Right to safe, decent, and affordable housing.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, and requires the department to administer various housing programs throughout the state, including programs that address the needs of homeless individuals and families, and to review local ordinances for the design, development, and operation of homeless shelters in cities and counties that have declared a shelter crisis. Existing law also requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate the core components of Housing First, an evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery. This bill would declare that it is the policy of the state that every individual has the right to safe, decent, and affordable housing, and would require the policy to consider homelessness prevention, emergency accommodations, and permanent housing, as specified. The bill would, among other things, require all relevant state agencies and departments, including, but not limited to, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the State Department of Social Services, and the Office of Emergency Services to consider that state policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, and grant criteria when those policies, regulations, and criteria are pertinent to advancing the guidelines listed as core components of Housing First. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2026, and would make implementation of these provisions subject to an appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act for these purposes.