State and County Briefs: Utility Bill Relief and Eight Homekey Properties Transform Into Permanent Housing

California Distributed $1.4 Billion in Utility Bill Relief for 2.2 Million Households

SACRAMENTO – With new figures showing that California’s utility assistance programs distributed $1.4 billion to support upwards of 2.2 million struggling households during the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that another $1.4 billion will go out before the end of the year to cover overdue utility bills.

The additional $1.4 billion that Gov. Newsom and the Legislature allocated in this year’s budget will be distributed by year’s end to support Californians who are still struggling to pay the bills. $1.2 billion will address residential electric utility arrearages through the Department of Community Services and Development to mitigate the outstanding debt leading to increased utility rates, and $200 million will address residential water and wastewater arrearages – complementing $116 million in federal funding for water and wastewater arrearages.   

For the utility relief that went out already: 

• The Department of Community Services and Development provided assistance for electric and gas utility bills for more than 1.4 million households and commercial customers, distributing $989 million throughout the pandemic.
• The State Water Resources Control Board covered unpaid water bills for more than 800,000 residential and commercial customers, distributing $435 million in just 10 months for debt accrued during the pandemic.

LA County Moves to Transform Interim Homekey Properties into Permanent Housing for Unhoused People

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Oct. 4, unanimously approved a motion authored by Chair Holly J. Mitchell, and co-authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, to transform ownership of eight Homekey or Homekey 1 properties to community-based developers for the construction of 612 permanent supportive housing or PSH units, with construction set to begin in 2023.

In July 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the Homekey Program for local jurisdictions to purchase and rehabilitate hotels and other properties to be used as interim and permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness impacted by COVID-19. LA County invested $108 million from Project Homekey Round 1 to acquire 10 properties which have provided temporary housing and services to nearly 1,500 people experiencing homelessness to date.

This motion takes action on eight of the ten sites that the county purchased to transform from interim to permanent housing sites and invests $148.8 million of the American Rescue Plan funding for necessary renovations. The motion also requires the county’s homelessness initiative to report back by December of this year with a relocation plan and schedule for conversion that includes construction timelines and plan to lease up the sites once operational.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/bdcmkcj4