Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill dictating that Berkeley can implement multidisciplinary outreach teams to coordinate housing and services at homeless encampments. Berkeley is one of three cities in California that have been allowed to run such teams.
The bill, Senate Bill 479, was signed Sept. 30 along with Senate Bill 692 to allow local governments to adopt new tools to address the impacts of unsheltered homelessness.
Previous state law only allowed counties to deploy these multidisciplinary outreach teams, but under the new bill, cities designated as “local health jurisdictions” can implement this approach as well. The other two cities allowed to use this approach are Pasadena and Long Beach.
Multidisciplinary outreach teams work to identify, assess and link homeless individuals to housing and supportive services, such as mental health care and substance use treatment, with the goal of ensuring continuity of care.
The teams are also permitted to share confidential information under the governance of county protocols, in order to help support housing coordination efforts.
Existing legislation limits the ability of local health jurisdictions’ outreach teams to share important information across disciplines.
A fact sheet released by the bill’s author, state Senator Jesse Arreguín, describes a situation where an individual was placed into housing that did not meet their mental health needs due to an inability to communicate across departments, resulting in damage to the housing unit and displacement of the individual.
“We’ve learned that helping someone move off the street takes consistent outreach, mental health care, coordinated services and, ultimately, a path to long-term, stable housing,” said Mayor Adena Ishii in a press release regarding the bills.
The second bill, SB 692, was also authored by Arreguín and allows cities and counties to dismantle abandoned vehicles that are incapable of being towed due to their condition, including those left behind after previously being used for habitation.
The fact sheet for the policy states that many abandoned and inoperable vehicles contain hazardous materials, human waste and drug paraphernalia. It also states that many abandoned vehicles cannot be safely towed due to missing parts.
Under previous law, local governments were required to get authorization from the property owner or complete lengthy nuisance abatement procedures to address abandoned vehicles.
SB 692 grants local governments the authority to address the vehicles while also preserving due process protections by requiring advance notice to owners and an opportunity for a hearing before dismantlement.
“As a former (Berkeley) mayor, I know firsthand the challenges communities face in working to reduce unsheltered homelessness. While the state has stepped up in providing funding, local governments need tools to effectively coordinate services and get people off the street,” Arreguín said in a press release. “SB 479 and SB 692 empower cities with the tools they need to continue this progress through better coordination and expedited response.”
Both bills were passed by the California Assembly and Senate without a dissenting vote and will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.