rate," or the percentage of families that receive a newly issued voucher and are able to find and lease a unit. Additionally, higher cost markets have long wait lists. Los Angeles County PHA's waitlist, for example, has been closed since 2009, and only 44.7% of voucher recipients are able to find housing with their voucher. In San Bernardino, one-third of families are forced to return their voucher to the PHA. A household's inability to use a voucher often means that the family will fall into homelessness or continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, or uninhabitable living conditions.

1. Evaluating HCV in Alameda County. In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station analyzed HUD data, which found that households were waiting years for housing assistance and that Alameda County had “insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data.”^[1] The Authority web site currently states that it is not accepting applications for HCVs. The author is seeking to increase transparency regarding the Authority’s programming and improve the function of their web site for low-income residents.

This bill would require the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the web site, specific to the efficacy of the programs it administers, as well as data concerning properties it owns and people it employs. Specifically, the efficacy reports must include information about the number of people housed, including how many people experiencing homelessness, and average length of time people spend on the waitlist.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:

• No state costs. Local costs to the Authority of an unknown amount, but likely moderate to significant, to conduct an evaluation of its website, make improvements, and annually report specified data on its programs and employment practices. These costs are not state-reimbursable because as the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) has previously ruled that housing authorities are not eligible claimants for reimbursement of mandated costs.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/20/24)

My Eden Voice
Oakland Tenants Union

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/20/24)

California Association of Housing Authorities

Housing Authority of The County of Santa Cruz

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, “Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It’s imperative that the Housing Authority of Alameda County be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website.”

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the California Association of Housing Authorities, "HACA is already currently in the process of updating its internet website to be easier to navigate for the public, including those who are non­English speakers. Additionally, much of what this legislation is asking to be included on the website is published on the site currently. The annual report requirement included is data the housing authority already provides and is publicly available, meaning this would create duplicative work. The annual report requires reporting of information that is duplicative of what Housing Authorities report to HUD and in public budget documents. Housing Authorities provide an enormous amount of data through our voucher program operations, including success rate, time from issuance of the voucher to lease­up, utilization of funding and vouchers, etc. This data reporting is contained within HUD' s database systems and dashboards and is publicly available."

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 8/19/24

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Pacheco, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Rendon, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Ortega, Reyes

Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

8/20/24 16:11:21

**** END ****

1. There’s nearly a decade-long wait for public housing in Oakland, per housing authority. May 4, 2023. ABC Channel 7, San Francisco. Accessed here: https://abc7news.com/ca-affordable-housing-oakland-choice-voucher-hud-department-of/13212762/ ↑

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 1357

Author:(Wahab)

As Amended Ver:May 20, 2024

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure information is easily accessible; and develop an annual report related to the efficacy of its programs, data about the properties it manages, and employment within the Authority, as specified.

Major Provisions

1. Requires the Authority, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure it is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers.
2. Requires the evaluation of the website to ensure high visibility for the following: audits, budgets, policies, information regarding consumer rights, as specified, financial information of the Authority, information regarding the administration of housing programs, and meeting agendas.
3. Requires the Authority, beginning March 31, 2025, to publish Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program waitlist data on its website, which, at a minimum, shall include all of the following:
4. The number of households that are on the waitlist;
5. Data regarding the configuration of households on the waitlist; and
6. The number of households that were selected from the waitlist in the preceding 12 months.
7. Requires the Authority, beginning September 30, 2025, and each year thereafter, to develop a data-driven annual report for the preceding fiscal year that includes, at a minimum, information regarding employment with the Authority, including all of the following:
8. The total number of vacancies;
9. The number of vacancies filled by promotion;
10. The number of new hires;
11. Trainings offered to staff; and
12. Data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the Authority, including all of the following:
13. The total number of individuals housed in the preceding four years;
14. The total number of households on the HCV program waitlist and average length of time on the wait list;
15. The progress and success of the Authority in achieving the goals outlined in its five-year public agency plan;
16. The total number of vouchers committed to homelessness and percentage for homeless voucher programs;
17. The total number of rental vouchers allocated to each program, rental vouchers issued, and rental vouchers utilized; and
18. The data regarding households participating in the Family Self-Sufficiency program, including the number of participants, the total amount in an interest-bearing escrow account, and a description of the goals established in contracts with a participant, the rate of achieving the goals, and the number of participants who successfully graduated.
19. Requires the annual report to be posted on the Authority's website and to be cumulative of past years.

