Office of Senate Floor Analyses
BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 903|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 903
Author: Houston (R), et al
Amended: 8/1/07 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/26/07
AYES: Florez, Denham, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Vincent,
Wiggins, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Battin
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/10/07
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Ackerman, Kuehl, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 8/22/07
AYES: Torlakson, Cox, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl,
Oropeza, Runner, Steinberg, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton,
Ridley-Thomas, Simitian
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/24/07 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Emergency services
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows certain private nonprofit
organizations to be reimbursed by the state for the cost of
supplies or other emergency assistance provided during an
emergency.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, the Stafford Act,
authorizes the Governor of an affected state to request of
the President a declaration of a major disaster area. The
request is to come upon the determination by the Governor
that an effective response to a disaster is beyond the
capabilities of state and affected local governments. The
request is conditioned on the Governor having responded
appropriately to the disaster pursuant to state law and
having executed the state's emergency plan.
Existing federal law specifies that, in providing relief
and assistance under the Stafford Act, the President may
utilize, with their consent, the personnel and facilities
of the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the
Mennonite Disaster Service, and other relief or disaster
assistance organizations in (1) the distribution of
medicine, food, supplies, or other items, and (b)
restoration, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of community
services, housing and essential facilities, whenever the
President finds that such utilization is necessary.
Federal law also specifies that the President is authorized
to enter into agreements with the above mentioned entities
and other disaster assistance organizations under which the
disaster relief activities of such organizations may be
coordinated by the federal coordinating officer whenever
such organizations are engaged in providing relief during
and after a major disaster or emergency.
The Stafford Act defines "eligible nonprofit organizations"
as those that provide essential services and are open to
the general public. Essential services include medical and
custodial care, education, water, sewer and electrical
systems, homeless shelters, and cultural programs such as
those offered by museums.
Existing state law, the Emergency Services Act [Section
8550 et seq. of the Government Code (GOV)], provides the
statutory framework for the state's responses to
emergencies and disasters and grants the Governor broad
authority to coordinate and access resources to respond to
emergencies and disasters.
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The Emergency Services Act defines a "state of emergency"
as the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster
or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property
within the state caused by such conditions as air
pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, drought,
sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or animal
infestation or disease, which, by reason of their
magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of
the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of local
agencies. [GOV Section 8558(b)]
The Emergency Services Act defines a "local emergency" as
the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or
of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property
within the territorial limits of a county, city and county,
or city, which are or are likely to be beyond the control
of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of
that political subdivision. [GOV Section 8558(c)]
The California Disaster Assistance Act (GOV Section 8680 et
seq.) provides for the authorization of state funds to
local agencies for emergency response measures, damage to
public facilities, and the operation of recovery centers.
The California Constitution (Article I, Section 4) provides
that "free exercise and enjoyment of religion without
discrimination or preference are guaranteed and that the
Legislature shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion."
The California Constitution (Article XVI, Section 5)
provides, under the no aid to religion clause, that
"neither the Legislature, nor any county, city and county,
township, school district, or other municipal corporations
shall ever make an appropriation, or pay from any public
fund whatever, or grant anything to or in aid of any
religious sect, church, creed, or sectarian purpose, or
help to support or sustain any school, college, university,
hospital, or other institution controlled by any religious
creed, church, or sectarian denomination whatever; nor
shall any grant or donation of personal property or real
estate ever be made by the State, or any city, city and
county, town, or other municipal corporation for any
religious creed, church, or sectarian purpose whatever."
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This bill:
1. Specifies that if a state of emergency is proclaimed, an
eligible private nonprofit organization may receive
state assistance for distribution of supplies and other
disaster or emergency assistance activities resulting in
extraordinary cost provided the nonprofit entity is
eligible for disaster assistance under federal law.
2. Prohibits reimbursement to nonprofit organizations that
employ religious content in the provision of emergency
assistance.
3. Requires that the grant for assistance comply with
constitutional prohibitions against using public funds
to aid religious organizations and activities.
4. Directs the Office of Emergency Services (OES) to
develop regulations concerning the reimbursement of
these nonprofit organizations from the Disaster
Assistance Fund.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill is intended to
establish in statute a mechanism by which the state is
authorized to reimburse private nonprofit organizations for
expenses incurred in providing disaster assistance. The
author's office states that in rural areas of California,
local agencies do not possess the infrastructure and assets
that are necessary to assist during and following
disasters. Additionally, the author's office points out
that governmental entities are often many miles from
certain communities in rural parts of the state. The
author's office emphasizes that private nonprofits possess
the infrastructure and assets to fill the need for those
remote communities.
