New Year, New Board of Supervisors Motions, Addressing Small Property Owners, Mental Health Beds and Natural Gas Prices

L.A. County Board of Supervisors to Bring $45M in Relief for Small Property Owners

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Jan 24 by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell that establishes a $45M countywide relief fund for small property owners. 

During the Board’s deliberation on extending protections to prevent more homelessness in L.A. County, Supervisor Barger addressed the importance of also extending support to mom-and-pop property owners mired in debt and in danger of losing their properties due to unpaid back rent from their tenants.  

The motion builds upon the Board’s prior directive to Los Angeles County’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) to design a landlord assistance program to help small property owners with their costs. 

DCBA’s recommendation was to set aside a total of $5M to help qualifying landlords with expenses directly related to the non-payment of rent from their current tenants. DCBA further recommended individual relief awards should be capped at $30,000 per property owner.

This newly approved motion expands the recommended $5M allocation to $45M for small property owners, and specifies up to $30,000 can be provided per unit. Property owners who accept the relief funds must agree to not evict their tenants for non-payment of rent.

Release: L.A. County Focuses on Bringing More Mental Health Beds into Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will address its shortage of mental health beds that provide care for indigent individuals suffering from untreated severe mental illness. 

All five members unanimously approved the Jan. 24 motion,  introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Supervisor Holly Mitchell, that directs the county’s Department of Mental Health to work with a consultant to project forecasted bed capacity needs in acute, subacute, and residential settings.

The motion emphasizes the forthcoming demand for mental health beds due to L.A. County fast-tracking its implementation of CARE Court and its recent emergency proclamation over the homelessness crisis. 

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, the majority of individuals with the most severe forms of mental illness do not have health insurance and are underserved by private psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units in general hospitals, 81% of which are privately owned.

L.A. County Requests State Leaders Investigate Natural Gas Price Increase

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors asked the State of California to launch an investigation into natural gas utility bill spikes that county residents experienced this month and to develop a plan to prevent future spikes.

This comes as a result of a motion introduced today by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Second District Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell that directs the county’s legislative liaisons, its legal team and relevant county departments, to issue a letter on the board’s behalf to relevant leaders of the California State Legislature – including the chair of the State’s Senate standing committee on energy, utilities, and communications and the chair of the assembly committee on utilities and energy.

The motion also directs the county’s team of legislative and legal experts to monitor the California Public Utilities Commission’s formal “en banc” review of the State’s natural gas providers’ price spikes, which will gather information from market experts as it examines causes and ways to help customers.    

The motion further directs county departments to explore opportunities for financial assistance for vulnerable communities facing higher than expected natural gas bills.

Additionally, the county will seek to collaborate with SoCalGas to increase awareness of various programs to help consumers, including financial assistance, usage trackers, and information to help navigate the spike in natural gas costs.