Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public, and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices. Existing law authorizes the commission, by regulation, to impose requirements governing the timing of turnaround and maintenance developed through the consultations described above.

This bill would require the commission to also consult with the Department of Industrial Relations when considering ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance. For any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance, the bill would require the commission to consult with labor and industry stakeholders and aim to avoid any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.

Existing law requires the Governor to establish the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, and requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California, and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Existing law sets forth the composition of the council, which includes, among others, the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who serve as cochairs of the council.

This bill would add the Director of Developmental Services to the council described above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

 VETO  

Bill No: SB 842

Author: Bradford (D)

Amended: 9/8/23

Vote: 27

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/17/23

AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Ochoa Bogh, Menjivar, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/24/23

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

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 5/25/23

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

SENATE FLOOR: 26-6, 9/14/23

AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Bradford, Caballero, Dahle, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, McGuire, Newman, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Seyarto, Umberg, Wilk

NOES: Becker, Gonzalez, Menjivar, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Blakespear, Cortese, Laird, Limón, Min, Skinner, Wahab

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 9/13/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Energy: petroleum refinery turnaround and maintenance

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill modifies and makes clarifying changes to the requirements on the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted as part of the extraordinary session related to petroleum refinery turnarounds and scheduling of maintenance to protect the health and safety of employees and the public.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and designates DIR to be responsible for administering the state plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards relating to issues covered by corresponding standards promulgated under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-596). Requires the state plan to be consistent with the provisions of state law governing occupational safety and health, including, but not limited to, Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 148) of Division 1, and Division 5 (commencing with Section 6300), of the Labor Code. (Labor Code §50 et seq.)
2. Establishes the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990 which states the intent of the Legislature that the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) within the DIR promote worker safety through implementation of training and process safety management practices in petroleum refineries and chemical plants and other facilities deemed appropriate. Defines “process safety management” to mean the application of management programs, which are not limited to engineering guidelines, when dealing with the risks associated with handling or working near hazardous chemicals. Process safety management is intended to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of acutely hazardous, flammable, or explosive chemicals. (Labor Code §7850 et seq.)
3. Requires every petroleum refinery employer to provide to the Cal/OSHA a full schedule of planned turnarounds for all affected units for the following calendar year, and defines the schedule submitted to be treated as a “trade secret.” Defines “turnaround” to mean a planned, periodic shutdown, total or partial, of a refinery process unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul, and repair operations and to inspect, test, and replace process materials and equipment. (Labor Code §§7872, 7873)
4. Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, also known as the CEC, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public, and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices. Authorizes the CEC, by regulation, to impose requirements governing the timing of turnaround and maintenance developed through the consultations described above. (Public Resources Code §25354.2)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to also consult with the DIR, in addition to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, when considering ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance.
2. Requires the CEC, for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance, to consult with labor and industry stakeholders and aim to avoid any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.
3. Specifies that no CEC regulations or action may excuse compliance with the workforce and wage requirements of stationary sources in existing statute.

Background

California gasoline fuels market is isolated. California’s gasoline fuels market is geographically isolated from other locations in the U.S. that produce refined fuel products. California has 11 refineries that refine crude oil into gasoline fuel; the majority are located in and around the South Bay region in the Los Angeles Basin, some in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, and the smallest by volume produced is located in Bakersfield. The state’s refineries process over 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day. In 2021, 88 percent of gasoline production was used in state and 12 percent was exported. These refiners produce transportation fuels that meet California standards, including the specially formulated gasoline to meet California’s air quality standards mandated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), known as California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenated Blending gasoline.

Unexpected disruptions and refinery facility outages can result in reduced supply and price increases. California has no ability to deliver gasoline into the state via pipelines, as the existing pipelines only deliver gasoline and other refined fuels out of the state. As a result of California’s isolated gasoline fuels market, unexpected and unplanned disruptions on the system, including unplanned and planned refinery outages, can impact the supply, which often affects price. This was the situation after the unexpected outage at the then-Exxon Mobil Torrance Refinery in February 2015 due to an explosion of the facility that resulted in an extended outage. Gasoline prices were immediately affected, as prices increased $0.25 per gallon within a week of the outage.

Extraordinary session and passage of legislation. Late last year, in response to spikes in the retail price of gasoline, Governor Newsom called the Legislature into an extraordinary session to consider ways to address the gasoline price spike. The Legislature, in turn, approved SBX1-2 (Skinner, Chapter 1, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023-24 First Extraordinary Session), which required petroleum refiners to notify the CEC, under specified timelines, of any planned, unplanned or turnaround scheduled maintenance. SBX1-2 also directed the CEC, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public and authorized the CEC to regulate the timing of turnaround and maintenance.

SB 842. This bill amends provisions of the statute enacted during the Extraordinary Session related to the CEC’s development of regulations governing oil and gasoline refinery turnaround and maintenance. Specifically, this bill requires the CEC to also consult with the DIR, and to consider the existing statutory process safety management standards when evaluating ways to manage refinery maintenance. Moreover, this bill clarifies that the CEC must consult with labor and industry stakeholders for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling maintenance, and adds impacts the CEC must aim to avoid in developing their regulations.

Need for this bill. The author of this bill supported SBX1-2; however, when this bill was heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, the author expressed concern this bill did not require the CEC also consult with the DIR. This bill appropriately requires the CEC to consult with the DIR when considering ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance. Such adjustments to the CEC’s refinery maintenance regulatory authority were discussed by the refinery operators, including the sponsor of this bill, during hearings in the Extraordinary Session. They raised myriad health, safety, and cost concerns with the CEC regulating refinery maintenance. This bill does not revoke the CEC’s authority to regulate refinery maintenance, but does add additional considerations and process for such regulatory development with the goal of avoiding any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.

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

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, costs to the CEC should be minor and absorbable as existing law already directs the CEC to consider ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance and authorizes the CEC to adopt related regulations.

SUPPORT: (Verified 10/13/23)

Western States Petroleum Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 10/13/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

During the special session earlier this year, the legislature approved and the Governor signed, SBX1-2 by Senator Skinner, related to California’s gasoline supply and pricing issues. During the hearing of SB X1 2 before the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee which I Chair, I expressed concern about a provision in the bill that granted the California Energy Commission the authority to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would minimize the impact of maintenance related production losses on fuel prices. While the bill required consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, it did not require consultation with the DIR.

SB 842 would add the DIR to the list of agencies that should be consulted to ensure that years of process safety management are considered. SB 842 would also add that for any regulations adopted by the CEC regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance of refineries, the commission shall consult with labor and industry stakeholders and aim to avoid any adverse impact to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor, equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

This bill amends provisions of SB X 1-2 (Skinner), enacted during the 2022-2023 Special Session on high gasoline prices, related to the California Energy Commission's (CEC) development of regulations governing oil and gasoline refinery turnaround and maintenance. This bill would require the CEC to consult with the Department of Industrial Relations in addition to other entities already required by SB X 1-2, and to consider the existing statutory process safety management standards when evaluating ways to manage refinery maintenance.

I support the bill's intent to avoid any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities in the development of regulations. This is why SB Xl-2 already provides several safeguards to that effect, including a requirement to consult with the State Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders. It would be imprudent to sign this bill so soon after the effective date of SB X 1-2 and before the CEC has fully contemplated implementation of the refinery maintenance portions of that law.

This has become more relevant than ever with the recent and somewhat sudden price increases of gasoline observed and shared publicly by our new Division or [of] Petroleum Market Oversight created with the new authorities provided by SB X 1-2. This bill could create a barrier to the

CEC 's ability to protect consumers from unnecessary gasoline price spikes caused by interruptions in petroleum supply.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 9/13/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, 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

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bauer-Kahan, Chen, Friedman, Muratsuchi

Prepared by: Nidia Bautista / E., U. & C. / (916) 651-4107

10/25/23 14:00:04

**** END ****

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 842

Author: Bradford (D)

Amended: 9/8/23

Vote: 21

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/17/23

AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Ochoa Bogh, Menjivar, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/24/23

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

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0, 5/25/23

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

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 9/13/23 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Energy: petroleum refinery turnaround and maintenance

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill modifies and makes clarifying changes to the requirements on the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted as part of the extraordinary session related to petroleum refinery turnarounds and scheduling of maintenance to protect the health and safety of employees and the public.

Assembly Amendments

delete the previous unrelated language in this bill and replace it with the current language.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and designates DIR to be responsible for administering the state plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards relating to issues covered by corresponding standards promulgated under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-596). Requires the state plan to be consistent with the provisions of state law governing occupational safety and health, including, but not limited to, Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 140) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 148) of Division 1, and Division 5 (commencing with Section 6300), of the Labor Code. (Labor Code §50 et seq.)
2. Establishes the California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990 which states the intent of the Legislature that the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board and the Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) within the DIR promote worker safety through implementation of training and process safety management practices in petroleum refineries and chemical plants and other facilities deemed appropriate. Defines “process safety management” to mean the application of management programs, which are not limited to engineering guidelines, when dealing with the risks associated with handling or working near hazardous chemicals. Process safety management is intended to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of acutely hazardous, flammable, or explosive chemicals. (Labor Code §7850 et seq.)
3. Requires every petroleum refinery employer to provide to the Cal/OSHA a full schedule of planned turnarounds for all affected units for the following calendar year, and defines the schedule submitted to be treated as a “trade secret.” Defines “turnaround” to mean a planned, periodic shutdown, total or partial, of a refinery process unit or plant to perform maintenance, overhaul, and repair operations and to inspect, test, and replace process materials and equipment. (Labor Code §§7872, 7873)
4. Requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, also known as the California Energy Commission (CEC), in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public, and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices. Authorizes the CEC, by regulation, to impose requirements governing the timing of turnaround and maintenance developed through the consultations described above. (Public Resources Code §25354.2)

This bill:

1. Requires the CEC to also consult with the DIR, in addition to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, when considering ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance.
2. Requires the CEC, for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance, to consult with labor and industry stakeholders and aim to avoid any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.
3. Specifies that no CEC regulations or action may excuse compliance with the workforce and wage requirements of stationary sources in existing statute.

Background

California gasoline fuels market is isolated. California’s gasoline fuels market is geographically isolated from other locations in the U.S. that produce refined fuel products. California has 11 refineries that refine crude oil into gasoline fuel; the majority are located in and around the South Bay region in the Los Angeles Basin, some in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, and the smallest by volume produced is located in Bakersfield. The state’s refineries process over 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day. In 2021, eighty-eighty percent of gasoline production was used in state and 12 percent was exported. These refiners produce transportation fuels that meet California standards, including the specially formulated gasoline to meet California’s air quality standards mandated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), known as California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenated Blending (CARBOB) gasoline.

Unexpected disruptions and refinery facility outages can result in reduced supply and price increases. California has no ability to deliver gasoline into the state via pipelines, as the existing pipelines only deliver gasoline and other refined fuels out of the state. As a result of California’s isolated gasoline fuels market, unexpected and unplanned disruptions on the system, including unplanned and planned refinery outages, can impact the supply, which often affects price. This was the situation after the unexpected outage at the then-Exxon Mobil Torrance Refinery in February 2015 due to an explosion of the facility that resulted in an extended outage. Gasoline prices were immediately affected, as prices increased $0.25 per gallon within a week of the outage.

Extraordinary session and passage of legislation. Late last year, in response to spikes in the retail price of gasoline, Governor Newsom called the Legislature into an extraordinary session to consider ways to address the gasoline price spike. The Legislature, in turn, approved SBX1-2 (Skinner, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023), which requires petroleum refiners to notify the CEC, under specified timelines, of any planned, unplanned or turnaround scheduled maintenance. SBX1-2 also directs the CEC, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public and authorizes the CEC to regulate the timing of turnaround and maintenance.

SB 842. This bill amends provisions of the statute enacted during the Extraordinary Session related to the CEC’s development of regulations governing oil and gasoline refinery turnaround and maintenance. Specifically, the bill requires the CEC to also consult with the DIR, and to consider the existing statutory process safety management standards when evaluating ways to manage refinery maintenance. Moreover, this bill clarifies that the CEC must consult with labor and industry stakeholders for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling maintenance, and adds impacts the CEC must aim to avoid in developing their regulations.

Need for this bill. The author of this bill supported SBX1-2; however, when the bill was heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, the author expressed concern the bill did not require the CEC also consult with the DIR. This bill appropriately requires the CEC to consult with the DIR when considering ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance. Such adjustments to the CEC’s refinery maintenance regulatory authority were discussed by the refinery operators, including the sponsor of this bill, during hearings in the Extraordinary Session. They raised myriad health, safety, and cost concerns with the CEC regulating refinery maintenance. This bill does not revoke the CEC’s authority to regulate refinery maintenance, but does add additional considerations and process for such regulatory development with the goal of avoiding any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.

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

According to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, costs to the CEC should be minor and absorbable as existing law already directs the CEC to consider ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance and authorizes the CEC to adopt related regulations.

SUPPORT: (Verified 9/13/23)

Western States Petroleum Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/13/23)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:

During the special session earlier this year, the legislature approved and the Governor signed, SBX1-2 by Senator Skinner, related to California’s gasoline supply and pricing issues. During the hearing of SB X1 2 before the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee which I Chair, I expressed concern about a provision in the bill that granted the California Energy Commission the authority to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would minimize the impact of maintenance related production losses on fuel prices. While the bill required consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, it did not require consultation with the DIR.

SB 842 would add the DIR to the list of agencies that should be consulted to ensure that years of process safety management are considered. SB 842 would also add that for any regulations adopted by the CEC regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance of refineries, the commission shall consult with labor and industry stakeholders and aim to avoid any

adverse impact to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor, equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 9/13/23

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Cervantes, Connolly, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Mike Fong, Vince Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lackey, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, McKinnor, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, 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

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bauer-Kahan, Chen, Friedman, Muratsuchi

Prepared by: Nidia Bautista / E., U. & C. / (916) 651-4107

9/14/23 13:01:34

**** END ****

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 842

Author:(Bradford)

As Amended Ver:September 8, 2023

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Modifies requirements on the California Energy Commission's (CEC's) development of regulations governing oil and gasoline refinery turnaround and maintenance that were established under SB 2 X1 (Skinner), Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023-24 First Extraordinary Session.

Major Provisions

1. Requires the CEC to consult with the Department of Industrial Relations in considering ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance, and to do so in accordance with the process safety management standards adopted pursuant to existing statute.
2. Clarifies that the CEC must consult with labor and industry stakeholders for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling maintenance, and the CEC must aim to avoid adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost.
3. Specifies that no CEC regulations or action may excuse compliance with the workforce and wage requirements of stationary sources in existing statute.

COMMENTS

California's finished gasoline market is like an island. California has 11 refineries that refine crude oil into gasoline fuel; the majority are located in and around the South Bay region in the Los Angeles Basin, some in the East Bay region of the Bay Area, and the smallest by volume produced in Bakersfield. These refiners produce transportation fuels, including the specially formulated gasoline that meets California's air quality standards, known as California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending (CARBOB) gasoline. The CARBOB specifications are unique to California; therefore, gasoline used in neighboring states generally does not meet CARBOB specification and cannot be used as a substitute source of our supply. The state's refineries process over 1.6 million barrels of crude oil per day for use in California (88%) or export (to other states as well as internationally, 12% combined). In addition to being isolated through the exclusive use of CARBOB, California's gasoline fuels market is geographically isolated from other locations in the United States that produce refined fuel products.

The relatively small number of California refineries makes our system vulnerable to unexpected disruptions. As a result, refinery outages can more dramatically impact our supply and pricing. This was the case after the unexpected outage in February 2015 at the then-Exxon Mobil Torrance Refinery which was due to an explosion at the facility. The extended shutdown of the Torrance refinery, in combination with an earlier shutdown at the Tesoro Golden Eagle refinery, took 17.5% of California oil processing capacity offline, severely constraining gasoline supply. Gasoline prices were immediately affected, jumping substantially within days of the explosion and subsequent shutdown.

When local supplies are insufficient to meet demand in the state, as was the case in 2015, prices can be impacted dramatically. This is especially true when unplanned refinery outages occur, or a backlog of planned maintenance compounds for multiple refiners in the state simultaneously. Ensuring the state tracks such maintenance operations and develops strategies to maintain adequate supply during outages is important to minimize gasoline price volatility.

As a result, during the Extraordinary Session called by Governor Newsom in December 2022, maintenance operations at refineries were subject to scrutiny. The Legislature passed SB 2 X1 (Skinner), adding detailed reporting requirements on refiners to notify the CEC, under specified timelines, of any planned, unplanned, or turnaround scheduled maintenance (Public Resources Code Section 25354 (m)). The statute additionally authorizes the CEC to regulate – in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, labor, and industry stakeholders – the timing of turnaround and maintenance, if such a regulation can protect worker and public health and safety while also minimizing the risk of maintenance-driven supply shortages or price shocks. (Public Resources Code Section 25354.2)

This bill amends provisions of the statute enacted during the Extraordinary Session related to the CEC's development of regulations governing oil and gasoline refinery turnaround and maintenance. Specifically, the bill requires the CEC to also consult with the Department of Industrial Relations, and to consider the existing statutory process safety management standards when evaluating ways to manage refinery maintenance. Moreover, this bill clarifies that the CEC must consult with labor and industry stakeholders for any adopted regulations regarding scheduling or rescheduling maintenance, and adds impacts the CEC must aim to avoid in developing their regulations. Such adjustments to the CEC's refinery maintenance regulatory authority were discussed by the refinery operators during hearings in the Extraordinary Session. They raised myriad health, safety, and cost concerns with the CEC regulating refinery maintenance. This bill does not revoke the CEC's authority to regulate refinery maintenance, but does add additional considerations and process for such regulatory development.

According to the Author

According to the author, "during the special session earlier this year, the legislature approved and the Governor signed, SBX1-2 by Senator Skinner, related to California's gasoline supply and pricing issues. During the hearing of SB X1-2 before the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, which I Chair, I expressed concern about a provision in the bill that granted the CEC the authority to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would minimize the impact of maintenance related production losses on fuel prices. While the bill required consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, it did not require consultation with the Department of Industrial Relations.

SB 842 would add the Department of Industrial Relations to the list of agencies that should be consulted to ensure that years of process safety management are considered. SB 842 would also add that for any regulations adopted by the CEC regarding scheduling or rescheduling of maintenance of refineries, the commission shall consult with labor and industry stakeholder and aim to avoid any adverse impact to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor, equipment availability, other market impacts, and cost."

Arguments in Support

The entirety of this bill was deleted and replaced with new policy. Any position letters on file do not reflect the version of this bill as amended.

Arguments in Opposition

The entirety of this bill was deleted and replaced with new policy. Any position letters on file do not reflect the version of this bill as amended.

FISCAL COMMENTS

Unknown. This bill is tagged fiscal. However it was recently amended to remove all previous contents, so the cost to the state of this new policy is unclear.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: Vote Not Relevant

YES:

ASM HUMAN SERVICES: Vote Not Relevant

YES:

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: Vote Not Relevant

YES:

ASM UTILITIES AND ENERGY: 14-0-1

YES: Garcia, Jim Patterson, Bauer-Kahan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Chen, Connolly, Holden, Muratsuchi, Reyes, Santiago, Schiavo, Ting, Wallis

ABS, ABST OR NV: Mathis

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 13-0-3

YES: Holden, Megan Dahle, Lee, Dixon, Mike Fong, Hart, Mathis, Papan, Pellerin, Sanchez, Soria, Weber, Wilson

ABS, ABST OR NV: Bryan, Wendy Carrillo, Lowenthal

UPDATED

VERSION: September 8, 2023

CONSULTANT: Laura Shybut / U. & E. / (916) 319-2083 FN: 0002176

Date of Hearing: September 13, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 842

Author:(Bradford) – As Amended Ver:September 8, 2023

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

SUMMARY:

This bill modifies existing law that authorizes the California Energy Commission (CEC) to consider ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees the public and minimize the impact of maintenance-related production losses on fuel prices.

Specifically, this bill requires the CEC, when making such consideration, to consult with the Department of Industrial Relations and to do so in accordance with existing provisions of the Labor Code and existing regulations governing process safety management requirements. The bill also explicitly directs the CEC, for any regulations it adopts regarding scheduling or rescheduling of refinery maintenance, to consult with labor and industry stakeholders and to aim to avoid any adverse impacts to the safety of employees and surrounding communities, labor and equipment availability, other market impacts and cost.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Costs to the CEC should be minor and absorbable as existing law already directs the CEC to consider ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance and authorizes the CEC to adopt related regulations.

COMMENTS:

Late last year, in response to spikes in the retail price of gasoline, Governor Newsom called the Legislature into an extraordinary session to consider ways to address the gasoline price spike. The Legislature, in turn, approved SBX1-2 (Skinner), Chapter 1, Statutes of 2023, which requires petroleum refiners to notify the CEC, under specified timelines, of any planned, unplanned or turnaround scheduled maintenance.

SBX1-2 also directs the CEC, in consultation with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and labor and industry stakeholders, to consider ways to manage necessary refinery turnarounds and maintenance that would protect the health and safety of employees and the public and authorizes the CEC to regulate the timing of turnaround and maintenance. The author of this bill supported SBX1-2; however, when the bill was heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, which the author chairs, the author expressed concern the bill did not require the CEC also consult with the Department of Industrial Relations, which is within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. The department describes itself as administering and enforcing laws governing “wages, hours and breaks, overtime, retaliation, workplace safety and health, apprenticeship training programs, and medical care and other benefits for injured workers,” and as promoting “healthy employment relations, conducts research to improve its programs” and coordinates with other agencies. This bill requires the CEC to consult with the department when considering ways to manage necessary petroleum refinery turnarounds and maintenance.

Analysis Prepared by: Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

SENATE THIRD READING

STR Bill Id:SB 842

Author:(Jones)

As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2023

2/3 vote. Urgency

SUMMARY

Adds the Director of the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) and contains an urgency clause for the measure to take effect immediately.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS

Background: Homelessness in California. Over 173,000 individuals in California experience homelessness on any given night, based on the most recent annual point in time (PIT) count conducted in January 2022. This is largely considered an undercount of the actual number of people experiencing homelessness because it does not consider those that are couch-surfing or temporarily housed in non-traditional shelters.

The causes and duration of homelessness are varied. Some individuals experiencing homelessness are chronically homeless, meaning they have experienced homelessness for at least a year, or repeatedly, while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability.

Cal ICH, formerly known as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, was established through the enactment of SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016, in an effort to coordinate the state's response to homelessness. As created by SB 1380, the Council was housed within the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which was also responsible for providing staff for the Council.

SB 850 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, moved the Council from HCD to the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. SB 850 also authorized the creation of an Executive Director to oversee the Council, as well as the allocation of several staff members.

AB 1220 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021, changed the name of the Council from the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness and reconstituted its membership.

Additionally, SB 1421 (Jones), Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022, required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or has formerly experienced homelessness to the Council's advisory committee.

Cal ICH was created in part to oversee the state's implementation of Housing First. By July 1, 2019, agencies and departments administering state programs relating to homelessness are required to collaborate with the Council to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations that incorporate core components of Housing First. To that end, Cal ICH adopted a Housing First Checklist to be used by state agencies to assess their homelessness-related programs and make recommendations on any changes required to bring their programs into alignment with Housing First statute.

Cal ICH is required to hold public meetings at least once every quarter. The current makeup of Cal ICH is as follows:

1. The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services Agency, who both serve as co-chairs.
2. The Director of the California Department of Transportation.
3. The Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
4. The Director of the California Department of Social Services.
5. The Director of the California Housing Finance Agency.
6. The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services.
7. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
8. The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
9. The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer's office.
10. The State Public Health Officer.
11. The Director of the California Department of Aging.
12. The Director of Rehabilitation.
13. The Director of State Hospitals.
14. The Executive Director of the California Workforce Development Board.
15. The Director of the Office of Emergency Services.
16. A representative from the State Department of Education, as appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
17. A representative of the state public higher education system from one of the following:
    1. The California Community Colleges.
    2. The University of California.
    3. The California State University.

In addition, the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint one member to Cal ICH from two different stakeholder organizations.

Cal ICH is authorized, at its discretion, to invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or provide information to the council.

This bill would add a representative from DDS to the membership of Cal ICH.

DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Act which was originally was passed in 1969. The Lanterman Act provides entitlement to services and supports for individuals ages three and older who have a qualifying developmental disability. Qualifying disabilities include autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and other conditions closely related to intellectual disabilities that require similar treatment. To qualify, an individual must have a disability that is substantial that began before the age of 18 and is expected to be life-long. There are no income‑related eligibility criteria. As of December 2022, DDS serves about 330,000 Lanterman‑eligible individuals and another 2,900 children ages three and four who are provisionally eligible.

Equity Implications. Cal ICH is dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by one of California's most vulnerable populations – the homeless community. Given the diverse causes and issues surrounding homelessness, it is essential for any organization to have a comprehensive range of perspectives at its disposal. Adding to the perspectives of the Council can enhance the understanding of the unique challenges encountered by individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

People with developmental disabilities often encounter obstacles that increase their susceptibility to homelessness or put them at risk of becoming homeless. For instance, individuals with intellectual disabilities may face homelessness later in life due to the loss of a primary caregiver. By including the Director DDS in Cal ICH, the council's awareness of these specific issues would be heightened, enabling them to provide more effective support to this vulnerable community. This addition to Cal ICH would foster a deeper comprehension of the services required by individuals with developmental disabilities and facilitate their connection to such services. The ultimate goal is to prevent homelessness among this population, lift them out of homelessness if they are already affected, and enhance their overall quality of life.

According to the Author

"California has almost 30% (161,548 people) of all individuals experiencing homelessness across the nation.

"Californians are becoming increasingly concerned with the state's growing homeless population. In fact, Californians name homelessness as the second most important issue, right behind COVID-19, for the Governor and Legislature to work on in 2022.

"In order to effectively address the many challenges associated with assisting persons experiencing homelessness, a wide variety of perspectives must be sought, including the perspective of the Director of Developmental Services.

"Currently, Cal ICH is not required to include the Director of Developmental Services. [This bill] adds the Director of Developmental Services to Cal ICH order to provide Cal ICH with readily available access to this much-needed perspective."

Arguments in Support

The Association of Regional Centers Agencies writes in support that, "People with developmental disabilities have unique needs. For over 50 years the state of California has committed to meeting those needs through a community-based regional center service system. With the passage of time, people's needs, the best ways to meet those needs, and our understanding of the philosophies that guide our system have continued to evolve.

Expanding the membership of the advisory committee to the Interagency Council on Homelessness to include the Director of the Department of Developmental Services is, therefore, part of a long history of changes, refinements, and reforms that both directly and indirectly impact our service system. It will help improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities, and by virtue of benefiting them, will strengthen our service system."

Arguments in Opposition

No opposition on file

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee on July 12, 2023:

Cal ICH estimates General Fund (GF) costs of $178,000 in the first year and ongoing GF costs of approximately $170,000 annually for one staff position to provide administrative support for the expanded council. Cal ICH indicates it has three staff, provided by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency per existing law, who each devote a portion of their time to staffing the work of the 20-member council. While Cal-ICH notes any additional increase in the size of the council is not absorbable, it seems unlikely adding one council member would require a full-time, rather than part-time, staff position. It seems likely the full-time staff position anticipated by Cal ICH would be available to perform other agency duties as well.

VOTES

SENATE FLOOR: 40-0-0

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

ASM HUMAN SERVICES: 8-0-0

YES: Jackson, Alanis, Arambula, Bonta, Juan Carrillo, Calderon, Garcia, Lackey

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 16-0-0

YES: Holden, Megan Dahle, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Dixon, Mike Fong, Hart, Lowenthal, Mathis, Papan, Pellerin, Sanchez, Soria, Weber, Wilson

UPDATED

VERSION: February 17, 2023

CONSULTANT: Jessica Langtry / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089 FN: 0001599

Date of Hearing: July 12, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Chris Holden, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 842

Author:(Jones) – As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2023

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

SUMMARY:

This bill adds the state Director of the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH).

FISCAL EFFECT:

Cal ICH estimates General Fund (GF) costs of $178,000 in the first year and ongoing GF costs of approximately $170,000 annually for one staff position to provide administrative support for the expanded council. Cal ICH indicates it has three staff, provided by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency per existing law, who each devote a portion of their time to staffing the work of the 20-member council. While Cal-ICH notes any additional increase in the size of the council is not absorbable, it seems unlikely adding one council member would require a full-time, rather than part-time, staff position. It seems likely the full-time staff position anticipated by Cal ICH would be available to perform other agency duties as well.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. The author intends this bill to ensure the perspectives of people with developmental disabilities are included in the state’s efforts to end homelessness. According to the author:

In order to effectively address the many challenges associated with assisting persons experiencing homelessness, a wide variety of perspectives must be sought, including the perspective of the Director of Developmental Services. Currently, Cal ICH is not required to include the Director of Developmental Services. [This bill] adds the Director of Developmental Services to Cal ICH in order to provide Cal ICH with readily available access to this much-needed perspective.

1. Background.

Cal ICH. Existing law establishes Cal ICH within the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency for the broad purpose of coordinating the state’s response to homelessness. Existing law identifies specific goals for Cal ICH, including, but not limited to, identifying resources and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California, creating partnerships among local, state, and federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System. The Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency serve as co-chairs of the council. Existing law requires the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to provide staff for the council.

Cal ICH must meet quarterly and is comprised of 20 members from various state departments including the directors of the state departments of Housing and Community Development, Social Services, Veterans Affairs, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Aging, Rehabilitation, and State Hospitals, among others, as well as representatives from the Department of Education and the higher education system.

AB 1220 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021, among other changes, reconstituted Cal ICH’s membership and added an advisory committee within Cal ICH that meets twice a year. SB 1421 (Jones), Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022, required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or formerly homeless to the council’s advisory committee.

Unlike for other targeted populations, such as seniors, veterans, former inmates, and low-income families, there is no direct, state-level representation of people with developmental disabilities on Cal-ICH. In order to ensure equitable representation, this bill adds the Director of Developmental Services to the Cal ICH membership.

DDS. DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Act, originally passed in 1969. The Lanterman Act provides entitlement to services and supports for individuals ages three and older who have a qualifying developmental disability. Qualifying disabilities include autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and other conditions closely related to intellectual disabilities that require similar treatment. To qualify, an individual must have a disability that is substantial that began before the age of 18 and is expected to be life-long. There are no income‑related eligibility criteria. As of December 2022, DDS serves about 330,000 Lanterman‑eligible individuals and another 2,900 children ages three and four who are provisionally eligible.

1. Related Legislation. SB 246 (Ochoa Bogh) adds a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) to the Cal ICH membership. SB 246 is pending in this committee.

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

Date of Hearing: June 20, 2023

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Corey A. Jackson, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 842

Author:(Jones) – As Introduced Ver:February 17, 2023

SENATE VOTE: 40-0

SUBJECT: California Interagency Council on Homelessness

SUMMARY: Adds the Director of the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) and contains an urgency clause for the measure to take effect immediately.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the “United States Interagency Council on Homelessness” to coordinate a federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to end homelessness. (42 United States Code 11311)
2. Defines, in federal statute, the word “homeless” for the purpose of housing assistance, to mean an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, such as:
3. A primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
4. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals); or,
5. Exiting an institution where an individual resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution. (42 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 91.5)
6. Defines continuums of care (CoCs) to mean the group organized to carry out the responsibilities required under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and that includes representatives of organizations, including nonprofit homeless providers, victim service providers, faith-based organizations, governments, businesses, advocates, public housing agencies, school districts, social service providers, mental health agencies, hospitals, universities, affordable housing developers, law enforcement, organizations that serve homeless and formerly homeless veterans, and homeless and formerly homeless persons to the extent these groups are represented within the geographic area and are available to participate. (24 CFR 578.3)
7. Defines “Housing First” to mean the evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and do not make housing contingent on participation in services. It includes time-limited rental or services assistance, so long as the housing and service provider assists the recipient in accessing permanent housing and in securing longer-term rental assistance, income assistance, or employment. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section [WIC] 8255(d))
8. States Legislative findings and declarations about homelessness, the housing shortfall and other related issues including: the Legislature finds and declares that there exists within the urban and rural areas of the state a significant number of persons without decent, safe, and sanitary housing. This shortage is inimical to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of this state and the sound growth of its communities. Without the assistance contemplated in existing law, it is not financially feasible for private enterprise and private investors to provide decent, safe, and sanitary emergency housing for persons who are homeless. (Health and Safety Code Section 50003.3)
9. Establishes Cal ICH to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the 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)
10. Establishes all of the following goals for Cal ICH:
11. To oversee implementation;
12. To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California;
13. To create partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, participants in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program, federal agencies, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, nonprofit entities working to end homelessness, homeless services providers, and the private sector, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness;
14. To promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age;
15. To coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding;
16. To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities;
17. To identify and seek funding opportunities for state entities that have programs to end homelessness, including, but not limited to, federal and philanthropic funding opportunities, and to facilitate and coordinate those state entities’ efforts to obtain that funding;
18. To broker agreements between state agencies and departments and between state agencies and departments and local jurisdictions to align and coordinate resources, reduce administrative burdens of accessing existing resources, and foster common applications for services, operating, and capital funding;
19. To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California;
20. To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness;
21. To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council;
22. To identify and implement strategies to fight homelessness in small communities and rural areas;
23. To create a statewide data system or warehouse, which shall be known as the Homeless Data Integration System, that collects local data through Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs, such as the Medi-Cal program and CalWORKs. Requires, upon creation of the Homeless Data Integration System, all continuums of care that are operating in California to provide collected data elements, including, but not limited to, health information, in a manner consistent with federal law, to the Homeless Data Integration System.
24. To set goals to prevent and end homelessness among California’s youth;
25. To improve the safety, health, and welfare of young people experiencing homelessness in the state;
26. To increase system integration and coordinating efforts to prevent homelessness among youth who are currently or formerly involved in the child welfare system or the juvenile justice system;
27. To lead efforts to coordinate a spectrum of funding, policy, and practice efforts related to young people experiencing homelessness;
28. To identify best practices to ensure homeless minors who may have experienced maltreatment, as described in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300, are appropriately referred to, or have the ability to self-refer to, the child welfare system; and,
29. To collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs. (WIC 8257(b))
30. Establishes the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act (Lanterman Act), which states that California is responsible for providing an array of services and supports sufficiently complete to meet the needs and choices of each person with developmental disabilities, regardless of age or degree of disability, at each stage of life, and to support their integration into the mainstream life of the community. (WIC 4500 et seq.)
31. Establishes a system of nonprofit regional centers, overseen by DDS, to provide fixed points of contact in the community for all persons with developmental disabilities and their families and to coordinate services and supports best suited to them throughout their lifetime. (WIC 4620)
32. Provides the Director of DDS the authority to issue directives to regional centers when necessary to protect a consumer’s health, safety, welfare, or when needed to ensure that regional centers comply with the Lanterman Act or other state or federal law. (WIC 4639.6)

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis on May 8, 2023, Cal ICH anticipates potential ongoing costs, in the hundreds of thousands (General Fund), for additional staff resources.

COMMENTS:

Background: Homelessness in California. Over 173,000 individuals in California experience homelessness on any given night, based on the most recent annual point in time (PIT) count conducted in January 2022. This is largely considered an undercount of the actual number of people experiencing homelessness because it does not consider those that are couch-surfing or temporarily housed in non-traditional shelters. Of those individuals, over 115,000 are unsheltered, meaning they live on the streets, sleep in cars, camp in parks, or are otherwise staying in places not meant for human habitation.

The causes and duration of homelessness are varied. Some individuals experiencing homelessness are chronically homeless, meaning they have experienced homelessness for at least a year, or repeatedly, while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability. Based on the 2022 PIT count, 60,905 people in the state are chronically homeless and of those 45,132 are unsheltered. An individual is considered chronically homeless if they have a disability as defined under federal law; are living in a place not meant for human habitation, safe haven or an emergency shelter; and have been homeless for at least 12 months or on at least four separate occasions in the last three years. In addition, an individual who has been residing in an institutional care facility, including jail, substance use disorder or mental health treatment facility, hospital, or another similar facility, for fewer than 90 days and met all of the criteria previously stated is also considered chronically homeless.

Although some individuals struggle with substance use disorders or mental illness, a growing group of people fall into homelessness due to a mismatch between wages and housing costs. One in three households in the state does not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. From October 1, 2020, to September 20, 2021, the average Fair Market Rent (FMR) for a two-bedroom apartment in the state was $2,030. To afford rent and utilities without being rent-burdened (paying more than 30% of income toward rent), a household must earn $6,766 per month or $81,191 per year. This translates into an hourly wage of $39.03 for a full-time worker. The top five most common occupations in California – home health care workers, fast food workers, cashiers, laborers, and retail salespersons – pay less than the wage needed to afford a home. Over 89% of extremely low-income renter households in California are rent-burdened and over 64% of lower-income households are rent-burdened currently.

According to the Statewide Housing Plan, to meet California’s unmet housing needs, the state needs an additional 2.5 million housing units, including 1.2 million for lower-income households. Decades of underbuilding have led to a lack of housing overall, particularly housing that is affordable to lower-income households. The state needs an additional 180,000 new units of housing a year to keep up with demand – including about 80,000 units of housing affordable to lower-income households. By contrast, production in the past decade has been under 100,000 units per year – including less than 20,000 units of affordable housing.

Despite recent investments over the last few years, state and local governments have not significantly invested in affordable housing production in decades, leading to a lack of supply. In addition, local governments have failed to adequately zone or plan for affordable housing for decades. In the last seven years, the state has taken major steps to increase the supply of housing by requiring local governments to plan and zone for 2.5 million new housing units, holding local governments accountable for approving housing, and streamlining both affordable housing and mixed-income housing.

Cal ICH, formerly known as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC), was established through the enactment of SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016, in an effort to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness. As created by SB 1380, the Council was housed within the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), which was also responsible for providing staff for the Council.

SB 850 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 48, Statues of 2018, moved the Council from HCD to the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. SB 850 also authorized the creation of an Executive Director to oversee the Council, as well as the allocation of several staff members.

AB 1220 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021, changed the name of the Council from the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness and reconstituted its membership. AB 1220 also added an advisory committee within Cal ICH that meets twice a year, and is composed of the following members: a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness; a person with a disability who formerly experienced homelessness; representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in HUD’s Continuum of Care Program; stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states; representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence; a current or formerly homeless person who lives in California; and a current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California. One advisory committee member will be chosen to participate in the quarterly council meetings to report their committee’s activities to Cal ICH. Additionally, SB 1421 (Jones), Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022, required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or has formerly experienced homelessness to the Council’s advisory committee.

Cal ICH was created in part to oversee the state’s implementation of Housing First. By July 1, 2019, agencies and departments administering state programs relating to homelessness are required to collaborate with the Council to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations that incorporate core components of Housing First. To that end, Cal ICH had adopted a Housing First Checklist to be used by state agencies to assess their homelessness-related programs and make recommendations on any changes required to bring their programs into alignment with Housing First statute.

Cal ICH is required to hold public meetings at least once every quarter. The current makeup of Cal ICH is as follows:

• The Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services Agency, who both serve as co-chairs.
• The Director of the California Department of Transportation.
• The Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
• The Director of the California Department of Social Services.
• The Director of the California Housing Finance Agency.
• The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services.
• The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
• The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
• The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer’s office.
• The State Public Health Officer.
• The Director of the California Department of Aging.
• The Director of Rehabilitation.
• The Director of State Hospitals.
• The Executive Director of the California Workforce Development Board.
• The Director of the Office of Emergency Services.
• A representative from the State Department of Education, as appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
• A representative of the state public higher education system from one of the following:
• The California Community Colleges.
• The University of California.
• The California State University.

In addition the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly each appoint one member to Cal ICH from two different stakeholder organizations.

Cal ICH is authorized, at its discretion, to invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or provide information to the council.

This bill would add a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to the membership of Cal ICH.

Cal ICH Programs. The Homelessness Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAP) provides funding to CoCs, counties, and cities over 300,000 in population to fund evidence-based approaches to end and prevent homelessness. HHAP can be used for various purposes, including rental assistance and rapid rehousing, operating subsidies for affordable housing, shelters, supportive housing, incentives for landlords, and supports to improve the local homelessness services and housing delivery system.

As authorized by AB 101, (Committee on Budget), Chapter 159, Statutes of 2019, HHAP Round 1 is a $650 million, five-year block grant program designed to provide jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges. In total, $618 million was allocated to 102 grantees comprised of all 58 counties, 44 CoCs, and the state’s 13 largest cities. Counties received 27% of the funding, CoCs received 30%, and cities received 43%. The goal of these changes is to build coordination within the local response system that extends beyond HHAP funding.

HHAP Round 4 Funding allocated $1 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year and requires funding allocated of the program to be spent in the following manner:

• Prohibits a program recipient from using funding from the program to supplant existing local funds for homelessness services under penalty of disallowance or reduction, or both, of future program funds, as determined by the council.
• Provides that no more than 5% or $50 million of the funds shall be used to cover the council’s costs of administration and permits Cal ICH to expend administrative funds until December 31, 2027, to complete grant close-out activities.
• Provides that a program recipient use at least 10% of the funds allocated for homeless youth populations.
• Requires all funds to be expended on evidence-based interventions and in compliance with Housing First.
• Requires a recipient to contractually obligate not less than 75% and expend not less than 50% of the initial Round 4 program allocations no later than May 31, 2025. If the jurisdiction has met this requirement, and can demonstrate that they are on track to meet their outcome goals, Cal ICH shall distribute the balance of the jurisdiction’s allocated funding.
• Provides that the council shall determine whether a recipient has met its outcome goals through July 1, 2025, and shall award bonus funding as soon as data becomes available, but no later than November 1, 2025.
• Requires that all Round 4 program funds, including bonus funds, shall be expended by June 30, 2027.

Encampment Resolution Program. This program provided grants to counties, CoCs, and cities to transition individuals living in encampments into stable housing. It also included a set-aside for encampments on the state’s right-of-ways.

Family Reunification Program. This program provided grants and technical assistance to counties, CoCs, and cities to promote rapid innovation, accelerate nascent programs, and expand promising practices to create scalable solutions that can be shared across the state to address and ultimately end family homelessness. This program provided one-time funds that were awarded in June 2022.

DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Act which was originally was passed in 1969. The Lanterman Act provides entitlement to services and supports for individuals ages three and older who have a qualifying developmental disability. Qualifying disabilities include autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and other conditions closely related to intellectual disabilities that require similar treatment. To qualify, an individual must have a disability that is substantial that began before the age of 18 and is expected to be life-long. There are no income‑related eligibility criteria. As of December 2022, DDS serves about 330,000 Lanterman‑eligible individuals and another 2,900 children ages three and four who are provisionally eligible.

Author’s Statement: According to the Author, “California has almost 30% (161,548 people) of all individuals experiencing homelessness across the nation.

“Californians are becoming increasingly concerned with the state’s growing homeless population. In fact, Californians name homelessness as the second most important issue, right behind COVID-19, for the Governor and Legislature to work on in 2022.

“In order to effectively address the many challenges associated with assisting persons experiencing homelessness, a wide variety of perspectives must be sought, including the perspective of the Director of Developmental Services.

“Currently, Cal ICH is not required to include the Director of Developmental Services. [This bill] adds the Director of Developmental Services to Cal ICH order to provide Cal ICH with readily available access to this much-needed perspective.”

Need for this bill: The provisions of this bill seek to expand the perspectives of Cal ICH by including the Director of DDS, who can provide the experiences of the developmentally disabled and their intersection with homelessness.

Equity Implications: Cal ICH is dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by one of California's most vulnerable populations—the homeless community. Given the diverse causes and issues surrounding homelessness, it is essential for any organization to have a comprehensive range of perspectives at its disposal. Adding to the perspectives of the Council can enhance the understanding of the unique challenges encountered by individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

People with developmental disabilities often encounter obstacles that increase their susceptibility to homelessness or put them at risk of becoming homeless. For instance, individuals with intellectual disabilities may face homelessness later in life due to the breakdown of relationships or the loss of a primary caregiver. By including the Director DDS in Cal ICH, the council's awareness of these specific issues would be heightened, enabling them to provide more effective support to this vulnerable community.

This addition to Cal ICH would foster a deeper comprehension of the services required by individuals with developmental disabilities and facilitate their connection to such services. The ultimate goal is to prevent homelessness among this population, lift them out of homelessness if they are already affected, and enhance their overall quality of life.

RELATED AND PRIOR LEGISLATION:

SB 246 (Ochoa-Bogh) of 2023, makes changes to the membership of Cal ICH by adding a representative of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) to Cal ICH. SB 246 is set to be heard by the Assembly Human Services Committee on June 20, 2023.

SB 1421 (Jones), Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022, added a current or formerly homeless individual with a developmental disability to the Cal ICH advisory committee.

SB 1134 (Melendez) of 2022, would have made changes to the membership Cal ICH by adding the Director of DDS to the Council. SB 1134 was substantially amended on May 24, 2022, and no longer fell under the jurisdiction of this committee.

AB 1220 (Luz Rivas), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021, changed the name of the Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) to Cal ICH and reconstituted its membership.

SB 333 (Wilk) of 2019, would have assigned additional duties to HCFC (now Cal ICH). SB 333 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

SB 687 (Rubio), Chapter 345, Statutes of 2019, required the Governor to appoint one representative from either the California Community Colleges, University of California, or California State University to HCFC (now Cal ICH).

SB 918 (Wiener), Chapter 841, Statutes of 2018, established the “Homeless Youth Act of 2018” to better serve the state’s homeless youth population and required HCFC (now Cal ICH) to take on additional related responsibilities that are focused on addressing the needs of youth experiencing homelessness.

SB 792 (Wilk) of 2018, would have required the Council to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan for addressing homelessness in California and to better implement recommended activities and meet HUD requirements by July 1, 2020. SB 792 was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

SB 850 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2018, provided for over $600 million in funding to various projects aimed at reducing homelessness and moved the Council from HCD to the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. SB 850 also authorized the creation of an Executive Director to oversee the Council and provided for the allocation of several staff members.

SB 1380 (Mitchell), Chapter 847, Statues of 2016, established the Council to oversee implementation of the Housing First regulations and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. SB 1380 also required state agencies or departments that fund, implement, or administer state housing or housing-related services programs to adopt guidelines and regulations to include Housing First policies.

AB 1618 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 43, Statutes of 2016, established the “No Place Like Home Program” to further the development of permanent supportive housing for persons who are in need of mental health services and are homeless, chronically homeless, or at risk of homelessness.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Association of Regional Center Agencies

Disability Rights California

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Jessica Langtry / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089

 THIRD READING 

Bill No: SB 842

Author: Jones (R)

Introduced: 2/17/23

Vote: 27 - Urgency

SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/17/23

AYES: Alvarado-Gil, Ochoa Bogh, Menjivar, Wahab

NO VOTE RECORDED: Hurtado

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/24/23

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

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/18/23

AYES: Portantino, Jones, Ashby, Bradford, Seyarto, Wahab, Wiener

SUBJECT: California Interagency Council on Homelessness

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill makes changes to the membership of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness Council (Cal ICH) by adding the director of the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the Council. This bill includes an urgency clause for the provisions of this bill to go into immediate effect if passed.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordinate a federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to end homelessness. (42 United States Code (USC) 11311)
2. Defines, in federal statute, the word “homeless” for the purpose of housing assistance, to mean an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as provided. (42 Code of Federal Regulations 91.5)
3. Defines, in federal statute, the term “homeless individual with a disability” to mean an individual who is homeless and has a disability, as specified, that is:
   1. Expected to be long-continuing or of indefinite duration; substantially impedes the individual’s ability to live independently; could be improved by the provision of more suitable housing conditions; and, is a physical, mental, or emotional impairment, including an impairment caused by alcohol or drug abuse, post- traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury;
   2. A developmental disability, as defined; or
   3. The disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any condition arising from the etiologic agency for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. (42 USC 11360(10))
4. Defines a “developmental disability” to mean a disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age which continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual, including intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism and related conditions, but excluding other handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature. (WIC 4512(a))
5. Establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS), to include the following departments and offices: Aging; Community Services and Development; Developmental Services; Health Care Services; Child Support Services; Managed Health Care; Public Health; Rehabilitation; Social Services; and State Hospitals; Center for Data Insights and Innovation; the Emergency Medical Services Authority; the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the Office of Systems Integration; the Office of Law Enforcement Support; the Office of the Surgeon General; the Office of Youth and Community Restoration; and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. (GOV 12803)
6. Establishes the Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH), to include the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Department of Business Oversight, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission. (GOV 12804)
7. Establishes the Cal ICH 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.)
8. Sets the goals for the Cal ICH including, but not limited to, identification of resources and services to prevent and end homelessness; creating partnerships among local, state, federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System, as provided. (WIC 8257(b))

This bill:

1. Adds the director of DDS as a member of the Cal ICH.
2. Adds an urgency clause to the statute that requires the provision to go into immediate effect, as provided.

Background

California Homelessness Data. Since 2016, homelessness in America, and particularly in California, has been growing at an increasing rate. Homelessness has been correlated with a number of negative effects, including high rates of chronic disease and acute illness, a broad range of mental health and substance use issues, greater exposure to violence, malnutrition, extreme weather, and criminal charges. The health, personal, and economic challenges that chronically homeless individuals and families face and the lack of effective, coordinated services to address these problems often lead to a cycle of housing instability and health deterioration. Persistent homelessness impedes access to needed health and employment services. Additionally, the conditions of homelessness often make it more difficult to exit homelessness, by creating barriers to the resources necessary to obtain income through training, education, and employment.

Each January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has local community Continuums of Care (CoCs) conduct a Point in Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness. HUD defines homelessness as either “sheltered” or “unsheltered”. Sheltered homelessness is when a person is living in a temporary place, such as a temporary shelter and unsheltered homelessness is living out in the open or in places not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for people (i.e. the streets, vehicles, or parks). The PIT count is required by HUD as a condition of receiving federal funding. According to the 2022 PIT count, 171,521 people experienced homelessness in California, representing 30 percent of the nation’s homelessness population. Additionally, California accounted for 50 percent of all people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the nation (115,491 people), more than nine times the number of unsheltered people in the state with the next highest number, Washington (12,668).

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s disruptions, the January 2021 PIT count efforts were refocused to survey people experiencing sheltered homelessness and a report focused on this was released in February 2022.^[1] HUD cautioned that the 2021 data may not fully represent the number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness due to the Covid-19 pandemic limitations. HUD began requiring counts of both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness again in 2022 and released its 2022 PIT count in December 2022. To address changes in the count during the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the data in the 2022 PIT count is averaged across the three year period.

Stakeholders typically feel the annual PIT count is limited, because while these numbers provide a snapshot of the state’s homeless population during a single night, they likely underestimate the scope of the crisis because: (1) the HUD PIT count only measures the homeless population on one day of the year, and (2) it does not capture everyone experiencing homelessness, as some do not wish to be counted, while others cannot be counted because their location is not known to the counters. These shortcomings were further highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic related limitations on data collection efforts and resulting focus on sheltered homelessness in 2021. Additionally, as many of the Covid-19 restrictions on congregate care settings were relaxed in 2022, and later ended in 2023, we will likely see a continued increase in sheltered homelessness as capacity limitations are lifted at emergency shelters.^[2]

Disabilities and Chronic Homelessness. Under federal law, people experiencing chronic homelessness is partially defined to include, “people with disabilities who also experience extended or repeated episodes of homelessness”. A 2017 United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) study reviewed data from the 2017 PIT data count and found: (1) people with disabilities were disproportionately represented among all people experiencing homelessness, (2) estimates suggested that on any given day about 24 percent of individuals experiencing homelessness (86,962 of 369,081 individuals) were people with disabilities who met the federal definition of experiencing chronic homelessness, (3) estimates suggest that about 10-15 percent of all individuals who enter homelessness will experience chronic homelessness, and that (4) most of these individuals were living in major cities (57 percent) or smaller cities or counties (33 percent) rather than in rural areas.^[3]

Additionally, the USICH determined that more than six percent of adults living in permanent supportive housing (PSH) in 2016 had a developmental disability. PSH is an evidence-based housing intervention that combines on-going rental assistance with supportive services such as health and mental health care for chronically homeless households. PSH, implemented through a Housing First approach, has been shown to help people with disabilities permanently stay out of homelessness, improve their health conditions, and significantly reduce their use of costly crisis services.

California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH). SB 1220 (Rivas, L., Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) renamed the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) to Cal ICH, named the secretaries of BCSH and CHHS as co-chairs of the council, and changed the membership composition from one that included a mix of state and local agencies, persons who previously experienced homelessness, and homeless advocacy groups to one composed of state departments’ and offices’ directorate, including the Departments of Rehabilitation, Aging, Social Services, State Hospitals, and the state’s Medicaid Director. The director of DDS does not currently sit on the Council.

SB 1220 also added an advisory committee that meets twice a year with the Cal ICH, and is composed of the following members: a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness; a person with a disability who formerly experienced homelessness; representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in HUD’s Continuum of Care Program; stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states; representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence; a current or formerly homeless person who lives in California; and a current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California. One advisory committee member will be chosen to participate in the quarterly council meetings to report their committee’s activities to the Cal ICH. Additionally, SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or has formerly experienced homelessness to the Council’s advisory committee.

The Cal ICH is tasked to continue the work it began as HCFC, which was created by SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016), such as coordinating the state’s response to homelessness, and creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, nonprofits, and federal agencies, among others. The Cal ICH is also responsible for administering and distributing funding associated with the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program, through which millions of dollars allocated through the state budget process are provided to local governments and CoCs to address immediate homelessness challenges. Additionally, SB 918 (Wiener, Chapter 841, Statutes of 2018) required the Cal ICH to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among youth in California, and SB 914 (Rubio, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2022) requires the Cal ICH to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California by January 1, 2025.

Department of Developmental Services. DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act). The Lanterman Act provides for the coordination and provision of services and supports to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to lead more independent, integrated and productive lives. Under the Lanterman Act, individuals with IDD are entitled to an array of services and supports to meet their individual needs and choices, at each stage of their life, and regardless of age or degree of disability. Additionally, the Early Start Program provides for the delivery of services to infants and toddlers at risk of a developmental disability.

DDS is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services and supports to more than 360,000 Californians with developmental disabilities. To qualify for DDS services, an individual must meet the following definition of disability: one that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age, which continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual.^[4] It includes intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism and related conditions, but excludes other handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature. Developmental services in California are considered an entitlement to care, regardless of income or public benefit eligibility, provided the individual has a qualifying condition. California’s definition is narrower than that referenced by federal law relating to homelessness. It is therefore likely that not all of those considered disabled for the purpose of the USICH study would be found as having a disability that qualified them for Lanterman Act services. This bill would add the director of DDS to the Cal ICH membership.

Related/Prior Legislation

SB 246 (Ochoa Bogh, 2023) adds a representative of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to the Cal ICH. This bill is currently waiting to be heard on the Senate Floor.

SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) added a currently or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability to Cal ICH’s advisory committee.

SB 1134 (Melendez, 2022) would have added the DDS director to Cal ICH. This bill was later amended out of this Committee’s jurisdiction and subsequently held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1220 (Luz Rivas, Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) renamed the HCFC the Cal ICH, named the Secretary of CHHS as a co-chair, reconstituted the Cal ICH membership, required the Cal ICH to meet at least twice yearly with an advisory committee, among other things, and as provided.

SB 850 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) provided funding for homelessness initiatives, permitted the Governor to appoint up to 17 members to HCFC, including the Secretary BCSH or designee, to serve as chair, a representative from the Department of Transportation and a formerly homeless youth to serve on the Council, as provided.

SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016) created the HCFC to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness, as provided.

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

According to the Senate Appropriations Committees, Cal ICH anticipates potential ongoing costs, in the hundreds of thousands (General Fund), for additional staff resources.

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/19/23)

Association of Regional Center Agencies
Disability Rights California

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/19/23)

None received

Prepared by: Bridgett Hankerson / HUMAN S. / (916) 651-1524

5/20/23 13:09:49

**** END ****

1. The 2021 Report can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/home.html. ↑

2. .The 2022 Report can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2022-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html ↑

3. HUD 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress Part 1: Point-In-Time Estimates of Homelessness ↑

4. See Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) 4512 ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 842 (Jones) - California Interagency Council on Homelessness

Bill Summary:

SB 842, an urgency measure, would make changes to the membership of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) by adding the director of the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the council.

Fiscal Impact:

Cal ICH anticipates potential ongoing costs, in the hundreds of thousands (General Fund), for additional staff resources.

Background:

Current law establishes the Cal ICH. The goals for the Cal ICH include, but are not limited to, identification of benefits, resources and services to prevent and end homelessness; creating partnerships among local, state, federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System. The Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency serve as co-chairs of the council. Existing law requires the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to provide staff for the council.

DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act). The Lanterman Act provides for the coordination and provision of services and supports to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to lead more independent, integrated and productive lives. Under the Lanterman Act, individuals with IDD are entitled to an array of services and supports to meet their individual needs and choices, at each stage of their life, and regardless of age or degree of disability.

Proposed Law:

SB 842 would add the director of the DDS as a member of the Cal ICH and would include an urgency clause.

Related Legislation:

SB 246 (Ochoa Bogh) would add a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to the Cal ICH. This bill is currently set for a hearing on May 8 in this committee.

SB 1134 (Melendez, 2022) was substantially similar to SB 842. This bill was amended to a different purpose in the Assembly.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Scott Wiener, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 842 Hearing Date: 4/24/2023

SUBJECT: California Interagency Council on Homelessness

DIGEST: This urgency bill adds the Director of Developmental Services to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal-ICH).

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines “Housing First” as the evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and that do not make housing contingent on participation in services.
2. Establishes Cal-ICH to coordinate the State’s response to homelessness using Housing First practices with a number of goals including, but not limited to:
   1. Creating partnerships among state agencies and departments;
   2. Promoting systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness;
   3. Coordinating existing funding and application for competitive funding.
3. Establishes the Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency and the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency as co-chairs of the council which consists of 20 other members:
   
   1. The Director of Transportation
   2. The Director of Housing and Community Development
   3. The Director of Social Services
   4. The Director of the California Finance Agency
   5. The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services
   6. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
   7. The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
   8. The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the State Treasurer’s Office
   9. The State Public Health Officer
   10. The Director of the California Department of Aging
   11. The Director of Rehabilitation
   12. The Director of State Hospitals
   13. The Executive Director of the California Workforce Development Board
   14. The Director of the Office of Emergency Services
   15. A representative from the State Department of Education
   16. A representative of the state public higher education system from one of the following:
       
       1. The California Community Colleges
       2. The University of California
       3. The California State University.
          
   17. The Senate Committee of Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one member to the council from two different stakeholder organizations.
4. Establishes the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) within the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to oversee the coordination and delivery of services and supports for Californians with developmental disabilities.
5. Requires Cal-ICH to have a public meeting at least once every quarter and authorizes Cal-ICH to invite stakeholders, members of the philanthropic community, experts, and individuals who have experienced homelessness.
6. Requires Cal-ICH to seek guidance from and meet, at least twice a year, with an advisory committee that include the following:
   
   1. A survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness
   2. Representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program
   3. Stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states
   4. Representatives of committees of African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence
   5. A current or formerly homeless person who lives in California
   6. A current of formerly homeless youth who lives in California.

This urgency bill:

1. Adds the Director of Developmental Services to Cal-ICH.

COMMENTS:

1. Author’s statement. “California has almost 30% (161,548 people) of all individuals experiencing homelessness across the nation. Californians are becoming increasingly concerned with the state’s growing homeless population. In fact, Californians name homelessness as the second most important issue, right behind COVID-19, for the Governor and Legislature to work on in 2022. In order to effectively address the many challenges associated with assisting persons experiencing homelessness, a wide variety of perspectives must be sought, including the perspective of the Director of Developmental Services. Currently, neither Cal ICH nor its associated advisory committee are required to include the Director of Developmental Services. SB 842 adds the Director of Developmental Services to the Cal ICH advisory committee in order to provide Cal ICH with readily available access to this much-needed perspective.”
2. Cal-ICH. Cal-ICH, formerly known as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC), was created to oversee the implementation of “Housing First” policies, guidelines, and regulations to reduce the prevalence and duration of homelessness in California. Housing First is an evidence-based model that focuses on the idea that homeless individuals should be provided shelter and stability before underlying issues can be successfully addressed. Housing First utilizes a tenant screening process that promotes accepting applicants regardless of their sobriety, use of substances or participation in services. As the state’s homelessness crisis has worsened, the role of Cal-ICH has significantly increased, as it has been charged with administering two significant programs dedicated to addressing homelessness, the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) and the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHAPP).

According to their website, the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) “works to ensure Californians with developmental disabilities have the opportunity to make choices and lead independent, productive lives as members of their communities in the least restrictive setting possible.” DDS is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services and supports to more than 360,000 Californians with developmental disabilities.

1. Homelessness Numbers. According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, chronically homeless people are people with disabilities who also experience extended or repeated episodes of homelessness. The 2020 point in time (PIT) count found that 48,812, or 40%, of individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness were in California; 84% of chronically homeless people in California were unsheltered. Nationally, 110,528 (over a quarter of all homeless individuals) were chronically homeless.^[1] Notably, chronically homeless people are a subpopulation that Cal-ICH is required to quantify, and localities must address this subpopulation in local landscape analyses in order to receive HHAPP funding.

A review article published by UC San Diego in 2015 titled A Quantitative Review of Cognitive Functioning in Homeless Adults suggest the frequency of cognitive impairment is 25% among homeless individuals. This includes neurodevelopmental problems and acquired brain dysfunction. It is also unclear from the data collected if impairments caused homelessness or if homelessness caused impairment, and it is likely that aspects of homelessness impair brain function.^[2] Thus, solving the homelessness crisis is intertwined with mental health supports.

1. Department of Developmental Services. DDS is one of the 12 departments under CalHHS. Under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, DDS is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services and supports to more than 360,000 Californians with developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, autism, epilepsy and related conditions. The state’s service system is designed to meet the needs and choices of individuals at each stage of their lives, and, to the extent possible, serve them in their home communities, providing choices that are reflective of lifestyle, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Six of the 12 CalHHS departments are currently represented in Cal-ICH: Aging, Health Care Services, Public Health, Rehabilitation, Social Services, and State Hospitals.

Child Support Services, Community Services and Development, Developmental Services, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Health Care Access and Information, and Managed Health Care are the departments not explicitly represented on Cal-ICH.

1. Is there a dais in California big enough? This bill would add another member to Cal-ICH bringing the total to 23 people. As noted above, while there is a relationship between developmental disabilities and experiencing homelessness, Cal-ICH possessed the ability under existing law to invite experts and stakeholders to provide expertise on this subject without requiring representation. Given Cal-ICH already has 22 members, there is a risk of having so many members that the council will have a hard time getting things done.
2. Represented already? As a co-chair of Cal-ICH, the Cal-HHS Secretary already serves as a representative of DDS on Cal-ICH. Additionally, since it is infeasible to represent every population experiencing homelessness on Cal-ICH, existing law authorizes Cal-ICH to invite stakeholders, members of the philanthropic community, experts, and individuals who have experienced homelessness to participate in public meetings.
3. And one more. SB 294 (Ochoa-Bogh, 2023) is being heard concurrently with this bill. SB 294 would add the Director of Developmental Services to Cal-ICH, bringing the total to 24 members if both SB 294 and this bill pass.

1. Seeing double. This bill is substantially similar to the introduced version of SB 1134 (Melendez, 2022), which was later amended by the author into a different subject in the Assembly.
2. Double Referral. This bill was passed out of the Senate Human Services Committee on April 17, 2023 with a vote of 4-0.

Related Legislation:

SB 294 (Ochoa-Bogh, 2023) — adds a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to Cal-ICH. This bill is also being heard at this same committee hearing.

SB 1134 (Melendez, 2022) — would have added a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to Cal-ICH. This bill was later amended into a different subject in the Assembly. This bill died in the Assembly.

SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) — added a current or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability to the advisory committee of Cal-ICH.

AB 1220 (Luz Rivas, Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) — renamed the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. It added five members to Cal-ICH: the State Public Health Officer, The Director of the California Department of Again, The Director of Rehabilitation, The Director of State Hospitals, and the executive director of the California Workforce Development Board. It also created the advisory committee that Cal-ICH must seek guidance from.

SB 1458 (Rubio, 2020) — would have added a representative of the State Department of Public Health to Cal-ICH. This bill died in the Senate Rules Committee.

AB 58 (Luz Rivas, Chapter 334, Statutes of 2019) — added a representative from the State Department of Education to Cal-ICH.

SB 687 (Rubio, Chapter 345, Statutes of 2019) — added a representative of the state public higher education system to Cal-ICH.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

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

April 19, 2023.)

SUPPORT:

Association of Regional Center Agencies

Disability Rights California

OPPOSITION:

None received.

-- END --

1. Henry et al. “The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress.” (US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2021). https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2020-AHAR-Part-1.pdf ↑

2. Depp, C. A., Vella, L., Orff, H. J., & Twamley, E. W. (2015). “A quantitative review of cognitive functioning in homeless adults.” The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 203(2), 126–131. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000248 ↑

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Alvarado-Gil, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Subject: California Interagency Council on Homelessness

SUMMARY

This bill makes changes to the membership of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness Council (Cal ICH) by adding the director of the state Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to the Council. This bill includes an urgency clause for the provisions of this bill to go into immediate effect if passed.

ABSTRACT

Existing Law:

1. Establishes the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordinate a federal response to homelessness and create a national partnership at every level of government and with the private sector to end homelessness. (42 United States Code (USC) 11311)
2. Defines, in federal statute, the word “homeless” for the purpose of housing assistance, to mean an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, such as:
   1. A primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
   2. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low-income individuals); or
   3. Exiting an institution where he or she resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution. (42 Code of Federal Regulations 91.5)
3. Defines, in federal statute, the term “homeless individual with a disability” to mean an individual who is homeless and has a disability, as specified, that is:
   1. Expected to be long-continuing or of indefinite duration; substantially impedes the individual’s ability to live independently; could be improved by the provision of more suitable housing conditions; and, is a physical, mental, or emotional impairment, including an impairment caused by alcohol or drug abuse, post- traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury;
   2. A developmental disability, as defined; or
   3. The disease of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or any condition arising from the etiologic agency for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

(42 USC 11360(10))

1. Defines a “developmental disability” to mean a disability that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age which continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual, including intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism and related conditions, but excluding other handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature. (WIC 4512(a))
2. Establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS), to include the following departments and offices: Aging; Community Services and Development; Developmental Services; Health Care Services; Child Support Services; Managed Health Care; Public Health; Rehabilitation; Social Services; and State Hospitals; Center for Data Insights and Innovation; the Emergency Medical Services Authority; the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, the Office of Systems Integration; the Office of Law Enforcement Support; the Office of the Surgeon General; the Office of Youth and Community Restoration; and the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. (GOV 12803)
3. Establishes the Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH), to include the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the Department of Business Oversight, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Alfred E. Alquist Seismic Safety Commission. (GOV 12804)
4. Establishes the Cal ICH 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.)
5. Sets the goals for the Cal ICH including, but not limited to, identification of resources and services to prevent and end homelessness; creating partnerships among local, state, federal entities to arrive at strategies to end homelessness; coordinating existing homelessness funding; making policy and procedural recommendations to the Legislature; and, creating a Homeless Data Integration System, as provided. (WIC 8257(b))

This Bill:

1. Adds the director of DDS as a member of the Cal ICH.
2. Adds an urgency clause to the statute that requires the provision to go into immediate effect, as provided.

FISCAL IMPACT

This bill has not yet been analyzed by a fiscal committee.

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION

Purpose of the Bill:

According to the author, “Californians are becoming increasingly concerned with the state’s growing homeless population. In fact, Californians name homelessness as the second most important issue, right behind COVID-19, for the Governor and Legislature to work on in 2022. In order to effectively address the many challenges associated with assisting persons experiencing homelessness, a wide variety of perspectives must be sought, including the perspective of the Director of Developmental Services.

