LA to receive $130M in state grants to address homelessness crisis

California state lawmakers this week agreed to a plan to disperse hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to Los Angeles and other jurisdictions in order to combat the growing homelessness crisis across the state.

The plan could be voted on as early as Monday, according to the L.A. Times. The deal would see L.A. and a dozen other large cities across the state split $275 million.

The city of L.A. itself is set to receive $130 million, about 50 percent more than it received from the state last year, Mayor Eric Garcetti said. The homelessness crisis in L.A. has grown during his six years in office and he is under pressure from Angelenos to address the issue.

“I intend to spend this money as quickly as possible,” he said.

In addition to the $275 million to be distributed among the cities, $175 million will go to counties and another $190 million will be distributed to regional agencies that provide services for people experiencing homelessness across the state.

The state will provide more funding to cities that encourage development with pro-housing policies than those that do not take steps to boost housing, officials said. The state will also fine cities by up to $600,000 a month if they do not meet state requirements to encourage housing.

On his third day in office, Governor Gavin Newsom said he wanted to withhold state transportation funding from cities that did not accommodate more development, but he walked that back a couple months later in favor of rewarding cities that do plan for more growth. [LAT] – Dennis Lynch