SB 37: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act.
- Session Year: 2023-2024
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2024-08-28
Current Status:
Failed
(2024-09-25: In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending.)
Introduced
In Committee
First Chamber
In Committee
Second Chamber
Enacted
What does this bill do?
This bill creates a pilot program to give short-term housing subsidies and support to older adults (50+) and adults with disabilities who are homeless or at risk of homelessness by awarding competitive grants to nonprofits, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging. Grant funds can cover rent up to a local cap, move-in or relocation costs, landlord incentives, and housing navigation or tenancy services, and recipients must report program outcomes to the state and undergo an independent evaluation.
The summary is provided by generative AI which can make mistakes. For original language, please view the details in the table below.
Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness and establishing the Homeless Emergency Aid program for the purpose of providing localities with one-time grant funds to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law commits to the Department of Housing and Community Development the administration of various housing assistance programs, including provisions relating to residential hotel rehabilitation and tasks the department, in consultation with each council of governments, with the determination of each regions existing and projected housing need.
This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, require the Department of Housing and Community Development, commencing January 1, 2025, to begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined, in up to 5 geographic regions or counties.
This bill would require the department, in establishing the program guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. The bill would create the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund from which funds would be allocated by the department to selected recipients for a 3-year period for these purposes.
This bill would require an award recipient to use grant funds for specified activities, including housing subsidies up to the rent cap, as defined, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires and would authorize the use of grant funds for relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program or evicts a tenant, as specified. The bill would authorize a grantee to utilize up to 15% of its allocation for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services, as defined.
This bill would require the department to conduct specified oversight activities, including imposing reporting requirements on award recipients and contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of program outcomes and submit that report to the Legislature, as specified.
Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness and establishing the Homeless Emergency Aid program for the purpose of providing localities with one-time grant funds to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law commits to the Department of Housing and Community Development the administration of various housing assistance programs, including provisions relating to residential hotel rehabilitation and tasks the department, in consultation with each council of governments, with the determination of each regions existing and projected housing need.
This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, require the Department of Housing and Community Development, commencing January 1, 2024, 2025, to begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined. defined, in up to 5 geographic regions or counties.
This bill would require the department, in establishing the program guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. The bill would create the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund from which funds would be allocated by the department to eligible recipients though December 31, 2028, selected recipients for a 3-year period for these purposes.
This bill would require an award recipient to use grant funds for specified activities, including housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent the rent cap, as defined, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires and relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program or evicts a tenant, as specified. The bill would authorize a grantee to utilize up to 15% of its allocation for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services, as defined.
This bill would require the department to conduct specified oversight activities, including imposing reporting requirements on award recipients and contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report. The bill would require the department to submit those reports and submit that report to the Legislature, as specified.
Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness and establishing the Homeless Emergency Aid program for the purpose of providing localities with one-time grant funds to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law commits to the Department of Housing and Community Development the administration of various housing assistance programs, including provisions relating to residential hotel rehabilitation and tasks the department, in consultation with each council of governments, with the determination of each regions existing and projected housing need.
This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, require the California Department of Housing and Community Development, commencing January 1, 2024, to begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined.
This bill would require the department, in establishing the program guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. The bill would create the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund from which funds would be allocated by the department to eligible recipients though December 31, 2028, for these purposes.
This bill would require an award recipient to use grant funds for specified activities, including housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires and relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program or evicts a tenant, as specified. The bill would authorize a grantee to utilize up to 15% of its allocation for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services, as defined.
This bill would require the department to conduct specified oversight activities, including imposing reporting requirements on award recipients and contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report. The bill would require the department to submit those reports to the Legislature, as specified.
Existing law establishes various programs to address homelessness, including requiring the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness and establishing the Homeless Emergency Aid program for the purpose of providing localities with one-time grant funds to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law commits to the Department of Housing and Community Development the administration of various housing assistance programs, including provisions relating to residential hotel rehabilitation and tasks the department, in consultation with each council of governments, with the determination of each regions existing and projected housing need.
This bill would, upon an appropriation by the Legislature for this express purpose, require the California Department of Housing and Community Development, commencing January 1, 2024, to begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program. The bill would require the department, in administering the program, to offer competitive grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care, public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as defined.
This bill would require the department, in establishing the program guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. The bill would create the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund from which funds would be allocated by the department to eligible recipients though December 31, 2028, for these purposes.
This bill would require an award recipient to use grant funds for specified activities, including housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires and relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program or evicts a tenant, as specified. The bill would authorize a grantee to utilize up to 15% of its allocation for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services, as defined.
This bill would require the department to conduct specified oversight activities, including imposing reporting requirements on award recipients and contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report. The bill would require the department to submit those reports to the Legislature, as specified.
Existing law permits application of age restrictions in connection with housing and defines a senior citizen housing development, among other terms, for these purposes. Existing law establishes in each city or county a housing authority authorized to plan, administer, operate, and assist public housing projects financed in whole or in part by the state or federal government. Existing law imposes various requirements regarding access to, and quality of, housing for seniors and the elderly.This bill would make findings and declarations relating to senior housing and would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this bill to include provisions than would enact meaningful tenancy reform to ensure that aging adults can remain safely housed.Existing law permits application of age restrictions in connection with housing and defines a senior citizen housing development, among other terms, for these purposes. Existing law establishes in each city or county a housing authority authorized to plan, administer, operate, and assist public housing projects financed in whole or in part by the state or federal government. Existing law imposes various requirements regarding access to, and quality of, housing for seniors and the elderly.
This bill would make findings and declarations relating to senior housing and would state the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this bill to include provisions than would enact meaningful tenancy reform to ensure that aging adults can remain safely housed.
This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act.
19905.2.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Californians who are older or experience disabilities, many of whom live on fixed incomes, face increasing rental cost burdens, with roughly 8 out of 10 extremely low income older renters paying more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Fair market rents in California for an efficiency apartment range from six hundred twenty-nine dollars ($629) to two thousand two hundred twenty-three dollars ($2,223) per month, far more than an older adult or adult with a disability on a fixed income can afford, particularly when the maximum Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for an individual in 2023 is one thousand one hundred thirty-three dollars ($1,133) per month. The SSI payment in 2019 covered only 40 percent of the basic cost of living for a senior living alone. In the County of Los Angeles, the SSI individual payment level has not been enough to afford an apartment since 2008.
(b)The state has also estimated that over 11,000 people living in nursing facilities could be discharged to the community if they had an affordable place to live.
(c)Older adults are at the epicenter of Californias housing affordability and homelessness crisis, with over 40,000 people 55 years of age or older experiencing homelessness. In the four-year period from 2017 to 2021, the number of older Californians, 65 years of age or older, accessing homeless services has increased by 138 percent. The California Master Plan for Aging has a key goal of preventing and ending older adult homelessness.
(d)Housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show that low-income renters accessing shallow housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services and interventions.
(e)The housing stabilization program could prevent and end homelessness for older adults and adults with disabilities.
19905.4.For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a)Adult with a disability means an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)A physical disability, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(2)A mental disability, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 12926 of the Government Code, except it shall also include a substance use condition.
(3)A medical condition, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(4)A developmental disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)A chronic illness, including, but not limited to, HIV.
(6)A traumatic brain injury.
(b)Affordable housing means multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
(c)Area agency on aging has the same meaning as set forth in Section 9006 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d)Area median income has the same meaning as set forth in Section 50093.
(e)At risk of homelessness means a household that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)The household has an income that is not greater than 20 percent of the areas median income, as determined using the Department of Housing and Community Developments area median income annual standards.
(2)The household is severely rent burdened, as defined in subdivision (v), or is otherwise moving frequently without any leaseholder agreement because of an inability to afford rent.
(3)The household meets one or more of the following risk factors:
(A)The household is living in a census tract with rates higher than the states mean rate of poverty, displacement, gentrification, or homelessness.
(B)The household has experienced one or more previous incidents of homelessness.
(C)The household receives services from multiple county or other public or publicly funded agencies.
(D)The household is exiting an institution or would be able to exit with affordable housing, including, but not limited to, people living in a skilled nursing facility or other residential care facility, but could live independently with rental subsidies and appropriate services or supports.
(E)The household is staying with family or friends, but has been told by the leaseholder to vacate.
(F)The household recently experienced a death of a family member or separation or divorce from an adult partner.
(f)Continuum of care has the same meaning as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g)Department means the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(h)Eligible population means an older adult or an adult with a disability whose household meets either of the following criteria:
(1)The household is experiencing homelessness.
(2)The household is at risk of homelessness.
(i)Experiencing homelessness has the same meaning as homeless and homelessness, as those terms are each defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting shall continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
(j)Fair market rent means the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of nonluxury nature with suitable amenities.
(k)Holding fees and vacancy costs mean payment to private-market landlords as incentives to hold a housing unit as available to an eligible program participant while the participant or landlord is waiting for approval to rent the housing unit.
(l)Housing Choice Voucher means the program described in subsection (o) of Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(m)Housing first means adhering to the core components described in subdivision (b) of Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(n)Homeless Management Information System means the information system designated by a continuum of care to comply with federal reporting requirements as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The term Homeless Management Information System also includes the use of a comparable database by a victim provider or legal services provider that is permitted by the federal government under Part 576 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(o)Housing navigation means services that assist program participants with locating permanent housing with private-market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants to assist those program participants in doing any of the following:
(1)Obtaining local, state, or federal assistance or subsidies.
(2)Completing housing applications for permanent housing or housing subsidies.
(3)Move-in assistance, if applicable.
(4)Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.
(p)Housing subsidy means a tenant-based rental subsidy provided to a tenant, landlord, or property manager to assist a tenant in paying the difference between what the tenant can pay as a percent of the tenants household income and the reasonable rent for the unit.
(q)Master lease means a single lease that covers multiple properties leased from a landlord or property manager to a recipient or subrecipient that the recipient or subrecipient sublets to program participants. The single lease shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part and shall be subject to the rights and responsibilities of tenancy under the laws of this state.
(r)Older adult means an individual or head of household who is 50 years of age or older.
(s)Permanent housing means a structure or set of structures with no limit on length of stay, even if accompanied by a time-limited rental subsidy, that is subject to applicable landlord-tenant law and has no requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy in the housing.
(t)Program means the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program established pursuant to this part.
(u)Public housing authority means the same as public housing agency, as defined in Section 5.100 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(v)Rent cap means the maximum rent subsidy paid towards participants rent. The individual rent cap is the lesser of the maximum rent subsidy for that county as established by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 19905.6 or the dollar amount needed to reduce tenant rent and utilities to 30 percent of their gross income.
(w)Severely rent burdened means a condition in which a household pays more than 50 percent of their total household income for rent and utilities.
(x)Tenancy acquisition services means services provided by staff dedicated to engaging property owners to rent housing units to the eligible population through a housing subsidy.
(y)Tenancy sustaining services means any of the following:
(1)Early identification and intervention of behaviors that may jeopardize housing security.
(2)Education and training on the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
(3)Coaching on developing and maintaining key relationships with landlords and property managers.
(4)Assistance in resolving disputes with landlords and neighbors to reduce the risk of eviction.
(5)Advocacy and linkage with community resources to prevent eviction when housing may become jeopardized.
(6)Care coordination and advocacy with health care professionals.
(7)Assistance with a housing recertification process.
(8)Coordinating with the tenant to review and update a housing support and crisis plan.
(9)Training in being a good tenant and lease compliance.
(10)Benefits advocacy.
(11)Employment services.
(12)Services connecting individuals to education.
(13)Any other service that supports individuals and families to promote housing stability, foster community integration and inclusion, and develop natural support networks, and that are offered through a trauma-informed, culturally competent approach.
(z)Tenancy transition services means using evidence-based service models to provide any of the following:
(1)Screening and assessing the tenants preferences and barriers to successful tenancy.
(2)Developing an individualized housing support plan that includes motivational interviewing and goal setting.
(3)Assistance with the housing application and search process.
(4)Identifying resources to cover expenses for one-time costs associated with move-in, including first months rent and security deposits, home modification, utility connection, and furniture costs.
(5)Ensuring that the living environment is safe and ready for move-in.
(6)Assisting and arranging for the details of the move.
(7)Developing a housing supports crisis plan that includes prevention and early intervention when housing is jeopardized.
(8)Engagement services.
(9)Any other evidence-based services that an individual tenant may require to move into permanent housing.
19905.6.(a)(1)Upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to Section 19905.14, the department shall, commencing January 1, 2025, begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. In administering the program, the department shall offer competitive grants, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), to administer a housing subsidy program for the eligible population in up to five geographic regions or counties.
(2)The Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund is hereby established within the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall allocate program funds to selected recipients for a three-year period, in accordance with this part. The department shall select recipients based on the proportion of people 50 years of age and over experiencing housing cost burden in the jurisdictions the applicant intends to serve.
(3)The department may use up to 5 percent of program funds to administer and oversee the program.
(4)The department shall ensure that at least 30 percent of overall program funding shall be awarded to grantees that serve people experiencing homelessness among their populations served and have experience and competency in serving people experiencing homelessness, as determined by the department.
(b)In developing the guidelines and competitive application for the program, the department shall do all of the following:
(1)Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. In awarding grants, the department shall ensure geographic diversity in awards and select at least one rural county.
(2)Award funding on a competitive basis to any of the following types of recipients, or a combination of partnering recipients:
(A)Nonprofit community-based organizations.
(B)Continuums of care.
(C)Public housing authorities.
(D)Area agencies on aging.
(3)Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate all of the following:
(A)Cultural sensitivity and specificity in serving eligible populations in an equitable manner.
(B)Capacity to administer grant funds expeditiously.
(C)Expertise and experience administering Housing First housing subsidy programs.
(D)Expertise and experience providing tenancy acquisition, housing navigation, and tenancy transition services.
(E)Ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging service providers, aging disability resource centers, and homeless continuums of care to achieve the ability to help eligible populations access available housing opportunities and needed services by doing all of the following, as needed by each participant:
(i)Linking people to tenancy sustaining services.
(ii)Assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems.
(iii)Providing a no wrong door approach through cross-sector partnerships.
(c)(1)Grant recipients shall use grant funds for housing subsidies up to the rent cap for a unit that is master leased, private-market rentals within individual units, or for affordable or supportive housing projects that need operating support, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the expenditure period expires pursuant to subdivision (f). Subsidies provided pursuant to this paragraph include either or both of the following:
(A)Subsidies for households at risk of homelessness to remain stably housed in their current housing or to relocate to a housing unit that is more affordable or appropriate to the household.
(B)Subsidies for households experiencing homelessness to access housing units.
(2)For purposes of determining the rent cap, the department shall establish three levels of caps, one for lower-cost, medium-cost, and high-cost counties based on fair market rents in the jurisdictions the selected recipients will serve.
(d)A grant recipient may use grant funding for the following additional costs:
(1)Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a Housing Choice Voucher.
(2)Up to a total of 15 percent of a grantees allocation for all of the following:
(A)Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services.
(B)Landlord incentives, including, but not limited to, holding or vacancy fees, security deposits, and repair and improvement costs to meet housing quality standards required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for Housing Choice Vouchers.
(C)Housing navigation and tenancy transition services.
(D)Any other grantee administrative costs.
(e)Each award recipient shall, as a condition of receiving state funds, report data into the Homeless Management Information System and enter data elements into the Homeless Management Information System pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 8256 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(f)The department shall enter into a standard agreement with each award recipient. Recipients shall obligate all funding received within three years of signing the standard agreement, and shall expend all funding within five years of signing the standard agreement.
(g)An award recipient that is not a continuum of care shall collaborate with a continuum of care operating in the geographic area in which the recipient is serving participants, both in planning for the use of funds and in allocation of funding, to ensure that the program is consistent and coordinated with local homeless response.
19905.8.In all designated geographic regions in which the department has awarded grants, the department shall establish partnerships with one or more public housing authorities to achieve both of the following:
(a)Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program.
(b)Work with award recipients and recruited landlords to ensure recruited landlords meet the requirements of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
19905.10.The department shall conduct oversight of the program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following activities:
(a)Requiring award recipients to report regularly on all of the following:
(1)The number and demographics, including age, race or ethnicity, and presubsidy housing status, of people being served, as compared to the number of demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the community.
(2)Housing retention rates of program participants one year, and if data is available, two years, following the commencement of assistance.
(3)The number and demographics of participants accessing Housing Choice Vouchers or other federally subsidized housing and the length of time each participant receives the programs housing subsidies before accessing housing subsidies.
(b)Requiring award recipients to establish a grievance process with adequate procedures for contesting denial or termination of subsidies for potential participants who did not receive subsidies for reasons other than lack of funding.
(c)Contracting for an evaluation that includes an assessment of both of the following:
(1)Where people were living when they received subsidies.
(2)Outcomes of the participants, including the number of participants who transition to Housing Choice Vouchers or other federal subsidies.
(d)Assessing whether the program is advancing equitable outcomes, and revising policies to course-correct.
(e)(1)Contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of program outcomes. The department shall submit a report on this evaluation to all of the following:
(A)The Assembly Committee on Budget.
(B)The Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
(C)The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
(D)The Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
(E)The Senate Committee on Housing.
(F)The Senate Committee on Human Services.
(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
19905.12.Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to this part are not income of the participant for purposes of determining eligibility for, or benefits pursuant to, any public assistance program. Participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based services programs shall not disqualify an individual or household from being a participant for purposes of housing or services funded pursuant to this part.
19905.14.This part shall become operative only upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds for the purposes of the program.
This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act.