Following the Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1988, school
districts were added to the list of local agencies eligible
for aid under the California Disaster Assistance Act.
Following the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, two bills [SB
38 (Petris) and AB 35 (Cortese)] added community college
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districts, county offices of education, and private
nonprofit organizations to the list of "local agencies"
eligible for aid under the California Disaster Assistance
Act. In 1990, legislation [SB 49X (Dills)] deleted private
nonprofit organizations from the definition of local agency
and placed those organizations in a separate section of law
with authorization for those agencies to receive state
assistance for the effects of the 1989 earthquake. The
1990 statute "sunset," on January 1, 1992, those provisions
that related to disaster assistance for private nonprofit
organizations, except private nonprofit organizations that
had filed with OES by a specified date.
As a result, there is no statutory mechanism for the
allocation of state funds to reimburse private nonprofit
organizations for disaster relief services. Since that
time, the state has relied on a more informal relationship
with private nonprofits on an as needed basis. This bill
provides for a more formal, ongoing process.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 1889 (Nava), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2006, specified,
among other things, that the California Emergency Council
shall appoint an advisory committee composed of
representatives of volunteer organizations that aid or
prepare their communities for potential disasters.
Provided that the duties of the advisory committee shall
include advising the Council on how public, private, and
nonprofit entities can provide resources, assets,
personnel, volunteers, and any other relevant services to
fully integrate the private sector into the state's
emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery
plans.
SB 546 (Dutton), Chapter 232, Statutes of 2005, authorized
OES to utilize the resources of the private sector and
non-profit entities to deliver assistance to disaster
victims, and to aid in related operations.
SB 477 (Soto), Chapter 377, Statutes of 2005, among other
things, authorized OES to establish a model process that
would be made available to assist a community in recovering
from an emergency proclaimed by the Governor.
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SB 49X (Dills), Chapter 33, Statutes of 1990, deleted
private nonprofit organizations from the definition of
"local agency" and placed those organizations in a separate
section of law with authorization for those agencies to
receive state assistance for the effects of the 1989
earthquake. It "sunset" on January 1, 1992, those
provisions that related to disaster assistance for private
nonprofit organizations, except private nonprofit
organizations that had filed with OES by a specified date.
SB 38 (Petris), Chapter 23, Statutes of 1989, expanded the
definition of "local agency" eligible for state earthquake
assistance to include community college districts, private
nonprofit organizations, and county offices of education
and made it explicit that no private nonprofit could
receive more than $5 million. Also, "private nonprofit
facility" was defined pursuant to federal law, the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
AB 35 (Cortese), Chapter 24, Statutes of 1989, identical to
SB 38 (Petris), Chapter 23, Statutes of 1989, except it
specified that if available state funding was insufficient
to pay all eligible claims, no private nonprofit
organization could receive more than $5 million.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2007-08 2008-09
2009-10 Fund
OES regulations Less than $100 one-time.
Minor, General
potential savings in future years
as
well as faster disbursement of
funds
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/07)
American Red Cross of California
California Alliance of Information and Referral Services
California Association of Food Banks
California Association of Nonprofits
La Cooperativa Campesina de California
United Way of San Diego County
United Ways of California
Volunteer Centers of California
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/27/07)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Writing in support of this bill,
the California Association of Nonprofits states this bill
"will allow cash-strapped nonprofits, who are key players
in community response and revitalization, to maintain their
services when they are most needed. With as many as 40
percent of the state's safety net providers operating at a
deficit, according to a recent association sponsored study,
AB 903 will free up dollars that other wise would have to
be devoted to facility restoration and redirects them to
essential human needs."
Also writing in support, La Cooperativa Campesina de
California, contends that this bill "will make the state
administrative process more efficient and speed up the
process to arrange contracts with agencies that have proven
track records in disaster relief."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Department of Finance
opposes this bill because it results in (1) unknown,
potentially significant General Fund costs if the state
were required to reimburse private nonprofit organizations
for costs incurred during an emergency, and (2) unfunded
General Fund costs of $72,000 for the OES to implement the
bill's provisions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
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Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeSaulnier, DeVore, Duvall, Dymally, Emmerson,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fuller, Gaines, Garcia, Garrick,
Hancock, Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston, Huff,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Krekorian, La
Malfa, Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Maze,
Mendoza, Mullin, Nakanishi, Nava, Niello, Parra, Plescia,
Portantino, Price, Richardson, Sharon Runner, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Spitzer,
Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Walters,
Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Galgiani, Soto, Nunez, Vacancy
TSM:mw 8/28/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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