Sacramento – Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) announced the introduction of Assembly Bill 257, which would prohibit homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools, daycare, centers, parks, and libraries.
“As our local communities work toward mental health and housing solutions on homelessness, it is critical that the Legislator act to ensure our most sensitive public space are kept safe,” said Assemblyman Hoover. “No parent should be afraid to let their kids walk to school or worry about finding needles in the park where their children play, but that is the current experience for far too many families across our state. This legislation would change that.”
Last year several cities in California, including Sacramento and Los Angeles, voted for similar measures at the local level. Since 2019, homelessness in Sacramento has grown by 67% recently surpassing San Francisco for the first time.
As a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Assemblyman Hoover also plans to propose an audit of statewide homeless spending in the near future to provide more accountability and determine which programs are effective at reducing homelessness.
Per the Bill:
This bill would prohibit a person from sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property in any street, sidewalk, or other public property within 500 feet of a school, daycare center, park, or library. The bill would make a violation of the prohibition an infraction or a misdemeanor. The bill would also make willfully resisting, delaying, or obstructing a peace officer, public officer, or public employee in the discharge or attempt to discharge any duty to enforce the prohibition a misdemeanor. By imposing criminal penalties for a violation of these provisions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Data Shows Contra Costa County Sees Increase in Homelessness
In August, the Contra Costa Health Services released its 2022 Homeless Point in Time Count and Survey which showed more than 3,000 people in the county are homeless. Recently, the demographic and geographic information gathered through the 2022 survey has now been released.
According to the data:
- 2019 – 2,295
- 2020 – 2,277
- 2021 – no survey due to COVID
- 2022 – 3,093
The Contra Costa County Health Services will conduct is Annual Point-in-Time Count on Jan 25 — see details.