19905.2.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Californians who are older or experience disabilities, many of whom live on fixed incomes, face increasing rental cost burdens, with roughly 8 out of 10 extremely low income older renters paying more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Fair market rents in California for an efficiency apartment range from six hundred twenty-nine dollars ($629) to two thousand two hundred twenty-three dollars ($2,223) per month, far more than an older adult or adult with a disability on a fixed income can afford, particularly when the maximum Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for an individual in 2023 is one thousand one hundred thirty-three dollars ($1,133) per month. The SSI payment in 2019 covered only 40 percent of the basic cost of living for a senior living alone. In the County of Los Angeles, the SSI individual payment level has not been enough to afford an apartment since 2008.
(b)The state has also estimated that over 11,000 people living in nursing facilities could be discharged to the community if they had an affordable place to live.
(c)Older adults are at the epicenter of Californias housing affordability and homelessness crisis, with over 40,000 people 55 years of age or older experiencing homelessness. In the four-year period from 2017 to 2021, the number of older Californians, 65 years of age or older, accessing homeless services has increased by 138 percent. The California Master Plan for Aging has a key goal of preventing and ending older adult homelessness.
(d)Housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show that low-income renters accessing shallow housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services and interventions.
(e)The housing stabilization program could prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older adults and adults with disabilities.
19905.4.For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a)Adult with a disability means an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)A physical disability, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(2)A mental disability, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 12926 of the Government Code, except it shall also include a substance use condition.
(3)A medical condition, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(4)A developmental disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)A chronic illness, including, but not limited to, HIV.
(6)A traumatic brain injury.
(b)Affordable housing means multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
(c)Area agency on aging has the same meaning as set forth in Section 9006 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d)Area median income has the same meaning as set forth in Section 50093.
(e)At risk of homelessness means a household that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)The household has an income that is not greater than 20 percent of the areas median income, as determined using the Department of Housing and Community Developments area median income annual standards.
(2)The household is severely rent burdened, as defined in subdivision (v), or is otherwise moving frequently without any leaseholder agreement because of an inability to afford rent.
(3)The household meets one or more of the following risk factors:
(A)The household is living in a census tract with rates higher than the states mean rate of poverty, displacement, gentrification, or homelessness.
(B)The household has experienced one or more previous incidents of homelessness.
(C)The household receives services from multiple county or other public or publicly funded agencies.
(D)The household is exiting an institution or would be able to exit with affordable housing, including, but not limited to, people living in a skilled nursing facility or other residential care facility, but could live independently with rental subsidies and appropriate services or supports.
(E)The household is staying with family or friends, but has been told by the leaseholder to vacate.
(F)The household recently experienced a death of a family member or separation or divorce from an adult partner.
(f)Continuum of care has the same meaning as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g)Department means the Department of Housing and Community Development.
(h)Eligible population means an older adult or an adult with a disability whose household meets either of the following criteria:
(1)The household is experiencing homelessness.
(2)The household is at risk of homelessness.
(i)Experiencing homelessness has the same meaning as homeless and homelessness, as those terms are each defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting shall continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
(j)Fair market rent means the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of nonluxury nature with suitable amenities.
(j)(k)Holding fees and vacancy costs mean payment to private-market landlords as incentives to hold a housing unit as available to an eligible program participant while the participant or landlord is waiting for approval to rent the housing unit.
(k)(l)Housing Choice Voucher means the program described in subsection (o) of Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(l)(m)Housing first means adhering to the core components described in subdivision (b) of Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(m)(n)Homeless Management Information System means the information system designated by a continuum of care to comply with federal reporting requirements as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The term Homeless Management Information System also includes the use of a comparable database by a victim provider or legal services provider that is permitted by the federal government under Part 576 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(n)(o)Housing navigation means services that assist program participants with locating permanent housing with private-market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants to assist those program participants in doing any of the following:
(1)Obtaining local, state, or federal assistance or subsidies.
(2)Completing housing applications for permanent housing or housing subsidies.
(3)Move-in assistance, if applicable.
(4)Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.
(o)(p)Housing subsidy means a tenant-based rental subsidy provided to a tenant, landlord, or property manager to assist a tenant in paying the difference between 30 what the tenant can pay as a percent of the tenants household income and the reasonable rent for the unit.
(p)(q)Master lease means a single lease that covers multiple properties leased from a landlord or property manager to a recipient or subrecipient that the recipient or subrecipient sublets to program participants. The single lease shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part and shall be subject to the rights and responsibilities of tenancy under the laws of this state.
(q)(r)Older adult means an individual or head of household who is 50 years of age or older.
(r)(s)Permanent housing means a structure or set of structures with no limit on length of stay, even if accompanied by a time-limited rental subsidy, that is subject to applicable landlord-tenant law and has no requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy in the housing.
(s)(t)Program means the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program established pursuant to this part.
(t)(u)Public housing authority means the same as public housing agency, as defined in Section 5.100 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(u)Reasonable rent means an amount of rental payments that does not exceed 120 percent of the fair market rent and is consistent with the market rent in the community in which the affordable housing is located. For purposes of this subdivision, fair market rent means the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of nonluxury nature with suitable amenities.(v)Rent cap means the maximum rent subsidy paid towards participants rent. The individual rent cap is the lesser of the maximum rent subsidy for that county as established by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 19905.6 or the dollar amount needed to reduce tenant rent and utilities to 30 percent of their gross income.
(v)(w)Severely rent burdened means a condition in which a household pays more than 50 percent of their total household income for rent and utilities.
(w)(x)Tenancy acquisition services means services provided by staff dedicated to engaging property owners to rent housing units to the eligible population through a housing subsidy.
(x)(y)Tenancy sustaining services means any of the following:
(1)Early identification and intervention of behaviors that may jeopardize housing security.
(2)Education and training on the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
(3)Coaching on developing and maintaining key relationships with landlords and property managers.
(4)Assistance in resolving disputes with landlords and neighbors to reduce the risk of eviction.
(5)Advocacy and linkage with community resources to prevent eviction when housing may become jeopardized.
(6)Care coordination and advocacy with health care professionals.
(7)Assistance with a housing recertification process.
(8)Coordinating with the tenant to review and update a housing support and crisis plan.
(9)Training in being a good tenant and lease compliance.
(10)Benefits advocacy.
(11)Employment services.
(12)Services connecting individuals to education.
(13)Any other service that supports individuals and families to promote housing stability, foster community integration and inclusion, and develop natural support networks, and that are offered through a trauma-informed, culturally competent approach.
(y)(z)Tenancy transition services means using evidence-based service models to provide any of the following:
(1)Screening and assessing the tenants preferences and barriers to successful tenancy.
(2)Developing an individualized housing support plan that includes motivational interviewing and goal setting.
(3)Assistance with the housing application and search process.
(4)Identifying resources to cover expenses for one-time costs associated with move-in, including first months rent and security deposits, home modification, utility connection, and furniture costs.
(5)Ensuring that the living environment is safe and ready for move-in.
(6)Assisting and arranging for the details of the move.
(7)Developing a housing supports crisis plan that includes prevention and early intervention when housing is jeopardized.
(8)Engagement services.
(9)Any other evidence-based services that an individual tenant may require to move into permanent housing.
19905.6.(a)(1)Upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to Section 19905.14, the department shall, commencing January 1, 2024, 2025, begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program. In administering the program, the department shall offer competitive grants, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), to administer a housing subsidy program for the eligible population. population in up to five geographic regions or counties.
(2)The Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund is hereby established within the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall allocate program funds to eligible selected recipients through December 31, 2028, for a three-year period, in accordance with this part. The department shall select recipients based on the proportion of people 50 years of age and over experiencing housing cost burden in the jurisdictions the applicant intends to serve.
(3)The department may use up to 5 percent of program funds to administer and oversee the program.
(4)The department shall ensure that at least 30 percent of overall program funding shall be awarded to grantees that serve people experiencing homelessness among their populations served and have experience and competency in serving people experiencing homelessness, as determined by the department.
(b)In developing the guidelines and competitive application for the program, the department shall do all of the following:
(1)Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. In awarding grants, the department may issue grants to select counties, if the department ensures shall ensure geographic diversity in awards. awards and select at least one rural county.
(2)Award funding on a competitive basis to any of the following types of recipients, or a combination of partnering recipients:
(A)Nonprofit community-based organizations.
(B)Continuums of care.
(C)Public housing authorities.
(D)Area agencies on aging.
(3)Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate all of the following:
(A)Cultural sensitivity and specificity in serving eligible populations in an equitable manner.
(B)Capacity to administer grant funds expeditiously.
(C)Expertise and experience administering Housing First housing subsidy programs.
(D)Expertise and experience providing tenancy acquisition, housing navigation, and tenancy transition services.
(E)Ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging service providers, aging disability resource centers, and homeless continuums of care to achieve the ability to help eligible populations access available housing opportunities and needed services by doing all of the following, as needed by each participant:
(i)Linking people to tenancy sustaining services.
(ii)Assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems.
(iii)Providing a no wrong door approach through cross-sector partnerships.
(c)(1)Grant recipients shall use grant funds for housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent rent cap for a unit that is master leased, private-market rentals within individual units, or for affordable or supportive housing projects that need operating support, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the expenditure period expires pursuant to subdivision (f). Subsidies provided pursuant to this paragraph include either or both of the following:
(1)(A)Subsidies for households at risk of homelessness to remain stably housed in their current housing or to relocate to a housing unit that is more affordable or appropriate to the household.
(2)(B)Subsidies for households experiencing homelessness to access housing units.
(2)For purposes of determining the rent cap, the department shall establish three levels of caps, one for lower-cost, medium-cost, and high-cost counties based on fair market rents in the jurisdictions the selected recipients will serve.
(d)A grant recipient may use grant funding for the following additional costs:
(1)Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a Housing Choice Voucher.
(2)Up to a total of 15 percent of a grantees allocation for all of the following:
(A)Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services.
(B)Landlord incentives, including, but not limited to, holding or vacancy fees, security deposits, and repair and improvement costs to meet housing quality standards required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for Housing Choice Vouchers.
(C)Housing navigation and tenancy transition services.
(D)Any other grantee administrative costs.
(e)Each award recipient shall, as a condition of receiving state funds, report data into the Homeless Management Information System and enter data elements into the Homeless Management Information System pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 8256 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(f)The department shall enter into a standard agreement with each award recipient. Recipients shall obligate all funding received within four three years of signing the standard agreement, and shall expend all funding within six five years of signing the standard agreement.
(g)An award recipient that is not a continuum of care shall collaborate with a continuum of care operating in the geographic area in which the recipient is serving participants, both in planning for the use of funds and in allocation of funding, to ensure that the program is consistent and coordinated with local homeless response.
19905.8.In all designated geographic regions in which the department has awarded grants, the department shall establish partnerships with one or more public housing authorities to achieve both of the following:
(a)Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program.
(b)Work with award recipients and recruited landlords to ensure recruited landlords meet the requirements of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
19905.10.The department shall conduct oversight of the program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following activities:
(a)Requiring award recipients to report regularly on all of the following:
(1)The number and demographics, including age, race or ethnicity, and presubsidy housing status, of people being served, as compared to the number of demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the community.
(2)Housing retention rates of program participants one year, and if data is available, two years, following the commencement of assistance.
(3)The number and demographics of participants accessing Housing Choice Vouchers or other federally subsidized housing and the length of time each participant receives the programs housing subsidies before accessing housing subsidies.
(4)Tenant satisfaction survey results, to include questions regarding the tenants choice in where to live.(5)Monitoring to ensure that apartments meet the states habitability and safety standards while award recipients work with landlords to meet housing quality standards.(6)The number of participants admitted to a licensed care or nursing facility, and the number of participants who were able to leave a licensed care or nursing facility as a result of the program.(7)Activities to coordinate and collaborate with continuums of care and other local agencies.(b)Requiring award recipients to establish a grievance process with adequate procedures for contesting denial or termination of subsidies for potential participants who did not receive subsidies for reasons other than lack of funding.
(c)Contracting for an evaluation that includes an assessment of all both of the following:
(1)Where people were living when they received subsidies.
(2)Outcomes of the participants, including the number of participants who transition to Housing Choice Vouchers or other federal subsidies.
(3)Populations most impacted by the program.(d)Assessing whether the program is advancing equitable outcomes, and revising policies to course-correct.
(e)(1)Contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report within 12 months of the conclusion of the fourth year of the program. outcomes. The department shall submit both reports a report on this evaluation to all of the following:
(A)The Assembly Committee on Budget.
(B)The Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
(C)The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
(D)The Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
(E)The Senate Committee on Housing.
(F)The Senate Committee on Human Services.
(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
19905.12.Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to this part are not income of the participant for purposes of determining eligibility for, or benefits pursuant to, any public assistance program. Participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based services programs shall not disqualify an individual or household from being a participant for purposes of housing or services funded pursuant to this part.
19905.14.This part shall become operative only upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds for the purposes of the program.
REVISIONS: HeadingLines 2 and 3.This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act.
19905.2.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Californians who are older or experience disabilities, many of whom live on fixed incomes, face increasing rental cost burdens, with roughly 8 out of 10 extremely low income older renters paying more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Fair market rents in California for an efficiency apartment range from six hundred twenty-nine dollars ($629) to two thousand two hundred twenty-three dollars ($2,223) per month, far more than an older adult or adult with a disability on a fixed income can afford, particularly when the maximum Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for an individual in 2023 is one thousand one hundred thirty-three dollars ($1,133) per month. The SSI payment in 2019 covered only 40 percent of the basic cost of living for a senior living alone. In the County of Los Angeles, the SSI individual payment level has not been enough to afford an apartment since 2008.
(b)The state has also estimated that over 11,000 people living in nursing facilities could be discharged to the community if they had an affordable place to live.
(c)Older adults are at the epicenter of Californias housing affordability and homelessness crisis, with over 40,000 people 55 years of age or older experiencing homelessness. In the four-year period from 2017 to 2021, the number of older Californians, 65 years of age or older, accessing homeless services has increased by 138 percent. The California Master Plan for Aging has a key goal of preventing and ending older adult homelessness.
(d)Housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show that low-income renters accessing shallow housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services and interventions.
(e)The housing stabilization program could prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older adults and adults with disabilities.
19905.4.For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a)Adult with a disability means an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)A physical disability, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(2)A mental disability, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 12926 of the Government Code, except it shall also include a substance use condition.
(3)A medical condition, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(4)A developmental disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)A chronic illness, including, but not limited to, HIV.
(6)A traumatic brain injury.
(b)Affordable housing means multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
(c)Area agency on aging has the same meaning as set forth in Section 9006 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d)Area median income has the same meaning as set forth in Section 50093.
(e)At risk of homelessness means a household that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)The household has an income that is not greater than 20 percent of the areas median income, as determined using the California Department of Housing and Community Developments area median income annual standards.
(2)The household is severely rent burdened, as defined in subdivision (v), or is otherwise moving frequently without any leaseholder agreement because of an inability to afford rent.
(3)The household meets one or more of the following risk factors:
(A)The household is living in a census tract with rates higher than the states mean rate of poverty, displacement, gentrification, or homelessness.
(B)The household has experienced one or more previous incidents of homelessness.
(C)The household receives services from multiple county or other public or publicly funded agencies.
(D)The household is exiting an institution or would be able to exit with affordable housing, including, but not limited to, people living in a skilled nursing facility or other residential care facility, but could live independently with rental subsidies and appropriate services or supports.
(E)The household is staying with family or friends, but has been told by the leaseholder to vacate.
(F)The household recently experienced a death of a family member or separation or divorce from an adult partner.
(f)Continuum of care has the same meaning as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g)Department means the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
(h)Eligible population means an older adult or an adult with a disability whose household meets either of the following criteria:
(1)The household is experiencing homelessness.
(2)The household is at risk of homelessness.
(i)Experiencing homelessness has the same meaning as homeless and homelessness, as those terms are each defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting shall continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
(j)Holding fees and vacancy costs mean payment to private-market landlords as incentives to hold a housing unit as available to an eligible program participant while the participant or landlord is waiting for approval to rent the housing unit.
(k)Housing Choice Voucher means the program described in subsection (o) of Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(l)Housing first means adhering to the core components described in subdivision (b) of Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(m)Homeless Management Information System means the information system designated by a continuum of care to comply with federal reporting requirements as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The term Homeless Management Information System also includes the use of a comparable database by a victim provider or legal services provider that is permitted by the federal government under Part 576 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(n)Housing navigation means services that assist program participants with locating permanent housing with private-market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants to assist those program participants in doing any of the following:
(1)Obtaining local, state, or federal assistance or subsidies.
(2)Completing housing applications for permanent housing or housing subsidies.
(3)Move-in assistance, if applicable.
(4)Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.
(o)Housing subsidy means a tenant-based rental subsidy provided to a tenant, landlord, or property manager to assist a tenant in paying the difference between 30 percent of the tenants household income and the reasonable rent for the unit.
(p)Master lease means a single lease that covers multiple properties leased from a landlord or property manager to a recipient or subrecipient that the recipient or subrecipient sublets to program participants. The single lease shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part and shall be subject to the rights and responsibilities of tenancy under the laws of this state.
(q)Older adult means an individual or head of household who is 50 years of age or older.
(r)Permanent housing means a structure or set of structures with no limit on length of stay, even if accompanied by a time-limited rental subsidy, that is subject to applicable landlord-tenant law and has no requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy in the housing.
(s)Program means the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program established pursuant to this part.
(t)Public housing authority means the same as public housing agency, as defined in Section 5.100 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(u)Reasonable rent means an amount of rental payments that does not exceed 120 percent of the fair market rent and is consistent with the market rent in the community in which the affordable housing is located. For purposes of this subdivision, fair market rent means the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of nonluxury nature with suitable amenities.
(v)Severely rent burdened means a condition in which a household pays more than 50 percent of their total household income for rent and utilities.
(w)Tenancy acquisition services means services provided by staff dedicated to engaging property owners to rent housing units to the eligible population through a housing subsidy.
(x)Tenancy sustaining services means any of the following:
(1)Early identification and intervention of behaviors that may jeopardize housing security.
(2)Education and training on the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
(3)Coaching on developing and maintaining key relationships with landlords and property managers.
(4)Assistance in resolving disputes with landlords and neighbors to reduce the risk of eviction.
(5)Advocacy and linkage with community resources to prevent eviction when housing may become jeopardized.
(6)Care coordination and advocacy with health care professionals.
(7)Assistance with a housing recertification process.
(8)Coordinating with the tenant to review and update a housing support and crisis plan.
(9)Training in being a good tenant and lease compliance.
(10)Benefits advocacy.
(11)Employment services.
(12)Services connecting individuals to education.
(13)Any other service that supports individuals and families to promote housing stability, foster community integration and inclusion, and develop natural support networks, and that are offered through a trauma-informed, culturally competent approach.
(y)Tenancy transition services means using evidence-based service models to provide any of the following:
(1)Screening and assessing the tenants preferences and barriers to successful tenancy.
(2)Developing an individualized housing support plan that includes motivational interviewing and goal setting.
(3)Assistance with the housing application and search process.
(4)Identifying resources to cover expenses for one-time costs associated with move-in, including first months rent and security deposits, home modification, utility connection, and furniture costs.
(5)Ensuring that the living environment is safe and ready for move-in.
(6)Assisting and arranging for the details of the move.
(7)Developing a housing supports crisis plan that includes prevention and early intervention when housing is jeopardized.
(8)Engagement services.
(9)Any other evidence-based services that an individual tenant may require to move into permanent housing.
19905.6.(a)(1)Upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to Section 19905.14, the department shall, commencing January 1, 2024, begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program. In administering the program, the department shall offer competitive grants, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), to administer a housing subsidy program for the eligible population.
(2)The Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund is hereby established within the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall allocate program funds to eligible recipients through December 31, 2028, in accordance with this part.
(3)The department may use up to 5 percent of program funds to administer and oversee the program.
(4)The department shall ensure that at least 30 percent of overall program funding shall be awarded to grantees that serve people experiencing homelessness among their populations served and have experience and competency in serving people experiencing homelessness, as determined by the department.
(b)In developing the guidelines and competitive application for the program, the department shall do all of the following:
(1)Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. In awarding grants, the department may issue grants to select counties, if the department ensures geographic diversity in awards.
(2)Award funding on a competitive basis to any of the following types of recipients, or a combination of partnering recipients:
(A)Nonprofit community-based organizations.
(B)Continuums of care.
(C)Public housing authorities.
(D)Area agencies on aging.
(3)Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate all of the following:
(A)Cultural sensitivity and specificity in serving eligible populations in an equitable manner.
(B)Capacity to administer grant funds expeditiously.
(C)Expertise and experience administering Housing First housing subsidy programs.
(D)Expertise and experience providing tenancy acquisition, housing navigation, and tenancy transition services.
(E)Ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging service providers, aging disability resource centers, and homeless continuums of care to achieve the ability to help eligible populations access available housing opportunities and needed services by doing all of the following, as needed by each participant:
(i)Linking people to tenancy sustaining services.
(ii)Assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems.
(iii)Providing a no wrong door approach through cross-sector partnerships.
(c)Grant recipients shall use grant funds for housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent for a unit that is master leased, private-market rentals within individual units, or for affordable or supportive housing projects that need operating support, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the expenditure period expires pursuant to subdivision (f). Subsidies provided pursuant to this paragraph include either or both of the following:
(1)Subsidies for households at risk of homelessness to remain stably housed in their current housing or to relocate to a housing unit that is more affordable or appropriate to the household.
(2)Subsidies for households experiencing homelessness to access housing units.
(d)A grant recipient may use grant funding for the following additional costs:
(1)Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a Housing Choice Voucher.
(2)Up to a total of 15 percent of a grantees allocation for all of the following:
(A)Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services.
(B)Landlord incentives, including, but not limited to, holding or vacancy fees, security deposits, and repair and improvement costs to meet housing quality standards required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for Housing Choice Vouchers.
(C)Housing navigation and tenancy transition services.
(D)Any other grantee administrative costs.
(e)Each award recipient shall, as a condition of receiving state funds, report data into the Homeless Management Information System and enter data elements into the Homeless Management Information System pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 8256 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(f)The department shall enter into a standard agreement with each award recipient. Recipients shall obligate all funding received within four years of signing the standard agreement, and shall expend all funding within six years of signing the standard agreement.
(g)An award recipient that is not a continuum of care shall collaborate with a continuum of care operating in the geographic area in which the recipient is serving participants, both in planning for the use of funds and in allocation of funding, to ensure that the program is consistent and coordinated with local homeless response.
19905.8.In all designated geographic regions in which the department has awarded grants, the department shall establish partnerships with one or more public housing authorities to achieve both of the following:
(a)Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program.
(b)Work with award recipients and recruited landlords to ensure recruited landlords meet the requirements of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
19905.10.The department shall conduct oversight of the program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following activities:
(a)Requiring award recipients to report regularly on all of the following:
(1)The number and demographics, including age, race or ethnicity, and presubsidy housing status, of people being served, as compared to the number of demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the community.
(2)Housing retention rates of program participants one year, and if data is available, two years, following the commencement of assistance.
(3)The number and demographics of participants accessing Housing Choice Vouchers or other federally subsidized housing and the length of time each participant receives the programs housing subsidies before accessing housing subsidies.
(4)Tenant satisfaction survey results, to include questions regarding the tenants choice in where to live.
(5)Monitoring to ensure that apartments meet the states habitability and safety standards while award recipients work with landlords to meet housing quality standards.
(6)The number of participants admitted to a licensed care or nursing facility, and the number of participants who were able to leave a licensed care or nursing facility as a result of the program.
(7)Activities to coordinate and collaborate with continuums of care and other local agencies.
(b)Requiring award recipients to establish a grievance process with adequate procedures for contesting denial or termination of subsidies for potential participants who did not receive subsidies for reasons other than lack of funding.
(c)Contracting for an evaluation that includes an assessment of all of the following:
(1)Where people were living when they received subsidies.
(2)Outcomes of the participants, including the number of participants who transition to Housing Choice Vouchers or other federal subsidies.
(3)Populations most impacted by the program.
(d)Assessing whether the program is advancing equitable outcomes, and revising policies to course-correct.
(e)(1)Contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report within 12 months of the conclusion of the fourth year of the program. The department shall submit both reports to all of the following:
(A)The Assembly Committee on Budget.
(B)The Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
(C)The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
(D)The Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
(E)The Senate Committee on Housing.
(F)The Senate Committee on Human Services.
(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
19905.12.Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to this part are not income of the participant for purposes of determining eligibility for, or benefits pursuant to, any public assistance program. Participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based services programs shall not disqualify an individual or household from being a participant for purposes of housing or services funded pursuant to this part.
19905.14.This part shall become operative only upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds for the purposes of the program.
This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act.
19905.2.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Californians who are older or experience disabilities, many of whom live on fixed incomes, face increasing rental cost burdens, with roughly 8 out of 10 extremely low income older renters paying more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Fair market rents in California for an efficiency apartment range from six hundred twenty-nine dollars ($629) to two thousand two hundred twenty-three dollars ($2,223) per month, far more than an older adult or adult with a disability on a fixed income can afford, particularly when the maximum Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for an individual in 2023 is one thousand one hundred thirty-three dollars ($1,133) per month. The SSI payment in 2019 covered only 40 percent of the basic cost of living for a senior living alone. In the County of Los Angeles, the SSI individual payment level has not been enough to afford an apartment since 2008.
(b)The state has also estimated that over 11,000 people living in nursing facilities could be discharged to the community if they had an affordable place to live.
(c)Older adults are at the epicenter of Californias housing affordability and homelessness crisis, with over 40,000 people 55 years of age or older experiencing homelessness. In the four-year period from 2017 to 2021, the number of older Californians, 65 years of age or older, accessing homeless services has increased by 138 percent. The California Master Plan for Aging has a key goal of preventing and ending older adult homelessness.
(d)Housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show that low-income renters accessing shallow housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services and interventions.
(e)The housing stabilization program could prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older adults and adults with disabilities.
19905.4.For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(a)Adult with a disability means an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1)A physical disability, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(2)A mental disability, as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 12926 of the Government Code, except it shall also include a substance use condition.
(3)A medical condition, as defined in subdivision (i) of Section 12926 of the Government Code.
(4)A developmental disability, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5)A chronic illness, including, but not limited to, HIV.
(6)A traumatic brain injury.
(b)Affordable housing means multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
(c)Area agency on aging has the same meaning as set forth in Section 9006 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d)Area median income has the same meaning as set forth in Section 50093.
(e)At risk of homelessness means a household that meets all of the following criteria:
(1)The household has an income that is not greater than 20 percent of the areas median income, as determined using the California Department of Housing and Community Developments area median income annual standards.
(2)The household is severely rent burdened, as defined in subdivision (v), or is otherwise moving frequently without any leaseholder agreement because of an inability to afford rent.
(3)The household meets one or more of the following risk factors:
(A)The household is living in a census tract with rates higher than the states mean rate of poverty, displacement, gentrification, or homelessness.
(B)The household has experienced one or more previous incidents of homelessness.
(C)The household receives services from multiple county or other public or publicly funded agencies.
(D)The household is exiting an institution or would be able to exit with affordable housing, including, but not limited to, people living in a skilled nursing facility or other residential care facility, but could live independently with rental subsidies and appropriate services or supports.
(E)The household is staying with family or friends, but has been told by the leaseholder to vacate.
(F)The household recently experienced a death of a family member or separation or divorce from an adult partner.
(f)Continuum of care has the same meaning as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g)Department means the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
(h)Eligible population means an older adult or an adult with a disability whose household meets either of the following criteria:
(1)The household is experiencing homelessness.
(2)The household is at risk of homelessness.
(i)Experiencing homelessness has the same meaning as homeless and homelessness, as those terms are each defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as that section read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting shall continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
(j)Holding fees and vacancy costs mean payment to private-market landlords as incentives to hold a housing unit as available to an eligible program participant while the participant or landlord is waiting for approval to rent the housing unit.
(k)Housing Choice Voucher means the program described in subsection (o) of Section 1437f of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(l)Housing first means adhering to the core components described in subdivision (b) of Section 8255 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(m)Homeless Management Information System means the information system designated by a continuum of care to comply with federal reporting requirements as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The term Homeless Management Information System also includes the use of a comparable database by a victim provider or legal services provider that is permitted by the federal government under Part 576 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(n)Housing navigation means services that assist program participants with locating permanent housing with private-market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants to assist those program participants in doing any of the following:
(1)Obtaining local, state, or federal assistance or subsidies.
(2)Completing housing applications for permanent housing or housing subsidies.
(3)Move-in assistance, if applicable.
(4)Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.
(o)Housing subsidy means a tenant-based rental subsidy provided to a tenant, landlord, or property manager to assist a tenant in paying the difference between 30 percent of the tenants household income and the reasonable rent for the unit.
(p)Master lease means a single lease that covers multiple properties leased from a landlord or property manager to a recipient or subrecipient that the recipient or subrecipient sublets to program participants. The single lease shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part and shall be subject to the rights and responsibilities of tenancy under the laws of this state.
(q)Older adult means an individual or head of household who is 50 years of age or older.
(r)Permanent housing means a structure or set of structures with no limit on length of stay, even if accompanied by a time-limited rental subsidy, that is subject to applicable landlord-tenant law and has no requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy in the housing.
(s)Program means the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program established pursuant to this part.
(t)Public housing authority means the same as public housing agency, as defined in Section 5.100 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(u)Reasonable rent means an amount of rental payments that does not exceed 120 percent of the fair market rent and is consistent with the market rent in the community in which the affordable housing is located. For purposes of this subdivision, fair market rent means the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to Parts 888 and 982 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of nonluxury nature with suitable amenities.
(v)Severely rent burdened means a condition in which a household pays more than 50 percent of their total household income for rent and utilities.
(w)Tenancy acquisition services means services provided by staff dedicated to engaging property owners to rent housing units to the eligible population through a housing subsidy.
(x)Tenancy sustaining services means any of the following:
(1)Early identification and intervention of behaviors that may jeopardize housing security.
(2)Education and training on the rights and responsibilities of the tenant and the landlord.
(3)Coaching on developing and maintaining key relationships with landlords and property managers.
(4)Assistance in resolving disputes with landlords and neighbors to reduce the risk of eviction.
(5)Advocacy and linkage with community resources to prevent eviction when housing may become jeopardized.
(6)Care coordination and advocacy with health care professionals.
(7)Assistance with a housing recertification process.
(8)Coordinating with the tenant to review and update a housing support and crisis plan.
(9)Training in being a good tenant and lease compliance.
(10)Benefits advocacy.
(11)Employment services.
(12)Services connecting individuals to education.
(13)Any other service that supports individuals and families to promote housing stability, foster community integration and inclusion, and develop natural support networks, and that are offered through a trauma-informed, culturally competent approach.
(y)Tenancy transition services means using evidence-based service models to provide any of the following:
(1)Screening and assessing the tenants preferences and barriers to successful tenancy.
(2)Developing an individualized housing support plan that includes motivational interviewing and goal setting.
(3)Assistance with the housing application and search process.
(4)Identifying resources to cover expenses for one-time costs associated with move-in, including first months rent and security deposits, home modification, utility connection, and furniture costs.
(5)Ensuring that the living environment is safe and ready for move-in.
(6)Assisting and arranging for the details of the move.
(7)Developing a housing supports crisis plan that includes prevention and early intervention when housing is jeopardized.
(8)Engagement services.
(9)Any other evidence-based services that an individual tenant may require to move into permanent housing.
19905.6.(a)(1)Upon appropriation by the Legislature pursuant to Section 19905.14, the department shall, commencing January 1, 2024, begin developing the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program. In administering the program, the department shall offer competitive grants, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), to administer a housing subsidy program for the eligible population.
(2)The Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund is hereby established within the State Treasury. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall allocate program funds to eligible recipients through December 31, 2028, in accordance with this part.
(3)The department may use up to 5 percent of program funds to administer and oversee the program.
(4)The department shall ensure that at least 30 percent of overall program funding shall be awarded to grantees that serve people experiencing homelessness among their populations served and have experience and competency in serving people experiencing homelessness, as determined by the department.
(b)In developing the guidelines and competitive application for the program, the department shall do all of the following:
(1)Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average. In awarding grants, the department may issue grants to select counties, if the department ensures geographic diversity in awards.
(2)Award funding on a competitive basis to any of the following types of recipients, or a combination of partnering recipients:
(A)Nonprofit community-based organizations.
(B)Continuums of care.
(C)Public housing authorities.
(D)Area agencies on aging.
(3)Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate all of the following:
(A)Cultural sensitivity and specificity in serving eligible populations in an equitable manner.
(B)Capacity to administer grant funds expeditiously.
(C)Expertise and experience administering Housing First housing subsidy programs.
(D)Expertise and experience providing tenancy acquisition, housing navigation, and tenancy transition services.
(E)Ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging service providers, aging disability resource centers, and homeless continuums of care to achieve the ability to help eligible populations access available housing opportunities and needed services by doing all of the following, as needed by each participant:
(i)Linking people to tenancy sustaining services.
(ii)Assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems.
(iii)Providing a no wrong door approach through cross-sector partnerships.
(c)Grant recipients shall use grant funds for housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable rent for a unit that is master leased, private-market rentals within individual units, or for affordable or supportive housing projects that need operating support, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the expenditure period expires pursuant to subdivision (f). Subsidies provided pursuant to this paragraph include either or both of the following:
(1)Subsidies for households at risk of homelessness to remain stably housed in their current housing or to relocate to a housing unit that is more affordable or appropriate to the household.
(2)Subsidies for households experiencing homelessness to access housing units.
(d)A grant recipient may use grant funding for the following additional costs:
(1)Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a Housing Choice Voucher.
(2)Up to a total of 15 percent of a grantees allocation for all of the following:
(A)Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services.
(B)Landlord incentives, including, but not limited to, holding or vacancy fees, security deposits, and repair and improvement costs to meet housing quality standards required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for Housing Choice Vouchers.
(C)Housing navigation and tenancy transition services.
(D)Any other grantee administrative costs.
(e)Each award recipient shall, as a condition of receiving state funds, report data into the Homeless Management Information System and enter data elements into the Homeless Management Information System pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 8256 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(f)The department shall enter into a standard agreement with each award recipient. Recipients shall obligate all funding received within four years of signing the standard agreement, and shall expend all funding within six years of signing the standard agreement.
(g)An award recipient that is not a continuum of care shall collaborate with a continuum of care operating in the geographic area in which the recipient is serving participants, both in planning for the use of funds and in allocation of funding, to ensure that the program is consistent and coordinated with local homeless response.
19905.8.In all designated geographic regions in which the department has awarded grants, the department shall establish partnerships with one or more public housing authorities to achieve both of the following:
(a)Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program.
(b)Work with award recipients and recruited landlords to ensure recruited landlords meet the requirements of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
19905.10.The department shall conduct oversight of the program that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following activities:
(a)Requiring award recipients to report regularly on all of the following:
(1)The number and demographics, including age, race or ethnicity, and presubsidy housing status, of people being served, as compared to the number of demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the community.
(2)Housing retention rates of program participants one year, and if data is available, two years, following the commencement of assistance.
(3)The number and demographics of participants accessing Housing Choice Vouchers or other federally subsidized housing and the length of time each participant receives the programs housing subsidies before accessing housing subsidies.
(4)Tenant satisfaction survey results, to include questions regarding the tenants choice in where to live.
(5)Monitoring to ensure that apartments meet the states habitability and safety standards while award recipients work with landlords to meet housing quality standards.
(6)The number of participants admitted to a licensed care or nursing facility, and the number of participants who were able to leave a licensed care or nursing facility as a result of the program.
(7)Activities to coordinate and collaborate with continuums of care and other local agencies.
(b)Requiring award recipients to establish a grievance process with adequate procedures for contesting denial or termination of subsidies for potential participants who did not receive subsidies for reasons other than lack of funding.
(c)Contracting for an evaluation that includes an assessment of all of the following:
(1)Where people were living when they received subsidies.
(2)Outcomes of the participants, including the number of participants who transition to Housing Choice Vouchers or other federal subsidies.
(3)Populations most impacted by the program.
(d)Assessing whether the program is advancing equitable outcomes, and revising policies to course-correct.
(e)(1)Contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an interim evaluation of program outcomes and a final report within 12 months of the conclusion of the fourth year of the program. The department shall submit both reports to all of the following:
(A)The Assembly Committee on Budget.
(B)The Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
(C)The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
(D)The Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review.
(E)The Senate Committee on Housing.
(F)The Senate Committee on Human Services.
(2)The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2034, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
19905.12.Notwithstanding any other law, and to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to this part are not income of the participant for purposes of determining eligibility for, or benefits pursuant to, any public assistance program. Participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based services programs shall not disqualify an individual or household from being a participant for purposes of housing or services funded pursuant to this part.
19905.14.This part shall become operative only upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds for the purposes of the program.
SECTION 1.(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1)Californias aging population is the largest demographic group and has been the fastest growing group since 2010.(2)In many areas throughout the state, adults 55 years of age and older are the fastest growing demographic of people who are experiencing homelessness.(3)Older adults are often on fixed incomes, and the number of older adults living in poverty continues to rise.(4)Californias poverty rate for adults 65 years of age and older is the highest by age group, at 16.3 percent, according to the California Poverty Measure.(5)Californias high cost of living, coupled with even a slight change in an older adults monthly expenses can result in an inability to make basic financial obligations, including their monthly rent.(b)In order to protect older adults who are especially vulnerable to experiencing homelessness, it is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this measure to include provisions that would enact meaningful tenancy reform to ensure that aging adults can remain safely housed.(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)Californias aging population is the largest demographic group and has been the fastest growing group since 2010.
(2)In many areas throughout the state, adults 55 years of age and older are the fastest growing demographic of people who are experiencing homelessness.
(3)Older adults are often on fixed incomes, and the number of older adults living in poverty continues to rise.
(4)Californias poverty rate for adults 65 years of age and older is the highest by age group, at 16.3 percent, according to the California Poverty Measure.
(5)Californias high cost of living, coupled with even a slight change in an older adults monthly expenses can result in an inability to make basic financial obligations, including their monthly rent.
(b)In order to protect older adults who are especially vulnerable to experiencing homelessness, it is the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this measure to include provisions that would enact meaningful tenancy reform to ensure that aging adults can remain safely housed.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Sep 25, 2024 | In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending. |
| Sep 25, 2024 | Vetoed by the Governor. |
| Sep 3, 2024 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m. |
| Aug 26, 2024 | In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Aug 26, 2024 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 74. Noes 1. Page 6513.) Ordered to the Senate. |
| Aug 19, 2024 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Aug 15, 2024 | From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 1.) (August 15). |
| Jul 2, 2024 | July 2 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jun 19, 2024 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 19, 2024 | Coauthors revised. |
| Jun 12, 2024 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on AGING & L.T.C. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 12). Re-referred to Com. on AGING & L.T.C. |
| Jun 3, 2024 | Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and AGING & L.T.C. |
| Jan 29, 2024 | In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. |
| Jan 29, 2024 | Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 3054.) Ordered to the Assembly. |
| Jan 22, 2024 | Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jan 18, 2024 | From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 3010.) (January 18). |
| Jan 12, 2024 | Set for hearing January 18. |
| May 18, 2023 | May 18 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| May 12, 2023 | Set for hearing May 18. |
| May 8, 2023 | May 8 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file. |
| May 1, 2023 | Set for hearing May 8. |
| Apr 25, 2023 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 875.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar 27, 2023 | Set for hearing April 24. |
| Mar 22, 2023 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HUMAN S. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 452.) (March 21). Re-referred to Com. on HUMAN S. |
| Mar 13, 2023 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HOUSING. |
| Mar 7, 2023 | Set for hearing March 21. |
| Feb 22, 2023 | Re-referred to Coms. on HOUSING and HUMAN S. |
| Feb 15, 2023 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS. |
| Jan 18, 2023 | Referred to Com. on RLS. |
| Dec 6, 2022 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after January 5. |
| Dec 5, 2022 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2024 | SB 37 Caballero Senate Third Reading By Bains | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Do pass. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Jun 18, 2024 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care |
Passed |
|
| Jun 12, 2024 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Aging and Long-Term Care] | Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development |
Passed |
|
| Jan 29, 2024 | Senate 3rd Reading SB37 Caballero et al. | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jan 18, 2024 | Do pass as amended | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| May 8, 2023 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 24, 2023 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Human Services |
Passed |
|
| Mar 21, 2023 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Human Services] | Senate Standing Committee on Housing |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| AAA Coastal Commission | ** Support | |
| AARP | ** Support | |
| Ablelight INC. | ** Support | |
| Active San Gabriel Valley | ** Support | |
| Affordable Living For The Aging | ** Support | |
| All Home A Project Of Tides Center | ** Support | |
| AltaMed Health Services | ** Support | |
| Alzheimer's Association | ** Support | |
| alzheimer's orange county | ** Support | |
| Ascencia | ** Support | |
| Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area | ** Support | |
| Bay Area Legal Aid | * Support | Apr 24, 2023 |
| California Alliance For Retired Americans | ** Support | |
| California Apartment Association | ** Support | |
| California Association Of Food Banks | ** Support | |
| California Catholic Conference | ** Support | |
| California Coalition on Family Caregiving | ** Support | |
| California Commission on Aging | ** Support | |
| California Community Living Network | * Support | Jun 12, 2024 |
| California Council Of The Blind | ** Support | |
| California County Welfare Directors Association | * Support | Jun 18, 2024 |
| California Disability Services Association | ** Support | |
| California Foundation For Independent Living Centers | ** Support | |
| California Housing Partnership Corporation | ** Support | |
| California Ihss Consumer Alliance | ** Support | |
| California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association | ** Support | |
| California State Association Of Counties | * Support | Jun 18, 2024 |
| California Women's Law Center | ** Support | |
| CalPACE | ** Support | |
| Camping Unlimited for the Developmentally Disabled | ** Support | |
| Catholic Charities San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo Counties | ** Support | |
| CCCSC | ** Support | |
| CDR | ** Support | |
| Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens | ** Support | |
| City Council Member Nelson Esparza, City of Fresno District 7 | ** Support | |
| City of Camarillo | ** Support | |
| City of Firebaugh | ** Support | |
| City Of Fowler | ** Support | |
| City of Long Beach | ** Support | |
| City of San Jose | ** Support | |
| City of Thousand Oaks | ** Support | |
| Communify | ** Support | |
| Community Access Center | ** Support | |
| Community Action Partnership of Madera County, INC. | ** Support | |
| Community Empowerment & Resource Consultants | ** Support | |
| Contra Costa Senior Legal Services | ** Support | |
| Corporation For Supportive Housing | ** Support | |
| Council Member Nelson Esparza, City of Fresno District 7 | ** Support | |
| County of Fresno | ** Support | |
| County Of Madera | ** Support | |
| county of sacramento | ** Support | |
| Csi Support & Development Services | ** Support | |
| Dayle Mcintosh Center for The Disabled | ** Support | |
| Degree Moves | * Support | Jun 12, 2024 |
| Disability Rights California | ** Support | |
| Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund | ** Support | |
| Disability Voices United | ** Support | |
| Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area | ** Support | |
| East Bay YIMBY | ** Support | |
| Eden Housing | ** Support | |
| Eskaton | ** Support | |
| Eskaton Support Center | ** Support | |
| ETTA | ** Support | |
| Faith Action for All | ** Support | |
| Family Violence Appellate Project | ** Support | |
| Fresno Housing Authority | ** Support | |
| Front Porch | ** Support | |
| Greater Napa Valley Fair Housing Center | ** Support | |
| Grow the Richmond | ** Support | |
| Hadassah | ** Support | |
| Healthy Aging Association | ** Support | |
| High Impact Solutions | ** Support | |
| Hopics | ** Support | |
| Housing California | ** Support | |
| Housing Choices | ** Support | |
| How to ADU | ** Support | |
| Inner City Law Center | ** Support | |
| J Gould Consulting | ** Support | |
| jewish community relations council of sacramento | ** Support | |
| Jewish Family & Children's Service of Long Beach and Orange County | ** Support | |
| Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles | ** Support | |
| Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley | ** Support | |
| Jewish Family Services San Diego | ** Support | |
| Jewish Federation of The Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys | ** Support | |
| Jewish Federation Of The Sacramento Region | ** Support | |
| Jewish Long Beach | ** Support | |
| Jewish Public Affairs Committee | ** Support | |
| Justice in Aging | ** Support | |
| JVS SoCal | ** Support | |
| kiwa | ** Support | |
| Law Foundation of Silicon Valley | ** Support | |
| LeadingAge California | ** Support | |
| League Of California Cities | * Support | Jun 18, 2024 |
| Legal Aid of Marin | ** Support | |
| Legal Assistance for Seniors | ** Support | |
| Life Services Alternatives | ** Support | |
| LifeSTEPS | ** Support | |
| Lighthouse Public Affairs | * Support | Jun 12, 2024 |
| los angeles homeless services authority | ** Support | |
| Marin Aging Action Initiative | ** Support | |
| Marin County Commission on Aging | ** Support | |
| mental health advocacy services | ** Support | |
| Mental Health America of Los Angeles | ** Support | |
| Mexican American Opportunity Foundation | ** Support | |
| Mountain View YIMBY | ** Support | |
| Napa-Solano for Everyone | ** Support | |
| National Alliance on Mental Illness | ** Support | |
| National Alliance to End Homelessness | ** Support | |
| National Association Of Social Workers, California Chapter | ** Support | |
| National Health Foundation | ** Support | |
| Northern Neighbors Sf | ** Support | |
| Oasis Senior Center | ** Support | |
| Parents Helping Parents | ** Support | |
| Pasadena Village | ** Support | |
| Peninsula for Everyone | ** Support | |
| People For Housing Orange County | ** Support | |
| Personal Assistance Services Council | ** Support | |
| Progress Noe Valley | ** Support | |
| Public Law Center | ** Support | |
| Resident United Network Los Angeles | ** Support | |
| Retirement Housing Foundation | ** Support | |
| San Francisco Yimby | ** Support | |
| San Joaquin Valley Housing Collaborative | ** Support | |
| San Luis Obispo Yimby | ** Support | |
| Santa Clara Family Health Plan | ** Support | |
| Santa Cruz Yimby | ** Support | |
| Santa Rosa Yimby | ** Support | |
| Senior Coastsiders | ** Support | |
| Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County | ** Support | |
| Serving Seniors | ** Support | |
| Serving Seniors' Civic Engagement Group | ** Support | |
| Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Healthcare Foundation | ** Support | |
| South Bay Yimby | ** Support | |
| Southside Forward | ** Support | |
| Ssg-hopics | ** Support | |
| SSI Coalition | * Support | Jun 12, 2024 |
| st. joseph center | ** Support | |
| State Council on Developmental Disabilities | ** Support | |
| The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration | ** Support | |
| The People Concern | ** Support | |
| UCSF | * Support | Mar 21, 2023 |
| Union Station Homeless Services | ** Support | |
| United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley | ** Support | |
| United Way of Greater Los Angeles | ** Support | |
| United Way of Ventura County | ** Support | |
| Ventura County YIMBY | ** Support | |
| Village Movement California | ** Support | |
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SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB 37 |
VETO
Bill No: SB 37
Author: Caballero (D), et al.
Enrolled: 8/28/24
Vote: 27
SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 3/21/23
AYES: Wiener, Ochoa Bogh, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Padilla, Seyarto, Skinner, Umberg, Wahab
NO VOTE RECORDED: McGuire
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/24/23
AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Ochoa Bogh, Hurtado, Menjivar, Wahab
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-0, 1/18/24
AYES: Portantino, Bradford, Wahab, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jones, Ashby, Seyarto
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0, 1/29/24
AYES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Dahle, Gonzalez, Grove, Niello
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-1, 8/26/24 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
SOURCE: Corporation for Supportive Housing
Justice in Aging
LeadingAge California
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
DIGEST:
This bill establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program (OAADHS), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program within the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs).
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning.
- Establishes the CalWORKS Housing Support Program (HSP) to provide housing supports to CalWORKs recipients who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, including recipients who have not yet received an eviction notice, and for whom housing instability would be a barrier to self-sufficiency or child well-being. Supports provided may include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
- Financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers; and
- Housing stabilization and relocation, including outreach and engagement, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- Establishes the Bring Families Home Program (BFH) to provide families receiving child welfare services who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or in a living situation that cannot accommodate the child or multiple children in the home with financial assistance, housing stabilization, and relocation.
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) with the purpose of coordinating the state’s response to homelessness by utilizing Housing First practices.
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bill:
- Defines, among others, the following terms for the purposes of the OAADHS:
- "Adult with a disability" to mean an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including but not limited to: a physical, developmental, or mental disability, as specified; medical condition; a chronic illness, or a traumatic brain injury.
- "Affordable housing" to mean multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30% of their household income on rent.
- "Eligible population" to mean an older adult who is 50 years of age or older, or is an adult with a disability whose household is either at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
- "Experiencing homelessness" has the same meaning as "homeless" and "homelessness," as defined federal code as read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
- Establishes the OAADHS within HCD and the Fund within the State Treasury, and upon an appropriation, beginning on January 1, 2024, requires HCD to develop and administer a housing subsidy program by offering competitive grants as described, and to allocate program funds to award recipients, as provided.
- Requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships with PHA to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average.
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging and disability resource centers and service providers and CoCs, to help OAADSH participants access available housing opportunities and needs including: linking people to tenancy sustaining services, assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems, and providing a "no wrong door" approach through cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following additional costs:
- Rent subsidies for master leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that needs operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires.
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher.
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Requires OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of OAADHS, and to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients regularly report specific demographic data on people served; housing retention rates at one- and two-year increments; tenant satisfaction; length of time to receive assistance; apartment health and safety monitoring; admissions and releases from licensed care or nursing facilities; and coordination and collaboration activities with CoCs and other local agencies.
- Ensure grant recipients establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination.
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate OAADHS and provide a report as outlined, until January 1, 2034, to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not considered income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs does not disqualify a person or household from participating in OAADHS.
Background
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 15% of the state’s population is 65 or older, and, by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and older adult homelessness is projected to increase. A recent study from University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
In January of 2021, the Newsom Administration released the Master Plan on Aging, which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at risk populations. Targeted programs play an important role to help very specific populations of adults access housing, including those who are Adult Protective Services clients and those who are eligible for SSI payments. However, no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older and disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Meanwhile, HCV and other federally subsidized housing programs often take years for applicants to access, since such programs accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Comments
- Author’s statement. According to the author, “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income, which do not cover rising rents. Many worked for over thirty years in blue collar, low-wage jobs and have minimal retirement income to weather economic uncertainty. A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness, yet homelessness for older adult Californians (those 65 years of age or older) is expected to triple in the next eight years. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 46% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, as they are oversubscribed. SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults, as studies show low-income renters with housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
- Housing assistance programs. The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations that are homeless or housing insecure. The Department of Social Services operates two programs, CalWorks HSP and BFH. HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- HCV. The federal HCV program provides households at or below 80% of area median income rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders use 30% of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand. Only a fraction of renters that need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
- The Program. This bill creates a pilot program to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness. The Program, administered by HCD, provides grants to nonprofit organizations, COCs, and other organizations. HCD will select grantees with the resources, expertise, and cultural specificity to provide assistance to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Grants will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the older adult renters face cost burdens. Grantees will provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between what the tenant can pay as a percent of a person’s household income and the rent cap.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:
- Unknown General Fund (GF) cost pressures, likely in excess of $100 million annually, to provide grant funding for the program.
- To the extent the Legislature appropriates funding, HCD estimates GF costs of more than $1 million for significant new staff resources to develop and administer the program. Specific staff duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution of contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. The number of new staff needed would be dependent on the size of the initial appropriation and whether there are appropriations in future budget years. The cost for the new positions would be funded from the administrative set-aside for the appropriation and falls within the 5% cap.
The author submitted a $500 million one-time GF budget request to fund the program for four years. The Budget Act of 2024 does not include resources for this new program.
SUPPORT: (Verified 9/26/24)
Corporation for Supportive Housing (Co-source)
Justice in Aging (Co-source)
Leadingage California (Co-source)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (Co-source)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Co-source)
AAA Coastal Commission
AARP
Active San Gabriel Valley
Affordable Living for The Aging
All Home, a Project of Tides Center
Alzheimer's Association
Alzheimer's Orange County
Ascencia
Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Commission on Aging
California Council of The Blind
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
CalPACE
Camping Unlimited for The Developmentally Disabled
Catholic Charities San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo Counties
CCCSC
CDR
Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens
City Council Member Nelson Esparza, City of Fresno District 7
City of Camarillo
City of Firebaugh
City of Fowler
City of Long Beach
City of San Jose
City of Thousand Oaks
Communify
Community Access Center
Community Action Partnership of Madera County, INC.
Community Empowerment & Resource Consultants
Contra Costa Senior Legal Services
County of Fresno
County of Madera
County of Sacramento
Csi Support & Development Services
Dayle Mcintosh Center for The Disabled
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disability Voices United
Down Syndrome Connection of The Bay Area
East Bay YIMBY
Eden Housing
Eskaton
Eskaton Support Center
Faith Action for All
Family Violence Appellate Project
Fresno Housing Authority
Front Porch
Greater Napa Valley Fair Housing Center
Grow the Richmond
Healthy Aging Association
High Impact Solutions
Hopics
Housing California
Housing Choices
How to ADU
Inner City Law Center
J Gould Consulting
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
KIWA
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Legal Aid of Marin
Life Services Alternatives
Marin Aging Action Initiative
Marin County Commission on Aging
Mental Health Advocacy Services
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
Mountain View YIMBY
Napa-Solano for Everyone
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Health Foundation
Northern Neighbors SF
Oasis Senior Center
Parents Helping Parents
Pasadena Village
Peninsula for Everyone
People for Housing - Orange County
Progress Noe Valley
Public Law Center
Resident United Network Los Angeles
San Francisco YIMBY
San Joaquin Valley Housing Collaborative
San Luis Obispo YIMBY
Santa Clara Family Health Plan
Santa Cruz YIMBY
Santa Rosa YIMBY
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Healthcare Foundation
South Bay YIMBY
Southside Forward
St. Joseph Center
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Union Station Homeless Services
United Health Centers of The San Joaquin Valley
Ventura County YIMBY
Village Movement California
West Hills Community College District
YIMBY Action
7 individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/26/24)
None received
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Senate Bill 37 without my signature.
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program in up to five geographic regions or counties, starting January 1, 2025, to provide competitive grants for housing subsidies aimed at older adults or adults with disabilities who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
While the goal of addressing housing instability among vulnerable populations is commendable, this bill would establish a new grant program that was neither planned for nor funded in the 2024 Budget. Since 2019, California has invested substantially in programs that provide grants for flexible housing subsidies. To that end, we must focus our collective efforts on leveraging existing programs and resources that can be used to address housing instability without adding new fiscal pressures.
For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-1, 8/26/24
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Chen, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Flora, Mike Fong, Friedman, Gabriel, 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, Reyes, Luz Rivas, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Santiago, Schiavo, Soria, Ta, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Waldron, Wallis, Ward, Weber, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas
NOES: Essayli
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cervantes, Dixon, Gallagher, Ortega
Prepared by: Alison Hughes / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124
10/9/24 13:31:36
**** END ****
SENATE THIRD READING
STR Bill Id:SB 37
Author:(Caballero)
As Amended Ver:January 22, 2024
Majority vote
SUMMARY
Establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program (OAADHS), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness
Major Provisions
- Defines, among others, the following terms for the purposes of the OAADHS:
- "Adult with a disability" to mean an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including but not limited to: a physical, developmental, or mental disability, as specified; medical condition; a chronic illness, or a traumatic brain injury.
- "Affordable housing" to mean multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30% of their household income on rent.
- "Eligible population" to mean an older adult who is 50 years of age or older, or is an adult with a disability whose household is either at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
- "Experiencing homelessness" has the same meaning as "homeless" and "homelessness," as defined federal code as read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
- Establishes the OAADHS within HCD and the Fund within the State Treasury, and upon an appropriation, beginning on January 1, 2024, requires HCD to develop and administer a housing subsidy program by offering competitive grants as described, and to allocate program funds to award recipients, as provided.
- Requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships with PHA to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average; and
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging and disability resource centers and service providers and CoCs, to help OAADSH participants access available housing opportunities and needs including: linking people to tenancy sustaining services, assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems, and providing a "no wrong door" approach through cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following additional costs:
- Rent subsidies for master leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that needs operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires;
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher; and
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Requires OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of OAADHS, and to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients regularly report specific demographic data on people served; housing retention rates at one- and two-year increments; tenant satisfaction; length of time to receive assistance; apartment health and safety monitoring; admissions and releases from licensed care or nursing facilities; and coordination and collaboration activities with CoCs and other local agencies;
- Ensure grant recipients establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination; and
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate OAADHS and provide a report as outlined, until January 1, 2034, to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not considered income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs does not disqualify a person or household from participating in OAADHS.
COMMENTS
California's aging population: According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 15% of the state's population is 65 or older, and, by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and older adult homelessness is projected to increase. A recent study from UCSF's Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
In January of 2021, the Newsom Administration released the Master Plan on Aging, which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at risk populations. Targeted programs play an important role to help specific populations of adults access housing, including those who are Adult Protective Services clients and those who are eligible for SSI payments. However, no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older and disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Meanwhile, HCV and other federally subsidized housing programs often take years for applicants to access, since such programs accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Homelessness prevention: According to research conducted by Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization, housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show low-income renters accessing "shallow" housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services interventions. The state has focused homelessness prevention on those who are receiving benefits through safety net programs like CalWORKS and the foster care system.
Housing assistance programs: The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The Department of Social Services operates two programs, CalWorks HSP and BFH. HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
Housing choice vouchers: The Federal HCV program provides households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI) rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders use 30% of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state's housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand. Only a fraction of renters who need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act of 2023: This bill would create OAADHS to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness. OAADHS, administered by HCD, will provide grants to nonprofit organizations, continuums of care, and other organizations. HCD will select grantees with the resources, expertise, and cultural specificity to assist households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Grants made through OAADHS will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the renters face cost burdens. Grantees will provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between 30% of a person's household income and the unit's reasonable rent.
According to the Author
"Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which are inadequate to cover rising rents.
A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness. Yet with business as usual, homelessness for older adults Californians (at least 65 years of age) is expected to triple between 2017 and 2030. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 43% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, since they can accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to those older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of experiencing homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults. Studies show low-income renters accessing housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good."
Arguments in Support
According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing, "SB 37 will fund strategies that have worked locally, such as partnering with landlords and local aging and disability providers, to ensure people access and maintain housing stability. A range of local practices, such as landlord incentives, have proven successful in recruiting landlords to participate in housing subsidy programs."
Arguments in Opposition
None on file.
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations:
- Unknown General Fund (GF) cost pressures, likely in excess of $100 million annually, to provide grant funding for the program.
- To the extent the Legislature appropriates funding, HCD estimates GF costs of more than $1 million for significant new staff resources to Sdevelop and administer the program. Specific staff duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution of contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. The number of new staff needed would be dependent on the size of the initial appropriation and whether there are appropriations in future budget years. The cost for the new positions would be funded from the administrative set-aside for the appropriation and falls within the 5% cap.
The author submitted a $500 million one-time GF budget request to fund the program for four years. The Budget Act of 2024 does not include resources for this new program.
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.
VOTES
SENATE FLOOR: 36-0-4
YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Nguyen, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk
ABS, ABST OR NV: Dahle, Gonzalez, Grove, Niello
ASM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 9-0-0
YES: Ward, Joe Patterson, Grayson, Kalra, Lee, Quirk-Silva, Reyes, Sanchez, Haney
ASM AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE: 6-0-1
YES: Bains, Cervantes, Essayli, Friedman, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio
ABS, ABST OR NV: Mathis
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 13-1-1
YES: Wicks, Sanchez, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Ta, Villapudua
NO: Dixon
ABS, ABST OR NV: Jim Patterson
UPDATED
VERSION: January 22, 2024
CONSULTANT: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085 FN: 0003961
Date of Hearing: July 2, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37
Author:(Caballero) – As Amended Ver:January 22, 2024
Policy Committee: | Housing and Community Development | Vote: | 9 - 0 |
Aging and Long Term Care | 6 - 0 | ||
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to establish and administer the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability (OAADHS) Pilot Program (program) to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
Specifically, this bill:
- Requires HCD, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to create and administer the program to award competitive grants in up to five geographic jurisdictions to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care (CoCs), public housing authorities, and area agencies on aging for a housing subsidy program for older adults and persons with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Establishes the OAADHS Fund within the State Treasury and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, requires HCD to allocate program funds to selected recipients for a three-year period, as specified.
- Specifies the guidelines and priorities for the competitive application for the program and the allowable uses of the grant funds, including housing subsidies up to a specified rent cap, relocation costs, landlord incentives, and housing navigation and tenancy transition services.
- Allows HCD to use up to 5% of program funds to administer and oversee the program.
- Requires award recipients to report and enter data into the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD, in all geographic areas in which it has awarded grants, to establish partnerships with public housing authorities to create a plan for transitioning program participants to other housing subsidy programs and ensuring landlords meet the program requirements.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of the program, as specified, including contracting with an independent evaluator to conduct an evaluation of program outcomes, and to submit a report on the evaluation to specified committees of the Legislature.
- Provides, to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to this bill are not income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs does not disqualify a person or household from participating in the OAADHS program.
FISCAL EFFECT:
- Unknown General Fund (GF) cost pressures, likely in excess of $100 million annually, to provide grant funding for the program.
- To the extent the Legislature appropriates funding, HCD estimates GF costs of more than $1 million for significant new staff resources to develop and administer the program. Specific staff duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution of contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. The number of new staff needed would be dependent on the size of the initial appropriation and whether there are appropriations in future budget years. The cost for the new positions would be funded from the administrative set-aside for the appropriation and falls within the 5% cap.
The author submitted a $500 million one-time GF budget request to fund the program for four years. The Budget Act of 2024 does not include resources for this new program.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the General Fund faces a structural deficit in the tens of billions of dollars over the next several fiscal years.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. The author seeks to address the housing needs of lower-income adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. According to the author:
Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which are inadequate to cover rising rents. [This bill] would provide a rent subsidy targeted to those older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of experiencing homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults.
- Background. Housing Assistance. Existing federal law establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (formerly referred to as “Section 8”) that provides direct assistance to very-low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled with a household income at or below 80% of the area median income. Eligible households receive rental vouchers that may be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. HCV holders pay 30% of their monthly income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. The HCV Program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs). The program is heavily oversubscribed, sometimes taking years for applicants to access benefits, and accommodates only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Existing state law establishes the Home Safe Program within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to award grants to counties, tribes, or groups of counties or tribes that provide services to elder and dependent adults who experience abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for adult protective services to provide housing-related supports to eligible individuals. CDSS also administers the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program to assist Californians with disabilities who may be experiencing homelessness and to increase program participation among individuals who may be eligible for disability benefits, including, but not limited to, SSI/SSP, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, and veterans benefits provided under federal law, including disability compensation.
This bill creates a housing subsidy program focused on lower-income older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
Aging Population. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 15% of the state’s population is 65 or older. Data shows 45% of Californians experiencing homelessness are aged 50 years or older, and nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness also contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
Data indicates approximately eight out of ten extremely low-income older renters pay more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Many seniors and persons with disabilities live on SSI. In 2022, an SSI payment for an individual was $974 per month. The average rent for an efficiency apartment ranged from $716 to $2,145 per month.
Research shows housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Specifically, low-income renters accessing “shallow” housing subsidies of $200 to $500 per month are able to remain stably housed.
Master Plan for Aging. In January 2021, the Governor released his Master Plan for Aging (MPA), which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at-risk populations. This bill closely aligns with the housing and affordability goals provided in the MPA.
- Related Legislation. AB 2547 (Nazarian), as passed by the Assembly in the 2021-22 Legislative Session, was very similar to this bill except the California Department of Aging (CDA) would have established and administered the program. AB 2547 was subsequently amended to contain unrelated provisions pertaining to police officer bias and was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: June 18, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGING AND LONG-TERM CARE
Jasmeet Bains, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37
Author:(Caballero) – As Amended Ver:January 22, 2024
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
SUBJECT: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
SUMMARY: Establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program (OAADHS), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness upon appropriation by the legislature. Specifically, this bill:
- Defines, among others, the following terms for the purposes of the OAADHS:
- “Adult with a disability” to mean an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including but not limited to: a physical, developmental, or mental disability, as specified; medical condition; a chronic illness, or a traumatic brain injury;
- “Affordable housing” to mean multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent;
- “Eligible population” to mean an older adult who is 50 years of age or older, or is an adult with a disability whose household is either at risk of or experiencing homelessness; and,
- “Experiencing homelessness” has the same meaning as “homeless” and “homelessness,” as defined federal code as read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting;
- Establishes the OAADHS within HCD and the Fund within the State Treasury, and upon an appropriation, beginning on January 1, 2024, requires HCD to develop and administer a housing subsidy program by offering competitive grants as described, and to allocate program funds to award recipients, as provided.;
- Requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness;
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships with PHAs to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program;
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average; and,
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging and disability resource centers and service providers and CoCs, to help OAADSH participants access available housing opportunities and needs including: linking people to tenancy sustaining services, assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems, and providing a “no wrong door” approach through cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following additional costs:
- Rent subsidies for master leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that needs operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires;
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher; and,
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Requires OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of OAADHS, and to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients regularly report specific demographic data on people served; housing retention rates at one- and two-year increments; tenant satisfaction; length of time to receive assistance; apartment health and safety monitoring; admissions and releases from licensed care or nursing facilities; and coordination and collaboration activities with CoCs and other local agencies;
- Ensure grant recipients establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination; and,
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate OAADHS and provide a report as outlined, until January 1, 2034, to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not considered income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs does not disqualify a person or household from participating in OAADHS.
EXISTING LAW:
- Defines “fair market rent” to mean the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of non-luxury nature with suitable amenities. (24 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 888, 982).
- Establishes the HCV Program within HUD to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for the selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV Program is generally administered by state or local PHAs. (24 Code of Federal Regulations 982)
- Establishes the Home Safe Program (HSP), within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to award grants to counties, tribes, or groups of counties or tribes that provide services to elder and dependent adults who experience abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for adult protective services (APS), for the purpose of providing housing-related supports to eligible individuals. (WIC § 15770 and 15771)
- Establishes the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) to assist Californians with disabilities who may be experiencing homelessness and to increase program participation among individuals who may be eligible for disability benefits, including, but not limited to, SSI/SSP, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, and veterans benefits provided under federal law, including disability compensation. (WIC § 18999)
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee and coordinate the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations in California, and to identify resources and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. (WIC § 8255 et. seq.)
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CCP § 1179.04)
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning. (HSC § 50457)
- Requires the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, in coordination with the Director of CDA, to lead the development and implementation of the MPA established pursuant to Executive Order N-14-19. (WIC § 9850)
- Establishes the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act (Act), which establishes CDA, and sets forth its duties and powers, including, among other things, entering into a contract for the development of information and materials to educate Californians on the concept of “aging in place.” (WIC § 9100 et seq.)
- Under the Act, requires CDA to designate various private nonprofit or public agencies as AAAs to work within a planning and service area and provide a broad array of services.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Author’s Statement: According to the author, “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which are inadequate to cover rising rents.
A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness. Yet with business as usual, homelessness for older adults Californians (at least 65 years of age) is expected to triple between 2017 and 2030. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 43% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, since they can accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to those older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of experiencing homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults. Studies show low-income renters accessing housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
California’s aging population and homelessness: The University of California, San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (BHHI) recently released a special report on older adults’ experiences of homelessness.[1] The analysis is based on survey data and in-depth interviews from the California Statewide Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH), the largest representative study of homelessness in the United States since the mid-1990s. Margot Kushel, MD, BHHI Director and lead author of the report stated “The dramatic rise in homelessness among older adults has severe consequences for the health and safety of those who experience it, and for our society at large. Now is the time for investments in real solutions to prevent and end homelessness among this vulnerable population.”
The report found the following:
- Nearly half (48%) of all single homeless adults in California are age 50 and older. This trend is expected to continue; the proportion of people experiencing homelessness age 65 and older in the United States is projected to triple between 2017 and 2030.
- Adults experiencing homelessness in their 50s and 60s have similar health status to people 20 years older in the general population.
- Consistent with the state’s overall homeless population, most (91%) older adults experiencing homelessness in California lost their housing in California.
- They experienced severe poverty prior to homelessness: the median monthly household income in the six months prior to homelessness was $920 a month. Nearly half (46%) entered homelessness from a housing situation without the protection of a lease.
- Forty-one percent of older homeless adults had their first episode of homelessness after age 50.
- Older adults experienced prolonged episodes of homelessness. Among older adults, the median length of the current episode was 25 months.
California is projected to be one of the fastest growing states in the nation in total population. In 2016, California comprised 12 percent of the nation's population[2] and is expected to grow 30 percent by the year 2060 (an increase of 11.7 million people.[3] In California, the population aged 60 years and over is expected to grow more than three times as fast as the total population and this growth will vary by region.
The population over age 60 will have an overall increase of 166 percent during the period from 2010 to 2060. More than half the counties will have over a 100 percent increase in this age group. Nearly half of these counties will have growth rates of over 150 percent. These counties are located throughout the central and southern areas of the State. The influence of the 60 and over age group on California is expected to emerge most strongly between 2010 to 2030.
The population over age 85 will increase at an even a faster rate than those over 60 years of age, having an overall increase of 489 percent during the period from 2010 to 2060. Counties can expect to experience even higher growth rates after 2020. In particular, the influence of the 85 and over age group on California will emerge most strongly between 2030 to 2040 as the first of the baby boomers reach 85 years of age.[4]
Master Plan for Aging: In January of 2021, the Governor released his Master Plan for Aging (MPA). The MPA prioritizes the health and well-being of older Californians and the need for policies that promote healthy aging. The MPA serves as a blueprint for state government, local government, the private sector, and philanthropy to prepare the state for the coming demographic changes and continue California’s leadership in aging, disability, and equity.
The work plan laid out in the MPA three years after its release continues to highlight the urgent needs facing California’s older adults, people with disabilities, their families, caregivers, advocates and the workforce supporting these populations..
In 2024-25, the MPA outlines five bold goals and currently seeks to advance 95 initiatives to build a California for All Ages by 2030. Each initiative features a designated area of focus; to deliver, to analyze and to communicate. It also includes a Data Dashboard on Aging to measure progress. SB 37 is deeply related to the needs of older adults and can be related to Goal One of the five bold goals:
- Goal One: Housing for All Ages and Stages
- Goal Two: Health Reimagined
- Goal Three: Inclusion and Equity, Not Isolation
- Goal Four: Caregiving That Works
- Goal Five: Affording Aging
Forty-five percent of unhoused Californians in adult-only households are aged 50 and older. A recent study from UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. A 50 year old homeless person is physically likely to have health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10-20 years older.
