California creating new agency to focus solely on housing and homelessness

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) -- California is creating a standalone state agency dedicated to tackling housing affordability and homelessness - some of the most urgent issues for residents statewide.

Previously, housing and homelessness programs were housed under a larger state entity that also regulated business sectors and offered consumer protection services. The restructuring aims to bring more focused attention to housing challenges by separating those responsibilities into their own department.

"It's hoped that each of these new entities will then provide a better focus," said Jay Wierenga, spokesperson for the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, which is being split into two agencies.

Wierenga says the move is about more than optics. "This is going to directly tackle some affordability issues, especially on the housing side, as well as streamlining programs on homelessness as well as consumer protections and licensing and fees and that sort of thing."

The new department comes on the heels of California overhauling its environmental review process, CEQA, to expedite housing projects in urban areas.

MORE: California overhauls landmark environmental law to speed up housing construction

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, says enforcement will be a major part of the new agency's role.

"The functions of this agency will include all of the enforcement, so making sure that cities are not illegally denying new housing and that state law is being complied with," Wiener said.

Still, he acknowledged it's just the beginning.

"We've invested an increasing amount of money in supporting cities to address homelessness. And we need to do more. But we've been making some progress, and we need to make sure that money is being spent well."

Not everyone sees the new agency as progress.

Assemblymember Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, called the move a distraction.

"Governor Newsom's legacy on homelessness and housing is one of failure. Under his watch, homelessness has hit record highs despite billions spent, and housing has become even more out of reach for working Californians. This latest bureaucratic reshuffling isn't bold action - it's meant to distract from years of lack of accountability, and policy disasters. Californians deserve results, not another layer of government masking a failed legacy," he said in a statement.

ABC7 News insider Phil Matier added context, saying the changes may look like action but won't deliver immediate results.

"This is a bureaucratic answer to a very complicated and difficult set of problems," Matier said. "Two of the biggest problems facing California are homelessness and the cost of housing. And there's very little that the state has been able to do to change that. Maybe in the next couple of years we'll see it, but not now. So the closest thing he can do is name some departments and say, 'See, I took action.'"

Despite the creation of a new department, this will not be a one-stop shop for developers hoping to tap into state housing funds. Most funding sources will still be managed by the state treasurer's office.