On May 28th the Assembly Committee on Appropriations approved four bills authored by assemblymember Ed Chau (D–Monterey Park).  The bills include efforts to promote the accurate titling of mobile homes; help establish a process for administering funds from the Federal Housing Trust Fund (HTF); prepare the state for dealing with cyber-attacks; and establish a Computer Science Education Grant pilot program to help schools start computer science courses and train teachers.

“I was pleased to see these bills move forward, as they provide a means to address issues that are important to the State and my constituents,” said Assemblymember Chau. “These bills help provide resources and protections for housing, prepare our state for the threat of cyber-attacks, and help prepare our students for the jobs of tomorrow by providing computer science in the classroom.”

AB 90 – Federal Housing Trust Fund – would designate the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as the agency responsible for administering the HTF and requires HCD to develop a plan for how the funds will be spent on programs that produce, rehabilitate, or support the operation of rental housing and homeownership programs for extremely low- and very low-income households.  Based on estimates, California could receive as much as $40 million by the summer of 2016.

AB 587 – Mobile Homes – creates a three year abatement program that would allow mobile home owners to bring their title into compliance without having to pay all of the past due taxes and fees on the home, often accrued by a previous owner.

AB 1172 – California Cyber Security – would create a California Cyber Security Task Force within the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to act in an advisory capacity and develop a comprehensive strategy to asses and enhance the state’s preparedness and response capabilities to cyber-attacks.

AB 1258 – Computer Science Education Grant Pilot Program – creates a public-private Computer Science Education Grant Pilot Program that would provide grants to school districts to establish and maintain computer science courses and provide professional development for educators to teach computer science.