SACRAMENTO (KRON) — California Republicans are requesting a state audit on homelessness spending.
“Where is the money going, what’s working and what’s not,” said Assm. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin.)
Assemblyman Kiley is one of a handful of state lawmakers hoping to get a better understanding of how the money is being used.
“We had a 16 percent rise in homelessness last year,” Kiley said. “Now on top of that, we’ve been increasing the amount of money we spend on homelessness. We’ve added $2.7 billion in new funding to combat homelessness and yet we’ve seen no positive results, the problems only get worse.”
The request comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to use more than a billion dollars from the budget in efforts to get the homeless off the streets of California.
Some resources are already being used to set up trailers and tents temporarily.
The governor recently released $650 million total in state emergency homeless aid across california.
Leaders of a homelessness task force the governor created also recently recommended an evaluation of the state’s past and present spending on the problem.
“What I’m proposing is very much inline with what the task force suggested and is a necessity if we hope to have any positive impact out of the governor’s proposed spending,” Kiley said.
The joint legislative audit committee will consider and likely vote on the request Feb. 19.