Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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                                         H.879
    An act relating to the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program
 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
                              * * * Legislative Intent * * *
 Sec. 1. LEGISLATIVE INTENT
    It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Emergency Temporary
 Shelter Program established in 33 V.S.A. chapter 22 is a step toward ensuring
 that:
         (1) unsheltered homelessness be eliminated in Vermont and interim
 shelter opportunities be available to provide a stable pathway to permanent
 housing for all Vermonters experiencing homelessness;
         (2) arbitrary time limits, night-by-night shelter, relocation between
 interim housing sites, and other disruptions in housing stability be eliminated;
         (3) non-congregate housing be used to the greatest extent possible;
         (4) Vermont’s emergency housing statutes, rules, policies, and practices
 incorporate Housing First principles, trauma-informed practices, and emerging
 best practices, including:
            (A) immediate access to shelter without housing readiness
 requirements; and
            (B) voluntary supportive services designed to support housing
 stability; and VT LEG #375976 v.1
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       (5) Vermont increase the supply of interim shelter that is geographically
 and physically accessible to individuals with a disability and that addresses the
 range of needs among individuals with a disability.
                * * * Emergency Temporary Shelter Program * * *
 Sec. 2. 33 V.S.A. chapter 22 is added to read:
    CHAPTER 22. EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM
 § 2209. EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM ADVISORY
          COMMITTEE
    (a) Creation. There is created the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program
 Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommendations to the
 Commissioner regarding the implementation, administration, and operation of
 the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program from the perspective of individuals
 with lived experience of homelessness.
    (b) Membership. Each coordinated entry lead agency shall appoint an
 individual with lived experience of homelessness in Vermont to serve on the
 Advisory Committee established in this section. The Advisory Committee’s
 membership shall reflect the growing diversity among Vermonters, including
 individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color, as well as with
 regard to socioeconomic status, geographic location, gender, sexual identity,
 and disability status.
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     AS PASSED BY HOUSE                                                        H.879
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    (c) Assistance. The Advisory Committee shall have the administrative,
 technical, and legal assistance of the Department for Children and Families.
    (d) Meetings.
       (1) The Commissioner shall call the first meeting of the Advisory
 Committee to occur on or before July 15, 2024.
       (2) The Committee shall select a chair or co-chairs from among its
 members at the first meeting.
       (3) A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum.
    (e) Compensation and reimbursement. Members of the Advisory
 Committee shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of
 expenses as permitted under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for not more than 12 meetings
 annually. These payments shall be made from monies appropriated to the
 Department.
 Sec. 3. REPEAL; EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM
         ADVISORY COMMITTEE
    33 V.S.A. § 2209 (Emergency Temporary Shelter Program Advisory
 Committee) is repealed on July 1, 2029.
 Sec. 4. 33 V.S.A. chapter 22 is amended to read:
    CHAPTER 22. EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM
 § 2201. DEFINITIONS
    As used in this chapter:
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       (1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Children and
 Families.
       (2) “Community-based shelter” means a shelter that meets the Vermont
 Housing Opportunity Grant Program’s Standards of Provision of Assistance.
       (3) “Department” means the Department for Children and Families.
       (4) “Household” means an individual and any dependents for whom the
 individual is legally responsible and who live in Vermont. “Household”
 includes individuals who reside together as one economic unit, including those
 who are married, parties to a civil union, or unmarried.
       (5) “Statewide vacancy rate” means the Vermont-specific rental vacancy
 rate as reported by U.S. Census Bureau.
 § 2202. ESTABLISHMENT; EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER
          PROGRAM
    (a) The Emergency Temporary Shelter Program is established within the
 Department for Children and Families for the purpose of temporarily sheltering
 households pursuant to the eligibility criteria in section 2203 of this chapter in
 a manner that ensures participant dignity and leads to greater stability.
    (b) Permissible shelter provided through this Program shall:
       (1) include:
          (A) community-based shelter provided by housing and shelter
 operators, including community-based shelters for designated populations; and VT LEG #375976 v.1
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          (B) hotel and motel rooms only after the Department has exhausted
 other means of providing community-based shelter; and
       (2) limit relocation between community-based shelter sites.
    (c)(1) If there is inadequate community-based shelter space available for a
 household within the Agency of Human Services district in which the
 household presents itself, the household shall be provided shelter in a hotel or
 motel within the district, if available, until adequate community-based shelter
 space becomes available in the district.
       (2) Annually, the Department shall propose hotel and motel rates
 through the budget process for consideration and approval by the General
 Assembly. If the Department determines that a contractual agreement with a
 hotel or motel operator to secure temporary emergency shelter capacity is
 beneficial to improve the quality, cleanliness, or access to services for those
 households temporarily sheltered in the facility, the Department shall be
 authorized to enter into such an agreement in accordance with the per-room
 rate established by the General Assembly; provided, however, that in no event
 shall such an agreement cause a household to become unhoused. The
 Department may include provisions to address access to services or related
 needs within the contractual agreement.
       (3) The use of hotel and motel rooms shall be contingent on a
 participating hotel or motel complying with the public accommodation act VT LEG #375976 v.1
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 pursuant to 9 V.S.A. chapter 139; holding a lodging license issued by the
 Vermont Department of Health; and complying with the Licensed Lodging
 Establishment Rule and the Vermont Fire and Building Safety Code. The
 Department may withhold full or partial payment to any hotel or motel
 operator who violates any law or rule or whose lodging license is suspended,
 revoked, expired, or otherwise invalid. Specifically, the Department may
 withhold full or partial payment to hotel or motel operators to whom the
 Department of Health has issued a conditional license, abatement order,
 warning letter, or other notice of violation. Likewise, the Department may
 withhold full or partial payment to hotel or motel operators who have received
 notices from other State agencies that indicate that the hotel or motel operator
 has violated a law or rule. Once the Department is satisfied that the hotel or
 motel operator is complying with the law and any corresponding rules, the
 Department shall begin or resume payments at the contracted rate for lodging
 once the violation ended. The Department may provide all, some, or none of
 the payments withheld based on the nature and extent of the legal violations
 and the effects those violations on Emergency Temporary Shelter Program
 households.
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 § 2203. HOUSEHOLD ELIGIBILITY
    To be eligible for the Program established in this chapter, a household shall
 attest to lack of a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and have a
 member who:
       (1) is 60 years of age or older;
       (2) has a disability that can be documented by:
          (A) written verification of the disability from a professional licensed
 by the State to diagnose and treat the disability and certification that the
 disability is expected to be long-continuing or of indefinite duration and
 substantially impedes the individual’s ability to live independently;
          (B) written verification from the Social Security Administration;
          (C) receipt of a disability check;
          (D) intake staff-recorded observation of a disability that, not later
 than 45 days after the application for assistance, is confirmed and accompanied
 by evidence of this; or
          (E) other documentation approved by either the Department or the
 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
       (3) is experiencing a serious short-term medical condition or has been
 discharged from a health care facility where the individual was being treated
 for a serious short-term medical condition within the last 30 days;
       (4) is a child under 19 years of age;
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       (5) is in the third trimester of pregnancy or is experiencing an at-risk
 pregnancy;
       (6) has experienced the death of a spouse or domestic partner within the
 last 30 days;
       (7) has experienced a natural disaster, such as a flood, fire, or hurricane
 within the last 30 days;
       (8) is under a court-ordered eviction or constructive eviction due to
 circumstances over which the household has no control; or
       (9) is experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
 stalking, human trafficking, hate violence, or other dangerous or life-
 threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a
 household member.
 § 2204. MAXIMUM DAYS OF ELIGIBILITY
    (a) The maximum number of days that a household receives shelter in a
 hotel or motel under this Program, per 12-month period, shall be determined
 by the statewide vacancy rate. If the statewide vacancy rate is:
       (1) less than five percent at the household’s time of application, the
 household shall receive a maximum of 90 sheltered days under this Program
 per 12-month period; or VT LEG #375976 v.1
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       (2) is equal to or greater than five percent at the household’s time of
 application, the household shall receive a maximum of 45 sheltered days under
 this Program per 12-month period.
    (b) No periods of ineligibility shall be imposed on the use of a household’s
 maximum permitted sheltered days.
 § 2205. HOUSEHOLD PARTICIPATION
    Unless the head of the household has a disability as evidenced by
 subdivision 2203(2) of this chapter that prevents the head of household’s
 ability to participate in coordinated entry and case management processes, a
 participating household sheltered pursuant to this chapter shall participate in
 coordinated entry and case management processes if temporary emergency
 shelter in excess of 14 days is required, including cooperating with the
 Department and service providers on screening and care planning.
 § 2206. APPLICATION; NOTICE; APPEALS
    (a) All program applications and notices shall use plain language.
    (b) The Department shall provide written notice, and notice in the
 household’s preferred form of communication, of appeal rights related to
 Departmental decisions made in the course of administering the Program
 established in this chapter, including appeal rights related to the denial of an
 initial application.
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    (c) A household sheltered in accordance with this Program may continue to
 remain sheltered while the appeal is pending until the household’s maximum
 sheltered days for the current 12-month period have expired.
 § 2207. MONTHLY REPORTING
    Monthly, the Department shall post the following on its website:
       (1) the annual total and average monthly number of households
 participating in the Program by household size, by eligibility category, and by
 each Agency of Human Services district;
       (2) the number of alternative housing placements made during the
 previous reporting period compared with the targeted number of placements
 for that period;
       (3) of the households successfully placed in alternative housing during
 the previous month, the number of households whose screening indicated a
 potential need for services from each department within the Agency of Human
 Services;
       (4) the number of beds available for emergency housing in each Agency
 of Human Services district in the State, with separate reporting on the number
 of beds available in nursing homes and residential care homes for individuals
 whose screening indicates they could meet the clinical criteria for those
 settings and the number of emergency beds available for individuals whose
 screening indicates they do not meet the clinical criteria, including low-barrier VT LEG #375976 v.1
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 shelters, beds for youth, and beds for individuals who have experienced
 domestic violence;
       (5) the number of households that have been successfully transitioned to
 an alternative housing placement since the previous report was issued and the
 types of housing settings in which they have been placed;
       (6) the outlook for transitioning additional households to alternative
 housing placements in the coming months, including an estimate of the number
 of households likely to be placed per month;
       (7) the number of and demographic information for households
 obtaining shelter due to adverse weather conditions pursuant to section 2208 of
 this chapter; and
       (8) the total amount of funds expended during the most recent quarter on
 housing placements and supportive services for households transitioning from
 the Program established in this chapter.
 § 2208. WINTER SHELTER
    To the extent funding and capacity exists and notwithstanding any
 provisions of this chapter to the contrary, the Department shall provide shelter
 to households lacking a fixed, regular, adequate, nighttime residence between
 November 15 and April 15. If there is inadequate community-based shelter
 space available within the Agency of Human Services district in which the
 household presents itself, the household shall be provided shelter in a hotel or
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 motel within the district, if available, until adequate community-based shelter
 space becomes available in the district. Shelter in a hotel or motel provided
 pursuant to this section shall not count toward the maximum days of eligibility
 per 12-month period provided in section 2204 of this chapter.
                                      ***
 Sec. 5. EMERGENCY TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM TASK
         FORCE
    (a) Creation. There is created the Emergency Temporary Shelter Program
 Task Force to provide recommendations to the General Assembly regarding
 the statewide and local oper