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AB-2325 Coordinated homelessness response: Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 04/25/2022 02:00 PM
AB2325:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 25, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 18, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 06, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2325

Introduced by Assembly Members Luz Rivas and Ramos
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Mike Fong, Grayson, and Quirk-Silva)
(Coauthor: Senator Hertzberg)

February 16, 2022

An act to add Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 12095) to Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 8257 of, and to add Section 8257.5 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to homelessness.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2325, as amended, Luz Rivas. Coordinated homelessness response: Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Existing law requires the Governor to establish the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, formerly known as the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council, and to appoint specified members of that coordinating council. Existing law requires agencies and departments administering state programs created on or after July 1, 2017, to collaborate with the council to adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First, as defined. Existing law establishes the goals of the council, which include identifying mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. Existing law requires that the coordinating council be under the direction of an executive director, who is under the direction of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, and staffed by employees of that agency.
This bill would place the California Interagency Council on Homelessness under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, which the bill would establish within the Governor’s office, under the control of a director, on or before September 30, 2023. The bill would require the Governor to appoint a director of the office to perform specified duties and responsibilities in connection with overseeing the work of the office. The bill would specify the primary purposes of the office, which would include coordinating homelessness programs, services, data, and policies. The bill would require state agencies and departments with representatives on the council, or workgroups established by the council, to report to and coordinate with the director of the office and would require the director to coordinate with the chairs of the council.
The bill would require the office to serve the Governor as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California. The bill would require the office to fulfill various duties including convening a funding workgroup, comprised of council staff and staff working for agencies or departments represented on the council to accomplish specified goals, including, among others, aligning requests for proposals, all-county letters, and notices of funding proposals with standards following evidence-based housing and housing-based service models. The bill would require the documents and meetings of the funding workgroup to be confidential, as provided. The bill would also require the workgroup to coordinate with relevant state agencies and departments to reduce the risk of long-term homelessness by developing specific protocols and procedures to accomplish various goals, including connecting older adults to programs and services that assist independent living. The bill would also require the council, as part of its goals, to develop and implement a statewide strategic plan on homelessness that establishes measurable objective and strategies to enhance state-level accountability, coordination, and best practices.
The bill would provide for the transfer of employees who are engaged in the performance of functions for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, as well as the transfer of debts and liabilities of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency with respect to overseeing and supporting the council to the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. The bill would require the Deputy Secretary on Homelessness within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to be the director of the office, subject to appointment by the Governor and Senate confirmation. The bill would require all unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds available for use in connection with the council to be transferred to the office, as specified, upon appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose. The bill would make other related, conforming changes to these provisions.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 12095) is added to Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER  1.5. California Coordinated Homelessness Response Act
Article  1. Definitions

12095.
 For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following definitions:
(a) “Council” means the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, as described in Sections 8255 and 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) “Office” means the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Article  2. General Provisions

12095.1.
 (a) On or before September 30, 2023, the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness shall hereby be established in state government within the Governor’s office. The office shall be under the control of a director, who shall report to the Governor.
(b) The Deputy Secretary on Homelessness within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency shall become the director of the office, subject to the appointment of the Governor and Senate confirmation, and shall perform all duties, exercise all powers, assume and discharge all responsibilities, and carry out and effect all purposes vested by law in the office, including contracting for professional or consultant services in connection with the work of the office.
(c) The salary of the director shall be fixed pursuant to Section 12001.

Article  3. Powers and Duties

12095.2.
 (a) The office’s primary purpose is to serve the Governor as the lead entity for ending homelessness in California. In this capacity, the office shall do all of the following:
(1) Coordinate homelessness programs, services, data, and policies between federal, state, and local agencies, including programs the council administers.
(2) Oversee and convene the council meetings and the funding workgroup.
(3) Coordinate the timing of release of funds and applications for funding for housing and housing-based services impacting Californians experiencing homelessness.
(4) Collaborate with local homeless continuums of care and jurisdictions receiving state funding.
(5) Coordinate with philanthropic organizations with the goal of seeding innovations in moving people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing.
(6) Coordinate implementation of Housing First core components across agencies to serve Californians experiencing homelessness.
(7) Fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the council, including administering programs.
(8) Recommend to the Governor and to the Legislature new state policies, programs, and actions or amendments to existing programs.
(b) State agencies and departments with representatives on the council, or work groups established by the council, shall report to and coordinate with the director of the office, and the director will coordinate with the chairs of the council.
(c) For purposes of this section, “continuum of care” has the same meaning as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

12095.3.
 (a) The office shall convene a funding workgroup to accomplish the goals of this chapter. The workgroup shall include staff of the council and staff working for agencies or departments represented on the council. The director shall oversee the work of the funding workgroup and shall report on at least a quarterly basis to the council on progress made on the goals of subdivision (b). The funding workgroup may invite philanthropic organizations focused on ending homelessness, reducing health disparities, ending domestic violence, or ensuring Californians do not exit foster care or incarceration to homelessness to participate in specific meetings.
(b) The funding workgroup shall do all of the following:
(1) Align all requests for proposals, all-county letters, and notices of funding proposals with standards following evidence-based housing and housing-based service models.
(2) Coordinate, as appropriate, with staff in the Governor’s office to solicit monetary donations or in-kind donations from businesses, nonprofit organizations, or individuals for the purposes of encouraging innovation in ending homelessness and augmenting funding for evidence-based housing and services.
(3) Work collaboratively with county associations, and staff from county and state departments, including the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State Department of Health Care Services, to establish discharge protocols and a process for agencies and departments to collectively identify and assist individuals exiting state-funded institutions, including, but not limited to, people leaving prisons, state-funded hospitals or nursing homes, and foster care, who are at risk of homelessness, along with procedures or programs for state agencies and departments to implement to prevent discharges into homelessness.
(4) Collaborate with existing state agency staff to develop a universal application for service and housing providers, local government agencies, and other entities to apply to agencies and departments represented on the council for funding for services and housing for persons experiencing homelessness, where strategic and feasible to align programs.
(5) Examine and promote racially equitable and gender-equitable policies for departments and agencies that provide housing and services to individuals experiencing homelessness.
(6) Identify state programs that could be consolidated because they offer funding to the same agencies or for a similar purpose, and issue recommendations to the Governor’s office to consolidate these programs.
(c) The funding workgroup shall coordinate relevant state agencies and departments to reduce the risk of long-term homelessness by developing specific protocols and procedures that accomplish all of the following:
(1) (A) Ensure that survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation experiencing homelessness have access to housing navigation, housing acquisition support, and programs funded under this chapter that are specifically designed to meet their needs.
(B) The services described in subparagraph (A) shall be provided by, or in consultation with, domestic violence counselors, as defined in Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code, and provided in compliance with all applicable state and federal confidentiality laws.
(2) Assist individuals reentering communities from jails and prisons with housing navigation, housing acquisition support, and obtaining permanent housing.
(3) Assist young adults exiting foster care and former foster youth with housing navigation, obtaining permanent housing, accessing legal assistance, and navigating available public benefits that they may be entitled to receive.
(4) Assist people exiting hospitals, nursing homes, and state hospitals for people with mental illness to obtain permanent housing, or, if an individual needs care and supervision, licensed residential facilities.
(5) Connect older adults to programs and services that assist independent living, including the assisted living waiver program, as described in Section 14132.26 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in-home supportive services, as described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) services, as described in Chapter 8.75 (commencing with Section 14591) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and other wraparound and personal care services.
(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, all documents and meetings of the funding workgroup shall be confidential.
(2) Except for the information listed in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (13) of subdivision (b) in Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, statistical data and other research resulting from the activities of the Homeless Data Integration System shall remain available for public inspection.
(3) All documents and meetings of the council, except the documents and meetings of the funding workgroup pursuant to paragraph (1) and for the information listed in subparagraph (D) of paragraph (13) of subdivision (b) in Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall be subject to the requirements of the California Public Records Act of Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000).

12095.4.
 The office shall be comprised of those employees serving in state civil service transferred pursuant to Section 8257.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and shall oversee and carry out the council’s activities and existing mandates.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

8257.
 (a) The Governor shall create an Interagency Council on Homelessness.
(b) The council shall have all of the following goals:
(1) To oversee implementation of this chapter.
(2) To identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) To coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding. Any action taken pursuant to this paragraph shall not restructure or change any existing allocations or allocation formulas.
(6) To make policy and procedural recommendations to legislators and other governmental entities.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) To serve as a statewide facilitator, coordinator, and policy development resource on ending homelessness in California.
(10) To report to the Governor, federal Cabinet members, and the Legislature on homelessness and work to reduce homelessness.
(11) To ensure accountability and results in meeting the strategies and goals of the council.
(12) To identify and implement strategies to fight homelessness in small communities and rural areas.
(13) 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, with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs, such as the Medi-Cal program (Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9) and CalWORKs (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 of Division 9). Upon creation of the Homeless Data Integration System, all continuums of care, as defined in Section 578.3 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, that are operating in California shall provide collected data elements, including, but not limited to, health information, in a manner consistent with federal law, to the Homeless Data Integration System.
(A) Council staff shall specify the form and substance of the required data elements.
(B) Council staff may, as required by operational necessity, and in accordance with paragraph (8) of subdivision (d) of Section 8256, amend or modify data elements, disclosure formats, or disclosure frequency.
(C) To further the efforts to improve the public health, safety, and welfare of people experiencing homelessness in the state, council staff may collect data from the continuums of care as provided in this paragraph.
(D) Any health information or personal identifying information provided to, or maintained within, the Homeless Data Integration System shall not be subject to public inspection or disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(E) For purposes of this paragraph, “health information” includes “protected health information,” as defined in Part 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and “medical information,” as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 56.05 of the Civil Code.
(14) To set goals to prevent and end homelessness among California’s youth.
(15) To improve the safety, health, and welfare of young people experiencing homelessness in the state.
(16) 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.
(17) To lead efforts to coordinate a spectrum of funding, policy, and practice efforts related to young people experiencing homelessness.
(18) To identify best practices to ensure homeless minors who may have experienced maltreatment, as described in Section 300, are appropriately referred to, or have the ability to self-refer to, the child welfare system.
(19) To collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs.
(20) To develop and implement a statewide strategic plan on homelessness that shall establish measurable objectives and strategies to enhance state-level accountability, coordination, and best practices.
(c) (1) The council shall consist of the following members:
(A) The Secretary of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who both shall serve as cochairs of the council.
(B) The Director of Transportation.
(C) The Director of Housing and Community Development.
(D) The Director of Social Services.
(E) The Director of the California Housing Finance Agency.
(F) The Director or the State Medicaid Director of Health Care Services.
(G) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
(H) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(I) The Executive Director of the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee in the Treasurer’s office.
(J) The State Public Health Officer.
(K) The Director of the California Department of Aging.
(L) The Director of Rehabilitation.
(M) The Director of State Hospitals.
(N) The executive director of the California Workforce Development Board.
(O) The Director of the Office of Emergency Services.
(P) A representative from the State Department of Education, who shall be appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(Q) A representative of the state public higher education system who shall be from one of the following:
(i) The California Community Colleges.
(ii) The University of California.
(iii) The California State University.
(2) The Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint one member to the council from two different stakeholder organizations.
(3) The council may, at its discretion, invite stakeholders, individuals who have experienced homelessness, members of philanthropic communities, and experts to participate in meetings or provide information to the council.
(4) The council shall hold public meetings at least once every quarter.
(d) The council shall regularly seek guidance from and, at least twice a year, meet with an advisory committee. The cochairs of the council shall appoint members to this advisory committee that reflects racial and gender diversity, and shall include the following:
(1) A survivor of gender-based violence who has 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 on African Americans, youth, and survivors of gender-based violence.
(5) A current or formerly homeless person who lives in California.
(6) A current or formerly homeless youth who lives in California.
(7) The This advisory committee shall designate one of the above-described members to participate in every quarterly council meeting to provide a report to the council on advisory committee activities.
(e) Within existing funding, the council may establish working groups, task forces, or other structures from within its membership or with outside members to assist it in its work. Working groups, task forces, or other structures established by the council shall determine their own meeting schedules.
(f) Upon request of the council, a state agency or department that administers one or more state homelessness programs, including, but not limited to, an agency or department represented on the council pursuant to subdivision (c), the agency or department shall be required to do both all of the following:
(1) Participate in council workgroups, task forces, or other similar administrative structures. The workgroups shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following issues outlined in the “Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness” adopted by the council in March 2021:
(A) Maximizing the impact of state funding and programs addressing homelessness.
(B) Racial equity in response to homelessness and housing instability.
(C) Tailoring strategies for preventing and ending homelessness for youth and young adults.
(D) Strengthening employment opportunities and outcomes for people with experiences of homelessness.
(E) Preventing homelessness among people transitioning back into communities from corrections settings.
(2) Any workgroups, taskforces, or other administrative structures created pursuant to paragraph (1) shall provide a public report to the council on a quarterly basis regarding outcomes and progress.

