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AB 624

Relating to: increasing the maximum penalty for certain controlled substances offenses if the violation occurs near a homeless shelter and providing a penalty.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Elijah Behnke and 12 co-sponsors

Requires OES to secure max local share of EMPG/SHSGP/UASI funds and creates the Community Relief Act to fund disaster relief for local governments, tribes, CBOs, and individuals.

Read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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Bill Summary · AB 624

AB 624 — Office of Emergency Services: federal grants & Community Relief Act

Status: Read first time (2/13/2025); referred to Assembly Committee on Emergency Management. Last recorded committee activity: hearings scheduled then canceled at author’s request (March–April 2025).

Note on source material: The bill title shown in the request (increasing penalties for controlled-substance offenses near homeless shelters) does not match the bill text provided. The text available and summarized below concerns the Office of Emergency Services (OES), federal grant distribution, and a new "Community Relief Act." This summary covers the OES / Community Relief Act content in the provided documents.

Purpose / Intent

AB 624 would (1) direct the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) to maximize local shares of specified federal emergency management grants and increase transparency about state-share agreements, and (2) create a new Community Relief Act that authorizes the Director of Emergency Services to allocate Disaster Assistance Fund moneys to support local governments, tribal governments, community-based organizations (CBOs), and individuals after declared disasters.

Key provisions

  1. Federal grant distribution and transparency (adds Gov. Code § 8589.25)

    • OES, to the extent permitted by federal law, must provide local operational and urban areas the maximum local share of Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) funds it administers.
    • OES must provide the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization and the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management with copies of agreements entered into with local governments to spend the state share of certain federal grants, specifically:
      • State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP)
      • Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI)
    • OES may retain up to 3% of the described federal grant funding for administrative purposes.

  2. Community Relief Act (adds Article 4.5, Gov. Code §§ 8688–8688.4 et seq.)

    • Establishes definitions (e.g., “community-based organization,” “housing assistance,” “other needs assistance”).
    • Authorizes the Director to allocate funds from the Disaster Assistance Fund to:
      • Reimburse and fund local agencies, tribal governments, and CBO costs for disaster response, rebuilding infrastructure, and mitigation (excluding normal hourly wages of employees engaged in emergency work).
      • Reimburse entities that provide individual and family grants and to provide direct individual/family grants (housing assistance and other needs assistance such as income loss, repair/replacement of essential personal property, medical/dental/funeral expenses).
      • Fund administrative costs and site preparation for evacuation/assistance centers as needed.
    • Payment procedure: certified claims presented to the Controller.
    • Requires the Director to adopt implementing regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act, including eligibility, request procedures, and evaluation methods.
    • Allocation trigger (partial text): an allocation may be made if a local agency/tribal government proclaims a local emergency within 10 days of the disaster and that proclamation is acceptable to the Director (text truncated in source).

Who would be affected

  • Local operational areas, urban areas, local governments, tribal governments, and community-based organizations that receive federal EMPG, SHSGP, or UASI funds.
  • Individuals and families affected by state-declared (and eligible local) disasters who may be eligible for housing assistance or other needs assistance.
  • OES administration (authority to retain up to 3% of funds for admin).
  • State Controller (payment processing) and Director of Emergency Services (administration and rulemaking).

Fiscal and procedural notes

  • The bill authorizes use of continuously appropriated Disaster Assistance Fund moneys for additional purposes, constituting an appropriation (Digest notes: 2/3 vote required; fiscal committee review required).
  • OES retention of up to 3% for administration could reduce pass-through amounts to local recipients.
  • Some statutory text is truncated in the provided documents; final eligibility rules, caps, timelines, or application details would be defined in Director regulations.

If you want, I can:
- Compare this bill text to the alternative title you provided and try to locate the controlled-substances version (if that was the intended bill), or
- Draft a short one-page fact sheet for local governments and CBOs describing how to apply for funds under the proposed Community Relief Act.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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