Currently, Cal ICH is not required to include the Director of Developmental Services. [This bill] adds the Director of Developmental Services to Cal ICH order to provide Cal ICH with readily available access to this much-needed perspective.”

California Homelessness Data

Since 2016, homelessness in America, and particularly in California, has been growing at an increasing rate. Homelessness has been correlated with a number of negative effects, including high rates of chronic disease and acute illness, a broad range of mental health and substance use issues, greater exposure to violence, malnutrition, extreme weather, and criminal charges. The health, personal, and economic challenges that chronically homeless individuals and families face and the lack of effective, coordinated services to address these problems often lead to a cycle of housing instability and health deterioration. Persistent homelessness impedes access to needed health and employment services. Additionally, the conditions of homelessness often make it more difficult to exit homelessness, by creating barriers to the resources necessary to obtain income through training, education, and employment.

Each January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has local community Continuums of Care (CoCs) conduct a Point in Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness. HUD defines homelessness as either “sheltered” or “unsheltered”. Sheltered homelessness is when a person is living in a temporary place, such as a temporary shelter and unsheltered homelessness is living out in the open or in places not designated for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for people (i.e. the streets, vehicles, or parks). The PIT count is required by HUD as a condition of receiving federal funding. According to the 2022 PIT count, 171,521 people experienced homelessness in California, representing 30 percent of the nation’s homelessness population. Additionally, California accounted for 50 percent of all people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the nation (115,491 people), more than nine times the number of unsheltered people in the state with the next highest number, Washington (12,668). The PIT count also showed:

• Major city CoCs had the largest percentage of people experiencing homelessness in unsheltered locations, 43 percent, followed by largely rural CoCs, 41 percent.
• In all categories of CoCs, nearly all unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness (88-93 percent) were between the ages of 18 and 24. Largely rural CoCs had the highest percentage of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness under the age of 18 (12 percent).
• Nationwide, between 2020 and 2022, 35 states experienced an increase in the number of individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness, including California with an increase of 18.3 percent (8,948 individuals).
• More than two thirds of all people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. (72 percent) did so in households without children present.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s disruptions, the January 2021 PIT count efforts were refocused to survey people experiencing sheltered homelessness and a report focused on this was released in February 2022.^[1] HUD cautioned that the 2021 data may not fully represent the number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness due to the Covid-19 pandemic limitations. HUD began requiring counts of both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness again in 2022 and released its 2022 PIT count in December 2022. To address changes in the count during the Covid-19 pandemic, some of the data in the 2022 PIT count is averaged across the three year period.

Stakeholders typically feel the annual PIT count is limited, because while these numbers provide a snapshot of the state’s homeless population during a single night, they likely underestimate the scope of the crisis because: (1) the HUD PIT count only measures the homeless population on one day of the year, and (2) it does not capture everyone experiencing homelessness, as some do not wish to be counted, while others cannot be counted because their location is not known to the counters. These shortcomings were further highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic related limitations on data collection efforts and resulting focus on sheltered homelessness in 2021. Additionally, as many of the Covid-19 restrictions on congregate care settings were relaxed in 2022, and later ended in 2023, we will likely see a continued increase in sheltered homelessness as capacity limitations are lifted at emergency shelters.^[2]

Disabilities and Chronic Homelessness

Under federal law, people experiencing chronic homelessness is partially defined to include, “people with disabilities who also experience extended or repeated episodes of homelessness”. A 2017 United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) study reviewed data from the 2017 PIT data count and found: (1) people with disabilities were disproportionately represented among all people experiencing homelessness, (2) estimates suggested that on any given day about 24 percent of individuals experiencing homelessness (86,962 of 369,081 individuals) were people with disabilities who met the federal definition of experiencing chronic homelessness, (3) estimates suggest that about 10-15 percent of all individuals who enter homelessness will experience chronic homelessness, and that (4) most of these individuals were living in major cities (57 percent) or smaller cities or counties (33 percent) rather than in rural areas.^[3]

Additionally, the USICH determined that more than six percent of adults living in permanent supportive housing (PSH) in 2016 had a developmental disability. PSH is an evidence-based housing intervention that combines on-going rental assistance with supportive services such as health and mental health care for chronically homeless households. PSH, implemented through a Housing First approach, has been shown to help people with disabilities permanently stay out of homelessness, improve their health conditions, and significantly reduce their use of costly crisis services.

California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH)

SB 1220 (Rivas, L., Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) renamed the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (HCFC) to Cal ICH, named the secretaries of BCSH and CHHS as co-chairs of the council, and changed the membership composition from one that included a mix of state and local agencies, persons who previously experienced homelessness, and homeless advocacy groups to one composed of state departments’ and offices’ directorate, including the Departments of Rehabilitation, Aging, Social Services, State Hospitals, and the state’s Medicaid Director. The director of DDS does not currently sit on the Council.

SB 1220 also added an advisory committee that meets twice a year with the Cal ICH, and is composed of the following members: a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness; a person with a disability who formerly experienced homelessness; representatives of local agencies or organizations that participate in HUD’s Continuum of Care Program; stakeholders with expertise in solutions to homelessness and best practices from other states; representatives of committees on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence; a current or formerly homeless person who lives in California; and a current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California. One advisory committee member will be chosen to participate in the quarterly council meetings to report their committee’s activities to the Cal ICH. Additionally, SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) required Cal ICH to appoint an individual with a developmental disability who is currently or has formerly experienced homelessness to the Council’s advisory committee.

The Cal ICH is tasked to continue the work it began as HCFC, which was created by SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016), such as coordinating the state’s response to homelessness, and creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, nonprofits, and federal agencies, among others. The Cal ICH is also responsible for administering and distributing funding associated with the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program, through which millions of dollars allocated through the state budget process are provided to local governments and CoCs to address immediate homelessness challenges. Additionally, SB 918 (Wiener, Chapter 841, Statutes of 2018) required the Cal ICH to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among youth in California, and SB 914 (Rubio, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2022) requires the Cal ICH to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California by January 1, 2025.

Department of Developmental Services

DDS is responsible for administering the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Lanterman Act). The Lanterman Act provides for the coordination and provision of services and supports to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to lead more independent, integrated and productive lives. Under the Lanterman Act, individuals with IDD are entitled to an array of services and supports to meet their individual needs and choices, at each stage of their life, and regardless of age or degree of disability. Additionally, the Early Start Program provides for the delivery of services to infants and toddlers at risk of a developmental disability.

According to the DDS website, the department “works to ensure Californians with developmental disabilities have the opportunity to make choices and lead independent, productive lives as members of their communities in the least restrictive setting possible.” DDS is responsible for overseeing the coordination and delivery of services and supports to more than 360,000 Californians with developmental disabilities. To qualify for DDS services, an individual must meet the following definition of disability: one that originates before an individual attains 18 years of age, which continues, or can be expected to continue, indefinitely and constitutes a substantial disability for that individual.^[4] It includes intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism and related conditions, but excludes other handicapping conditions that are solely physical in nature. Developmental services in California are considered an entitlement to care, regardless of income or public benefit eligibility, provided the individual has a qualifying condition. California’s definition is narrower than that referenced by federal law relating to homelessness. It is therefore likely that not all of those considered disabled for the purpose of the USICH study would be found as having a disability that qualified them for Lanterman Act services.

This bill would add the director of DDS to the Cal ICH membership.

Related/Prior Legislation:

SB 246 (Ochoa Bogh, 2023) adds a representative of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to the Cal ICH. This bill is currently awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 1592 (Dixon, 2023) requires the Cal ICH to report to the Governor, federal cabinet members and the Legislature to include the cost per person and the distribution of funding with the HUD CoC program by city and census designated area, as provided. This bill is currently awaiting a hearing in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.

SB 914 (Rubio, Chapter 665, Statutes of 2022) creates the HELP Act and requires Cal ICH to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as described by January 1, 2025.

SB 1421 (Jones, Chapter 671, Statutes of 2022) added a currently or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability to Cal ICH’s advisory committee.

SB 1134 (Melendez, 2022) would have added the director of the Department of Developmental Services to the Cal ICH. This bill was later amended out of this Committee’s jurisdiction and subsequently held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1220 (Luz Rivas, Chapter 398, Statutes of 2021) renamed the HCFC the Cal ICH, named the Secretary of CHHS as a co-chair, reconstituted the Cal ICH membership, required the Cal ICH to meet at least twice yearly with an advisory committee, among other things, and as provided.

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 918 (Wiener, Chapter 841, Statutes of 2018) required Cal ICH to set and measure progress towards goals to prevent and end homelessness among youth in California, as provided.

SB 850 (Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 48, Statues of 2018) provided funding for homelessness initiatives, permitted the Governor to appoint up to 17 members to HCFC, including the Secretary BCSH or designee, to serve as chair, a representative from the Department of Transportation and a formerly homeless youth to serve on the Council, as provided.

SB 1380 (Mitchell, Chapter 847, Statutes of 2016) created the HCFC to coordinate the state’s response to homelessness, as provided.

COMMENTS

Since the Cal ICH’s inception, there have been changes to the duties or composition of the Council proposed and passed by the Legislature. The most recent changes include one by the author of this bill that specifically added a current or formerly homeless person with a developmental disability to Cal ICH’s advisory committee. This bill would add the director of DDS as a member of the Cal ICH. As the Council is composed of state departments’ and offices’ directorate, the addition of the DDS director to the Council would align with other additions to its composition. The author has also an added urgency clause, which would require, if passed, the provision of this bill to go into effect immediately and for the DDS director to join the Council as soon as possible.

Double Referred: This bill is double referred to the Senate Housing Committee.

POSITIONS

Support:

Association of Regional Center Agencies

Disability Rights California

Oppose:

None received

-- END --

1. The 2021 Report can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/home.html. ↑

2. .The 2022 Report can be found at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2022-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html ↑

3. HUD 2017 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress Part 1: Point-In-Time Estimates of Homelessness ↑

4. See Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) 4512 ↑