COMMENTS

Public Housing Authority (PHAs) and the Voucher System: The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country, first established in 1974 under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. More than 5 million people in over two million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households as of January 2022. A key feature of the HCV program is that the program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants, and the federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant's income. Because the amount of funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher. While the voucher generally covers the portion of the tenant's rent that exceeds 30% of their income, there are payment standards for metro areas that determine how much rent beyond 30% the HCV is allowed to cover. The payment standards are based on fair market rents (FMRs) that The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calculates each year for middle-range housing units in an area, and generally an eligible unit cannot exceed 10% of the FMR for the area without an "exception payment" allowance from HUD.

The HCV program is administered by PHAs, which are independent public entities created by state law and almost entirely funded by the federal government. Some PHAs also own and develop affordable housing. In addition to administering "tenant-based" HCVs and specialty vouchers like HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), PHAs can also choose to "project-base vouchers" (PBVs) or dedicate up to 20% (in some cases up to 30%) of their vouchers to specific units in an affordable or supportive housing development.

Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCVs available in each region, most PHAs require applicants to join a voucher waitlist, which is intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. However, in practice, because the HCV program is so impacted and there is such a lack of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in the state, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist, and some PHAs have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods of time due to overwhelming demand. NOAH is unsubsidized multifamily housing where rents are naturally affordable to low-income housing, in contrast to subsidized affordable housing that is regulated by agreements with government agencies.

Vouchers should be a lifeline for families who finally receive them after months or years on the waitlist – but California's new voucher recipients increasingly face significant barriers to using their vouchers because they have trouble competing in the state's competitive rental housing market, and because the state continues to lose NOAH properties. CHPC estimates 120,000 NOAH homes have already been lost statewide since 2020 and 324,000 additional NOAH homes are at risk in 2024, due in part to increases in private equity firms acquiring and converting them to market rents.

Low payment standards across PHAs in California also contribute to the challenges voucher recipients face in finding and leasing a unit, as lower payment standards restrict the number of eligible units to those with asking rents that do not exceed roughly 110% of the FMR. For example, the FMR for a two-bedroom rental in 2023 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro area is $2,222, while other private rental data aggregation sites suggest the average rent for a two-bedroom is much higher ($2,870 according to Apartments.com, and $2,781 across all unit sizes according to RentCafe). Even at 110% of two-bedroom FMR, which would be $2,444, private rental market data suggests this is $300 or more off average asking rents for similarly sized units in the area.

These and other factors can create discrepancies between a PHA's "utilization rate," generally the share of an agency's authorized vouchers in use on average over a calendar year, and their "voucher success rate," or the percentage of families that receive a newly issued voucher and are able to find and lease a unit. Utilization rates generally hover in the 80-100% range. The last HUD study of national success rates of PHAs conducted in 2000 found that the national average voucher success rate was 69%, while the average success rate in very tight housing markets was 61%, and the City of Los Angeles PHA had a success rate of 47%. The study further found that tight markets with low vacancies and lower quality housing stock had poorer utilization and success rates, while success rates tended to be higher if payment standards were set at FMR or above 110% of FMR (exception payment), source of income discrimination was prohibited in the jurisdiction, the housing stock was of higher quality, and the PHA had a landlord engagement strategy.

Los Angeles County PHA's waitlist has been closed since 2009, and only 44.7% of voucher recipients are able to find housing with their voucher. In San Bernardino, 33% of families are forced to return their voucher to the PHA due to the inability to find housing. A household's inability to use a voucher often means that the household will fall into homelessness or continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, or uninhabitable living conditions. Further, because of the way the program is funded, failure to utilize all of the state's federally allocated vouchers can result in lower rental subsidy funding for PHAs in future years. This creates a delicate balancing act for PHAs to manage, and many PHAs significantly "over-issue" vouchers to new families because they know they will not all successfully lease up, yet the PHA must get as close to possible to 100% of their budgeted authority in order to prevent funding reductions.

Housing Authority of the County of Alameda: In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station analyzed HUD data, which found that households were waiting years for housing assistance and that Alameda County had "insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data." The Authority web site currently states that it is not accepting applications for HCVs. The author is seeking to increase transparency regarding the Authority's programming and improve the function of their web site for low-income residents.

This bill would require the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the web site, specific to the efficacy of the programs it administers, as well as data concerning properties it owns and people it employs. Specifically, the efficacy reports must include information about the number of people housed, including how many people experiencing homelessness, and average length of time people spend on the waitlist.

