SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) expressed deep disappointment following Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of Assembly Bill 2903. The bill, which had garnered unanimous bipartisan support in the Legislature, would have required state-run homelessness programs to annually report cost and outcome data to the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH). It would have also required ICH to develop procedures for collecting the data and reporting it to the public.
“Governor Newsom had an opportunity to do what is right and hold his own agencies accountable for our state’s failed response to homelessness,” Assemblyman Hoover said. “Instead, he rejected the recommendations of the State Auditor and vetoed legislation that received unanimous support in the Legislature. Our state has spent billions of taxpayer dollars in recent years only to see homelessness get worse. We will not solve this crisis and get people the help they need until we get serious about accountability.”
AB 2903 sought to implement the recommendation of the California State Auditor following the results of a recent audit requested by Assemblyman Hoover. The audit revealed that the state has failed to systematically track homelessness spending and is not adequately positioned to collect data and assess outcomes.
According to the Auditor’s report, California has spent nearly $24 billion taxpayer dollars since 2018 to solve our homelessness crisis. During that same period the state’s overall homeless population increased by 32 percent and half of the nation’s unsheltered homeless now live in California.
“Californians deserve better,” Assemblyman Hoover added. “They deserve transparency and accountability in how their tax dollars are spent, especially on such a critical issue. I will continue to fight for meaningful reforms to address our state’s homelessness crisis.”
Josh Hoover represents Assembly District 7, which includes the cities of Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova and the unincorporated communities of Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Foothill Farms, Gold River, Mather, McClellan Park, North Highlands, Orangevale, and Rosemont.
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