(a) Notwithstanding any other law applicable to actions taken by the Department of General Services for the delivery and installation of emergency sleeping cabins and related infrastructure, the Department of General Services may assist a political subdivision with delivery and installation of emergency sleeping cabins and related improvements, provided all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The projects occur within the County of Sacramento, the City of San Jose, the County of San Diego, and the City of Los Angeles.

(2) A political subdivision has declared a shelter crisis pursuant to Chapter 7.8 (commencing with Section 8698) of Division 1.

(3) The authority granted in this section applies only to the delivery of up to 1,200 emergency sleeping cabins.

(4) The Department of General Services has executed a written transfer agreement with the political subdivision that includes both of the following terms:

(A) The emergency sleeping cabins and the related improvements shall become the property of the political subdivision and the responsibility of the political subdivision to operate upon receiving a certificate of occupancy.

(B) The political subdivision agrees that the emergency camping cabins shall be compliant with Housing First principles, low-barrier, service-enriched, and focused on moving people into permanent housing, and shall provide temporary living facilities while individuals experiencing homelessness are connected to income, public benefits, health services, shelter, and appropriate housing. “Low barrier” means best practices to reduce barriers to entry, and may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) The presence of partners if it is not a population-specific site, such as for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault, women, or youth.

(ii) Pets.

(iii) The storage of possessions.

(iv) Privacy, such as partitions around beds in a dormitory setting or in larger rooms containing more than two beds, or private rooms.

(5) For the purposes of this section, “emergency sleeping cabin” shall have the same meaning as defined in the California Building Standards Code except that they may include plumbing and occupants shall not be charged rent.

(6) For the purposes of this section, “related improvements” shall mean infrastructure work necessary to support the successful operations of the emergency sleeping cabins. “Related improvements” shall include, but are not limited to, utility connections and distribution, site modifications such as grading, vehicle access and parking, site security features, erection of administrative and treatment areas, and storage.

(b) In providing assistance to a political subdivision pursuant to subdivision (a), the following provisions shall apply to any work undertaken by the Department of General Services:

(1) The Department of General Services may utilize any delivery method that it, in its discretion, deems appropriate and advantageous.

(2) The Department of General Services may carry out a project on real property that is not owned by the State of California, subject to the owner’s consent and provided that a political subdivision leases or owns the site for the purposes of operating the cabins.

(3) All work performed pursuant to this section by the Department of General Services shall be exempt from all of the following:

(A) Part 1 (commencing with Section 1100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(B) Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100) of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code.

(C) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 14825) of Part 5.5 of Division 3.

(D) Upon the advance approval from the Department of Housing and Community Development for anything within their scope of authority, and only for the provision of emergency sleeping cabin projects pursuant to this section, any provision of the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) may be waived consistent with ensuring minimum public health and safety standards and Appendix P of the California Building Standards Code.

(E) The California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) only if the development is not located on a site that is any of the following:

(i) Either prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, as defined pursuant to United States Department of Agriculture land inventory and monitoring criteria, as modified for California, and designated on the maps prepared by the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program of the Department of Conservation, or land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction.

(ii) Wetlands, as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).

(iii) Within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section 51178, or within a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as indicated on maps adopted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to § 4202 of the Public Resources Code. This subparagraph does not apply to sites excluded from the specified hazard zones by a local agency, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51179, or sites that have adopted fire hazard mitigation measures pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures applicable to the development.

(iv) A hazardous waste site that is listed pursuant to Section 65962.5 or a hazardous waste site designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to § 25356 of the Health and Safety Code, unless either of the following apply:

(v) The site is an underground storage tank site that received a uniform closure letter issued pursuant to subdivision (g) of § 25296.10 of the Health and Safety Code based on closure criteria established by the State Water Resources Control Board for residential use or residential mixed uses. This section does not alter or change the conditions to remove a site from the list of hazardous waste sites listed pursuant to Section 65962.5.

(vi) The State Department of Public Health, State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Toxic Substances Control, or a local agency making a determination pursuant to subdivision (c) of § 25296.10 of the Health and Safety Code, has otherwise determined that the site is suitable for residential use or residential mixed uses.

(vii) Within a delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the State Geologist in any official maps published by the State Geologist, unless the development complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards adopted by the California Building Standards Commission under the California Building Standards Law (Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and by any local building department under Chapter 12.2 (commencing with Section 8875) of Division 1.

(viii) Within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by the 1 percent annual chance flood (100-year flood) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A development may be located on a site described in this subparagraph if either of the following are met:

(I) The site has been subject to a Letter of Map Revision prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and issued to the local jurisdiction.

(II) The site meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements necessary to meet minimum flood plain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program pursuant to Part 59 (commencing with Section 59.1) and Part 60 (commencing with Section 60.1) of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(III) Within a regulatory floodway as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, unless the development has received a no-rise certification in accordance with Section 60.3(d)(3) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(ix) Lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), habitat conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.), or other adopted natural resource protection plan.

(x) Habitat for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies, fully protected species, or species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.), the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code).

(xi) Lands under conservation easement.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive any applicable housing law governing the operation of emergency sleeping cabins by political subdivisions.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 45, Sec. 37. (AB 127) Effective July 10, 2023. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, by its own provisions.)