Budget Agreement Includes $500 Million in One-Time Funding for Local Governments to Address Homelessness

The full agreement and associated trailer bills will be finalized this week to meet the Legislature’s June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a budget. Positive for cities, the budget includes a one-time $500 million allocation for local governments for emergency aid for homelessness. This amount is twice the amount the Governor included in his May Budget Revise.
 
Throughout the budget process this year, the League supported additional funding for cities to address California’s growing homelessness crisis. Funding in the FY 2018–19 budget comprises $500 million in one-time Homeless Emergency Aid Block Grant. This includes:

• $250 million that can be accessed through the existing Continuum of Care process;
• $150 million in direct grants to cities over 330,000 population (which have the highest concentrations of the state’s homeless population); and
• $100 million allocated based on local homeless populations to the Continuum of Care.  

The final budget also includes a proposal to place the No Place Like Home program on the November 2018 ballot to resolve a legal ambiguity associated with dedicating mental health funding through Proposition 63 (2004) to build 10,000 units of housing for the homeless mentally ill through the No Place Like Home program.
 
Next Steps
 
The Legislature will likely vote on the budget on Thursday or Friday. The League will issue its analysis on how the budget affects cities.