Senate Housing Committee

15 April 2026

No chapters available yet

Senate Housing Committee Tue, 14 Apr 2026 California State Senate

00:07 - 01:20

Speaker 1

Good afternoon. I'd like to call to order this meeting of the senate standing committee on housing for Wednesday, 04/15/2026. We do not yet have a quorum, so we will operate as a subcommittee. A few announcements as we begin today's hearing. First, the consent calendar, which consists of items five, SB1322 by Richardson and five item six, SB1122 by myself, Padagin.

I ask that all members please come to Capitol Room 112 so we can establish a quorum and conduct business. Would also like to summarize our public comment procedure for today's bill hearing. First, we will take two principal witnesses in support that were designated by the bill author and two witnesses in opposition and the opposition witnesses should have filed a letter of opposition in the official portal with the committee prior to today's hearing. After which time, we'll invite any members of the public to express their support or opposition to the bill by stating your name, organization, or where you're from, and your position on the bill. Your testimony limited just to state your name, organization, and position on the bill.

So with that, we will begin to the first, bill, which is in file order, file item one SB eight sixty six by Senator Blake Spear, who is present. Good afternoon. I think you have a special guest as well. Yeah.

01:24 - 01:26

Speaker 2

He's not testifying on any of these bills.

01:26 - 01:33

Speaker 1

Okay. Housing. But you're in support, Yeah. Exactly. Okay.

And if you have any principal witnesses, if you can please join us. Thank you.

01:40 - 03:27

Speaker 2

Alright. Well, you, chair. Thank you, colleagues. I'm excited to present SB eight six six. I accept the committee's amendments.

Thank you for your work on this bill. S b eight six six require requires all jurisdictions that do not receive HAP grants, which is homeless housing assistance and prevention grants to include a comprehensive homelessness data strategies and regional coordination efforts in their housing elements. Without consistent planning requirements, many jurisdictions lack clear data driven strategies to address homelessness. This results in incomplete or inconsistent data on homelessness trends, service utilization and outcomes making it difficult to measure progress or to ensure accountability. Additionally, coordination among cities, counties, and regional partners is often fragmented, leading to gaps in service delivery.

Today, only 14 cities in California receive direct HAP funding And that there those are the cities that are required to engage in homelessness planning in order to get that HAP funding. While the vast majority of cities are not held to the same standard. As a result, most communities are operating without clear comprehensive strategies to addressing homelessness. SB eight six six closes this gap ensuring that all jurisdictions take clear actionable steps to plan for and address homelessness including identifying available funding sources and resources for homelessness programs, taking inventory of housing, shelter, and behavioral health capacity, and detailing strategies for regional coordination and homelessness reduction. Homelessness does not stop at city or county boundaries, and it's also not the responsibility of only the big cities in the state to actually do the planning.

It requires strong regional coordination, and this bill helps to provide that. With me to testify in support, I have Louis Brown, Corporation for Supportive Housing.

Ask anything about this video — I analyse its transcript to answer.