Many times individuals who are 50 to 64 who experience homelessness fall through support cracks but have higher needs than their same-age housed peers. For instance, they don't qualify for Medicare but may have the medical needs of someone 15 or even 20 years older due to years of disability, poverty, stress, and other issues. Forty-three percent of people experiencing homelessness report having a disabling condition. Roughly, eight out of 10 extremely low-income older renters pay more than one-half of their monthly income on rent. Many seniors and persons with disabilities live on Social Security Income (SSI). In 2022, SSI payments for an individual is $974 per month while the average rent for an efficiency apartment ranges from $716 to $2,145 per month. In addition, the state has an estimated 11,000 people live in nursing facilities simply because they have nowhere to live if discharged.
Homelessness prevention: According to research conducted by Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization in San Diego, housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show low-income renters accessing “shallow” housing subsidies of $200 to $500 per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services interventions. The state has focused homelessness prevention on those who are receiving benefits through safety net programs like CalWORKs and the foster care system.
Housing assistance programs: The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations that are homeless or housing insecure. DSS operates two programs, the CalWORKs HSP and the Bring Families Home Program (BFH). HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair. In 2019, HSP was established as an ongoing program with an annual General Fund appropriation of $95M.
The BFH provides rental assistance for families that have children in foster care and the barrier to reuniting with their child is identifying, securing, and paying for housing. The 2019-20 California Budget Act included a General Fund appropriation of $25M (one-time) for BFH, available for a three-year period from July 2019 through June 2022. The program required a dollar-for-dollar grantee match, bringing the total program budget to $50M.
Housing choice vouchers: The Federal Housing Choice Voucher program is potentially available to households at or below 80 percent of area median income rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders pay 30 percent of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. Local county housing authorities administer the voucher program. Federal legislation, the Build Back Better Act which appears to be stalled in Congress, proposed a substantial increase to the voucher program which would have provided for additional vouchers for lower-income seniors.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand.[5] Only a fraction of renters who need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
Arguments in Support: United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Justice in Aging, Corporation for Supportive Housing, LeadingAge California and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities all write as cosponsors of the bill in support stating “Targeted rental assistance is a highly effective evidence-based intervention. By targeting housing subsidies for veterans experiencing homelessness, the federal government has been able to reduce homelessness among this population by over 55%. And a San Diego study showed subsidies of as little as $300 per month helped at risk older adults from falling into homelessness. SB 37 will fund strategies that have worked locally, such as partnering with landlords and local aging and disability providers, to ensure people access and maintain housing stability. A range of local practices, such as landlord incentives, have proven successful in recruiting landlords to participate in housing subsidy programs. SB 37 will help hundreds of older adults and people with disabilities avoid or exit homelessness and serve as a model for statewide targeted rental assistance programs in the future.”
Arguments in Opposition: None.
Related/Prior Legislation:
AB 2207 (Reyes) adds representatives of organizations that reflect racial, gender and age diversity to the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
AB 820 (Reyes) would have added representatives of organizations that reflect racial, gender and age diversity to the Interagency Council on Homelessness. This measure was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 847 (Hurtado, 2022) would have established the COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program, and Fund for the purpose of awarding grants to landlords who are qualified applicants. This measure was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2547 (Nazarian, 2022) was very similar to this bill except that CDA would create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program. This measure was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1845 (Luz Rivas, 2020) would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the Direction of the Secretary of Homelessness and would have moved the HCFC from the BCSH Agency into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 611 (Caballero, 2019) would have required the Governor to establish the Master Plan for Aging Housing Task Force to assess the housing issues affecting California's aging population. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 850 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) permitted the Governor to appoint up to 17 members to the Housing Coordinating and Finance Council (HCFC), including the Secretary BCSH or designee, to serve as chair, and provided funding for state homeless initiatives.
SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016) created the HCFC to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness, as provided.
Double-referred: This bill was previously referred to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and passed on a 9-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) (Co-Sponsor)
Justice in Aging (Co-Sponsor)
LeadingAge California (Co-Sponsor)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (Co-Sponsor)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Co-Sponsor)
AARP
All Home, a Project of Tides Center
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS
California Coalition on Family Caregiving
California Collaborative for Long-term Services and Supports
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
California Health Advocates
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
California Senior Legislature
California State Association of Counties
CalPACE
Cardea Health
Center for Independence of Individuals With Disabilities
Choice in Aging
City and County of San Francisco
City of Long Beach
City of Thousand Oaks
Contra Costa Senior Legal Services
Corporation for Supportive Housing
County of Fresno
County of Marin
County Welfare Directors Association of California
CSI Support & Development Services
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disability Voices United
Downtown Women's Center
Eskaton Support Center
Front Porch Community Services
Home Match
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
League of California Cities
Legal Assistance for Seniors
Marin County Aging Action Initiative
National Alliance to End Homelessness
On Lok Senior Health Services
Open Heart Kitchen
San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness
Santa Clara Methodist Retirement Foundation INC.
Senior Advocacy Network
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County
St. Vincent De Paul Society of Marin
The Kelsey.
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Yimby Action
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Elizabeth Fuller / AGING & L.T.C. / (916) 319-3990
https://homelessness.ucsf.edu/resources/reports/toward-dignity-understanding-older-adult-homelessness ↑
https://factfinder.census.gov ↑
http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Projections ↑
https://aging.ca.gov/Data_and_Reports/Facts_About_California%27s_Elderly/ ↑
G. Thomas Kigsley, Trends in Housing Problems and Federal Housing Assistance (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, October 2017), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94146/trends-in-housing-problems-and-federal-housing-assistance.pdf ↑
Date of Hearing: June 12, 2024
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Christopher M. Ward, Chair
SBPCA Bill Id:SB 37
Author:(Caballero) – As Amended Ver:January 22, 2024
SENATE VOTE: 36-0
SUBJECT: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
SUMMARY: Establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program (OAADHS), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Specifically, this bill:
- Defines, among others, the following terms for the purposes of the OAADHS:
- “Adult with a disability” to mean an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including but not limited to: a physical, developmental, or mental disability, as specified; medical condition; a chronic illness, or a traumatic brain injury.
- “Affordable housing” to mean multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
- “Eligible population” to mean an older adult who is 50 years of age or older, or is an adult with a disability whose household is either at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
- “Experiencing homelessness” has the same meaning as “homeless” and “homelessness,” as defined federal code as read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
- Establishes the OAADHS within HCD and the Fund within the State Treasury, and upon an appropriation, beginning on January 1, 2024, requires HCD to develop and administer a housing subsidy program by offering competitive grants as described, and to allocate program funds to award recipients, as provided.
- Requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships with PHA to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average; and
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging and disability resource centers and service providers and CoCs, to help OAADSH participants access available housing opportunities and needs including: linking people to tenancy sustaining services, assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems, and providing a “no wrong door” approach through cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following additional costs:
- Rent subsidies for master leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that needs operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires;
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher; and
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Requires OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of OAADHS, and to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients regularly report specific demographic data on people served; housing retention rates at one- and two-year increments; tenant satisfaction; length of time to receive assistance; apartment health and safety monitoring; admissions and releases from licensed care or nursing facilities; and coordination and collaboration activities with CoCs and other local agencies;
- Ensure grant recipients establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination; and
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate OAADHS and provide a report as outlined, until January 1, 2034, to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not considered income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs does not disqualify a person or household from participating in OAADHS.
EXISTING LAW:
- Defines “fair market rent” to mean the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of non-luxury nature with suitable amenities. (24 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 888, 982).
- Establishes the HCV Program within HUD to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for the selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV Program is generally administered by state or local PHAs. (24 Code of Federal Regulations 982)
- Establishes the Home Safe Program (HSP), within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to award grants to counties, tribes, or groups of counties or tribes that provide services to elder and dependent adults who experience abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for adult protective services (APS), for the purpose of providing housing-related supports to eligible individuals. (WIC 15770 and 15771)
- Establishes the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) to assist Californians with disabilities who may be experiencing homelessness and to increase program participation among individuals who may be eligible for disability benefits, including, but not limited to, SSI/SSP, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, and veterans benefits provided under federal law, including disability compensation. (WIC 18999)
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee and coordinate the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations in California, and to identify resources and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. (WIC 8255 et. seq.)
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CCP 1179.04)
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning. (HSC 50457)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Author’s Statement: According to the author, “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which are inadequate to cover rising rents.
A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness. Yet with business as usual, homelessness for older adults Californians (at least 65 years of age) is expected to triple between 2017 and 2030. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 43% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, since they can accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to those older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of experiencing homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults. Studies show low-income renters accessing housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
California’s aging population: According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 15% of the state’s population is 65 or older, and, by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and older adult homelessness is projected to increase. A recent study from UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age fifty. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
In January of 2021, the Newsom Administration released the Master Plan on Aging, which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at risk populations. Targeted programs play an important role to help specific populations of adults access housing, including those who are Adult Protective Services clients and those who are eligible for SSI payments. However, no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older and disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Meanwhile, HCV and other federally subsidized housing programs often take years for applicants to access, since such programs accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Homelessness prevention: According to research conducted by Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization, housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show low-income renters accessing “shallow” housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able to move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services interventions. The state has focused homelessness prevention on those who are receiving benefits through safety net programs like CalWORKS and the foster care system.
Housing assistance programs: The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The Department of Social Services operates two programs, CalWorks HSP and BFH. HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
Housing choice vouchers: The Federal HCV program provides households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI) rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders use 30% of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand.[1] Only a fraction of renters who need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act of 2023: This bill would create OAADHS to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness. OAADHS, administered by HCD, will provide grants to nonprofit organizations, continuums of care, and other organizations. HCD will select grantees with the resources, expertise, and cultural specificity to assist households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Grants made through OAADHS will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the renters face cost burdens. Grantees will provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between 30% of a person’s household income and the unit’s reasonable rent.
Related/Prior Legislation:
SB 847 (Hurtado, 2022) would have established the COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program, and Fund for the purpose of awarding grants to landlords who are qualified applicants. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2547 (Nazarin, 2022) was very similar to this bill except that the CA Department of Aging (CDA) would create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program. That bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1845 (Luz Rivas, 2020) would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the Direction of the Secretary of Homelessness and would have moved the HCFC from the BCSH Agency into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 611 (Caballero, 2019) would have required the Governor to establish the Master Plan for Aging Housing Task Force to assess the housing issues affecting California's aging population. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 850 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) permitted the Governor to appoint up to 17 members to the Housing Coordinating and Finance Council (HCFC), including the Secretary BCSH or designee, to serve as chair, and provided funding for state homeless initiatives.
SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016) created the HCFC to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness, as provided.
Double-referred: This bill was also referred to the Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care where it will be heard should it pass out of this committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) (Co-Sponsor)
Justice in Aging (Co-Sponsor)
LeadingAge California (Co-Sponsor)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (Co-Sponsor)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Co-Sponsor)
AARP
All Home, a Project of Tides Center
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Association of Public Authorities for In-Home Supportive Services
California Coalition on Family Caregiving
California Collaborative for Long-term Services and Support
California Community Living Network
California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
California Health Advocates
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
California Senior Legislature
CalPACE
Cardea Health
City and County of San Francisco
City of Long Beach
Contra Costa Senior Legal Services
County of Fresno
County Welfare Directors Association of California
CSI Support & Development
Disability Rights California
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disability Voices United (DVU)
Downtown Women's Center
Eskaton
ETTA
Front Porch
Hadassah
Healthy Aging Association
Housing Action Coalition
Jewish Center for Justice
Jewish Community Relations Council (SACRAMENTO)
Jewish Democratic Club of Silicon Valley
Jewish Democratic Club of Solano County
Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay
Jewish Family and Children's Service of Long Beach and Orange County
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Jewish Family Service of San Diego
Jewish Family Service of the Desert
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys
Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region
Jewish Long Beach
Jewish Public Affairs Committee
Jewish Silicon Valley
JVS SoCal
Legal Assistance for Seniors
Marin Center for Independent Living
National Alliance to End Homelessness
On Lok
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County
Open Heart Kitchen
Progressive Zionists of California
San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness
Santa Clara Methodist Retirement Foundation
Senior Advocacy Network
Serving Seniors
St. Vincent De Paul Society of Marin
United Way of Greater L.A.
YIMBY Action
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085
G. Thomas Kigsley, Trends in Housing Problems and Federal Housing Assistance (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, October 2017), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94146/trends-in-housing-problems-and-federal-housing-assistance.pdf ↑
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | SB 37 |
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 37
Author: Caballero (D), et al.
Amended: 1/22/24
Vote: 21
SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 10-0, 3/21/23
AYES: Wiener, Ochoa Bogh, Blakespear, Caballero, Cortese, Padilla, Seyarto, Skinner, Umberg, Wahab
NO VOTE RECORDED: McGuire
SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/24/23
AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Ochoa Bogh, Hurtado, Menjivar, Wahab
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 4-0, 1/18/24
AYES: Portantino, Bradford, Wahab, Wiener
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jones, Ashby, Seyarto
SUBJECT: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
SOURCE: Corporation for Supportive Housing
Justice in Aging
LeadingAge California
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
United Way of Greater Los Angeles
DIGEST:
This bill establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Pilot Program (Program), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, in up to five geographic regions or counties.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program within the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs).
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning.
- Establishes the CalWORKS Housing Support Program (HSP) to provide housing supports to CalWORKs recipients who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, including recipients who have not yet received an eviction notice, and for whom housing instability would be a barrier to self-sufficiency or child well-being. Supports provided may include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
- Financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers; and
- Housing stabilization and relocation, including outreach and engagement, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- Establishes the Bring Families Home Program (BFH) to provide families receiving child welfare services who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or in a living situation that cannot accommodate the child or multiple children in the home with financial assistance, housing stabilization, and relocation.
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) with the purpose of coordinating the state’s response to homelessness by utilizing Housing First practices.
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bill:
- Requires HCD to award grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), PHAs, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy pilot program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in up to five geographic regions or counties.
- Establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund (Fund), upon appropriation, for HCD to allocate program funds to award recipients for a three-year period.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of older adult renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average; and
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following:
- Rent subsidies for leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that need operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires.
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher.
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other administrative costs.
- Requires award recipients to report program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships, in all areas in which it has awarded grants, to establish partnerships with one or more PHAs to do the following:
- Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project based housing subsidy program; and
- Work with award recipients and recruit landlords to ensure landlords meet the requirements of HCV.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of the Program, to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients report specific demographic data on people served, retention rates, length of time to receive assistance, admissions and releases from licensed care facilities, and coordination activities.
- Ensure grant recipients establishment of a grievance process for contesting denial or termination.
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate the Program and provide a report to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Legislature.
- Provides that, to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not income of the participants for determining eligibility for or benefits from any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs do not disqualify a person or household from participating in the Program.
Background
According to the Public Policy Institute of California,15% of the state’s population is 65 or older, and, by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and older adult homelessness is projected to increase. A recent study from University of California, San Francisco’s Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
In January of 2021, the Newsom Administration released the Master Plan on Aging, which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at risk populations. Targeted programs play an important role to help very specific populations of adults access housing, including those who are Adult Protective Services clients and those who are eligible for SSI payments. However, no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older and disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Meanwhile, HCV and other federally subsidized housing programs often take years for applicants to access, since such programs accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Comments
- Author’s statement. According to the author, “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income, which do not cover rising rents. Many worked for over thirty years in blue collar, low-wage jobs and have minimal retirement income to weather economic uncertainty.
“A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness, yet homelessness for older adult Californians (those 65 years of age or older) is expected to triple in the next eight years. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 46% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, as they are oversubscribed.
“SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults, as studies show low-income renters with housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
- Homelessness prevention. According to research conducted by Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization, housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show low-income renters accessing “shallow” housing subsidies of $200-$500 per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services interventions. The state has focused homelessness prevention on those who are receiving benefits through safety net programs like CalWORKS and the foster care system.
- Housing assistance programs. The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations that are homeless or housing insecure. The Department of Social Services operates two programs, CalWorks HSP and BFH. HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- HCV. The federal HCV program provides households at or below 80% of area median income rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders use 30% of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand. Only a fraction of renters that need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
- The Program. This bill creates a pilot program to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness. The Program, administered by HCD, provides grants to nonprofit organizations, COCs, and other organizations. HCD will select grantees with the resources, expertise, and cultural specificity to provide assistance to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Grants will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the older adult renters face cost burdens. Grantees will provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between what the tenant can pay as a percent of a person’s household income and the rent cap.
- Author Amendments. Author amendments taken in the Senate Appropriations Committee do the following:
- Narrows the proposed statewide program to a pilot program for eligible populations in up to five geographic regions or counties, and require HCD to select recipients based upon the proportion of people 50 years of age and over experiencing housing cost burden in the jurisdiction the applicant intends to serve.
- Adds definitions for “fair market rent” and “rent cap,” and delete references to “reasonable rent” for purposes of the pilot program.
- Requires HCD to ensure geographic diversity in awards and select at least one rural county.
- Requires HCD, for purposes of determining the “rent cap,” to establish three levels of caps, one for lower-cost, medium-cost, and high-cost counties based on fair market rents in the jurisdictions the selected recipients will serve.
- Requires award recipients to obligate all funds within three years of signing the standard agreement and expend all funding within five years, rather than four years and six years, respectively.
- Deletes requirements for award recipients to report on the following:
- Tenant satisfaction survey results.
- Monitoring to ensure apartments meet habitability and safety standards.
- The number of participants admitted to a licensed care or nursing facility, and the number leaving those facilities as a result of the program.
