Joint Cal Cities/CSAC statement on homelessness funding in state budget deal

Contacts:
Cal Cities: Rachel Vincent (916-882-8656, rvincent@calcities.org)
CSAC: Ben Adler (916-879-3979, badler@counties.org)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sacramento — League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman and California State Association of Counties CEO Graham Knaus issued the following statement on the newly announced state budget deal. Initial budget summaries from the Legislature do not include funding for the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program (HHAP) in FY 2025-26, and only appropriate $500 million in FY 2026-27, down from $1 billion in the current state budget.

“Investing no new money this year and only half as much for next year will stop progress in its tracks. More tents will pop up alongside highways, train tracks, and rivers, and more families will struggle.

To Governor Newsom and state lawmakers: We know firsthand how hard it is to craft a budget right now. We're asking you to work with us to ensure the state's homelessness crisis doesn't get even worse. Renewing the $1 billion in HHAP funding would be less than a third of a percent of the state’s budget. Surely, for what Californians have declared to be their most pressing issue,’ that’s not an unreasonable ask.”

Established in 1898, the League of California Cities is a nonprofit statewide association that advocates for cities with the state and federal governments and provides education and training services to elected and appointed city officials.

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