Assemblywoman Luz Rivas’ Homelessness Funding and Transparency Accountability Act, Assembly Bill (AB) 799, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newson on Sept. 19. The bill aims to strengthen the state’s efforts to combat homelessness by tracking the funding, and reporting the outcome of statewide homeless programs.
“I applaud the Governor for his signature on AB 799 to create greater transparency and accountability over the state’s funding efforts to address the homelessness crisis,” said Rivas.
Rivas said people tell her that, despite California spending a billion dollars a year on homelessness, “We’re not collecting data and holding local governments accountable for how they’re spending those funds.” She added that this bill is designed to provide some more of that accountability.
The 2024 Auditor’s Report on Homelessness in California found that the state lacks information on its homeless programs’ costs and outcomes. It concluded that cities’ lack of established mechanisms to track and report spending “limits the transparency and accountability of the cities’ uses of funding to address homelessness.”
Under existing law, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) collects data regarding its efforts to prevent and end homelessness but is not required to report that data publicly.
AB 799 requires Cal ICH to implement more robust reporting requirements for fiscal and outcome data of state homelessness programs – tracking not only where the money is being spent, but also how effective the programs are in using that funding.
“By requiring stringent data tracking and reporting, the state will acquire a clearer picture of the effectiveness of the programs receiving funding to refine state strategies to reduce homelessness,” said Rivas.
She noted that Los Angeles has reported a reduction in homelessness for the first time – a “result of years of our work on making sure that the funding is going to effective programs that are actually reducing homelessness.”
The bill also requires that the information collected be reported publicly and adds tribal representation to the Council.
“The state has allocated 20 million in housing funds to our tribes, but they have not been included in these important conversations on homelessness at the state level,” said Rivas. “We want someone that will bring the perspective of homelessness that Native Americans are facing [to Cal ICH].”
While accountability is important, Rivas emphasized that local governments still need ongoing funding to ensure the longevity of homelessness reduction programs. AB 799 establishes a funding guide for local agencies to help them maximize the state dollars allocated to best serve their community’s needs.
“Homelessness is a big issue, and it requires a multi-year and continuous strategy,” said Rivas. “Local governments can’t implement long-term homeless programs without that ongoing, long-term funding.”
Solutions to homelessness are not easy, and Rivas said it requires ongoing collaboration between local and state government, housing providers and communities to figure out how to safely house people and clean up encampments, without criminalizing homelessness.