According to the Author

"Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It's imperative that the Housing Authority of Alameda County be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website."

Arguments in Support

According to the Oakland's Tenant Union, this bill will "increase transparency regarding their programming, and improve the function of their website for consumers. The Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (HACA) website states they are not accepting applications for a number of programs. However, there is no public facing information regarding how long the waitlists are. Additionally, HACA's website does not present the information they do have in an easy to navigate manner, nor does the website have any data or metrics on HACA's programs."

Arguments in Opposition

According to the California Association of Housing Authorities, "HACA is already currently in the process of updating its internet website to be easier to navigate for the public, including those who are non­English speakers. Additionally, much of what this legislation is asking to be included on the website is published on the site currently. The annual report requirement included is data the housing authority already provides and is publicly available, meaning this would create duplicative work. The annual report requires reporting of information that is duplicative of what Housing Authorities report to HUD and in public budget documents. Housing Authorities provide an enormous amount of data through our voucher program operations, including success rate, time from issuance of the voucher to lease­up, utilization of funding and vouchers, etc. This data reporting is contained within HUD' s database systems and dashboards and is publicly available."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly committee on Appropriations: No state costs. Local costs to the Authority of an unknown amount, but likely moderate to significant, to conduct an evaluation of its website, make improvements, and annually report specified data on its programs and employment practices. These costs are not state-reimbursable because as the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) has previously ruled that housing authorities are not eligible claimants for reimbursement of mandated costs.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 39-0-1

YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk

ABS, ABST OR NV: Padilla

ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 9-0-0

YES: Ward, Joe Patterson, Grayson, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Sanchez, Haney

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 14-0-1

YES: Wicks, Sanchez, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Dixon, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Jim Patterson, Pellerin, Ta

ABS, ABST OR NV: Villapudua

UPDATED

VERSION: May 20, 2024

CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0003780

Date of Hearing: August 7, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1357

Author:(Wahab) – As Amended Ver:May 20, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes

SUMMARY:

This bill requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure accessibility; publish Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program waitlist data on its website; and annually report data related to the effectiveness of its programs and information regarding its employment practices, as specified.

Specifically, this bill requires the Authority to:

1. Conduct an evaluation and review of its internet website by January 1, 2026, to ensure accessibility and high visibility of, including for non-English speakers, audits, budgets, policies, employee salary schedules, meeting agendas, information on consumer rights, and the authority’s public agency plans and HCV program administration plan, as specified.
2. Publish HCV program waitlist data on its website, beginning March 31, 2025, which, at a minimum, must include the number of households on the waitlist, data regarding the configuration of households on the waitlist, and the number of households selected from the waitlist in the preceding 12 months.
3. Develop a data-driven annual report for the preceding fiscal year, beginning September 30, 2025, that includes specified information. The report must be posted on the Authority’s website and include, at a minimum, information regarding employment within the Authority, such as vacancies, new hires, promotions and staff training, and detailed data regarding the effectiveness of its programs, including individuals housed, voucher waitlists, progress in meeting five-year plan goals, and other data, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT:

No state costs. Local costs to the Authority of an unknown amount, but likely moderate to significant, to conduct an evaluation of its website, make improvements, and annually report specified data on its programs and employment practices. These costs are not state-reimbursable because as the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) has previously ruled that housing authorities are not eligible claimants for reimbursement of mandated costs.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It’s imperative that the Authority be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website.

1. Background. Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, creates a public housing authority in each county and city as a public body exercising public and essential governmental functions, subject to the adoption of a resolution by a city or county governing body declaring the need for an authority. Public housing authorities are independent public entities almost entirely funded by the federal government. They administer the federal HCV program, which provides rental subsidies for lower-income households and also occasionally own and manage low-income properties. Public housing authorities often vary significantly from one region to the next due to differences in funding, governance structure, and local policies.

The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country, first established in 1974 under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. More than five million people in over two million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households. The HCV program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants. The federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant’s income. Because the amount of funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher.

Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCV funding available in each region, most public housing authorities require an applicant to join a voucher waitlist, which is intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. However, in practice, because the HCV program is impacted, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist. Indeed, some public housing authorities have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods due to overwhelming demand.

