California passes homelessness-related bills, await decision from Newsom
California cities would not be able to prevent people from handing out food, blankets, hygiene products and other resources to homeless people under a bill passed by the legislature last week, days before the body adjourned for the year.
Senate Bill 634, introduced by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Alhambra, came in response to concerns that local governments were more forcefully cracking down on homelessness in their communities following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year. The ruling in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson case said enforcing anti-camping laws was not a form of cruel and unusual punishment.
Fremont, a city in the San Francisco Bay Area, faced criticism earlier this year for a controversial proposal that could have criminalized aiding and abetting homeless encampments.
Pérez’s measure narrowly passed the Senate and needs to be approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom to go into effect. She is hopeful the governor will sign the measure.
“I saw him a couple of weeks ago and when I mentioned it to him he immediately made the connection between my bill and what was happening in Fremont,” Pérez said. “So I do think that he understands the issue and that gives me a lot of confidence.”
Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, also hopes Newsom will support Assembly Bill 255. That measure would allow state funding for certain homes serving people with mental health or substance abuse challenges who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of doing so.
The “supportive-recovery” housing must emphasize abstinence from substances, can only offer permanent housing and cannot use a person’s drug relapse as a cause to evict tenants. All but two legislators voted for the bill.
“There’s a lot of momentum around the state for supporting recovery and making sure there are housing placements for people who are ready, and want to, and need to be away from drugs and in a community that supports their recovery,” Haney said. “I hope that this is hugely successful and not only signed into law but that there are many cities and counties that take advantage of this funding and housing providers who seek it.”
Before the Legislature adjourned Saturday, state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park said he would keep working next year on a proposal outlined in Senate Bill 606, which would have required governments to provide an explanation for what they would need to do to solve homelessness in their communities when applying for state aid.
The measure was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee after a largely secretive process in which many bills are killed near the end of legislative years.
“We accomplished a lot, even though the bill did not pass,” Becker said. “We did succeed in raising awareness.”
