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Governor-Chosen Homeless Task Force Urges State Constitutional Amendment Requiring Cities And State To Fund & Enable Rapid Siting For Homeless-Related Housing Or Face Lawsuits, Possible Court Orders


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(Jan. 14, 2020, 3:10 p.m.) -- An advisory body created and chosen by Governor Gavin Newsom to offer recommendations on homelessness has called for a state constitutional amendment to be put on the ballot by the state legislature in November 2020 to create a "legally enforceable mandate" requiring cities and the state -- meaning city and state taxpayers -- to create the capacity to provide housing to homeless persons including funding and rapid approval to site homeless related housing -- or face lawsuits and possible court orders requiring them to do so.

A Jan. 13, 2020 "Interim Report from the Governor's Council of Regional Homeless Advisors," obtained by LBREPORT.com, signed by all 13 of its Governor-chosen members (listed below) doesn't call the "legally enforceable mandate" a "right to housing" but is peremptory in tone and substance.

"The state must establish in law that it is not morally or legally acceptable to deny housing for people on the streets and create the legal mandates and funding mechanisms necessary to dramatically improve this unacceptable condition," the advisory group's report stated. It called for making the legal mandate enforceable through a "public right of action" (details below) "that requires state and local governments to create the capacity to bring unsheltered homeless people under a roof, including both funding and rapid approval and siting of interim housing, permanent housing, supportive services, and targeted prevention to reduce homelessness by the tens of thousands."

The advisory group acknowledges that because of its fiscal impact relating to state mandate laws, creating a legally enforceable, results-based accountability mandate will require a state constitutional amendment. The group recommends that the state legislature place such a measure on the ballot in the coming months [LBREPORT.com believes 2/3 vote of Assembly and state Senate required] that voters statewide could enact with a majority vote in November 2020.

The advisory group recommends that "designated public officials" identified in the constitutional amendment be given the power "to file a public right of action [legal action] requesting the Superior Court in any non-compliant jurisdiction to either appropriate existing resources, consolidate resources with neighboring jurisdictions, override any siting restrictions, and/or effectuate any actions that would move the jurisdiction toward compliance. Any appeals would be heard by higher courts on an expedited basis."

The advisory group voiced hostility toward enforcing current laws against homeless/vagrant behaviors. "Sweeps and criminalization have been shown not to work in this effort. Strategies that explicitly or implicitly encourage these actions will be unacceptable."

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We propose that both state and local governments be held legally accountable to achieve the aims of dramatically reducing homelessness and creating avenues to rapid resolution. A legally enforceable, results-based, accountability mandate will require state and local governments to provide resources for, and reduce barriers to, the creation of both interim and permanent housing that is high quality, low barrier and complies with fair housing rules...

...The mandate must include strict and regular reporting by the state, cities, and counties on the number of homeless people; the jurisdiction’s capacity and rapid progress to both house them and address the underlying issues which caused or exacerbated their homelessness; respective efforts to prevent them re-entering or becoming newly homeless; steps taken to ensure that exits from jails, hospitals, and foster care do not result in homelessness; and the steps being taken to close deficits in these areas.

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The Governor's advisory group recommended the following:

Create an Enforceable, Results-Based Accountability Mandate to End Homelessness

There are few other areas of important public policy where government efforts to achieve a compelling societal objective are purely voluntary. We have a renewable energy mandate in California that requires public agencies to achieve a quantifiable increase of renewable energy sources according to specific timetables. This requirement is changing California’s energy use in dramatic fashion. California mandates free public education for all of its children and subsidized health insurance for its low-income residents. It requires its subdivisions to provide services to people with developmental disabilities and foster children.

Homelessness is a crisis of epic and increasing magnitude. Yet everything that state, county and city governments do to alleviate this crisis is voluntary. There is no mandate to ensure people can live indoors, no legal accountability for failing to do so, no enforceable housing production standard and no requirement to consolidate and coordinate funding streams across jurisdictions. The results speak for themselves.

Advocates, providers, and government have attempted to use moral persuasion and economic incentives to change the current reality. Neither has had the essential impact to bring all of our neighbors inside. It is past time to now REQUIRE what we all know is fair, compassionate, and necessary to save lives.

We propose that both state and local governments be held legally accountable to achieve the aims of dramatically reducing homelessness and creating avenues to rapid resolution. A legally enforceable, results-based, accountability mandate will require state and local governments to provide resources for, and reduce barriers to, the creation of both interim and permanent housing that is high quality, low barrier and complies with fair housing rules.

In order to create genuine accountability, the legal mandate must be enforceable through a public right of action that requires state and local governments to create the capacity to bring unsheltered homeless people under a roof, including both funding and rapid approval and siting of interim housing, permanent housing, supportive services, and targeted prevention to reduce homelessness by the tens of thousands. Sweeps and criminalization have been shown not to work in this effort. Strategies that explicitly or implicitly encourage these actions will be unacceptable.

The mandate must include strict and regular reporting by the state, cities, and counties on the number of homeless people; the jurisdiction’s capacity and rapid progress to both house them and address the underlying issues which caused or exacerbated their homelessness; respective efforts to prevent them re-entering or becoming newly homeless; steps taken to ensure that exits from jails, hospitals, and foster care do not result in homelessness; and the steps being taken to close deficits in these areas.

Enacting a legally enforceable, results-based accountability mandate will require a constitutional amendment because of its fiscal impact relating to state mandate laws.

The task force recommends the constitutional amendment creating the enforceable mandate be placed on the ballot by the Legislature in 2020.

Here is how the enforceable accountability mandate could work under law: Within one year of establishing the mandate, the responsible governments would be required to develop an enforceable plan to house the vast majority of their homeless populations within an aggressive but reasonable period of time, based on the jurisdiction’s last Point-In-Time Count.

To be clear, the obligation lies with government to strategize, plan, and implement. Homeless people will be the beneficiaries of that government action.

These plans would include specific benchmarks and timelines that jurisdictions would have to meet for moving people into permanent housing through both services offered in interim interventions and creation of housing opportunities. One year after enactment, designated public officials as identified by the legislation would have the authority to file a public right of action requesting the Superior Court in any non-compliant jurisdiction to either appropriate existing resources, consolidate resources with neighboring jurisdictions, override any siting restrictions, and/or effectuate any actions that would move the jurisdiction toward compliance. Any appeals would be heard by higher courts on an expedited basis.

While more state resources will undoubtedly be required, the state must first assess the existing funding available for homelessness, housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and the extent to which these resources could be reprioritized to end street homelessness. The Governor and Legislature, with the guidance of this task force, should spend the first months of 2020 developing a better integration of existing and additional funding sources to meet this mandate. The state should reserve the right, and enforce through the courts, the right to require remedial reprioritization of existing resources by cities, counties and the state to ensure a commitment to the mandate.In order to expand access to mental health and substance abuse treatment for individuals experiencing homelessness, the state should work in tandem with counties to ensure that existing funding, funding proposed in the Governor’s budget, and proposed Medi-Cal reforms align with the state’s goals to improve access to treatment for the estimated 25% of homeless individuals living with a serious mental illness or substance use disorder while at the same time not reducing the levels of funding directed at core prevention and Medi-Cal behavioral health services.

There is still much work to be done to negotiate the parameters of an enforceable obligation, shared by the state and local governments, including identifying the responsibilities of the respective stakeholders and timelines for action, in addition to how the obligation would be enforced. The task force proposes to work with you, the Legislature and relevant stakeholders over the next months to design the specific elements of the legally enforceable, results-based accountability mandate.

The elected leaders of the task force commit to working with the Administration to establish as many local enforceable mandate pilots in their own jurisdictions as possible prior to the eventual constitutional amendment taking effect.

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The members of Governor Newsom's created and chosen "Council of Regional Homeless Advisors" are:

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Co-Chair
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Co-Chair
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf
Fresno City Councilmember Esmeralda Soria
San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher
Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez
Arcata City Councilmember Sofia Pereira
County Welfare Directors Association of California Executive Director Frank Mecca
Corporation for Supportive Housing Associate Director Sharon Rapport
Western Center on Law and Poverty Policy Advocate Anya Lawler
County Behavioral Health Directors Association Executive Director Michelle Cabrera
Former U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Director Philip Mangano
Former Department of Social Services Director Will Lightbourne:

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Long Beach political impacts

The proposal creates Long Beach political issues with City Council elections approaching in districts 2, 6 and 8 (do the incumbents or candidates seeking to replace them support such a constitutional amendment?) and Mayor Robert Garcia (who's begun raising sums for 2026 Lt. Governor run) taking positions thus far consistent with Governor Newsom and Sacramento's Democrat legislative majority.

On January 13, 2020 Governor Newsom called himself the state's "homeless czar" in unveiling his proposed FY21 state budget that seeks $1 billion in homeless-related funding. That sum comes on top of millions-into-the-billions in local, regional, state and federal taxpayer spending on homeless related matters while homeless encampments continue to proliferate.

Governor Newsom (currently touring homeless-related facilities statewide) stated on January 13 that he "would lean in the direction" of swiftly enabling a legal "obligation" to provide services and housing but noted that a number of cities and counties had already volunteered to demonstrate the feasibility of such projects in the coming months.

In December 2018, a Long Beach "Task Force" chosen by Garcia produced a report praised by Garcia that advocated a "dedicated revenue source" to provide "affordable" (subsidized) housing and homeless related services. No LB City Council incumbent(s) voiced public dissent to that recommendation at that time. However on Jan. 7, 2020, Mayor Garcia remained mum when the Council, on a 5-4 vote, declined to pursue (for now) a debt bond/property tax increase ballot measure advocated by Councilman Rex Richardson (while leaving open the possibility of a future proposal that may focus less heavily on property owners or cost less.


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