Nearly seven months after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a homeless emergency, the mayor on Monday, July 10, signed an updated emergency declaration for affordable housing and homelessness, saying the demand to house Angelenos is urgent.
Her updated declaration allows the Bass administration to award contracts to builders, vendors or service providers to deal with the crisis faster than before, while requiring more regular reporting to the City Council on actions her administration is taking.
It also requires the City Council, if it wishes to extend the state of emergency, to renew Bass’ emergency declaration every 90 days instead of every 30 days as before.
“This is an emergency when it comes to housing, just as it is an emergency when it comes to homelessness,” Bass said during a news conference at City Hall. “Over the first six months of my administration, we’ve seen thousands of Angelenos come inside and thousands of units to be expedited (for construction). That’s the urgency that must continue with added collaboration and coordination with the City Council.”
She called the homelessness crisis “a matter of life and death.”
Bass first declared a homelessness emergency on Dec. 12, her first day in office. The emergency was set to sunset in six months, but the City council extended it to Sunday, July 9.
Monday’s signing of an updated declaration extends the state of emergency further while tweaking some procedural requirements.
Under the just-expired emergency declaration, the Bass administration had to receive approval from the City Council to forgo the usual competitive bidding process normally required before awarding contracts to builders, vendors or service providers.
But under the new declaration, Bass and her administration won’t have to wait for the City Council to grant permission before skipping the competitive bidding process, according to the mayor’s office.
However, the City Council can still retroactively…
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