Legislative analysts and members seek clearer outcomes for Encampment Resolution Fund before further investments

HCD officials described a technical trailer bill change to set encumbrance and expenditure deadlines from the date of award rather than the date of appropriation for the Encampment Resolution Fund. HCD said the change would give grantees a fairer spending window when multiple award rounds and NOFA windows exist.

At the same time, the Legislative Analyst's Office told the committee that the Legislature lacks clear outcome data for the program. Paul Steenhausen of the LAO noted that the state has appropriated about $900 million to date and an additional $100 million is in the governor's budget, but the Legislature does not yet know how many people have been housed with those funds, the types of housing created, or whether encampments closed with state money reappeared elsewhere.

HCD response and data timeline: Meghan Kirkby, HCD deputy director for housing policy, said that reporting requirements exist and that grantees must soon submit reports for the annual April reporting cycle. Kirkby said HCD has started to publish award lists and dashboards, and that for the first concluded round roughly half of awardees met the statutory definitions for "resolved" or "partially resolved," meaning all encampment residents had been connected to interim or permanent housing or a path to permanent housing.

Committee concerns: Several members asked whether the program's housing placement rate justified continued funding at similar scales. One member asked whether encampment closures simply displaced people to another location. Lawmakers also raised operational concerns about coordination with Caltrans for state right‑of‑way projects and urged stronger communication where that partnership exists.

Public testimony: Members of the public and local officials urged flexibility on expenditure deadlines for REAP 2 and related programs that were paused during last year's budget actions; regional agencies requested extensions for projects delayed by earlier funding freezes.

Ending: LAO recommended the Legislature use the April reporting data as it decides whether to continue, revise, or scale back future funding for encampment resolution. HCD said it is working to improve reporting and program dashboards to give legislators more timely information.