Floor Report of the 2020-21 Budget: Updated as of June 22, 2020

What’s In The Report Concerning Homelessness?

Recognizing the important work of the state’s local government partners, the budget allocates billions of dollars of federal CARES Act funding to cities and counties to address homelessness, public health, public safety, and other service needs related to the pandemic. An additional $300 million from the General Fund is provided to local governments to address homelessness, building on the state’s investments of recent years.

CARES Funding

Approves $550 million through the Department of Housing and Community Development for acquisition or acquisition and rehabilitation of motels, hotels, or hostels; master leasing of properties; acquisition of other sites and assets; conversion of units from nonresidential to residential in a structure with a certificate of occupancy as a motel, hotel, or hostel; purchase of affordability covenants and restrictions for units; and the relocation costs for individuals who are being displaced as a result of rehabilitation of existing units. Adopts placeholder trailer bill to implement project room key. Requires funding to be in compliance with Housing First Principles.

• Provides $500 million to cities for homelessness, public health, public safety, and other services to combat COVID-19 pandemic as follows:

• $225 million directly to cities with a population greater than 300,000 that did not receive a direct allocation from the Federal CARES Act.
  • Allocated based on the share of each city’s population relative to the total population of the cities covered by the subsection.

• $275 million to cities with a population less than 300,000.
  • Allocated based on the share of each city’s population relative to the total population of the cities covered by the section.
  • No city shall receive less than $50,000.

• $1.289 billion to counties to be used for homelessness, public health, public safety, and other services to combat COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • Allocated based on the share of each county’s population relative to the total population of the state while considering prior direct allocation of funding from Federal CARES Act.

Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency

• Adopts an additional $300 million for Round 2 of the Homeless Housing Assistance Prevention (HHAP) program as follows:
  • $90 million to Continuums of Care (CoC)
  • $130 million to each city, or city that is also a county that has a population of 300,000 or more as of January 1, 2020.
  • $80 million to counties

Includes a more robust application process for Round 2 of HHAP program as well as additional reporting requirements.

Provides additional staff for the Homeless Coordinating Financing Council to perform work associated with their statutory mandates and strategic coordination with the state’s efforts to .address homelessness.

Department of Housing and Community Development

Requires funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program (commonly known as Project Key), including grants to cities, counties, and other local public entities for the following:

1. Acquisition or rehabilitation of motels, hotels, or hostels.
2. Master leasing of properties.
3. Acquisition of other sites and assets, including purchase of apartments or homes, adult residential facilities, residential care facilities for the elderly, manufactured housing, and other buildings with existing residential uses that could be converted to permanent or interim housing.
4. Conversion of units from nonresidential to residential in a structure with a certificate of occupancy as a motel, hotel, or hostel.
5. The purchase of affordability covenant and restrictions for units.
6. Relocation costs for individuals who are being displaced as a result of rehabilitation of existing units.
7.  Capitalized operating subsidies for units purchased, converted, or altered with funds provided by this section.

Provides $50 million for Project Room Key for acquisition and operating subsidies.

• Provides a CEQA exemption for Project Room Key projects if all of the following requirements, if applicable, are satisfied:

• No units were acquired by eminent domain.
• The units will be in decent, safe, and sanitary condition at the time of their occupancy.
• The project proponent shall requires all contractors and subcontractors performing work on the project to pay prevailing wages for any rehabilitation, construction, or alternations.
• The project proponent obtains an enforceable commitment that all contractors and subcontractor performing work on the project will use a skilled and trained workforce for any rehabilitation, construction, or alterations.
• The project proponent submits to the lead agency a letter of support from a county, city, or other local public entity for any rehabilitation, construction, or alteration work.
• Any acquisition is paid for exclusively by public funds.
• The project provides housing units for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness.
• Long term covenants and restriction require the units to be restricted to persons experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, which may include lower income, and very low income households, for no fewer than 55 years.
• The project does not increase the original footprint of the project structure or structures by more than 10 percent. Any increase to the footprint of the original project structure or structures shall be exclusively to support the conversion to housing for the designated population.

Provides permitting and streamlining for Project Room Key