In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station, using data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), found that households were waiting years for housing assistance. The station also reported that in 2022, 93% of the 1,575 public housing units in Alameda County were occupied, but noted Alameda County had “insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data.” The Authority website indicates it is not accepting applications for HCVs, but does not provide information on its waitlists. The author seeks to increase transparency regarding the Authority’s programming and wait lists, and improve the function of its website for low-income residents.

1. Support and Opposition. Supporters, including local advocates such as the Oakland Tenants Union, assert this bill will increase transparency and improve the function of the Authority’s website for consumers. In opposition, the California Association of Housing Authorities asserts this bill is duplicative of existing public data requirements and creates unnecessary work.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 12, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Christopher M. Ward, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 1357

Author:(Wahab) – As Amended Ver:May 20, 2024

SENATE VOTE: 39-0

SUBJECT: Housing Authority of the County of Alameda

SUMMARY: Requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure information is easily accessible; and develop an annual report related to the efficacy of its programs, data about the properties it manages, and employment within the Authority, as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires the Authority, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure it is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers.
2. Requires the evaluation of the website to ensure high visibility for the following: audits, budgets, policies, information regarding consumer rights, as specified, financial information of the Authority, information regarding the administration of housing programs, and meeting agendas.
3. Requires the Authority, beginning March 31, 2025, to publish Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program waitlist data on its website, which, at a minimum, shall include all of the following:
4. The number of households that are on the waitlist;
5. Data regarding the configuration of households on the waitlist; and
6. The number of households that were selected from the waitlist in the preceding 12 months.
7. Requires the Authority, beginning September 30, 2025, and each year thereafter, to develop a data-driven annual report for the preceding fiscal year that includes, at a minimum, information regarding employment with the Authority, including all of the following:
8. The total number of vacancies;
9. The number of vacancies filled by promotion;
10. The number of new hires;
11. Trainings offered to staff; and
12. Data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the Authority, including all of the following:
13. The total number of individuals housed in the preceding four years;
14. The total number of households on the HCV program waitlist and average length of time on the wait list;
15. The progress and success of the Authority in achieving the goals outlined in its five-year public agency plan;
16. The total number of vouchers committed to homelessness and percentage for homeless voucher programs;
17. The total number of rental vouchers allocated to each program, rental vouchers issued, and rental vouchers utilized; and
18. The data regarding households participating in the Family Self-Sufficiency program, including the number of participants, the total amount in an interest-bearing escrow account, and a description of the goals established in contracts with a participant, the rate of achieving the goals, and the number of participants who successfully graduated.
19. Requires the annual report to be posted on the Authority’s website and to be cumulative of past years.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Federal law, Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and federal regulations, Part 982 of Chapter IX of Subtitle B of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), establish the HCV Program and enact rules and regulations governing the operation of the program.
2. Establishes the methodology for determining fair market rents (FMRs) and Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) for areas. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) establishes SAFMRs for certain metropolitan FMR areas for use in the administration of tenant-based assistance under the HCV program. A Public Housing Authority (PHA) administering an HCV program in a metropolitan area not subject to the application of SAFMRs may opt to use SAFMRs by seeking approval from HUD's Office of PIH through written request. The selection criteria used to determine which metropolitan areas must use SAFMRs are:
   1. The number of vouchers under lease in the metropolitan FMR area;
   2. The percentage of the standard quality rental stock within the metropolitan FMR area that is in zip codes where the SAFMR is more than 110% of the metropolitan FMR area;
   3. The percentage of voucher families living in concentrated low income areas;
   4. The percentage of voucher families living in concentrated low income areas relative to the percentage of all renters within these areas over the entire metropolitan area; and
   5. The vacancy rate for the metropolitan area. (24 CFR § 888.113(c) )
3. Creates in each county and city a public body known as the PHA of the county or city and grants certain powers to those PHAs. (Health and Safety Code Section 34201)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It’s imperative that the Housing Authority of Alameda County be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website.”

PHAs and the Voucher System: The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country, first established in 1974 under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. More than 5 million people in over 2 million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households as of January 2022.^[1] A key feature of the HCV program is that the program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants, and the federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant’s income. Because the amount of funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher. While the voucher generally covers the portion of the tenant’s rent that exceeds 30% of their income, there are payment standards for metro areas that determine how much rent beyond 30% the HCV is allowed to cover. The payment standards are based on FMRs that HUD calculates each year for middle-range housing units in an area, and generally an eligible unit cannot exceed 10% of the FMR for the area without an “exception payment” allowance from HUD.

