At the close of a busy legislative cycle, the Governor signed AB 211, codifying language for SGC’s Community Resilience Centers (CRC) program and authorizing the new program to provide advanced payment.
AB 211 reaffirms the importance of community engagement and grassroots support in developing community resilience centers. AB 211 directs the CRC program to ensure applicants demonstrate collaboration with community members, involvement with community-based organizations and residents in governance and decision making, multi-stakeholder partnerships, and the provision of eligible services and amenities year-round to community residents.
AB 211 also directs CRC staff to prioritize the following criteria when selecting CRC projects:
- Projects located in and benefitting under-resourced communities
- Representation of statewide geographic diversity;
- and number of years CRCs will provide services.
AB 211 also provides detail on reporting requirements to the Legislature and authorizes SGC to provide advance payment for the CRC program.
Through the Governor’s signing of AB 179, the Budget Act of 2022, the CRC program now has $110 million available for Round 1 and $160 million for Round 2, intended for both planning and implementation activities for a total of $270 million over both rounds.
Given the additional funds and legislation as well as the substantial input from earlier listening sessions, staff are working diligently to ensure effective and comprehensive integration of these updates in the draft guidelines. Staff are also coordinating and aligning with other SGC programs with advance payment authority, where possible.
Staff expect to release draft guidelines for public comment in November, followed by a series of public workshops to provide opportunities to review and comment on the proposed program structure and other elements. Staff anticipate bringing CRC program guidelines to the Council in Spring 2023, releasing a Notice of Funding Availability and applications in late spring 2023, and making Round 1 awards by late summer 2023. This timeline is subject to change.
For additional information, please contact the CRC Team at CRC@sgc.ca.gov and sign up for the CRC listserv.