Senator Ashby pauses Senate Bill 802 - January 2026 deadline to establish regional homelessness agency

In a hastily called news conference this morning at the State Capitol, Senator Angelique Ashby (D - Sacramento) announced that she will pause the consideration of Senate Bill 802. The controversial legislation would have compelled Sacramento County and municipalities to join a joint powers agency to address homelessness. 

Ashby's legislation, which had the support of Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, was announced on June 25. The announcement came as a surprise to members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and municipalities in the county.  

The announcement came before this morning's scheduled hearing on the bill in the California Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee. The bill has already been passed in the state senate.

According to Sen. Ashby, the legislation was put on hold until January 2026 after she met yesterday with Sacramento City Councilmember Caity Maple and Sacramento County Supervisors Rich Desmond and Pat Hume. While Ashby said that although the meeting was "heated," she and the delegation of local elected officials hammered out an agreed to pause the legislation, committing to establish a regional board to address homelessness and housing affordability. 

Saying the bill is meant to compel the various government agencies in the county to work together on addressing homelessness, Ashby said, "It worked."

"Here we all are, standing in one place, talking about the most important issue that's facing us," Ms. Ashby said. "Now, don't get me wrong, they're all talking about that issue all the time. What my goal was to bring us together, to talk about it together."

The senator emphasized that none of the government agencies opposed working together on the issue. Instead, Ashy said they were taken aback by the process of how a regional agency would be structured.

Ashby expressed confidence that the bill would have passed through Assembly committees today and would have advanced to the full Assembly.  

"What they said was we want to be part of the conversation about how that happens," Ashby said. "And that is fair. That is a fair thing to ask for."

 Others speaking at the new conference were Desmond, Hume, and Maple, while supporters Ho and Steinberg did not attend. Representing Elk Grove at the gathering were District 1 City Councilmember Darren Suen and City Manager Jason Behrmann.

 No details were shared on when and how the various government agencies would meet to form the regional body. If there is no progress by the local governments by the end of the year, Ashby said she would bring back the legislation, which is currently on a two-year hold, in January 2026. 

"It gives us between now and January to make meaningful progress on this issue," she stated.