The COVID pandemic intensified California’s housing affordability problem and forced the state to take urgent steps to secure emergency shelter for its unhoused population.
Two weeks ago, President Joe Biden signed a federal policing accountability executive order based on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 authored by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA-37). That action supplements other criminal justice reforms affecting Californians that took place this year. Several other criminal justice reforms at the state level went into effect in January.
To advance housing access, affordability, and equity, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced earlier this month the creation of a Housing Strike Force. The team, housed within the California Department of Justice (Cal DOJ) has been tasked with enforcing California housing laws that cities across the state have been evading or ignoring.
SB 855, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, expanded the California Mental Health Parity Law, requiring California health plans to provide full coverage for medically necessary treatment of all mental health and substance-use disorders defined by the American Psychiatric Association.
SB 58 is at least the third attempt by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, to pass a law that would allow bars in some cities to stay open later than 2 a.m. A version of the bill was passed by the Legislature last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown.