Senator Angelique Ashby got a bill (SB 802) through the CA State Senate about changes to state policy and funding for homelessness and homeless housing. But once the bill got into the State Assembly she gutted and amended the bill - a time-honored tradition in the Legislature - to create a new agency, one that would consolidate and strengthen the Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Authority (SHRA) into a regional Joint Powers Authority that would effectively let the City of Sacramento run the show. What's screwed up about that is that the City of Sacramento pretty much assumes it runs ALL the shows in Sacramento County, including dictating that the City of Sacramento's homeless facilities should be located on the far fringes of the city, away from city voters and where the vast majority of adverse effects would fall upon the voiceless, powerless residents and businesses of the adjacent unincorporate territory.

Senator Ashby was apparently convinced of the need for reform by a Sacramento County Grand Jury report from 2023 that recommended consolidation. Unfortunately for her, the County had extensively taken issue with that report. This was the County's response to th report:

Essentially the County's response said that the overwhelming majority of the homeless population (67%) lived in the City of Sacramento, with just 20% in the unincorporated area and 8% in the County-run American River Parkway. With the partnering arrangements in effect at the time between the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento taking on 95% of the situation, the County disputed the need for further consolidation, saying this in a Sacramento Bee report about the Grand Jury's recommendation: 

Given the long and consistent history of the City of Sacramento acting like a regional bully but nonetheless failing to get stuff done, the Senator's bill has not exactly been respected, particularly given her lack of consultation with a) homeless service providers, b) elected officials of the other jurisdictions named in the bill, c) the  600,000+ residents and businesses of unincorporated Sacramento County, and d) even the Mayor of the City of Sacramento. The County of Sacramento has fired off a letter of opposition signed by not only the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, but also the Mayors of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. California (un)Incorporated has also submitted a letter of opposition, on behalf of its several participating communities within Sacramento County. Those communities felt left out of consideration. They do not trust the City of Sacramento and an elevated SHRA to work with the Board of Supervisors in ways that would be fair to unincorporated communities, or, frankly, in ways that would even acknowledge the existence of unincorporated communities. The homeless service providers have also objected to the bill.

The opposition letters from 1) the elected officials and 2) California (un)Incorporated are here:

SB802 is yet another example of how unsuccessful models are resurrected to give new life to the existing Power Elites of California. It is a Machiavellian strategy. While that kind of approach might have worked for Renaissance rulers, it is not a good way to govern municipalities here in the present era. Despite that, Senator Ashby seems intent on moving her bill forward, whether she is counting on dissention within the Sacramento City Council (as noted in "Sacramento council members at odds with mayor over new homeless proposal",  Mathew Miranda, Sacramento Bee, July 2, 2025), her clout as a legislator, or just plain chuzpah. The unincorporated communities continue to see her bill as a blatant power grab. SB802 will next be considered in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on July 16, 2025. In the meantime, Senator Ashby has "expressed openness" to working with others about the bill - you be the judge: