California Democrats set up budget fight with Gavin Newsom over homeless funding
California Democrats on Thursday evening vowed to inject $900 million into a coveted and closely watched homeless program for the upcoming fiscal year, almost twice as much money as Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wanted to spend.
“It’s gratifying to have the support of the Legislature once again,” said Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson, who leads a group of mayors from the state’s largest cities that strongly advocated for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program to receive $1 billion more. In recent years, the state has used the grant to send cities, counties and regional organizations billions of dollars to address homelessness.
“It’s not the billion, but it’s close enough,” Lock Dawson said Friday. “I’ll take it.”
So will county leaders.
“The Legislature’s budget agreement is a step forward,” said Ben Adler, a spokesperson for the California State Association of Counties, in a statement. “It rightfully recognizes this is no time for the state to walk away from successful local programs that reduce homelessness.”
But will Newsom take the deal?
That’s unclear.
When he released a revised budget blueprint in May, the governor said the $500 million he wanted to set aside for the program would be “contingent on enhanced accountability and performance requirements.” His plan suggested that communities would need to keep a state-approved housing plan, clear encampments and put up their own money to be eligible to keep receiving grants. The state still has many millions to distribute from previous program funding cycles and not all the recipients have spent what they’ve received.
“I want accountability,” Newsom said. “I want results that are visible.”
The governor has faced criticism, particularly from Republicans, for not getting enough of those results from the tens of billions of dollars the state has spent on homelessness during his two terms. Many people still live on the streets across the state and gains in the area seem small to the challenges that still remain.
In 2022, he temporarily withheld $1 billion for the program after saying cities and counties weren’t being ambitious enough in their goals to reduce homelessness. He didn’t release the money until he met with many leaders in Sacramento and communities submitted revised targets.
The Legislature’s pending budget bill, as of Friday afternoon, did not appear to include the conditions Newsom was calling for. While lawmakers are expected to vote on it Monday to meet a constitutional budget deadline, negotiations with the governor will continue in the days and weeks ahead.
The Governor’s Office and H.D. Palmer, a Department of Finance spokesperson, declined to comment on the Legislature’s plan.
Lock Dawson said legislators also stressed the importance of making sure there are accountability measures in place when her and other mayors who advocated for the funding.
“We absolutely agree,” she said. But if the money didn’t come through, Lock Dawson added, “it could put all of our cities in peril. And I think that got through to them.”
Local governments and homeless organizations have used the grants to keep shelters open, put people into permanent housing and provide other services. In April, Newsom announced that the Sacramento County, Sacramento and the regional homeless planning organization would receive $31.7 million in grant money to support people at risk of homelessness and fund shelter programs.
While the Legislature’s announcement Thursday led to a sense of relief, it also sparked disappointment.
Despite being the state’s most consistent homeless funding source, it is not guaranteed on an annual basis. Advocates for the program will once again next year have to go to the Legislature, and new governor, to push for another round of funding.
Senators had called for a budget that would have authorized an additional round of funding for the program, beyond the $900 million proposal, but that didn’t make the final agreement with the Assembly.
Janna Haynes, a Sacramento County spokesperson, said without a guaranteed amount of funding every year, officials are limited on how they can spend the money they do receive.
“We can’t really set up new programs with that money because of the way it is only allocated year after year — with no promise to the next year that it’s coming,” Haynes said.
