Why It Matters
California’s homelessness crisis remains one of the most pressing — and expensive — policy challenges facing the state. With an estimated 182,000 Californians currently without stable housing, lawmakers in Sacramento are pushing a new round of legislation this year aimed at reshaping how the state funds, tracks, and prevents homelessness. The effort comes after a damaging 2024 state audit concluded that California had failed to monitor homelessness spending or measure whether programs actually worked.
What Happened
Three bills are at the center of the legislature’s homelessness agenda heading into the second half of 2026. Each targets a different dimension of the problem — from how sober housing is regulated to whether the state can produce a credible long-term funding strategy.
Assembly Bill 1556, sponsored by Assemblymember Matt Haney, focuses on sober housing. The measure would require providers to establish clear policies on what happens if a resident relapses — including, potentially, eviction for continued drug use. Unlike a predecessor bill vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year, AB 1556 does not cap the share of state funding that cities and counties can direct toward recovery housing. Newsom rejected that earlier bill, Assembly Bill 255, in part because it would have restricted localities to spending no more than 10 percent of state funds on such programs.
Haney has argued the bill fills a real gap. “A lot of people who are on the street right now or exiting shelter programs would prefer drug-free housing options,” he said in public remarks. “And right now there are few options, if any, for them.”
Assembly Bill 1165, carried by Assemblymember Mike Gipson, takes a longer-range approach. It would require California to develop a financial plan and establish performance metrics for homelessness programs by January 2028. Critically, the bill would also direct the state to calculate precisely how much funding would be required to meet the housing needs of every person currently homeless — as well as those expected to fall into homelessness in future years.
Assembly Bill 1924 would push California to develop a comprehensive statewide homelessness prevention strategy by July 2027, shifting some emphasis upstream rather than responding only after people have already lost their housing.
By the Numbers
The scale of the challenge is reflected in several figures circulating among lawmakers and analysts:
- 182,000 — estimated Californians currently experiencing homelessness
- $8.1 billion per year — the Corporation for Supportive Housing’s estimate of what it would cost annually over 12 years to functionally end homelessness in California
- $900 million — proposed in the legislature’s budget this month for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention programs
- 2.5 million — additional homes California must plan for over the next eight years to meet projected demand
- 10% — the cap on sober housing spending that caused Newsom to veto the earlier bill last year
The gap between the $900 million budget proposal and the $8.1 billion annual figure underscores the difficulty lawmakers face in closing the financing shortfall. A federal report released in 2025 found that homelessness had declined modestly in California and nationally, though advocates cautioned against interpreting that as evidence the crisis is resolving on its own.
Zoom Out
California’s legislative push mirrors broader debates playing out across the country over the right balance between treatment-based housing models and lower-barrier shelter options. The tension between sobriety requirements and harm-reduction approaches has divided housing advocates in multiple states, with some warning that stricter conditions can push vulnerable populations further from services.
Sharon Rapport of the Corporation for Supportive Housing has expressed concern about tightening housing eligibility rules, saying publicly that advocates do not want to see federal enforcement-oriented approaches replicated at the state level in California.
What’s Next
All three bills are still moving through the legislative process. The $900 million budget allocation must be finalized as part of the broader state budget, which is typically resolved by late June or early July. The planning deadlines embedded in AB 1165 and AB 1924 — January 2028 and July 2027, respectively — give the administration some runway, but housing analysts say meaningful accountability will depend on how rigorously performance metrics are defined and enforced. How California’s next governor approaches homelessness is also emerging as a key issue heading into the 2026 election cycle.