The HCV program is administered by PHAs, which are independent public entities created by state law and almost entirely funded by the federal government. Some PHAs also own and develop affordable housing. In addition to administering “tenant-based” HCVs and specialty vouchers like HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), PHAs can also choose to “project-base vouchers” (PBVs) or dedicate up to 20% (in some cases up to 30%) of their vouchers to specific units in an affordable or supportive housing development.

Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCVs available in each region, most PHAs require applicants to join a voucher waitlist, which is intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. However, in practice, because the HCV program is so impacted and there is such a lack of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) in the state, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist, and some PHAs have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods of time due to overwhelming demand. NOAH is unsubsidized multifamily housing where rents are naturally affordable to low-income housing, in contrast to subsidized affordable housing that is regulated by agreements with government agencies.

Vouchers should be a lifeline for families who finally receive them after months or years on the waitlist – but California’s new voucher recipients increasingly face significant barriers to using their vouchers because they have trouble competing in the state’s competitive rental housing market, and because the state continues to lose NOAH properties. CHPC estimates 120,000 NOAH homes have already been lost statewide since 2020 and 324,000 additional NOAH homes are at risk in 2024, due in part to increases in private equity firms acquiring and converting them to market rents.^[2]

Low payment standards across PHAs in California also contribute to the challenges voucher recipients face in finding and leasing a unit, as lower payment standards restrict the number of eligible units to those with asking rents that do not exceed roughly 110% of the FMR. For example, the FMR for a two-bedroom rental in 2023 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro area is $2,222, while other private rental data aggregation sites suggest the average rent for a two-bedroom is much higher ($2,870 according to Apartments.com, and $2,781 across all unit sizes according to RentCafe). Even at 110% of two-bedroom FMR, which would be $2,444, private rental market data suggests this is $300 or more off average asking rents for similarly sized units in the area.

These and other factors can create discrepancies between a PHA’s “utilization rate,” generally the share of an agency’s authorized vouchers in use on average over a calendar year, and their “voucher success rate,” or the percentage of families that receive a newly issued voucher and are able to find and lease a unit. Utilization rates generally hover in the 80-100% range. The last HUD study of national success rates of PHAs conducted in 2000 found that the national average voucher success rate was 69%, while the average success rate in very tight housing markets was 61%, and the City of Los Angeles PHA had a success rate of 47%. The study further found that tight markets with low vacancies and lower quality housing stock had poorer utilization and success rates, while success rates tended to be higher if payment standards were set at FMR or above 110% of FMR (exception payment), source of income discrimination was prohibited in the jurisdiction, the housing stock was of higher quality, and the PHA had a landlord engagement strategy.^[3]

Los Angeles County PHA’s waitlist has been closed since 2009, and only 44.7% of voucher recipients are able to find housing with their voucher. In San Bernardino, 33% of families are forced to return their voucher to the PHA due to the inability to find housing. A household’s inability to use a voucher often means that the household will fall into homelessness or continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, or uninhabitable living conditions. Further, because of the way the program is funded, failure to utilize all of the state’s federally allocated vouchers can result in lower rental subsidy funding for PHAs in future years. This creates a delicate balancing act for PHAs to manage, and many PHAs significantly “over-issue” vouchers to new families because they know they will not all successfully lease up, yet the PHA must get as close to possible to 100% of their budgeted authority in order to prevent funding reductions.

Housing Authority of the County of Alameda: In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station analyzed HUD data, which found that households were waiting years for housing assistance and that Alameda County had “insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data.”^[4] The Authority web site currently states that it is not accepting applications for HCVs. The author is seeking to increase transparency regarding the Authority’s programming and improve the function of their web site for low-income residents.

This bill would require the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the web site, specific to the efficacy of the programs it administers, as well as data concerning properties it owns and people it employs. Specifically, the efficacy reports must include information about the number of people housed, including how many people experiencing homelessness, and average length of time people spend on the waitlist.

Arguments in Support: According to the Oakland’s Tenant Union, this bill will “increase transparency regarding their programming, and improve the function of their website for consumers. The Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (HACA) website states they are not accepting applications for a number of programs. However, there is no public facing information regarding how long the waitlists are. Additionally, HACA’s website does not present the information they do have in an easy to navigate manner, nor does the website have any data or metrics on HACA’s programs.”

