Assembly BillFailedCivil
AB 20: Homelessness: People First Housing Act of 2025.
What AB 20 does, verified December 6, 2025
This bill aims to address homelessness in California by implementing the "People First Housing Act". It prohibits homeless encampments from operating within 500 feet of sensitive community areas, such as schools and hospitals. Additionally, it restricts camping in public spaces, requiring individuals to use available homeless shelter beds instead. The bill also modifies the state's approach to housing first, a model that prioritizes providing permanent housing to individuals as quickly as possible. Instead of requiring state agencies to adopt housing first guidelines, the bill allows programs to review applicants based on their housing readiness and impose rules related to sobriety, treatment, and participation in services. The bill also requires programs to prioritize funding for initiatives that include drug testing, mandatory treatment, and work requirements. Furthermore, it mandates…
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
2In CommitteeCurrent
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: From committee: Without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). (2025-05-21)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions7 total · showing 5
| May. 21, 2025 | From committee: Without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a). |
| Apr. 24, 2025 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage. |
| Mar. 25, 2025 | Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D. |
| Mar. 24, 2025 | Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and HUM. S. |
| Mar. 24, 2025 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended. |
Latest bill textAmended version, March 24, 2025 · 599 words
| Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 20
| Introduced by Assembly Member DeMaio |
December 02, 2024 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 20, as amended, DeMaio. Homelessness: Housing First. People First Housing Act of 2025.
(1) Existing law prohibits various conduct within certain distances of specified locations including schools and hospitals. Existing federal law, as established in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, authorizes the enforcement of generally applicable laws that regulate camping on public property.
This bill would prohibit a homeless encampment from operating within 500 feet of a sensitive community area, including, but not limited to, a school, open space, or transit stop. The bill would prohibit a person from camping, as defined, in any public space, including a sidewalk, if a homeless shelter bed is available in the city where the public space is located.
Existing
(2) Existing
law defines Housing First as the evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible and specifies the core components of Housing First. Existing law establishes the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to oversee the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, and, among other things, identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California. Existing law requires a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to reduce homelessness by ending the Housing First model, as specified. delete the requirement that a state agency or department revise or adopt guidelines to include Housing First policies, as described above, and would repeal related provisions requiring adherence to Housing First, as specified. The bill would instead authorize a state program to review the suitability of an applicant based on their housing readiness, as defined, and impose program rules and requirements related to sobriety, substance abuse, completion of treatment, mental health, participation in services, and compliance with program rules. The bill would require an agency or department to allocate state program funding according to a specified priority and would require the agency or department to issue regulations to local agencies to prioritize use of funds for state programs that include drug testing, mandatory treatment, and work requirements for program participants. The bill would require a state program to include a work program that provides paid work opportunities from private or governmental entities or volunteer opportunities serving the community. The bill would also prohibit a motel that accepts homeless assistance from the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program for 20% or more of rented rooms during the year from receiving payments unless the motel is approved by the city council of the city in which the motel is located.
Text of AB 20 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions