2023 California Code › Government Code - GOV › TITLE 2 - GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA › DIVISION 1 - GENERAL › CHAPTER 7 - California Emergency Services Act › ARTICLE 5 - Office of Emergency Services › Section 8588.9.

8588.9. (a) The California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program is hereby established under the administration of the director to improve the physical security of nonprofit organizations, including schools, clinics, community centers, churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and similar locations that are at a high risk for violent attacks or hate crimes due to ideology, beliefs, or mission.
(b) The California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of hardening soft targets that are nonprofit organizations and at a high risk for violent attacks and hate crimes, as described in subdivision (a).
(A) Grant money may be distributed to an applicant for all of the following enhancements to that applicant’s security:
(i) Security guards.
(ii) Reinforced doors and gates.
(iii) High-intensity lighting and alarms.
(iv) Security training.
(v) Any other security enhancement consistent with the purpose of the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
(B) Grant money may be distributed for all of the purposes described in this subparagraph to an applicant that provides support to another nonprofit organization or a cluster of other nonprofit organizations at a high risk for violent attacks and hate crimes, as described in subdivision (a).
(i) Vulnerability assessments.
(ii) Security trainings.
(iii) Mass notification alert systems.
(iv) Monitoring and response systems.
(v) Lifesaving emergency equipment.
(2) Allow award recipients to use grant funds for the purposes of paying staff or third-party contractors or consultants to assist with the management and administration of the grant funds awarded. Award recipients shall use no more than 5 percent of the grant funds awarded for the purpose stated in this paragraph.
(3) Limit construction or renovation activities done in support of the target hardening activities related to security, such as installing additional emergency exits, to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of the grant funds awarded.
(c) An applicant shall not be granted an amount greater than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
(d) The director shall not take an applicant’s prior history with or receipt of grant funding to improve its physical security into account during the evaluation of the entity’s application.
(e) When evaluating applications, the director shall consider whether an applicant is more likely to be a target of hate-motivated violence.
(f) The operation of the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program is contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for purposes of this section.
(g) The director shall adopt, as necessary, application procedures, forms, administrative guidelines, and other requirements for purposes of implementing and administering the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program. All application procedures, forms, administrative guidelines, and other requirements developed by the director pursuant to this subdivision shall be exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3).
(h) The Office of Emergency Services shall provide ongoing technical assistance for nonprofit organizations that require a vulnerability assessment for a state application to the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program or a threat assessment for a federal application to the Nonprofit Security Grant Program of the United States Department of Homeland Security. This assistance shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A resource page, which includes a toll-free telephone number, on the Office of Emergency Service’s internet website that describes available resources for vulnerability assessments at no cost to the applicant.
(2) Continuous outreach to stakeholders on available resources for vulnerability assessments outside the established grant cycle.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 566, Sec. 1. (AB 1185) Effective January 1, 2024.)