- Activities to coordinate and collaborate with continuums of care and other local agencies.
- Deletes the requirement that the evaluation include an assessment of populations most impacted by the program.
- Deletes the requirement for an interim evaluation of program outcomes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
- HCD estimates annual General Fund costs of $1.17 million and 6.0 PY of staff for three years to develop and administer the Program. Specific duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, providing technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. Additional one-time costs, likely in the low to mid hundreds of thousands of dollars, to contract with an independent evaluator to conduct an assessment of the Program’s outcomes. Staff notes that these costs would only be incurred to the extent funding is appropriated for the Program.
- Unknown General Fund cost pressures, likely in the low tens of millions, to provide grant funding for three years for the Program. There could be additional significant future cost pressures to expand the pilot program statewide, if it is deemed successful and cost effective.
SUPPORT: (Verified 1/18/24)
Corporation for Supportive Housing (co-source)
Justice in Aging (co-source)
LeadingAge California (co-source)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (co-source)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (co-source)
AAA Coastal Commission
AARP
Active San Gabriel Valley
Affordable Living for The Aging
Alzheimer's Association
Alzheimer's Orange County
Ascencia
Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Catholic Conference
California Commission on Aging
California Council of the Blind
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
CalPACE
Camping Unlimited for The Developmentally Disabled
Catholic Charities San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo Counties
CCCSC
CDR
Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens
City Council Member Nelson Esparza, City of Fresno District 7
City of Firebaugh
City of Fowler
City of Long Beach
City of San Jose
City of Thousand Oaks
Communify
Community Access Center
Community Action Partnership of Madera County, Inc.
Community Empowerment & Resource Consultants
County of Fresno
County of Madera
County of Sacramento
Dayle Mcintosh Center for The Disabled
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Down Syndrome Connection of The Bay Area
East Bay YIMBY
Eden Housing
Eskaton
Faith Action for All
Family Violence Appellate Project
Fresno Housing Authority
Greater Napa Valley Fair Housing Center
Grow the Richmond
Healthy Aging Association
High Impact Solutions
Hopics
Housing California
Housing Choices
How to ADU
Inner City Law Center
J Gould Consulting
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Legal Aid of Marin
Life Services Alternatives
Marin Aging Action Initiative
Marin County Commission on Aging
Mental Health Advocacy Services
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
Mountain View YIMBY
Napa-Solano for Everyone
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Health Foundation
Northern Neighbors SF
Oasis Senior Center
Parents Helping Parents
Pasadena Village
Peninsula for Everyone
People for Housing - Orange County
Progress Noe Valley
Public Law Center
Resident United Network Los Angeles
San Francisco YIMBY
San Joaquin Valley Housing Collaborative
San Luis Obispo YIMBY
Santa Clara Family Health Plan
Santa Cruz YIMBY
Santa Rosa YIMBY
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Healthcare Foundation
South Bay YIMBY
Southside Forward
St. Joseph Center
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
Union Station Homeless Services
United Health Centers of The San Joaquin Valley
Ventura County YIMBY
Village Movement California
West Hills Community College District
YIMBY Action
7 Individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified 1/18/24)
None received
Prepared by: Mehgie Tabar / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124
1/23/24 10:11:00
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular Session
SB 37 (Caballero) - Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
Version: March 13, 2023 | Policy Vote: HOUSING 10 - 0, HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: No |
Hearing Date: January 18, 2024 | Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
Bill Summary:
SB 37 would, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and administer the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability (OAADHS) Program to award competitive grants to eligible entities. Grant funds would provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities whose households are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as specified.
*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********
The following information is revised to reflect amendments
adopted by the committee on January 18, 2024
Fiscal Impact:
- HCD estimates annual General Fund costs of $1.17 million and 6.0 PY of staff for three years to develop and administer the OAADHS Pilot Program. Specific duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, providing technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. Additional one-time costs, likely in the low to mid hundreds of thousands of dollars, to contract with an independent evaluator to conduct an assessment of the program outcomes. Staff notes that these costs would only be incurred to the extent funding is appropriated for the Pilot Program.
- Unknown General Fund cost pressures, likely in the low tens of millions, to provide grant funding for three years for the OAADHS Pilot Program. There could be additional significant future cost pressures to expand the pilot program statewide, if it is deemed successful and cost effective.
Author Amendments:
- Narrow the proposed statewide OAADHS Program to a pilot program for eligible populations in up to five geographic regions or counties, and require HCD to select recipients based upon the proportion of people 50 years of age and over experiencing housing cost burden in the jurisdiction the applicant intends to serve.
- Add definitions for “fair market rent” and “rent cap,” and delete references to “reasonable rent” for purposes of the pilot program.
- Require HCD to ensure geographic diversity in awards and select at least one rural county.
- Require HCD, for purposes of determining the “rent cap,” to establish three levels of caps, one for lower-cost, medium-cost, and high-cost counties based on fair market rents in the jurisdictions the selected recipients will serve.
- Require award recipients to obligate all funds within three years of signing the standard agreement and expend all funding within five years, rather than four years and six years, respectively.
- Delete requirements for award recipients to report on the following:
- Tenant satisfaction survey results.
- Monitoring to ensure apartments meet habitability and safety standards.
- The number of participants admitted to a licensed care or nursing facility, and the number leaving those facilities as a result of the program.
- Activities to coordinate and collaborate with continuums of care and other local agencies.
- Delete the requirement that the evaluation include an assessment of populations most impacted by the program.
- Delete the requirement for an interim evaluation of program outcomes.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular Session
SB 37 (Caballero) - Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
Version: March 13, 2023 | Policy Vote: HOUSING 10 - 0, HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
Urgency: No | Mandate: No |
Hearing Date: May 8, 2023 | Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
Bill Summary:
SB 37 would, upon appropriation of funding by the Legislature, require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and administer the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability (OAADHS) Program to award competitive grants to eligible entities. Grant funds would provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities whose households are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
- HCD estimates annual General Fund costs of $2.94 million and 15.0 PY of staff to develop and administer the OAADHS Program. Specific duties include design of program and award processes, development and adoption of guidelines, development of the notice of funding availability, providing technical assistance to applicants, evaluation of applications, execution contracts, monitoring compliance and program performance, and reporting to the Legislature. Additional one-time costs, likely in the mid hundreds of thousands of dollars, to contract with an independent evaluator to conduct an assessment of the program outcomes. Staff notes that these costs would only be incurred to the extent funding is appropriated for the Program, and that the costs are within the 5% cap for administrative costs.
- Unknown General Fund cost pressures, likely in excess of $100 million annually, to provide grant funding for the OAADHS Program. See staff comments.
Background:
Existing federal law establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (commonly referred to as “Section 8”) that provides direct assistance to very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled that have a household income at or below 80% of the area median income. Eligible households are provided with rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. HCV holders use 30 percent of their monthly incomes towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. The HCV Program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs). The program is heavily oversubscribed, sometimes taking years for applicants to access benefits, and accommodates only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Existing state law establishes the Home Safe Program (HSP), within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to award grants to counties, tribes, or groups of counties or tribes that provide services to elder and dependent adults who experience abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for adult protective services, for the purpose of providing housing-related supports to eligible individuals. HSP supports include, but are not limited to, housing-related intensive case management, housing related financial assistance, deep cleaning to maintain safe housing, eviction prevention, and landlord mediation. CDSS also administers the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) to assist Californians with disabilities who may be experiencing homelessness and to increase program participation among individuals who may be eligible for disability benefits, including, but not limited to, SSI/SSP, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, and veterans benefits provided under federal law, including disability compensation. HSP and HDAP assist a very specific population of adults, however no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults who are on fixed incomes.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 15% of the state’s population is 65 or older, and by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age 50. Homelessness also contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older. Additionally, older adults may have a disability or underlying health conditions which may require more assistive services to obtain and maintain their housing.
Proposed Law:
SB 37 would require HCD to develop and administer the OAADHS Program, upon appropriation of sufficient funding by the Legislature. Specifically, this bill would:
- Require HCD to begin developing the OAADHS Program, commencing January 1, 2024. In administering the program, HCD would award competitive grants to eligible entities that would provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities whose households are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, as specified.
- Establish the OAADHS Fund in the State Treasury, and require HCD to allocate program funds through December 31, 2028. The bill authorizes HCD to use 5% of funds for program administration, and requires 30% of funds to be awarded to grantees with experience and competency serving homeless populations.
- Require HCD to award grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit community-based organizations, continuums of care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), or a combination of these entities. An award recipient that is not a CoC must collaborate with the CoC operating in the geographic service area in planning and allocation of funds to ensure consistency and coordination with local homeless response.
- Require HCD, in developing guidelines, to prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average, and prioritize grant awards to applicants with specified expertise, experience, competency, and abilities to serve the target populations.
- Require grantees to use grant funds for housing subsidies up to the amount of reasonable market rent, as specified, or for affordable or supportive housing projects that need operating support, until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the subsidy, or the expiration of the expenditure period.
- Authorize a grantee to also use funds for relocation costs if a landlord opts to discontinue participation, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher. Up to 15% of allocated funds may be used for landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, specified landlord incentives, housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Require OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Require HCD to establish partnerships with PHAs to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and recruited landlords to ensure the latter meets HCV Program requirements.
- Require HCD to conduct program oversight that includes the following:
- Requiring award recipients to report specified demographic data and other participant information on a regular basis, as specified.
- Requiring award recipients to establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination of subsidies for potential participants who did not receive subsidies.
- Contracting with an independent entity for an interim evaluation that includes an assessment of population served and participant outcomes, and a final report within 12 months of the fourth year of the program, as specified.
- Submission of interim and final program evaluation reports to the Legislature.
- Specify that assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to the OAADHS Program are not income of the participant for purposes of determining public assistance program eligibility or benefits, to the extent allowable under federal law.
Related Legislation:
SB 847 (Hurtado), which was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File last year, would have established the COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program, administered by HCD, to award grants to qualified landlords for specified rent debt, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.
AB 2547 (Nazarian), as passed by the Assembly last year, was substantially similar to this bill, except the grant program would have been administered by the Department of Aging. AB 2547 was amended in the Senate to remove those provisions and insert unrelated provisions pertaining to bias-related complaints or incidents involving possible police officer bias. That version of the bill was held on this Committee’s Suspense File.
Staff Comments:
In January 2021, the Governor released his Master Plan for Aging (MPA), which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at-risk populations. The author and sponsors note the complex health challenges faced by unhoused older adults and high-needs groups. By providing targeted housing subsidies, this bill is intended to help prevent homelessness among older adults and adults with disabilities, resulting in lower public healthcare expenditures, avoided criminal justice costs, and reductions in costs to local governments. This bill closely aligns with the housing and affordability goals provided in the MPA.
Staff notes that the author has submitted a $500 million one-time General Fund budget request to fund SB 37’s OAADHS Program for four years.
-- END --
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Senator Alvarado-Gil, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular
Bill No: | SB 37 | ||
Author: | Caballero | ||
Version: | March 13, 2023 | Hearing Date: | April 24, 2023 |
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Bridgett Hankerson | ||
Subject: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program (OAADHS) and the OAADHS Stability Fund (Fund), and upon receipt of an appropriation, requires the Department Housing Community Development (HCD) to oversee the program and offer competitive grants to grantees serving older adults and adults with disabilities at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
ABSTRACT
Existing Law:
- Finds and declares that a severe shortage of affordable housing exists for low- and moderate-income households, including the elderly, disabled persons, and other special needs populations. States it is the intent of the Legislature that housing designed especially for these populations be given due consideration in the administration of the development, preservation, and rehabilitation of housing, and other housing programs, including encouraging the inclusion of supportive services to meet the unique housing needs of these populations. (HSC 50455.6)
- Defines “fair market rent” to mean the rent, including the cost of utilities, as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as those parts read on January 1, 2022, for units by number of bedrooms, that must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of non-luxury nature with suitable amenities. (24 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 888, 982).
- Establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program within HUD to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for the selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV Program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs). (24 Code of Federal Regulations 982)
- Establishes the Home Safe Program (HSP), within the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to award grants to counties, tribes, or groups of counties or tribes that provide services to elder and dependent adults who experience abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for adult protective services (APS), for the purpose of providing housing-related supports to eligible individuals. (WIC 15770 and 15771)
- Establishes the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP) to assist Californians with disabilities who may be experiencing homelessness and to increase program participation among individuals who may be eligible for disability benefits, including, but not limited to, SSI/SSP, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program, the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, and veterans benefits provided under federal law, including disability compensation. (WIC 18999)
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee and coordinate the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations in California, and to identify resources and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. (WIC 8255 et. seq.)
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (CCP 1179.04)
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning. (HSC 50457)
This Bill:
- Makes Legislative findings and declarations that Californians who are older or are experiencing disabilities face increasing rental cost burdens, that there are a number of people living in nursing facilities who could be discharged to the community if they had an affordable place to live, and that housing subsidies are effective in preventing and reducing homelessness.
- Defines, among others, the following terms for the purposes of the OAADHS:
- “Adult with a disability” to mean an individual or head of household who is 18 years of age or older and is experiencing a condition that limits a major life activity, including but not limited to: a physical, developmental, or mental disability, as specified; medical condition; a chronic illness, or a traumatic brain injury.
- “Affordable housing” to mean multifamily rental housing receiving a public subsidy that allows eligible populations occupying that housing to pay no more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.
- “Eligible population” to mean an older adult who is 50 years of age or older, or is an adult with a disability whose household is either at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
- “Experiencing homelessness” has the same meaning as “homeless” and “homelessness,” as defined federal code as read on January 1, 2022, except that people who were homeless upon admission to an institutional setting continue to be considered homeless upon discharge, regardless of the length of time spent residing in the institutional setting.
- Establishes the OAADHS within HCD and the Fund within the State Treasury, and upon an appropriation, beginning on January 1, 2024 requires HCD to develop and administer a housing subsidy program by offering competitive grants as described, and to allocate program funds to award recipients, as provided.
- Requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), public housing authorities (PHAs), and Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships with PHA to create a plan for OAADHS program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project-based housing subsidy program and to work with award recipients and HCV Program.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face a more severe rental cost burden than the state average; and
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships with local agencies, including aging and disability resource centers and service providers and CoCs, to help OAADSH participants access available housing opportunities and needs including: linking people to tenancy sustaining services, assisting people in navigating local coordinated entry systems, and providing a “no wrong door” approach through cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following additional costs:
- Rent subsidies for master leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that needs operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires.
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher.
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other grantee administrative costs.
- Requires OAADHS award recipients to report and enter program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as specified.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of OAADHS, and to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients regularly report specific demographic data on people served; housing retention rates at one- and two-year increments; tenant satisfaction; length of time to receive assistance; apartment health and safety monitoring; admissions and releases from licensed care or nursing facilities; and coordination and collaboration activities with CoCs and other local agencies.
- Ensure grant recipients establish a grievance process for contesting denial or termination.
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate OAADHS and provide a report as outlined, until January 1, 2034, to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not considered income for determining participant eligibility for, or benefits from, any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs do not disqualify a person or household from participating in OAADHS.
FISCAL IMPACT
This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Purpose of the Bill:
According to the author, “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which do not cover rising rents. Many worked for over thirty years in blue collar, low-wage jobs and have minimal retirement income to weather economic uncertainty.”
The author further states, “A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness, yet homelessness for older adult Californians (those 65 years of age or older) is expected to triple in the next eight years. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 46 percent of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) often take years for applicants to access, as they are oversubscribed. SB 37 would provide rent subsidies targeted to older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults, as studies show low-income renters with housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
Older Adult Homelessness in California
According to a 2021 report by the Administration for Community Living, 17 percent of people living in the United States were 65 or older in 2020 and that number is expected to grow to 22 percent by 2040.[1] Nationwide adults over the age of 50 are comprising a growing proportion of the number of individual adults experiencing homelessness. As of September 2022, data from the state’s Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS) showed that of the 272,626 people experiencing homelessness in California that had contact with the homelessness response system, about 40 percent were individuals aged 50 and older. The inflationary cost pressures of the last two years may also contribute to the increase in the number of older adults experiencing homelessness for the first time. Research by the California Budget Center and others indicates that reasons for the increase in the number of older adults experiencing homelessness for the first time vary, including the series of recessions, financial and medical emergencies later in life, the shortage of affordable housing, difficulties with accessing support and social safety net programs, and insufficient benefit amounts.[2]
Research has also found that people experiencing homelessness have declining health conditions that in comparable populations of housed people wouldn’t arise for another 10-20 years.[3] Additionally, older adults may have a disability or underlying health conditions which may require more assistive services to obtain and maintain their housing. The author’s office has noted that some staff at shelters and other homeless service providers may not have the knowledge or capabilities to be able to address the complex needs of older adults. As such, the increasing numbers of older adults experiencing homelessness will have significant implications for the service offerings and practices of the homeless service system going forward.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA)
AAAs are public or private non-profit agencies designated by the state to address the needs and concerns of all older persons at the regional and local levels. “Area Agency on Aging” is a generic term—specific names of local AAAs may vary. AAAs are primarily responsible for a geographic area that is either a city, a single county, or a multi-county district. The California Department of Aging contracts with and provides leadership and direction to 33 AAAs that coordinate a wide array of services to older adults and adults with disabilities at the community level and serve as the focal point for local aging concerns. AAAs’ goal is to make it possible for older individuals to choose the services and living arrangements that suit them best.
