CA SB 692

Title: Vehicles: homelessness.
Author: Jesse Arreguin

Summary
SB 692, as amended, Arreguín. Vehicles: homelessness. Existing law makes it unlawful for a peace officer or an unauthorized person to remove an unattended vehicle from a highway, except as provided. Under existing law, the removal of a vehicle is a seizure, subject to the limits set forth in jurisprudence for the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance establishing procedures for the abatement and removal, as public nuisances, of abandoned, wrecked, dismantled, or inoperative vehicles or parts of vehicles from private or public property. Existing law requires that any ordinance for the removal of abandoned vehicles contain certain provisions, including a provision exempting vehicles under certain circumstances, and a provision providing no less than a 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove the vehicle or part thereof as a public nuisance, unless the property owner and the owner of the vehicle sign releases. Existing law also exempts from the 10-day notice prior to removal provision, a vehicle meeting specified requirements, including being valued at less than $200 and being determined to be a public nuisance, if the property owner has signed a release.This bill would additionally authorize a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance for the abatement and removal of vehicles formerly used as shelter by a person. The bill would require an ordinance establishing procedures for the removal of abandoned vehicles to contain a provision making the ordinance applicable to public agencies operating certain vehicle buyback programs, as specified. The bill would also specifically authorize a local government to perform emergency summary abatement of vehicles creating imminent health and safety hazards. The bill would modify the exemption from prior 10-day notice of intention to abate and remove a vehicle to no longer require that both the vehicle be determined to be a public nuisance and that the property owner sign a release.Existing law authorizes vehicles or parts thereof to be disposed of by removal to, among other places, a scrapyard or automobile dismantler’s yard.The bill would authorize specified vehicles to be scrapped and dismantled in place and disposed of at a suitable site operated by a local authority.Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program, administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes in rounds and establishes round 5 for the purpose of creating and implementing regionally coordinated plans that organize and deploy the full array of homelessness programs and resources comprehensively and effectively. Existing law authorizes the use of those funds for services for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, including, among other things, street outreach, and specified programs funded by the Encampment Resolution Grant. Existing law establishes round 6 for the purpose of, among other things, expeditiously reducing unsheltered homelessness through homelessness prevention activities and sustaining existing interim housing solutions. Existing law authorizes the use of those funds for, among other things, permanent housing solutions that can prevent or serve those experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as specified.This bill would additionally authorize the use of funds from rounds 5 and 6 for vehicle buyback programs for persons experiencing vehicular homelessness, if the buyback offer is paired with an offer of interim or permanent housing.

Status
May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

Bill Documents
CA SB 692 - 05/23/25 - Amended Senate
05/23/25 - CA SB 692 (05/23/25 - Amended Senate)