(2)

(3) Provide to the council any relevant information regarding those state homelessness programs.
(g) The members of the council shall serve without compensation, except that members of the council who are, or have been, homeless may receive reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses.
(h) The appointed members of the council or committees, as described in this section, shall serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority.
(i) The Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency shall provide staff for the council until the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness is established.
(j) The members of the council may enter into memoranda of understanding with other members of the council to achieve the goals set forth in this chapter, as necessary, in order to facilitate communication and cooperation between the entities the members of the council represent.
(k) The council shall be under the direction of an executive officer who shall be under the direction of the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency until the establishment of the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
(l) Once established, the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness shall provide staff for the council.

SEC. 3.

 Section 8257.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

8257.5.
 (a) On or before September 30, 2023, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness shall be placed under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. The office is hereby successor to, and is vested with, all the duties, powers, and responsibilities of the office of the Governor under this chapter with respect to the council, except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 8257.
(b) All employees serving in state civil service, including temporary employees, who are engaged in the performance of functions for the California Interagency Council on Homelessness are transferred to the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. The status, positions, and rights of those persons shall not be affected by their transfer and shall continue to be retained by them pursuant to the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code), except as to positions the duties of which are vested in a position exempt from civil service. The personnel records of all transferred employees shall be transferred to the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
(c) The Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness shall succeed to all of the rights and property of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency used in connection with the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. The property of any office, agency, or other entity of state government related to functions shall be transferred to the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness. If any doubt arises as to where that property is transferred, the Department of General Services shall determine where the property is transferred.
(d) All unexpended balances of appropriations and other funds available for use in connection with any function of or the administration of any law by the council shall be transferred to the Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness for the use and for the purpose for which the appropriation was originally made or the funds were originally available, upon appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose. If there is any doubt as to where those balances and funds are to be transferred, the Department of Finance shall determine where the balances and funds shall be transferred.
(e) The Office of the Interagency Council on Homelessness is subject to all the debts and liabilities of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency with respect to overseeing and supporting the California Interagency Council on Homelessness pursuant to this chapter.

SEC. 4.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act, which amends Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 12095.3 to the Government Code, impose a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
The These limitations on the people’s right of access set forth in this act are necessary to protect private health and personal identifying information from disclosure and to allow for the free flow of information and ideas during conversations occurring in meetings of a minority number of members of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness and meetings of the funding workgroup.