Cities unable to make progress on the homelessness front by the end of the decade could wind up being fined and taken to court by the state in a new bill proposed by California Democrats.
A homeless encampment stretches along Third Avenue and Sunset in Venice, a Los Angeles neighborhood that is home to the largest concentration of homeless people on the Westside. (Martin Macias Jr. / CNS)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Upset with the slow pace of progress being made in California cities, lawmakers are proposing a new tactic in the state’s endless fight to reduce homelessness: litigation.
Under a bill introduced Wednesday, a “homeless inspector general” would have the authority to sue cities unable or unwilling to get people off the street. Appointed by the governor, the inspector general would be tasked with auditing the homelessness plans of local governments and deciding whether to take them to court for noncompliance.