Bill Text: CA AB891 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Assembly Bill 891 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Public property: safe parking program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-21 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB891 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB891-Enrolled.html

Enrolled September 16, 2019

Passed IN Senate September 10, 2019

Passed IN Assembly September 11, 2019

Amended IN Senate September 06, 2019

Amended IN Senate August 30, 2019

Amended IN Senate June 25, 2019

Amended IN Assembly May 17, 2019

Amended IN Assembly April 22, 2019

Amended IN Assembly April 04, 2019

Amended IN Assembly March 25, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 891

Introduced by Assembly Member Burke
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Gonzalez)

February 20, 2019

An act to add and repeal Article 13 (commencing with Section 50291) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code, relating to local government.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 891, Burke. Public property: safe parking program.

Existing law requires a local agency to make an inventory of all lands held, owned, or controlled by the local agency or any of its departments. Existing law authorizes a local agency, or any of its departments, to lease, sell, or grant real property found to be in excess of its foreseeable needs.

This bill would require a city or a county with a population greater than 330,000, in coordination with other entities, as specified, to establish a safe parking program that provides safe parking locations and options for individuals and families living in their vehicles. The bill would require a safe parking program to provide a bathroom facility and onsite security, among other requirements. The bill would exempt a city or a county that has a specified safe parking program administered by a nongovernmental entity operating in its jurisdiction from these requirements. The bill would require the safe parking programs be developed and implemented by June 1, 2022. The bill would encourage cities and counties to review the Department of General Services’ internet website for the availability of surplus state property and the Department of Transportation’s internet website for the availability of excess land that could be used for a safe parking program.

The bill would also grant a city or county that establishes a safe parking program immunity from civil liability for an employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a person participating in the program that occurs in, or in close proximity to, a safe parking program location. The bill would limit this immunity by making the immunity inapplicable to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.

The bill would repeal those provisions on June 1, 2027.

By requiring certain cities and counties to create safe parking programs, 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.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Homelessness in California is no longer confined to urban corridors. It pervades both urban and rural communities across the state and puts stress on local resources, including emergency rooms, mental health and social services programs, and jails.

(b) California has a growing homelessness crisis. Homelessness is a diverse problem, but one glaring aspect of the problem is the number of unsheltered homeless in our state. California accounts for about one-half of all unsheltered homeless people in the nation, despite having about 24 percent of our nation’s homeless population. Further, of the 130,000 homeless people living in California, 69 percent are unsheltered.

(c) The homelessness crisis is driven by the lack of affordable housing resulting from decades of underproduction. The state recognizes that while shelter provides basic humanitarian conditions for sleep, only permanent housing solves homelessness.

(d) People experiencing homelessness deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and to have access to decent, affordable places to live. Interim interventions, like shelters and navigation centers, allow people to access services more easily and connect to permanent housing. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to create permanent solutions for California’s homeless population by constructing affordable housing that is sufficient to address the existing and projected needs of all income segments of the community.

(e) The Legislature finds that the state is experiencing a moral failure in that thousands of Californians are forced to live in their cars rather than actual homes. It is the intent of the Legislature that until sufficient housing can be constructed to address the state’s homelessness and housing crises, safe parking programs may be considered as one of many short-term emergency measures to create a safe space for unsheltered homeless persons. The Legislature declares that these short-term measures are not intended to supplant planning, financing, and facilitating long-term solutions to preventing and ending homelessness.

SEC. 2.

Article 13 (commencing with Section 50291) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code, to read:

Article 13. Safe Parking Program

50291.

(a) A city with a population greater than 330,000, in coordination with local nonprofit entities, shall establish a safe parking program that provides safe parking locations and options for individuals and families living in their vehicles.

(b) (1) A county with a population greater than 330,000, in coordination with cities located in the county that are not subject to subdivision (a) and local nonprofit entities, shall establish a safe parking program that provides safe parking locations and options for individuals and families living in their vehicles.

(2) A county with a population of less than 1,000,000 people shall be deemed to be in compliance with paragraph (1) if a city located in that county that is not subject to subdivision (a) has voluntarily adopted a safe parking program that meets the requirements of this article.

(1) Provide a bathroom facility and onsite security.

(2) Establish an application or enrollment process for the program that may include a background check requirement.

(3) Establish rules and regulations for the program.

(d) A safe parking program created pursuant to this section is encouraged to coordinate with local nonprofits as well as city and county agencies to provide resources and access to social services that lead to long-term housing for program participants.

(e) Cities and counties are encouraged to identify local lots or other properties that could be used for a safe parking program.

(f) Cities and counties are encouraged to review the Department of General Services’ internet website for the availability of surplus state property and the Department of Transportation’s internet website for the availability of excess land that could be used for a safe parking program.

(g) The safe parking programs required under this section shall be developed and implemented by June 1, 2022.

(h) A city or a county with a population greater than 330,000, that has a safe parking program administered by a nongovernmental entity operating in its jurisdiction that meets or exceeds the requirements of subdivision (c), is not subject to subdivision (a) or (b).

(i) A city or county that establishes a safe parking program pursuant to this section is not civilly liable for an employee’s good faith act or omission that fails to prevent an injury to a person participating in the program that occurs in, or in close proximity to, a safe parking program location. This immunity does not apply to gross negligence, intentional misconduct, or violations of other provisions of law.

50292.

This article shall remain in effect only until June 1, 2027, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act adding Article 13 (commencing with Section 50291) to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act applies to all cities, including charter cities.