Homelessness remains California’s biggest challenge, according to poll after poll of voters in the state. As officials struggle with ways to house all those people on the street, a bill designed to keep Californians from becoming homeless is making its way through the state legislature.
Bill SB567, the Homelessness Prevention Act, is supported by a wide coalition of diverse groups and would strengthen protections for tenants to prevent evictions and keep people from ending up on the street. But it’s been fiercely opposed by landlords, namely the California Apartment Association. The legislation has been the subject of protests and heated hearings at the state capitol, and yesterday it was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee as it continues to navigate the road to passage.
For more on this, KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern, Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising spoke with Brian Augusta, legislative advocate for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, one of the many sponsors of this bill.