Joint CSAC/CalCities Statement on Homelessness Funding in State Budget Deal

Sacramento, CA — California State Association of Counties CEO Graham Knaus and League of California Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman issued the following statement on the newly announced state budget deal. It does not fund the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program (HHAP) in FY25/26, and only appropriates $500 million in FY26/27, 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 first-hand 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.

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