City leaders call on state leaders to invest in homelessness, public safety, and climate change in the state budget

Contact: Kayla Sherwood
ksherwood@calcities.org
(530) 844-1744

Sacramento — Over 400 city officials from throughout the state are in the Capitol this week, calling on the Governor and lawmakers to partner with cities to protect what is most important to Californians: keeping them in their homes, protecting the environment, and ensuring their communities are safe.

The advocacy effort, organized by the League of California Cities, is part of the annual City Leaders Summit. City officials are advocating for three priorities in the state budget: restoring funding to the state’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program, fully implementing the voter-approved Prop. 36, and devoting Cap-and-Invest dollars to clean fleet transitions and organic waste diversion.

"Across the state, cities are investing local dollars to address shared state and local priorities: preventing and reducing homelessness, keeping our streets safe, and adapting to the impacts of climate change," said Cal Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman. "But cities can't do this work alone. The Governor and lawmakers must match these investments with state funding in the budget so we don't risk upending the progress we've made and can continue delivering the vital services our residents depend on." 

Communities are seeing meaningful reductions in homelessness, yet the Governor’s 2026-27 State Budget proposal would cut HHAP funding — the state’s largest homelessness funding program for local governments — by half of its historic funding levels. Cal Cities and its allies are calling on the Governor and lawmakers to find a permanent home for homelessness funding in the state budget.

“Homelessness looms as California’s paramount crisis,” said Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh. “Bakersfield is at the forefront of the issue, responding with urgency, innovation, and care. Cutting HHAP funding now will jeopardize life-transforming services for our most vulnerable and threaten the quality of life of our hardworking families and businesses. Bakersfield calls on the state to prioritize the urgency of this crisis by committing to the long-term restoration and stability of HHAP funding.”

New survey data from Cal Cities highlights the investments cities are making to address the homelessness crisis and how the lack of a strong state funding partner threatens long-term progress. Eight in ten cities have not received funding from the largest source of state homelessness funding available to local governments, the HHAP grant program; seven in ten worry about their ability to provide existing services long-term.  

“Oceanside does not directly receive HHAP funding,” said Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez. “We leaned in with General Fund dollars, a new sales tax, new programs, local partnerships, and a determination not reflected in a state budget spreadsheet. We are also plugging into a regional system that HHAP makes possible, where cities, the county, and a regional task force coordinate, plan, and are held accountable together. HHAP funding cuts destabilize this regional coordination and send a message of abandonment at a time when the state should be doubling down.”

Cities are also urging lawmakers to approve a $400 million request to fund Proposition 36, a balanced initiative that provides more ways for cities to improve their communities’ safety. In November 2024, California voters in every county passed the measure. Cal Cities has submitted a letter to lawmakers urging them to approve the budget request and has testified in support of the funding.

“Voters in my city want lawmakers to act on Prop. 36, which they overwhelmingly supported,” said Santa Cruz Council Member Renee Golder. “To keep our city and communities throughout California safe, we need to deliver more resources for treating those with substance abuse and mental health issues. At the same time, we need to make sure repeat offenders are held accountable.”

Cities are also urging lawmakers to leverage Cap-and-Invest funds to support local efforts to advance shared climate goals: $29 million for organic waste diversion programs and $100 million to support the transition to zero-emission public fleets.

"While reducing vehicle emissions and organic waste are laudable goals, the state must be a better partner to help cities implement those goals,” said Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung. “Local governments are complying with largely unfunded mandates like Advanced Clean Fleets and SB 1383. But they need state investments to ensure they can meet these goals without compromising their budgets and essential local services."

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