California Individual Assistance Act.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify exact amounts or detailed rules about how the program will operate, leaving these aspects open.

California Individual Assistance Act

The California Individual Assistance Act establishes a grant program for financial assistance during disasters and prioritizes help for local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals who cannot receive federal funding due to damage thresholds.

What This Bill Does

• Establishes a new grant program called the California Individual Assistance Act that provides financial assistance to local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals after disasters.
• Requires the Director of Emergency Services to prioritize recipients that are not eligible for federal funding because they do not meet certain damage levels.
• Authorizes increased expenditure from an existing fund for disaster relief when needed.
• Requires the director to adopt regulations necessary to govern the administration of the program.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local agencies dealing with disasters
• Community-based organizations involved in disaster response
• Individuals affected by disasters

Terms To Know

Disaster Assistance Fund

A fund used to pay for costs related to disaster relief efforts.

Minimum damage thresholds

The level of destruction needed to qualify for certain types of aid, like federal funding.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify the exact amount of money that will be given out.
• Requires legislative approval before grants can be issued.
• Details about how the program will work need to be determined by regulations adopted later.

Official Summary Text

AB 262, as amended, Caloza.
California Individual Assistance Act.
Existing law, the California Disaster Assistance Act, requires the Director of Emergency Services to provide financial assistance to local agencies for their personnel costs, equipment costs, and the cost of supplies and materials used during disaster response activities, incurred as a result of a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, subject to specified criteria. The act continuously appropriates moneys in the Disaster Assistance Fund and its subsidiary account, the Earthquake Emergency Investigations Account, without regard to fiscal year, for purposes of the act.
This bill would require the director, in administering that act, to prioritize local agencies that are not eligible for federal funding, pursuant to specified federal regulation, due to the
agency’s inability to meet minimum damage thresholds.
This bill would
also
enact the California Individual Assistance Act to establish a grant program to provide financial
assistance
assistance, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
to local agencies, community-based organizations, and individuals for specified costs related to a disaster, as prescribed. The bill would require the director to allocate from the fund, subject to specified conditions, funds to meet the cost of expenses for those purposes.
By authorizing increased expenditure of moneys from a continuously appropriated fund for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.
The bill would require the director, in administering the California Individual Assistance Act, to prioritize recipients that are not eligible for federal funding, pursuant to specified regulation, due to the inability to meet minimum damage thresholds.
This bill would require the director to adopt regulations, as determined to be necessary, to govern the administration of the program.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF