Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Assembly Member Lee, with coauthor Assembly Member Haney, directs the state’s Interagency Council on Homelessness to engage LGBTQ+ communities in a structured effort to shape inclusive and culturally competent services for people experiencing homelessness, accompanied by a formal, time-bound reporting obligation.

The new provisions require the council to coordinate with representatives from LGBTQ+ communities and related stakeholders to identify recommended policies and best practices for delivering inclusive services, and to develop concrete recommendations in three areas: education, training, and resources to improve cultural competency within state homelessness programs; expanded data collection to better understand the needs and experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in state homeless services; and anti-discrimination measures to prevent discrimination, harassment, and violence in state homelessness programs. The measure defines “state homelessness programs” as those funded by the state with the express purpose of addressing or preventing homelessness or providing services to people experiencing homelessness. It also establishes a reporting deadline, requiring the council to deliver its report to specified legislative committees by July 1, 2027, with a notwithstanding clause intended to preserve that deadline despite other procedural constraints. The bill emphasizes that no direct appropriation is provided and that fiscal oversight is required, but it does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms.

Implementation considerations include an expanded consultation process with housing providers, nonprofits, advocates, and researchers; the development or identification of education and training materials; potential changes to data systems to support expanded data collection; and the formulation of measures to prevent discrimination within state programs. The text does not detail data governance, privacy protections, interim milestones, or how the recommendations would be transformed into regulatory or administrative actions. The new requirements sit alongside the council’s existing duties to facilitate partnerships and to offer policy and procedural guidance to legislators and government entities, without altering other established authorities.

Contextually, the proposal situates LGBTQ+ equity within the existing interagency framework governing homelessness policy, adding a focused, collaborative, and time-bound process to produce policy guidance, training resources, data enhancements, and anti-discrimination measures for state homelessness programs. It establishes a formal reporting channel to key legislative committees and relies on standard oversight mechanisms, with a defined scope limited to programs funded by the state’s homelessness services system.