SACRAMENTO – Continuing efforts to deliver for the people of Los Angeles through unprecedented partnership with the City Council, county, state and federal government, Mayor Bass and members of the City Council are in Sacramento today as they continue to advocate for the much-needed resources for Los Angeles. The Mayor and City Councilmembers met with State leaders on issues relating to critical state funding and flexibility as Los Angeles continues to urgently confront the homelessness crisis, the building of more housing, and advocating for expedited reimbursements to help address past City emergencies like COVID-19 and the storm earlier this month.
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The delegation, which includes Council President Paul Krekorian, Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, will meet with state officials, including leadership from the State Senate and State Assembly, as well as Governor Gavin Newsom and members of his Cabinet through tomorrow, Tuesday, February 27.
Council President Paul Krekorian served as a member of Mayor Bass’ leadership team when she was Speaker of the California State Assembly. Councilman Bob Blumenfield was appointed by then-Speaker Bass to Chair the Assembly Budget Committee during the Great Recession. Now, the group is in Sacramento to leverage existing relationships and continue pushing important priorities for Los Angeles.
“Our partnership with the state has delivered progress for our city including significant homelessness funding and Homekey awards to build much-needed housing in Los Angeles, recover from crises like the 10 freeway shutdown and Tropical Storm Hilary, and make Los Angeles a safer and more livable city for all,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “We will continue to advocate for the much-needed funding and resources for our great city of Los Angeles.”
The following is a readout of today’s meetings:
- State Treasurer Fiona Ma – The delegation met with State Treasurer Fiona Ma to discuss the challenges developers and housing providers face in fully utilizing the waivers granted to Los Angeles by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Treasurer committed to reviewing guidance for developers to help address this issue. The group discussed innovative public-private partnerships to build more affordable housing and how they can leverage the various investment programs the Treasurer administers, as well as increase awareness of the various savings programs the Treasurer administers.
- Nancy Ward, Director, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services – The delegation met with Director Nancy Ward, to ask for expedited disbursement of COVID-related FEMA reimbursements. An announcement will be made tomorrow morning. When reimbursements are approved by FEMA, they are sent to CalOES before being sent to the city. In the wake of major storms, the group discussed disaster preparedness and recovery. The group explored how the city and state can work together to combat organized criminal activity impacting L.A. and cities across the country.
- The delegation met individually with State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, State Senate Budget Committee Chair Scott Wiener, and State Assembly Budget Committee Chair Jesse Gabriel. In those meetings, the delegation asked for support for SB 1500 (Durazo), which would allow developers and housing providers to use the waivers granted by HUD to L.A to more easily bring Angelenos indoors without penalties. The group advocated for the Legislature to restore proposed cuts to housing and infrastructure programs including funds awarded to Los Angeles.
- The delegation met with the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation to build support for Los Angeles’ priority areas including homelessness, transportation, infrastructure, sustainability and city services. The Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation includes 24 Assemblymembers and 13 State Senators. Assemblymember Tina McKinnor serves as Chair of the delegation and Senator Maria Elena Durazo serves as the Vice Chair.
Earlier today, Mayor Bass announced that following actions taken by her and the City Council,
3,365 emergency housing vouchers have been used to bring unhoused Angelenos into permanent housing, which comes after Mayor Bass and the Los Angeles City Council made a direct effort to expand the capacity of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) by increasing staff and reorienting priorities. The Mayor announced today that Los Angeles successfully secured its seventh Homekey Round 3 grant with nearly $7.2 million in new funding for interim housing, bringing a total of 367 new units funded for a total of $105.8 million.