Housing California: Email - Housing CA *Capitol Reporter (January 15, 2013)

While the 2013-2014 legislative session officially kicked off on December 3rd, it began in earnest last week. This session's legislative class brings with it an astounding 39 freshman legislators, nearly one-third of the entire 120-member Legislature. As legislators settle in and continue to round out their staffs, they won't get much time to relax. Committee assignments have already been announced in both the Senate and Assembly, bringing several new additions to key housing- and homelessness-related committees.

Democratic leadership, with new supermajorities in both houses, have thus far indicated that they plan to be cautious with their new powers. Governor Brown has made similar indications.

With the new session comes new bill introductions. Bills can be introduced up until the February 22nd deadline. Of early note are AB 5 (Ammiano), which would establish a homeless bill of rights and SB 1 (Steinberg), which is this session's version of last year's "Redevelopment 2.0" (SB 1156), which was vetoed by the governor. Senator Ellen Corbett has also introduced SCA 9, a constitutional amendment that would lower the threshold for raising local revenue for community and economic development from two-thirds down to 55 percent.

It certainly is shaping up to be an exciting year, one that hopefully brings with it passage of our community's top priority, the California Homes and Jobs Act. We look forward to working with you all for a productive 2013!

California Homes and Jobs Act Nears Official Launch Date
Senator DeSaulnier to author, Atkins and Torres to co-author

Since last fall, we've been working behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for this year's legislation to create an ongoing source of revenue for the state's housing trust fund. The two-thirds supermajority won by Democrats in November increases our chance to pass the California Homes and Jobs Act, which will produce $500 million per year for affordable homes; however, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.

The boards of directors for Housing California and California Housing Consortium have signed-off on a high-level campaign plan with four main components: fundraising, communications, district-level advocacy and coalition building, and state-level advocacy and coalition building. Now we're building the campaign structure, starting fundraising, and beginning outreach to legislators.

Although the campaign will be fast-moving, we are committed to keeping you up-to-date on key decisions and actions. Here's the latest:

There are plenty of ways to get involved in the campaign. If you have specific questions or ways in which you would like to help, contact us on the campaign website.

Headed in the Right Direction: 2012 Point-in-Time Homelessness Counts Show Progress Being Made

When it comes to homelessness, one of the most burning questions often on the minds of policymakers is how many homeless persons we have in our California communities. The release of the Point-in-Time Homelessness Estimates in December provide a glimpse into the overall number of homeless persons by providing a snapshot of how many persons were homeless on one given night. These one-night counts were conducted in January 2012 by 42 local networks ("continuums of care") that participate in homeless-assistance program planning.

While these numbers likely represent an "undercount" of the number of homeless people in our communities, they do allow us to make an "apples-to-apples" comparison by looking at previous years' counts in order to determine progress on ending homelessness. View a comparison of California's 2011 and 2012 numbers.

In 2012, California's overall homeless population decreased slightly by more than 5,000 people, (from 135,928 to 130,898). Most subpopulations, such as veterans and those with mental illness, experienced decreases as well, a testament to our efforts amid extremely challenging economic times. However, the percentage of our homeless population that was unsheltered actually increased, showing we still have much work to do to end homelessness for our fellow Californians.

For those who are interested, there is quite a lot of data to explore, including several informative charts in the overall national report that highlight the progress (or, in some cases, the lack thereof) in many California communities. Learn more.

Housing California looks forward to working with our entire community to promote policies and direct funding that helps these numbers continue to trend in the downward direction in 2013.

Meet Housing California's New Staff Members

Housing California is proud to announce two new additions to our staff.

Deborah Cosentino joined Housing California in August 2012 as the Office Manager/Program Associate. Deborah's responsibilities range from overseeing day-to-day administrative operations to assisting the executive director and governing board and committees. She also provides staff support for special projects, campaigns, and the organization’s annual conference.

Deborah’s background includes administrative and marketing roles in risk management, environmental, and healthcare consulting; higher education and research; fundraising; and domestic and international sales. A native of California, she was employed on the East coast for ten years before returning to Sacramento in 2001. Deb can be reached via e-mail (dcosentino@housingca.org).

John Simmons joined Housing California in December 2012 as the Field Campaign Director. John is responsible for coordinating field campaigns related to policy work around homelessness and affordable homes, running the major field campaign for the California Homes and Jobs Act, and engaging the organization's membership around the need for tax reform in California.

Prior to joining Housing California, John accumulated more than 15 years of experience working with diverse groups of volunteers, elected officers, and staff to plan and implement comprehensive campaigns aimed at mobilizing workers in efforts to pass legislation, influence the budget process, and win strong collective bargaining agreements.

A Marine Corps veteran of the Persian Gulf War, John parlayed the G.I. Bill to receive his B.A. in government at California State University, Sacramento. He grew up in Evansdale, Iowa. John currently coaches his son’s Little League baseball team, and enjoys running, cycling, and hiking with friends. John can be reached via e-mail at jsimmons@housingca.org.