Homelessness data reporting.

Existing law establishes various programs to provide assistance to homeless persons, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program and homeless youth emergency service pilot projects. Existing law also establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. Existing law requires the council to create a data system, known as the Homeless Data Integration System, to collect local data through Homeless Management Information Systems with the ultimate goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. Under existing law, a public agency shall not disclose any personal information in a manner that would link the information disclosed to the individual to whom it pertains except under specific circumstances. Existing law also exempts health information and personally identifying information in the Homeless Data Integration System from public inspection or disclosure under the California Public Records Act. This bill would require the council, on or before July 1, 2023, to make data in the Homeless Data Integration System that is not exempt from public inspection or disclosure under state or federal law publicly available through specified means. This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to post a hyperlink on its internet website to each of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Homelessness Assessment Reports. By imposing an additional duty on local entities, the 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.