Assembly Standing Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs

All right. Is this on? Okay. I'm pleased to present AB 531. Today, in 2014, California voters approved Proposition 41 to Fund multifamily affordable housing for veterans, creating the Veterans Housing and Homeless prevention program known as VHHP. The proposal allowed for $6 million in bonds to be issued over six rounds of funding. The VHHP program has resulted in nearly 6000 units. However, nearly all of the funding has been depleted from this highly successful program with historic budget surpluses.

The Legislature and the Governor included a 100 $1.0 million lifeline to VHHP in last year's budget to provide two additional years of funding at 50 million per round. However, the future of VHHP and addressing veterans homelessness will require consistent and long term funding. AB 531 addresses this by enacting the Veteran Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond act. This Bill will ask voters to authorize the issuance of bonds to provide additional funding for the construction of affordable, multifamily housing with supportive services for veterans.

There are over 10,000 homeless veterans in California and even more experiencing housing insecurity or struggling to make ends meet in this transition. We must continue to support this highly successful program so that veterans can find the housing they need. With me to testify and support today is Charles Wright, representing the California Association of Veteran Service agencies. But thank you for the thought.

We just have a quorum, so I'm going to ask the secretary if she can call the role.

[Roll Call]

So a quorum is established. You may continue.

Charles Wright, representing the California Association of Veteran Services Agencies, also known as CAVSA. CAVSA is in strong support of Assembly Bill 531 that would place the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond act of 2024 on the March 2024 statewide ballot. AB 531, if passed by the Legislature and the voters will extend the Veterans Housing and Homelessness program with the issuance of $600 million in General obligation bonds.

Last year, the state budget included $100 million in augmentation to the VAHHP program to keep this program afloat. The Veterans Housing and Homelessness Program Fund has been used to produce over 88 affordable housing developments, producing roughly 5665 units for veterans and Nonveterans since 2014. The funding for these projects has been and will continue to be geographically targeted to encourage the development of veteran housing in regions with high concentrations of California's most vulnerable veterans.

The Veterans Housing and Homelessness program has shown to be an effective and efficient system for the construction of veterans housing, and the passage of this bond is essential to keep this good work going forward. Therefore, CaVSA is in strong support. Thank you, Madam Chair Members.

Thank you for that presentation. So we do have a motion and a second. Assemblymember Alvarez.

Thank you very much for the presentation. I have a question. Would this bond allow for the expansion of facilities at the California Veterans homes? Would funding be allowed for purposes of expanding existing facilities on the Cal vet homes?

It would be a different funding source. I think there is a possibility on some of the big campuses, right, like West LA might have room for one of the projects.

But on this one it would be only for privately developed, outside of existing facilities that are in CalVet.

For the development of new programs and new housing units.

What if it's new housing units at an existing site?

I don't know the answer to that, but I can definitely get you the answer.

You could. There's an interest. We have a successful and large community in Chula Vista in San Diego, and a home there where there's some thinking of perhaps an opportunity to expand more housing opportunities for homeless. It is a veterans home, and so I know that there's some potentially differences.

But we did it up in Ventura. We have a calvet home there, and then the property was separately owned by the State of California. So right next to the home, when the property was properly transferred over to the City of Ventura, there was a VHHP funded project built on that plot. .

Yeah, If you could just follow up on possibilities at Chula Vista, it'd be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Absolutely.

Thank you. We are going to go to the public, if there are any. Yeah, let me do public and then I'll come back to you. I'll just open it to the public. If we have folks here in support or opposition, your time is now. Seeing none we'll come back. Assemblywoman Boerner Horvath, thank you.

Really appreciate this Bill. I've been on this Committee since 2019 when I got here. And there's so many opportunities. We know there's so much need in the veteran community for more housing. And to Assembly Member Alvarez's point, Chula Vista does serve most of San Diego. And so if that's an opportunity, and I'd love to co author the Bill and as you move forward in the process.

Thank you, Assemblymember Boerner.

Assemblymember Carrillo.

I had a question on the way that the funds are going to be distributed. I think that I heard you say that it's going to be regional based on high population of veteran communities, or how will that be distributed?

So in the past and going forward, they've been geographically targeted to encourage development by the veterans housing in regions that have high concentrations of California's most vulnerable veterans. So there is a program in place and a process in place that they look at the target and make sure they're targeting the right areas where there's the most vulnerable and it's most needed.

I also have to say this is one population where there has really been a dent made because the funding has been there since 2008, I think almost consistently. So eventually, areas that can demonstrate a need have been able to get the funding or should be able to in the next rounds.

And that's going to be, I imagine, through an application process. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Any other Members with questions or comments? Seeing none. I also just want to thank the Assemblywoman for this proposal. I think that it is important that we continue the work that has been done over years to try to house all of our veterans in our community. I was reminded in the last couple of weeks, the women veterans and making sure that these dollars also target some of the women and children that are out there that are formerly or that are veterans.

And so I'm looking forward to working with you guys. I would also love to be able to co author this piece of legislation as it's important work here in the State of California.

We would love to add you. Thank you.

Thank you. No, it's okay.

I have a quick comment. We hear from constituents all the time, want to thank you for this. We hear from constituents all the time for the need for veterans housing. I think I heard you say you're targeting highest population, highest need. I hope by highest need there will be some targeting of rural areas that have lower population and sometimes don't make the cut.

When we think about basing allocating of funding on population size, if that makes sense, but would also like to co author the Bill if you're accepting co authors?

Yes.

Thank you very much, Assemblymember Addis.

Looks like we have a few co authors from the Committee. So the motion is to pass two appropriations? Like I said, we have a motion and a second. So, Madam Secretary, if you could call the roll.

AB 531 Irwin motion is, do you pass to appropriations [Roll Call]

Great. So your Bill passes to two appropriations, eight to nothing. We'll hold the roll for absent Members. Hold on. Next is which one? The next Bill we have on file is AB 1386 by Mr. Gabriel, which will be presented by Ms. Boerner. AB 1386 is on veterans housing tenant referrals. The motion is do passed to appropriations, but you go ahead and present. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair Members, to present AB 1386 on behalf of Assemblymember Gabriel, which will increase flexibility and expand access to much needed supportive housing services for homeless veterans. Homeless veterans are vastly overrepresented in California's homeless population. While California has a range of services available to veterans who are experiencing homelessness, many of these services have strict eligibility requirements that can leave housing units vacant, while other veterans who desperately need the housing do not meet the income criteria.

AB 1386 would allow the veterans housing and homelessness prevention program, along with certain qualified supportive housing developments restricted to extremely low income veterans, to expand housing resources to veterans who do not typically qualify for existing program, while first ensuring that Low income veterans are prioritized. Many of these housing units are restricted to veterans whose income is at or below 30% AMI. But once veterans become connected with benefits such as disability insurance, they exceed the income threshold, leaving them ineligible for these units.

AB 1386 would help address this issue by allowing specified supportive housing services for low income veterans to have increased policy flexibility in order to fill vacant units. This approach ensures that our lowest income veterans are given priority on vacant units, but also that we're delivering housing services to homeless veterans as quickly and efficiently as possible. And I will say in my former district, now, Assembly Member Davies district in Oceanside, we had exactly this problem.

We had a homeless shelter for veterans where we had vacant rooms because we didn't have the people who met the requirements. This is a real problem across our state, and I respectfully ask for your. I vote. And with me, I have Charles Wright, representing the California Association of Veteran Service Agencies. Thank you.

Go ahead and proceed.

Charles Wright, on behalf of CAVSA. CAVSA strongly supports Assembly Bill 1386 that would allow bodies referring veterans to housing units funded by the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention program to match prospective tenants who have incomes up to 60% of the area, medium income with a housing unit if units are unable to be filled at a lower income threshold after 14 days.

According to the US Department of Veterans affairs, nearly one third of the nation's homeless veterans are located in California and almost 10% are located in Los Angeles County. For supportive housing programs that are part of Veterans housing and homelessness prevention program, there exists caps on the income that veterans must be below to be deemed eligible. Unfortunately, once veterans are connected with benefits, they often exceed this cap, leaving them ineligible for supportive housing units.

Increasing the area median income cap to 60% will dramatically up the odds veterans will be housed. Increased flexibility for these programs, such as offered in AB 1386, is essential to ensure that we are not leaving homeless veterans on the street when vacant spots in programs exist. CAVSA strongly supports AB 1386. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. So we have a motion by Assemblywoman or Vice Chairwoman Davies and then Assembly Member Alvarez. We'll go out to the public to see if there are any folks that want to present their support or opposition. Your time is now seeing none. We do have a motion and a second. Any questions or comments from our body? Assemblywoman Addis.

Want to thank the Member for presenting the Bill and thank you for thank the witness as well. And again, it's an issue that I hear widely across my district, and your personal story about that very much resonates for the district that I represent. And if the authors seeking co authors would like to co author.

Great. Anyone else seeing no one else? We do have a motion and a second. Secretary, if you can please call the role.

[Roll Call]

So the Bill is out. It has nine votes. We'll hold the roll open for the absent Members consent.

So we have motion and a second on consent. On consent. We do have AB 322, AB 444, AB 684, AB 1350, AB 1462, and AB 1665. Did we go up to the public too? No. Okay, so we do have a motion in a second. Secretary, can you please call the roll.

AB 322. on consent.

We have a motion in a second. Yeah.

On consent calendar. AB three.

You don't have to say all those. You don't have to say the numbers.

[Roll Call]

So, 9-0 on consent. We will hold the roll open. Can we call the absent Members? On. AB 535.

[Roll Call]

What am I supposed to see? Thank you, secretary. Call the roll for absent Members.

[Roll Call]

So we have ayes. 11. noes zero across the board on all items on the agenda. Thank you. And we will be adjourning.