Arguments in Opposition: According to the California Association of Housing Authorities, “HACA is already currently in the process of updating its internet website to be easier to navigate for the public, including those who are non­English speakers. Additionally, much of what this legislation is asking to be included on the website is published on the site currently. The annual report requirement included is data the housing authority already provides and is publicly available, meaning this would create duplicative work. The annual report requires reporting of information that is duplicative of what Housing Authorities report to HUD and in public budget documents. Housing Authorities provide an enormous amount of data through our voucher program operations, including success rate, time from issuance of the voucher to lease­up, utilization of funding and vouchers, etc. This data reporting is contained within HUD' s database systems and dashboards and is publicly available.”

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Oakland Tenants Union

Opposition

California Association of Housing Authorities

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085

1. https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/federal-rental-assistance-fact-sheets#CA ↑

2. https://chpc.net/resources/california-naturally-occurring-affordable-homes-at-risk/ ↑

3. https://www.huduser.gov/publications/pdf/sec8success.pdf ↑

4. There’s nearly a decade-long wait for public housing in Oakland, per housing authority. May 4, 2023. ABC Channel 7, San Francisco. Accessed here: https://abc7news.com/ca-affordable-housing-oakland-choice-voucher-hud-department-of/13212762/ ↑

 CONSENT  

Bill No: SB 1357

Author: Wahab (D)

Introduced: 2/16/24

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/19/24

AYES: Skinner, Ochoa Bogh, Blakespear, Caballero, Padilla, Seyarto, Umberg, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Cortese, Menjivar

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8

SUBJECT: Housing Authority of the County of Alameda

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to: (1) conduct a specified evaluation and review of its website to ensure information is easily accessible; and, (2) develop a specified annual report related to the efficacy of its programs, data about the properties it manages, and employment within the Authority, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and enacts rules and regulations governing the operation of the program.
2. Creates in each county and city a public body known as the Public Housing Authority (PHA) of the county or city and grants certain powers to those PHAs.

This bill:

1. Requires the Authority, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure it is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers.
2. Requires the evaluation of the website to ensure high visibility for the following: audits, budgets, policies, information regarding consumer rights, as specified, financial information of the Authority, information regarding the administration of housing programs, and meeting agendas.
3. Requires, beginning March 31, 2025, and each year thereafter, the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the website, that includes the following information:
   1. Data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the Authority, including all of the following:
      1. The total number of individuals housed in the preceding four years.
      2. The total number of households on the HCV program waitlist and average length of time on the wait list.
      3. The total number of tenancy terminations and evictions initiated by the Authority and total number of leases signed.
      4. The progress and success of the Authority in achieving the goals outlined in its five-year public agency plan.
      5. The total number of vouchers committed to homelessness and percentage for homeless voucher programs.
      6. The data regarding the self-sufficiency of households receiving assistance, including earned income increases and efficacy of cash rewards.
   2. Data regarding properties managed by the Authority, including, all of the following:
      
      1. The number of work orders received and completed, and the average time to complete work orders.
      2. The number of principal maintenance requests.
      3. The average vacant unit turn-around time.
   3. Information regarding employment with the Authority, including all of the following:
      
      1. Total number of vacancies and number of vacancies filled by promotion.
      2. Number of new hires.
      3. Trainings offered to staff.

Background

PHAs and the Voucher System. The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country. More than 5 million people in over 2 million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households as of January 2022. The HCV program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants, and the federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant's income. Because the amount of federal funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher. While the voucher generally covers the portion of the tenant's rent that exceeds 30% of their income, payment standards for metro areas determine how much rent beyond 30% the HCV is allowed to cover. Payment standards are based on fair market rents (FMRs) that HUD calculates each year for middle-range housing units in an area, and generally units cannot exceed 110% of the FMR for the area without an "exception payment" allowance from HUD.

The HCV program is administered by PHAs, which are independent public entities created by state law and almost entirely funded by the federal government. This independence results in PHAs varying significantly from one region to the next. This variation stems from differences in funding, governance structures, and local policies.

Comments

1. Author’s statement. According to the author, “Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It’s imperative that the Housing Authority of Alameda County be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website.”

1. HCV usage in California. Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCVs available in each region, most PHAs require applicants to join a voucher waitlist, intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. In practice, because the HCV program is so impacted and there is such a lack of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH, or unsubsidized housing where rents are naturally affordable) in the state, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist, and some PHAs have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods of time due to overwhelming demand.

Given the high cost of housing in California, low payment standards across PHAs in California also contribute to the challenges voucher recipients face in finding and leasing a unit, as lower payment standards restrict the number of eligible units to those with asking rents that do not exceed roughly 110% of the FMR. These and other factors can create discrepancies between a PHA's "utilization rate," generally the share of an agency's authorized vouchers in use on average over a calendar year, and their "voucher success rate," or the percentage of families that receive a newly issued voucher and are able to find and lease a unit. Additionally, higher cost markets have long wait lists. Los Angeles County PHA's waitlist, for example, has been closed since 2009, and only 44.7% of voucher recipients are able to find housing with their voucher. In San Bernardino, one-third of families are forced to return their voucher to the PHA. A household's inability to use a voucher often means that the family will fall into homelessness or continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, or uninhabitable living conditions.

1. Evaluating HCV in Alameda County. In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station analyzed HUD data, which found that households were waiting years for housing assistance and that Alameda County had “insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data.”^[1] The Authority web site currently states that it is not accepting applications for HCVs. The author is seeking to increase transparency regarding the Authority’s programming and improve the function of their web site for low-income residents.

This bill would require the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the web site, specific to the efficacy of the programs it administers, as well as data concerning properties it owns and people it employs. Specifically, the efficacy reports must include information about the number of people housed, including how many people experiencing homelessness, and average length of time people spend on the waitlist.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 4/8/24)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/8/24)

None received

Prepared by: Max Ladow / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124, Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

4/10/24 10:12:07

**** END ****

1. There’s nearly a decade-long wait for public housing in Oakland, per housing authority. May 4, 2023. ABC Channel 7, San Francisco. Accessed here: https://abc7news.com/ca-affordable-housing-oakland-choice-voucher-hud-department-of/13212762/ ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 1357 Hearing Date: 3/19/2024

SUBJECT: Housing Authority of the County of Alameda

DIGEST: This bill requires the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda (Authority) to: (1) conduct a specified evaluation and review of its website to ensure information is easily accessible; and, (2) develop a specified annual report related to the efficacy of its programs, data about the properties it manages, and employment within the Authority, as specified.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the federal Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program and enacts rules and regulations governing the operation of the program.
2. Creates in each county and city a public body known as the Public Housing Authority (PHA) of the county or city and grants certain powers to those PHAs.

This bill:

1. Requires the Authority, by January 1, 2026, to conduct an evaluation and review of its website to ensure it is easily accessible and navigable, including for those that are non-English speakers.
2. Requires the evaluation of the website to ensure high visibility for the following: audits, budgets, policies, information regarding consumer rights, as specified, financial information of the Authority, information regarding the administration of housing programs, and meeting agendas.
3. Requires, beginning March 31, 2025, and each year thereafter, the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the website, that includes the following information:
4. Data regarding the effectiveness of the programs administered by the Authority, including all of the following:

The total number of individuals housed in the preceding four years.

The total number of households on the HCV program waitlist and average length of time on the wait list.

The total number of tenancy terminations and evictions initiated by the Authority and total number of leases signed.

The progress and success of the Authority in achieving the goals outlined in its five-year public agency plan.

The total number of vouchers committed to homelessness and percentage for homeless voucher programs.

The data regarding the self-sufficiency of households receiving assistance, including earned income increases and efficacy of cash rewards.

• • • • 1. Data regarding properties managed by the Authority, including, all of the following:

The number of work orders received and completed, and the average time to complete work orders.

The number of principal maintenance requests.

The average vacant unit turn-around time.

• • • • 1. Information regarding employment with the Authority, including all of the following:

Total number of vacancies and number of vacancies filled by promotion.

Number of new hires.

Trainings offered to staff.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement. “Federally-funded voucher programs are lifelines to low-income families who would otherwise be priced out of the communities in which they have established their lives. That there is a lack of transparency regarding this programming is troubling for local elected officials, those on waiting lists, and those who cannot access information because the waiting lists are closed. It’s imperative that the Housing Authority of Alameda County be more proactive in reporting programming data in order to establish public trust and confidence in a critical social safety net, and that this data be easily accessible on their website.”

1. PHAs and the Voucher System. The HCV program is the largest rental assistance program in the country. More than 5 million people in over 2 million low-income households use vouchers nationwide, including 307,800 California households as of January 2022. The HCV program relies on private landlords to accept voucher recipients as tenants, and the federal government covers the portion of rent that exceeds 30% of the tenant's income. Because the amount of federal funding provided for the HCV program is limited, far more low-income people qualify for a voucher than actually receive one – and even fewer of those who receive one can successfully find a landlord in the private market willing to accept the voucher. While the voucher generally covers the portion of the tenant's rent that exceeds 30% of their income, payment standards for metro areas determine how much rent beyond 30% the HCV is allowed to cover. Payment standards are based on fair market rents (FMRs) that HUD calculates each year for middle-range housing units in an area, and generally units cannot exceed 110% of the FMR for the area without an "exception payment" allowance from HUD.

The HCV program is administered by PHAs, which are independent public entities created by state law and almost entirely funded by the federal government. This independence results in PHAs varying significantly from one region to the next. This variation stems from differences in funding, governance structures, and local policies. Moreover, the lack of collaboration with local governments leads to fragmented approaches to addressing housing challenges and limited integration with broader planning efforts.

1. HCV usage in California. Due to the mismatch between the number of eligible low-income households and the amount of HCVs available in each region, most PHAs require applicants to join a voucher waitlist, intended to filter people into the program as vouchers become available. In practice, because the HCV program is so impacted and there is such a lack of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH, or unsubsidized housing where rents are naturally affordable) in the state, many people wait years on a voucher waitlist, and some PHAs have had their waitlists closed for years and only open them for extremely brief periods of time due to overwhelming demand.

Given the high cost of housing in California, low payment standards across PHAs in California also contribute to the challenges voucher recipients face in finding and leasing a unit, as lower payment standards restrict the number of eligible units to those with asking rents that do not exceed roughly 110% of the FMR. For example, the FMR for a two-bedroom rental in 2023 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro area was $2,222, while other private rental data aggregation sites suggest the average rent for a two-bedroom is much higher ($2,870 according to Apartments.com, and $2,781 across all unit sizes according to RentCafe). Even at 110% of two-bedroom FMR, which would be $2,444, private rental market data suggests this is $300 or more off average asking rents for similarly sized units in the area.

These and other factors can create discrepancies between a PHA's "utilization rate," generally the share of an agency's authorized vouchers in use on average over a calendar year, and their "voucher success rate," or the percentage of families that receive a newly issued voucher and are able to find and lease a unit. Utilization rates generally hover in the 80-100% range. The last HUD study of national success rates of PHAs conducted in 2000 found that the national average voucher success rate was 69%, while the average success rate in very tight housing markets was 61%, and in the City of Los Angeles was 47%. Only 27% of PHAs had success rates below 60%, the threshold that would be established in this bill to trigger mandatory adoption of SAFMRs.

Additionally, higher cost markets have long wait lists. Los Angeles County PHA's waitlist, for example, has been closed since 2009, and only 44.7% of voucher recipients are able to find housing with their voucher. In San Bernardino, one-third of families are forced to return their voucher to the PHA. A household's inability to use a voucher often means that the family will fall into homelessness or continue to live in unsafe, overcrowded, or uninhabitable living conditions. Further, because of the way the program is funded, failure to utilize all of the state's federally allocated vouchers can result in lower funding for PHAs in future years. This creates a delicate balancing act for PHAs to manage. Many PHAs significantly "over-issue" vouchers because they know they will not all successfully lease up, yet the PHA must get as close to possible to 100% of their budgeted authority in order to prevent funding reductions.

1. Evaluating HCV in Alameda County. In 2023, a San Francisco ABC-affiliated TV station analyzed HUD data, which found that households were waiting years for housing assistance and that Alameda County had “insufficient or unreliable waitlist time data.”^[1] The Authority web site currently states that it is not accepting applications for HCVs. The author is seeking to increase transparency regarding the Authority’s programming and improve the function of their web site for low-income residents.

This bill would require the Authority to conduct a data driven annual report, posted to the web site, specific to the efficacy of the programs it administers, as well as data concerning properties it owns and people it employs. Specifically, the efficacy reports must include information about the number of people housed, including how many people experiencing homelessness, and average length of time people spend on the waitlist.

Related Legislation:

AB 653 (Reyes, 2023) — creates the Federal Housing Voucher Acceleration Program at HCD. This bill is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

March 13, 2024.)

SUPPORT:

None received.

OPPOSITION:

None received.

-- END --

1. There’s nearly a decade-long wait for public housing in Oakland, per housing authority. May 4, 2023. ABC Channel 7, San Francisco. Accessed here: https://abc7news.com/ca-affordable-housing-oakland-choice-voucher-hud-department-of/13212762/ ↑