A bill to have cities and counties provide data on homeless populations, to help gauge program expenditures and efficiency, has passed unanimously out of the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance.
Having precise information can only augment the state’s efforts to address homelessness, Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, said in an email response to the Northern California Record.
“The Newsom Administration has thrown billions of dollars at the homeless crisis with zero improvement. I am glad to see my bill moving forward, as it will hold the bureaucracy accountable and help us target funding to programs that work,” Wilk said. “You can’t begin to solve something as complicated and critical as 160K people living on the streets if you don’t know what works,” Wilk said.
The bill, SB 1353, on April 7 was passed by a vote of 5-0. It is the first homeless legislation that has unanimously passed with bipartisan support and would require municipal governments to provide information on age, gender, use of services, former residence status, shelter status, foster youth status, veteran status, criminal justice history, length of time of homelessness, and conditions that caused the person to become homeless.
SB 1353 incorporates recommendations from two California State Auditor reports that analyzed how the state serves its homeless residents, and how effectively funds from local, state, and federal agencies are being used to help them.
“My bill is about good governance and accountability – something that has been lacking to date in the Administration’s efforts," Wilk said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the success of my bill.”
The next hearing for SB 1383, which will be in the Senate Committee on Human Services, is scheduled to take place later in April. The bill is part of a slate of Republican reform measures to address the state’s homelessness crisis, by targeting accountability, compassion, and treatment.