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Assemblywoman Luz Rivas’ Legislation to Create the First State Office on Homelessness Headed to Assembly Floor for Approval

For immediate release:

SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Bill (AB) 1845, authored by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) was approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill is now heading to the Assembly Floor.

AB 1845 provides a comprehensive solution to the homelessness crisis by implementing recommendations from the Little Hoover Commission, California State Auditor, Legislative Analyst Office, and Governor Newsom’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors to establish the first State Office on Homelessness. This measure also creates a Secretary on Housing Insecurity and Homelessness to oversee the Office to End Homelessness, and is provided with the statutory authority to coordinate between 13 different state agencies and departments implementing at least 30 different programs related to homelessness.

“In California, we have decades of proof that our homelessness problems stem from structural issues that cannot be addressed simply by recruiting the best and the brightest. We have some of the smartest and most dedicated individuals leading the response to homelessness at the state level,” said Assemblywoman Luz Rivas. “With the emergence of COVID-19, and using history as our guide, we must acknowledge that it is our statewide structure for combatting homelessness that bottlenecks our every attempt to respond to the growing crisis. We must turn the corner, we must be bold, we must be willing to look back and say we did everything we could to respond to this pandemic and human crisis. Now is not the time to say 'we could’ve, should’ve, would’ve' responded differently. I’m happy that we took one step closer to that reality by passing AB 1845 out of Assembly Appropriations today. It shows that for a small investment, we can make enormous progress.” 

"Homelessness remains one of our most pressing challenges in California," said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). "While we need to seriously invest in addressing homelessness, we also need to streamline our approach. AB 1845 does just that."

“CSH is thrilled to see AB 1845 move forward to the Assembly floor. Appropriations Committee Chair Gonzalez and the members of the Appropriations Committee have signaled that greater coordination of state resources and a single authority on homelessness are a legislative priority in our current budget climate.  We look forward to working with Assemblymember Rivas to pursue the recommendations of multiple entities responsible for overseeing the state’s response to homelessness. We greatly appreciate her ongoing leadership,” said Sharon Rapport, Director of California State Policy, Corporation for Supportive Housing.

“Today signals a meaningful step towards effectively reducing homelessness in California as we celebrate Assembly Bill 1845 passing out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. We, at Housing California, deeply appreciate the strong leadership from Assemblymember Luz Rivas and the support from Chairwoman Lorena Gonzalez and the Appropriations Committee members who understand we must pull together to meet this historic moment. Centralizing management of all homelessness programs will provide the clarity, efficiency and leadership needed to ensure every Californian has a safe, affordable place to call home. We look forward to winning support for this bold measure on the Assembly floor,” said Lisa Hershey, Executive Director, Housing California.

AB 1845 is jointly authored by the Chair of Assembly Housing Committee, David Chiu, and sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Housing California. This measure is also supported by the California Apartment Association, LA Family Housing, National Association of Social Workers, Non-profit Housing Association of Northern California, and a coalition of homeless and housing advocates. 

Assemblywoman Rivas proudly represents the 39th Assembly District, which includes the City of Los Angeles communities of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Pacoima, Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Sylmar, and the City of San Fernando.