This bill would requires HCD to award OAADHS grants to AAAs, nonprofit community-based organizations, CoCs, and PHAs to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
Federal Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV)
The HCV Program or “Section 8”, is a federal program through HUD for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. The HCV Program provides eligible households at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI) with rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. HCV holders use 30 percent of their monthly incomes towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the federal funding in deep-subsidy programs for rental housing assistance, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs have rendered these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand.[4] Additionally, only a small portion of renters that need assistance receive it, and the rental housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
Master Plan on Aging (MPA)
In January 2021, the Newsom Administration published its MPA, which is intended to be a ten-year blueprint for state government, local government, the private sector, and philanthropy to prepare the state for the coming demographic changes and “continue California’s leadership in aging, disability, and equity.” The MPA outlines five goals, 23 strategies, and over 100 initiatives. Goal one of the plan, “Affording Aging,” focuses on ensuring that older adults, can afford housing in California. According to the MPA, “A particularly alarming trend is that residents over age 50 are now the fastest growing population of homeless people in many parts of the state, with the median age of the homeless expected to rise. Black men are disproportionately represented within the population of older Californians without homes, reflecting cumulative effects of decades of inequities in housing, education, employment, and criminal justice.” According to the sponsors, this bill seeks to address one of MPA’s objectives – preventing and ending senior homelessness – by filling a policy gap that will help California reach that goal.
Home Safe Program and Housing and Disability Advocacy Program
Targeted programs play an important role in assisting specific populations of older adults to access housing supports and services. CDSS operates two such programs, HDAP and HSP. HDAP assists people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness, who are likely eligible for disability benefits, by advocating to obtain benefits as well as housing supports for participants. The HSP supports the safety and housing stability of individuals at risk of, or involved with APS to prevent or address homelessness. The HSP program also helps individuals in the APS intake process, or those who may be served by a Tribal social services agency and appear eligible for APS, and who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. HSP supports include, but are not limited to, housing-related intensive case management, housing related financial assistance, deep cleaning to maintain safe housing, eviction prevention, and landlord mediation.
HSP and HDAP assist a very specific population of adults, however no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Often federally subsidized housing programs take years for applicants to access and accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
Related/Prior Legislation:
SB 847 (Hurtado, 2022) would have established the COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program, and Fund for the purpose of awarding grants to landlords who are qualified applicants. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2547 (Nazarin, 2022) was very similar to this bill except that the CA Department of Aging (CDA) would create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program. That bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1845 (Luz Rivas, 2020) would have created the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness under the Direction of the Secretary of Homelessness and would have moved the HCFC from the BCSH Agency into the Governor’s Office to End Homelessness. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 611 (Caballero, 2019) would have required the Governor to establish the Master Plan for Aging Housing Task Force to assess the housing issues affecting California's aging population. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
SB 850 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) permitted the Governor to appoint up to 17 members to the Housing Coordinating and Finance Council (HCFC), including the Secretary BCSH or designee, to serve as chair, and provided funding for state homeless initiatives.
SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016) created the HCFC to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness, as provided.
COMMENTS
This bill would create the state-funded OAADHS Program and Fund, administered by HCD, to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness, in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations, CoCs, AAAs and other organizations. Grantees would provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between 30 percent of a person’s household income and the unit’s reasonable rent. This bill appears to be in line with Legislative priorities and the state’s MPA goals to address homelessness and assist vulnerable populations, such as seniors and adults with disabilities.
PRIOR VOTES
Senate Housing Committee: | 10-0 |
POSITIONS
Support:
Corporation for Supportive Housing (Co-Sponsor)
Justice in Aging (Co-Sponsor)
Leadingage California (Co-Sponsor)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (Co-Sponsor)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Co-Sponsor)
AARP
Ablelight INC.
Active San Gabriel Valley
Altamed Health Services
Alzheimer's Association State Policy Office
Ascencia
Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Coalition on Family Caregiving
California Commission on Aging
California Community Living Network
California Disability Services Association
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Ihss Consumer Alliance
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
California Women's Law Center
City of Long Beach
City of San Jose
City of Thousand Oaks
Community Action Partnership of Madera County, INC.
County of Fresno
County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA)
Disability Rights California
Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area
East Bay Yimby
Etta
Faith Action for All
Fowler; City of
Grow the Richmond
Hadassah
Housing California
How to Adu
Inner City Law Center
J Gould Consulting
Jewish Community Relations Council of Sacramento
Jewish Family & Children's Service of Long Beach and Orange County
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (UNREG)
Jewish Family Service San Diego
Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley
Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys
Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region
Jewish Long Beach
Jewish Public Affairs Committee
Jvs Socal
Kiwa (koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance)
League of California Cities
Legal Assistance for Seniors
Lifesteps
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
Madera County
Marin Aging Action Initiative
Mountain View Yimby
Napa-Solano for Everyone
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-CA)
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Health Foundation
Northern Neighbors Sf
Pasadena Village
Peninsula for Everyone
People for Housing - Orange County
Personal Assistance Services Council (PASC)
Progress Noe Valley
Retirement Housing Foundation
Sacramento; County of
San Francisco Yimby
San Luis Obispo Yimby
Santa Cruz Yimby
Santa Rosa Yimby
Scdd
Senior Coastsiders
Senior Services Coalition of Alameda County
Serving Seniors
Serving Seniors' Civic Engagement Group
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange Healthcare Foundation
South Bay Yimby
Southside Forward
Ssg-hopics
St. Joseph Center
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
The People Concern
Union Station Homeless Services
United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley
United Way of Ventura County
Ventura County Yimby
Western Center on Law & Poverty, INC.
Yimby Action
Oppose:
None received
-- END --
The Administration for Community Living, “2021 Profile of Older Americans”, November 2022 ↑
https://calbudgetcenter.org/resources/who-is-experiencing-homelessness-in-california/ and https://www.bcsh.ca.gov/calich/hdis.html ↑
The Gerontologist, Volume 57, Issue 4, August 2017, Pages 757–766, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw011 ↑
G. Thomas Kingsley, Trends in Housing Problems and Federal Housing Assistance (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, October 2017), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94146/trends-in-housing-problems-and-federal-housing-assistance.pdf ↑
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING
Senator Scott Wiener, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular
Bill No: SB 37 Hearing Date: 3/21/2023
Author: | Caballero | ||
Version: | 3/13/2023 Amended | ||
Urgency: | No | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Mehgie Tabar | ||
SUBJECT: Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Program (Program), administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities who either are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Establishes the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to pay rental subsidies directly to eligible families for selection and rental of affordable and safe housing. The HCV program is generally administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs).
- Establishes housing programs administered by HCD to address such topics as the construction, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing, homelessness, homeownership, infrastructure, and planning.
- Establishes the CalWORKS Housing Support Program (HSP) to provide housing supports to CalWORKs recipients who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, including recipients who have not yet received an eviction notice, and for whom housing instability would be a barrier to self-sufficiency or child well-being. Supports provided may include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
- Financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers; and
- Housing stabilization and relocation, including outreach and engagement, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- Establishes the Bring Families Home Program (BFH) to provide families receiving child welfare services who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or in a living situation that cannot accommodate the child or multiple children in the home with financial assistance, housing stabilization, and relocation.
- Establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH) with the purpose of coordinating the state’s response to homelessness by utilizing Housing First practices.
- Establishes the State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) within HCD for the provision of federal rental assistance funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This bill:
- Requires HCD to award grants to nonprofit community-based organizations, Continuums of Care (CoCs), PHAs, and area agencies on aging, as specified, to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and adults with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.
- Establishes the Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Fund (Fund), upon appropriation, for HCD to allocate program funds to award recipients.
- Requires HCD, in establishing the program guidelines and application, to do the following:
- Prioritize communities in which a higher proportion of renters face severe rental cost burden than the state average; and
- Prioritize grant awards to applicants that demonstrate adequate capacity, expertise, experience, cultural sensitivity, ability to serve in an equitable manner, and ability to use cross-sector partnerships.
- Enables award recipients to use grant funds for the following:
- Rent subsidies for leased, private market units or for affordable or supportive housing that need operating support until the participant is able to access a longer-term subsidy, no longer requires the housing subsidy, or the specified expenditure period expires.
- Relocation costs if a landlord decides not to continue participating in the program, evicts a tenant, or refuses to accept a voucher.
- Landlord recruitment and tenancy acquisition services, landlord incentives (e.g., holding fee, security deposits, and repairs), housing navigation and tenancy transition services, and any other administrative costs.
- Requires award recipients to report program data into the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
- Requires HCD to establish partnerships, in all areas in which it has awarded grants, to establish partnerships with one or more PHAs to do the following:
- Create a plan for program participants to transition into a federally subsidized voucher or project based housing subsidy program; and
- Work with award recipients and recruit landlords to ensure landlords meet the requirements of HCV.
- Requires HCD to conduct oversight of the Program, to do the following:
- Ensure grant recipients report specific demographic data on people served, retention rates, tenant satisfaction, length of time to receive assistance, health and safety monitoring, admissions and releases from licensed care facility, and coordination activities.
- Ensure grant recipients establishment of a grievance process for contesting denial or termination.
- Contract with an independent evaluator to conduct and evaluate the Program and provide a report to specified legislative budget and policy committees in the Assembly and Senate.
- Provides that to the extent allowable under federal law, assistance, services, or supports are not income of the participants for determining eligibility for or benefits from any public assistance program.
- Provides that participation in other benefits or housing or housing-based service programs do not disqualify a person or household from participating in the Program.
COMMENTS:
- Author’s statement. “Housing has become unaffordable in California, and older adults and adults with disabilities are among those hit the hardest by the affordability crisis. Many of these Californians live on fixed incomes, such as Supplemental Security Income, which do not cover rising rents. Many worked for over thirty years in blue collar, low-wage jobs and have minimal retirement income to weather economic uncertainty.
A key goal of the California Master Plan for Aging is to prevent and end older adult homelessness, yet homelessness for older adult Californians (those 65 years of age or older) is expected to triple in the next eight years. Furthermore, people with disabilities comprise about 46% of those experiencing homelessness. No comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older or disabled adults. Federal Housing Choice Vouchers often take years for applicants to access, as they are oversubscribed.
SB 37 would provide a rent subsidy targeted to older adults and adults with disabilities who are homeless or are at high risk of homelessness. Such subsidies will prevent and end homelessness for thousands of older and disabled adults, as studies show low-income renters with housing subsidies are able to remain housed or exit homelessness for good.”
- Homelessness in California. California’s housing and homelessness crisis is a half century in the making. Decades of underproduction underscored by exclusionary policies have left housing supply far behind need and costs soaring. California has the second highest rate (52%) of renter households paying more than 30% of their income for housing.
A lack of affordable housing is the biggest contributor to homelessness.[1] On a single night in January 2022, 171,521 Californians experienced homelessness, highlighting the direness of the state’s housing affordability and homelessness crises.[2] As housing costs continue to rise, rent becomes less affordable for lower-income households, who are forced to live beyond their means or are pushed out of their homes and often, their communities. When an individual or household pays too much on rent, there is no space to save for emergencies. For the most vulnerable renter households, a single emergency or unexpected expense could be the difference between stable housing and homelessness.
- California’s aging population. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), 15% of the state’s population is 65 or older, and, by 2030, about one in five Californians will be 65. Currently, nearly half (45%) of Californians experiencing homelessness are 50 years or older, and older adult homelessness is projected to increase. A recent study from UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations showed that nearly half of unhoused older people experienced their first episode of homelessness after age fifty. Homelessness contributes to lower life expectancy, especially among seniors. Older adults experiencing homelessness are likely to have physical health conditions and functional health status similar to, or worse than, someone 10 to 20 years older.
In January of 2021, the Newsom Administration released the Master Plan on Aging, which calls for an end to homelessness and a requirement to develop housing solutions to prevent and end homelessness among older adults and other at risk populations. Targeted programs play an important role to help very specific populations of adults access housing, including those who are Adult Protective Services clients and those who are eligible for SSI payments. However, no comprehensive state program exists that provides long-term housing subsidies for older and disabled adults who are on fixed incomes. Meanwhile, HCV and other federally subsidized housing programs often take years for applicants to access, since such programs accommodate only a fraction of eligible applicants.
- Homelessness prevention. According to research conducted by Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization, housing subsidies are highly effective in both preventing and reducing homelessness. Studies show low-income renters accessing “shallow” housing subsidies of two hundred dollars ($200) to five hundred dollars ($500) per month are able to remain stably housed. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness are able move into permanent housing quickly, and remain stably housed, with a housing subsidy and the right services interventions. The state has focused homelessness prevention on those who are receiving benefits through safety net programs like CalWORKS and the foster care system.
- Housing assistance programs. The state offers several programs that provide rental assistance and housing navigation services targeted at vulnerable populations that are homeless or housing insecure. The Department of Social Services operates two programs, CalWorks HSP and BFH. HSP provides families who are receiving CalWORKs benefits financial assistance, including rental assistance, security deposits, utility payments, moving cost assistance, and motel and hotel vouchers, landlord recruitment, case management, housing search and placement, legal services, and credit repair.
- Housing choice vouchers. The Federal HCV program provides households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI) rental vouchers that can be used in the private rental market or in subsidized affordable housing. Voucher holders use 30% of their income towards the fair market rent and the voucher covers the remaining amount. PHAs administer the voucher program.
According to the 2022 Statewide Housing Plan, federal support and funding for addressing housing need has not kept up with demand and is a contributing factor to the state’s housing crisis. Despite modest increases in the amount of money allocated by the federal government for rental housing assistance in the form of deep-subsidy programs, an increase in the total number of renter households and mounting rental costs render these federal subsidies insufficient to meet demand.[3] Only a fraction of renters that need assistance receive it, and this housing assistance gap is expected to worsen.
- Older Adults and Adults with Disabilities Housing Stability Act of 2023. This bill would create the Program to provide rental subsidies for older adults and adults with disabilities who are currently or at high risk of experiencing homelessness. The program, administered by HCD, will provide grants to nonprofit organizations, continuums of care, and other organizations. HCD will select grantees with the resources, expertise, and cultural specificity to provide assistance to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Grants will prioritize communities in which a high proportion of the renters face cost burdens. Grantees will provide subsidies to help older adults and adults with disabilities remain housed, with subsidies covering the difference between 30% of a person’s household income and the unit’s reasonable rent.
- Seeing Double. This bill is similar to AB 2547 (Nazarian, 2022), which would have authorized the California Department of Aging to create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program. That bill was held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
- Double-referral. This bill is also referred to the Committee on Human Services.
Related Legislation:
SB 847 (Hurtado, 2022) — would have established the COVID-19 Tenancy Grant Program, to be administered by HCD, and Fund within the State Treasury, upon appropriation, for the purpose of awarding grants to landlords who are qualified applicants. This bill was held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2547 (Nazarin, 2022) — would have authorized the California Department of Aging to create and administer the Housing Stabilization to Prevent and End Homelessness Among Older Adults and People with Disabilities Program to offer competitive grants to nonprofits, CoCs, and PHAs to administer a housing subsidy program for older adults and individuals with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. This bill was held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 611 (Caballero, 2019) — would have required the Governor to establish the Master Plan for Aging Housing Task Force to assess the housing issues affecting California's aging population. This bill was vetoed by the Governor.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,
March 15, 2023.)
SUPPORT:
Corporation for Supportive Housing (Co-Sponsor)
Justice in Aging (Co-Sponsor)
Leadingage California (Co-Sponsor)
State Council on Developmental Disabilities (Co-Sponsor)
United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Co-Sponsor)
Council Member Nelson Esparza, City of Fresno District 7
AAA Coastal Commission
AARP
Active San Gabriel Valley
Affordable Living for The Aging
Alzheimer's Association State Policy Office
Alzheimer's Orange County
California Alliance for Retired Americans
California Apartment Association
California Association of Food Banks
California Council of the Blind
California Housing Partnership Corporation
California Long Term Care Ombudsman Association
Camping Unlimited for the Developmentally Disabled
CCCSC
CDR
Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens
City of Firebaugh
City of Fowler
Communify
Community Access Center
Community Action Partnership of Madera County, INC.
Community Empowerment & Resource Consultants
County of Fresno
County of Sacramento
Dayle Mcintosh Center for The Disabled
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Down Syndrome Connection of The Bay Area
East Bay YIMBY
Eskaton
Faith Action for All
Fresno Housing Authority
Greater Napa Valley Fair Housing Center
Grow the Richmond
Healthy Aging Association
High Impact Solutions
Hopics
Housing California
How to ADU
J Gould Consulting
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
KIWA (Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance)
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Legal Aid of Marin
Marin Aging Action Initiative
Marin County Commission on Aging
Mental Health Advocacy Services
Mental Health America of Los Angeles
Mountain View YIMBY
Napa-Solano for Everyone
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Health Foundation
Northern Neighbors SF
Oasis Senior Center
Parents Helping Parents
Pasadena Village
Peninsula for Everyone
People for Housing - Orange County
Progress Noe Valley
Public Law Center
Resident United Network Los Angeles
Residents United Network Los Angeles
San Francisco YIMBY
San Joaquin Valley Housing Collaborative
San Luis Obispo YIMBY
Santa Cruz YIMBY
Santa Rosa YIMBY
South Bay YIMBY
Southside Forward
St. Joseph Center
The United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Union Station Homeless Services
United Health Centers of The San Joaquin Valley
Ventura County YIMBY
West Hills Community College District
YIMBY Action
6 Individuals
OPPOSITION:
None received.
-- END --
Thomas H. Byrne, Benjamin F. Henwood, and Anthony W. Orlando, “A Rising Tide Drowns Unstable Boats: How Inequality Creates Homelessness,” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 693, no. 1 (2021): 28-45, https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220981864/ ↑
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress Part 1: Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, January 2021), https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2020-AHAR-Part-1.pdf ↑
G. Thomas Kigsley, Trends in Housing Problems and Federal Housing Assistance (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, October 2017), https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/94146/trends-in-housing-problems-and-federal-housing-assistance.pdf ↑
Discussed in Hearing
1MIN
Assembly Floor
12MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care
14MIN
Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development
3MIN
Senate Floor
16MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Human Services
9MIN
Senate Standing Committee on Housing
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):
