Committee advances bill to fund and expand safe parking sites for people living in vehicles

The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee advanced SB 748, which would expand local authority and resources to create, operate and acquire safe parking sites for people experiencing homelessness who are living in vehicles or recreational vehicles (RVs). The bill, as presented with committee amendments, also requires reporting on distribution of funds and includes an interagency reporting requirement.

Senator (author) said the bill is intended to give local jurisdictions tools to provide temporary shelter and services while clearing RV encampments. The senator described a scene in his district: “This is a street where the RVs go more than 6 blocks straight,” he said, describing challenges including lack of water, sanitation, and safety risks for people living in vehicles and for surrounding neighborhoods.

Carly Shelby, representing the City of Compton, testified in support and described the local public-health and livability impacts of concentrated RV parking. “Senate Bill 748 offers a humane workable solution by expanding the encampment resolution fund,” Shelby said, adding the bill would allow cities to expand safe parking sites, extend site hours, and acquire properties to provide services and connect people to long-term housing instead of merely displacing them.

Chris Wysocki of the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association told committee members that nearby mobile home parks had seen RV encampments outside their gates and that safe parking sites provide wraparound services and improve public safety for both encampment residents and neighborhood residents.

Committee members discussed concerns about how encampment resolution funds have been used in prior budgets and urged that reporting and accountability be part of the bill. One member noted the current encampment funding base is roughly $100 million and asked for more data on outcomes, observing that clearing encampments without housing placements can result in displacement and the formation of new encampments nearby.

The committee moved the bill, accepted committee amendments intended to clarify scope and add reporting requirements, and passed SB 748 as amended to the Assembly Committee on Human Services. The roll-call vote recorded in the transcript excerpt was unanimous among members recorded in the excerpt; the committee reported the bill passed as amended and left the roll open.

Supporters included the City of Compton, the League of California Cities (which testified in support after committee amendments), and the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association. No primary opposition witnesses were recorded in the hearing excerpt.