Legislature responds to concerns on encampment measure

By Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate (community services)

This week, Sen. Sasha Pérez announced substantial amendments to SB 634 following strong, sustained advocacy from cities — changes that fully address the concerns raised by Cal Cities. The measure initially sought to prohibit cities from adopting any regulation, policy, or guidance that imposed civil or criminal penalties on individuals experiencing homelessness.

Cal Cities strongly opposed the original bill, arguing it would severely limit cities' ability to respond to the growing homelessness crisis and undermine a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that affirmed cities' ability to enforce public camping ordinances.

Since the bill’s introduction, over 50 cities submitted letters of opposition. That message was further amplified last week, when hundreds of local officials walked the halls of the Capitol, urging action on several priority measures.

“I was concerned that the original version of the bill would impede the ability of cities who are trying to do the right thing,” said Sen. Christopher Cabaldon during the Senate Local Government Committee last week. “And there's widespread opposition to the bill in my district as well.”

Pérez announced her plans to amend the measure during the hearing saying, “I have heard from local cities and stakeholders about their concerns. At this time, I will be making the difficult decision to amend this legislation based on these concerns raised about its potential interpretation.”

SB 634 would now prohibit cities from adopting an ordinance prohibiting a person or organization from providing support services, including legal services and medical care, to a homeless person. Cities would still be able to enforce existing laws; they just could not explicitly ban these support activities through ordinances.

According to CalMatters, no city prohibits this type of activity in their camping ordinance. In that context, the recent amendments significantly narrowed the scope of the bill, enabling Cal Cities to remove its opposition.