California state senator suspends proposed Sacramento-area homelessness agency

Plans for a new housing and homelessness agency halted Wednesday following a last-minute and expletive-laden negotiation between city, county and state leaders.

California state Sen. Angelique Ashby’s latest legislation, Senate Bill 802, proposed a Sacramento Housing and Homelessness Agency — a joint powers authority which would apply for, receive and manage federal, state and local funds to provide affordable housing and homelessness services in the Sacramento region. Hours before the bill was slated to be heard in the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development, Ashby announced that she requested a two-year hold, placing the bill in legislative limbo until January.

“Let me be abundantly clear: I could have moved this through committee today,” Ashby said.

Three of four suburban cities in the region switched their positions from opposition to neutrality following amendments released Tuesday, and, according to Ashby, the bill had the support of other legislators and the committee’s chair.

But a recent meeting with Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple and Sacramento County Supervisors Pat Hume and Rich Desmond convinced Ashby to give local leaders more time to cultivate a collaborative housing and homelessness strategy. If the cities and county do not make sufficient progress by the next legislative session, Ashby said she would reintroduce her bill for a state-mandated joint powers authority.

“Nothing sharpens the mind like a deadline,” Ashby said.

Last-minute meeting

Ashby said she scheduled the Tuesday meeting with Hume and Desmond at Hume’s request, but Maple’s presence was unexpected.

Maple visited Ashby’s office to prepare her committee hearing testimony in support of Ashby’s bill, but, according to Maple, a calendar mix-up caused her to drop in at the same time as Hume and Desmond.

“When I came in, I was in such a fury, I just said ‘OK, come on, you guys, let’s go,’” Ashby said.

The group met for over an hour to discuss the bill and the region’s approach to homelessness, according to Hume, and the leaders’ language often reached a fever-pitch.

“More than a few coins were dropped in the swear jar during that conversation,” Hume said.

But all four elected officials said the meeting was respectful and productive, despite their opposing views on the proposed housing and homelessness agency. Ashby said the turning point came thanks to Maple, who shared an anecdote about homeless shelters in her district not receiving the county services they were owed.

“(Hume) was literally outraged from the core of his humanity,” Ashby said. “What I saw on his face was a partner and a human absolutely determined to move this city and this county and this region in the right direction, and I owe him the opportunity, and all of them the opportunity, to act on that passion.”

The agency’s future

After Tuesday’s meeting, Ashby decided to pause her proposal. She said she gave the cities and county “an aggressive timeline” to create a new approach to housing and homelessness with parameters agreed upon by county and local leaders.

The city and county of Sacramento manage affordable housing through the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency and homelessness services through Sacramento Steps Forward, a nonprofit organization.

Ashby said the region’s new approach must address housing and homelessness together and involve formalized government collaboration between Sacramento and its neighboring cities.

“I think we can acknowledge that the informality has been problematic to accountability over the last several years,” Ashby said. “It doesn’t have to be a JPA (joint powers authority), but it has to be something that involves public participation, oversight and real accountability.”

The Sacramento region’s city and county officials only have a few months to create a strategy that meets Ashby’s framework. She said she would assess progress in November before next year’s legislative session begins in January.

If the cities and county do not sufficiently collaborate, Ashby said she would reintroduce the latest version of her bill to create a joint powers authority.

The reintroduction of the bill would likely reignite pushback from the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Phil Serna challenged the legality of the joint powers authority Tuesday and was not present to support Ashby’s announcement. Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez, who stood behind Ashby Wednesday, said she would be against the formation of a joint powers authority for housing and homelessness.

But Ashby thinks the county is open to change, pointing to her meeting with Hume and Desmond.

“Everybody’s setting the sabers down to then try to work together,” Ashby said.

This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM.