Local mandate: homeless reduction plan.

Existing law requires the Governor to create the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council and to appoint up to 19 members of that council, as provided. Existing law specifies the duties of the coordinating council, including creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, and specified federal agencies and private entities, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness. Existing law establishes the independent Office of the Inspector General for the contemporaneous oversight of internal affairs investigations and the disciplinary process of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified. This bill, on or before January 1, 2022, would require each city or county to develop a plan to reduce its unsheltered homeless population by 10% in the first year of the plan, and each year thereafter. The bill would require the plan to include, among other things, the number of homeless individuals currently within the jurisdiction, the city or county's capacity and progress to house the homeless population, and the city or county's capacity and progress to address underlying issues that cause or exacerbate homelessness. The bill would require each city and county to submit an annual progress report to the coordinating council that details the implementation of its plan and its progress in meeting the 10% unsheltered homeless population reduction goal. This bill would task the coordinating council with reviewing submitted plans and providing feedback and recommended revisions. The bill would require a city or county to either adopt those recommended revisions, or adopt findings as to why the recommended revisions are not needed. The bill would require the coordinating council to notify the city or county if the agency has failed to meet the mandatory unsheltered homeless reduction goal specified above and to work with the city or county to assist the city or county in revising the plan. The bill would require the coordinating council to notify the Office of the Inspector General if a state or local agency has not adopted a plan or has failed to implement its plan, as specified. This bill would authorize the Office of the Inspector General to bring an action against a state or local agency that fails to adopt a plan or fails to implement its plan. The bill, if the court finds that the applicable state or local agency has not complied, would authorize the Office of the Inspector General to request the court to issue an order or judgment directing the state or local agency to comply, as provided. By requiring local agencies to develop and implement a homelessness plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.