Proposed 2025 California Legislation Concerning Homelessness
Next legislative steps will involve required actions by
policy, fiscal, and appropriations committees that may
further advance bills into, or stop bills from, becoming law
Proposed California legislation concerning homelessness began to advance when the Legislature reconvened on January 6, which initiated the 2025-2026 legislative session. Several bills that focus on homelessness have been introduced since January 6.
The final day for legislative bills to be introduced was February 21 for the 2025 Legislative Session. If the author of the draft bill is a Senator, the bill is introduced in the Senate; if the author is an Assembly Member, the bill is introduced in the Assembly. No bill may be acted upon until 30 days have passed from the date of its introduction.
Proposed California legislation concerning homelessness introduced by February 21 include:
AB 20 Homelessness: Housing First
Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to reduce homelessness by ending the Housing First model, as specified.
Note: AB 20 is an Intent Bill which include a statement of intent by legislators and very little other language. As an intent bill makes its way through the legislative session to be considered for approval, substantive amendments will be added, including agreed upon activities, actions, and desired outcomes.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 37 Workforce development: mental health service providers: homelessness
Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to expanding the workforce of those who provide mental health services to “homeless persons” or “homeless people,” as specified.
To read the entire bill click here.
This bill would require a continuum of care, upon appropriation and beginning with the 2026–27 fiscal year, to annually certify that they create or maintain a youth-specific process with their respective coordinated entry system, as specified, implement a youth-specific assessment tool, create a body or identify an existing body composed of youth with lived experience of homelessness that the continuum of care and other Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program grantees must consult with regularly, and create an array of youth-specific housing inventory. The bill would require the continuum of care to document in their application how the housing assessment is youth-specific and their prioritization policy if the continuum of care states they already maintain a youth-specific coordinated entry system.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 255 The Supportive-Recovery Residence Program
This bill would specify requirements for applicants seeking funds under these programs and would require the state to perform periodic monitoring of select supportive-recovery residence programs to ensure that the supportive-recovery residences meet certain requirements, including that core outcomes of the supportive-recovery housing emphasize long-term housing stability and minimize returns to homelessness. The bill would also prohibit eviction on the basis of relapse, as specified. The bill would require, if a tenant is no longer interested in living in a supportive-recovery residence or is at risk of eviction, that the supportive-recovery residence provide assistance in accessing housing operated with harm-reduction principles that is also permanent housing.
This bill would require the department to adopt the most recent standards approved by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or other equivalent standards as the minimum standard for supportive-recovery residences that receive public funds under these provisions. The bill would require the department to establish a separate process for determining if the supportive-recovery residence complies with the core components of Housing First.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 348 Full service partnerships
This bill would establish criteria for an individual with a serious mental illness to be presumptively eligible for a full-service partnership, including, among other things, the person is transitioning to the community after 6 months or more in the state prison or county jail. The bill would specify that a county is not required to enroll an individual who meets that presumptive eligibility criteria if doing so would exceed full-service partnership funding.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 505 Multifamily Housing Program: Homekey: report
This bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to conduct an evaluation of the Homekey disbursement program described above to review the effectiveness of the program in relation to sustaining people experiencing homelessness, including, among other things, the number of housing units and projects funded since the program’s inception, and the timeliness of the allocation of program funds provided to localities participating in the program, including, among other things, the average time between application submission and fund disbursement. The bill would require the office, on or before July 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature, subject to specified requirements, with the results of the above-described evaluation described that includes policy recommendations to address any issues identified during the evaluation. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2031, pursuant to specified provisions.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 520 Homelessness and mental health: state funding information
This bill would require the Controller, by January 1, 2027, in collaboration with the department and the council to develop, publish, and maintain an online search portal that contains specified information relating to state funding for programs as described above. The bill would require the portal to include funding amounts provided in the current fiscal year and the previous 10 fiscal years, as well as specified information about the state program that received the funds and the department or agency that administers the program. The bill would require the Controller, the department and the council to each include a link to the online portal on their internet websites. The bill would authorize the Controller, the department and the portal to request any relevant information from a state agency or department for the purpose of reporting accurate information within the portal.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 543 Medi-Cal: street medicine
This bill would set forth provisions regarding street medicine, as defined, under the Medi-Cal program for persons experiencing homelessness, as defined. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the street medicine-related provisions coexist with, and not duplicate, other Medi-Cal provisions, including, but not limited to, those regarding community health worker services, enhanced care management, and community supports.
The bill would require the department to implement a program of presumptive eligibility for persons experiencing homelessness for purposes of full-scope Medi-Cal benefits without a share of cost. The bill would authorize an enrolled Medi-Cal provider to make a presumptive eligibility determination for those persons.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 654 Homelessness resource telephone system
This bill would authorize a local public agency to establish a homelessness resource telephone system to receive telephone calls regarding individuals who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness in order to provide those individuals with resources.
“Local public agency” means a city, county, city and county, and joint powers authority that provides a public safety answering point (PSAP).
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 678 Interagency Council on Homelessness
This bill would require the council to coordinate with representatives from LGBTQ+ communities to identify recommended policies and best practices for providing inclusive and culturally competent services to LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness and develop recommendations to, among other things, expand data collection to understand the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ people in state homelessness programs, as defined. The bill would require the council, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit a report to specific committees of the Legislature on these recommendations.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 722 Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program
This bill would establish the Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, to take specified actions to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, provide grants to applicants, as defined, for innovative or evidence-based housing, housing-based services, and employment interventions to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed. The bill would require the department to establish a process, in collaboration with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and with counties in which recipients are operating, for referral of participants, in accordance with certain guidelines and procedures.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 750 Homeless shelters: safety regulations
This bill would require a city or county to additionally perform an annual inspection of every homeless shelter located in its jurisdiction.
This bill would, instead, require a city or county to submit a report each year, regardless of whether the city or county received any complaints, and to include in its annual report the number of complaints received by the city or county that year, including if the city or county did not receive any complaints. The bill would require the department to withhold state funding from a city or county that fails to comply with its reporting requirements or fails to take action to correct a violation by a homeless shelter.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 820 Homelessness: transport
This bill would prohibit an employee of a local government or law enforcement agency, when acting in their official capacity, from transporting and dropping off, or arranging for or funding the transport and drop off, of a homeless individual within a jurisdiction unless the employee first coordinates shelter or long-term housing for the homeless individual, as defined and specified. This bill would make a local government or law enforcement agency liable for a civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation of these provisions.
To read the entire bill click here.
AB 1229 Adult Reentry Grant Program
This bill, instead, commencing July 1, 2026, and upon appropriation of funds, would transfer the administration of the grant program to the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would require the department, on or before December 1, 2026, to modify the grant program to provide 5-year renewable grants to up to 6 regional administrators responsible for funding permanent affordable housing and services for people who were formerly incarcerated in state prison and are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.
To read the entire bill click here.
SB 16 Homelessness
Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions, as defined, with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address homelessness.
Note: SB 16 is an Intent Bill which include a statement of intent by legislators and very little other language. As an intent bill makes its way through the legislative session to be considered for approval, substantive amendments will be added, including agreed upon activities, actions, and desired outcomes.
To read the entire bill click here.
This bill, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would require the State Department of Social Services to establish the California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience (SOAR) Guaranteed Income Program. The program would award public school pupils who are in grade 12 and are homeless children or youths, as defined, a guaranteed income of $1,000 each month for 4 months from May 1, 2026, to August 1, 2026, inclusive, as provided. The bill would establish the California SOAR Guaranteed Income Fund as the initial depository of all moneys appropriated, donated, or otherwise received for the program, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would provide moneys in the fund to counties that opt in to the program for distribution to eligible participants.
To read the entire bill click here.
SB 569 Department of Transportation: homeless encampments
This bill would require the department to coordinate with local governments to address and prevent homeless encampments located on department property and to establish a dedicated liaison office for this purpose. The bill would require the department to develop a joint action plan for each district of the department in which homeless encampments are located on department property in collaboration with local governments located in the district. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to allocate funds to support collaborative efforts with local governments to address homeless encampments on department property. The bill would require the department to establish an advisory committee in each district for the purpose of providing advice on the implementation of these provisions. The bill would require the department to submit an annual report to the Legislature summarizing specified information and recommendations regarding homeless encampments on department property.
To read the entire bill click here.
SB 748 Encampment Resolution Funding program: cars and recreational vehicles
Existing law establishes the Encampment Resolution Funding program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to increase collaboration between the council, local jurisdictions, and continuums of care for, among other things, assisting local jurisdictions in ensuring the safety and wellness of people experiencing homelessness in encampments.
This bill would additionally include, as a program purpose, assisting local jurisdictions with the removal and storage of cars and recreational vehicles, as specified, and assisting local jurisdictions with increasing safe parking site hours, as purposes of the program. The bill would define encampments to include people using cars and recreational vehicles for temporary shelter along public roads.
To read the entire bill click here.
Existing law requires the council to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California, as specified. The bill would require initial goals to be established by January 1, 2025, and those goals to be evaluated at least every 2 years to determine whether updated goals are needed.
This bill would instead require the council to evaluate the above-described goals at least every year.
To read the entire bill click here.
Next Legislative Steps
Legislation concerning homelessness will continue to advance during the coming months. The legislative process includes meetings of the legislative policy and appropriations/fiscal committees and resolution of differences between the Assembly and Senate as the result of any amendments.
Next legislative steps also include proposed budgeted funding. Every year, the Governor and the Legislature adopt a state budget that provides a framework and funding for critical public services and systems that include housing and homelessness.
The State Constitution requires the Governor to submit a proposed budget that includes a detailed overview of the Governor’s proposed expenditures, to the Legislature for review by January 10th, including proposed budget funding for housing and homelessness. To see the Governor’s proposed budget concerning homelessness submitted to the Legislature last month, click here.
While the proposed budget moves through the Legislature’s budget committee, other bills known as budget-related bills or trailer bills will be needed to implement the policies assumed in the budget across an array of public services and systems for a single fiscal year.
Two trailer bills to implement policies regarding the Governor’s proposed budget concerning homelessness involve the
• Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) Program – click here; and
• Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) – click here.
Proposed budgeted funding will also occur by mid-May, which is known as the May Revision. The Governor will release on or before May 14th, an updated budget that adjusts proposed expenditures or withdraws policy initiatives that were included in the Governor’s proposed budget in January.
The Legislature must pass a balanced budget bill by midnight on June 15th for the upcoming fiscal year which begins July 1st. The Governor must sign the bill before July 1. Budget details will remain to be finalized and additional budget-related bills will likely be acted upon during the summer.
As in the past, the Legislature and Governor will not approve all of the bills as they try to maximize policy and funding to increase results regarding homelessness prevention and ending unsheltered homelessness, which was the case during past legislative sessions.