Press release from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife:
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is initiating efforts in northern California to capture deer, elk and wolves by helicopter and outfit the animals with GPS collars.
Helicopter captures for deer and elk will be conducted in portions of Alameda, Colusa, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Santa Clara, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama counties throughout the month of January 2026.
Capturing and collaring mule deer, tule, and Rocky Mountain elk improves CDFW’s understanding of species distribution, habitat use, abundance, migration patterns, recruitment rates and survival.
Capture teams will be targeting wolves in Siskiyou, Lassen and Tehama counties and potentially other uncollared packs or wolf groups in Modoc, Shasta and Plumas counties. Any captured wolves will be returned to the nearest suitable public land habitat after processing.
Deployed collars will transmit data to CDFW scientists daily for up to three years and provide detailed information about animal movements, habitat preferences and locations. For collared wolves specifically, CDFW will share animal location information with cattle and sheep producers with the goal of reducing negative interactions with the understanding GPS tracking collars do not transmit data in real-time. Wolf movement and location data will automatically feed into CDFW’s online Wolf Tracker mapping tool.
Wildlife capture operations will take place on lands managed by CDFW, the USDA Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management as well as on private properties with permission from landowners. CDFW is grateful to the USDA Forest Service, BLM, timberland owners and other private parties for providing access to their lands for these wildlife capture efforts.
A collision took place in Eureka today at the intersection of Hodgson and H streets. | Photo via EPD.
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Eureka Police Commander Leonard La France tells the Outpost via email that the incident described below (and pictured above) marks the third injury-inducing traffic collision today.
Press release from the Eureka Police Department:
On December 29, 2025, at approximately 11:15 a.m., EPD Patrol Officers responded to the intersection of H Street and Hodgson Street following a report of an injury traffic collision.
Upon arrival, officers located a collision involving three vehicles, one of which had rolled over. At least one individual sustained injuries and was transported to a local hospital; the injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening. Preliminary investigation indicates the collision was caused by one of the drivers failing to yield to oncoming traffic. Alcohol or impairment do not appear to be a factor.
This incident remains an active investigation. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information that may assist investigators is urged to contact the Eureka Police Department at 707-441-4300 (Officer Sollom).
This collision underscores an ongoing concern for traffic safety within our community.
Compared to 2024, during the first eleven months of 2025, EPD increased traffic enforcement efforts by 233%, from 2,415 traffic stops to 8,060. These efforts include addressing speeding on major roadways, distracted driving, unsafe driving behaviors, driving under the influence, and reckless driving. EPD has also taken steps to arrest drivers operating vehicles at dangerous speeds and in a reckless manner throughout the city.
In addition to enforcement, EPD has launched public awareness efforts such as the Slow Down Eureka campaign, increased transparency by sharing information about significant collisions, and ongoing advocacy for improved traffic control measures at high-risk locations.
Despite these efforts, overall traffic collisions have only decreased slightly (by approximately 3%) and officers continue to observe dangerous driving behaviors that negatively impact the safety and well-being of our community.
EPD no longer has a dedicated Traffic Unit, meaning traffic enforcement is handled by a small number of Patrol Officers (often only four to six) who must balance these efforts while responding to emergency calls across the city. Despite these limitations, EPD remains committed to improving roadway safety; however, enforcement alone is not enough to address the ongoing challenges we face. We need the community’s help.
Drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists all play a critical role in roadway safety. We ask everyone to slow down, remain alert, be patient, and follow the rules of the road. Take extra time to look both ways (more than once) before entering intersections, and pause briefly when a traffic light turns green to ensure it is safe to proceed.
Together, through shared responsibility and awareness, we can reduce preventable collisions and make Eureka’s roadways safer for everyone.
Jenny Creek along the Klamath River. | Image courtesy KILT and PacifiCorp.
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Press release from the Klamath Indigenous Land Trust and PacifiCorp:
Klamath Basin, CA/OR — Today, as salmon return to the headwaters of the Klamath River for the first time in over a century, the newly formed Klamath Indigenous Land Trust (KILT) and PacifiCorp announced the landmark purchase of 10,000 acres in and around the former reservoir reach of the river. This transaction represents one of the largest private land purchases by an Indigenous-led land trust in U.S. history.
“Dam removal allowed the salmon to return home. Returning these lands to Indigenous care ensures that home will be a place where they can flourish and recover,” said Molli Myers (Karuk), President of the Klamath Indigenous Land Trust Board of Directors. “Our communities spent generations fighting for this moment and we honor our ancestors who carried this vision forward. The healing that’s underway is real, and this acquisition reflects the future we’re building together as People of the Klamath Basin.
PacifiCorp, the previous landowner, partnered with KILT to complete the sale following a decades long Indigenous-led effort to remove four dams on the Klamath River, completed last year. The purchase includes lands upstream and adjacent to the former hydropower project that are central to the future health of the river and its fisheries. With this transfer, stewardship of these lands will be guided by Indigenous values and ecological restoration goals for the first time in over a century.
“PacifiCorp is gratified to see these lands transition to a stewardship model that honors their cultural and ecological significance,” said Ryan Flynn, president of Pacific Power, the division of PacifiCorp that serves customers in California, Oregon and Washington. “We recognize the leadership of the Klamath Basin Tribes and KILT in shaping a restoration vision that will benefit the entire region.”
KILT was formed by Indigenous leaders from four different Klamath Basin Tribes who met after the 2002 Fish Kill and spent the next two decades committed to the grass roots movement to un-dam the Klamath and bring their salmon home. “We are from different Tribes and we each have our own cultural traditions, but it was through working together and by bringing Tribal People from all over the Basin together that created this moment,” said KILT Board Vice President Wendy Ferris-George (Hupa/Karuk).
With the acquisition complete, KILT’s next steps include developing comprehensive land management plans with input from area Tribes, ensuring stewardship reflects both cultural values and ecological priorities. These plans will address habitat recovery, cultural resource protection, fire management, and public access considerations.
“This is the next chapter in the Klamath River’s renewal,” Board member Jeff Mitchell (Klamath/Modoc) added. “It’s proof that Indigenous leadership and community partnerships can achieve transformational change at a landscape scale.”
Funding for the purchase was kindly provided by The Catena Foundation, the Community Foundation of New Jersey, and an anonymous donor.
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About KILT:
The Klamath Indigenous Land Trust was formed last year by a group of colleagues and friends who worked together for over two decades on the Bring the Salmon Home campaign that led to the eventual removal of the lower four Klamath River dams. KILT’s Mission is to protect and preserve land for the benefit of Klamath Basin Tribal communities and to advance public interest purposes such as fish and wildlife habitat restoration and enhancement, public education, and public recreational access. In this way we seek to empower Klamath Basin tribal communities by providing them with greater control over their land and resources through facilitating and supporting land returns, conservation easements, and other mechanisms.
About PacifiCorp:
PacifiCorp is one of the lowest-cost electrical providers in the United States, serving more than 2 million customers. The company operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming and as Pacific Power in California, Oregon and Washington. PacifiCorp provides safe and reliable service through a vast, integrated system of generation and transmission that connects communities with the largest regulated utility owner of wind power in the West. For more information, visit PacifiCorp.com.
We made an AI image to illustrate this story and it came out really stupid and funny, but since you guys always bitch about AI art you get this Unsplash image instead. Happy?
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It is time, once again, to take stock of your Humboldt County Year That Was through the lens of “The Only Metric That Matters”™ — that is, the number of clicks on the Lost Coast Outpost website. It is the secret clave to which the county danced the year away. Or maybe it is the sphygmomanometer that gives us the deepest insight into the health of the patient. You are welcome to invent your own metaphor.
Looking over the list, I’d say the main theme that emerges, here amid the natural disasters and goofball features and one-off tragedies, is this: Change.
Of course there’s big change at the federal level, which trickles down to the ground sooner or later, but there is also strictly Humboldt-level change that would likely have proceeded regardless of who took office at the beginning of the year. Institutional change at Cal Poly Humboldt. Changes in the very courses of the Eel River and the Klamath River. A promised fix to the biggest problem that has plagued our principal highway for years. A change in Eureka’s long relationship with Walmart, even.
In 2025 we experienced these changes, or we dreamed of them, or we feared them, or we protested them. The world coming is not the world we knew. We are going to have to make new maps.
Very strange and sad case of an apparently mentally unwell young man — later determined to be an out-of-towner named Nicholas Anderson — acting weird and threatening, eventually pulling a knife and charging at deputies.
This was a very short and sweet breaking news kind of story that ended up hitting pretty hard. Yes, Cal Poly Humboldt’s continued emergence from the chrysalis of Humboldt State was no big surprise, but what if they discontinued your old major? What if you had been an economics student?
On the day after Christmas, two Calmatters stories about new laws for 2026 pop up in the feed. One is about new rules for car sales. The other is about the very sanctity of our precious bodily fluids. In MAHA Humboldt, which do you think charted?
Anyway, tortilla-makers are now required to include a vitamin essential to a successful pregnancy in their products — one that Latina women, generally, happen to be a bit more deficient in than women from other populations. So there you go.
These golden mussels sound like a major pain in the keister. Humboldt was primed for the story, as the local water district had sounded the alarm a month earlier. For now, Ruth Lake remains mussel-free. But that requires constant vigilance, especially from you motor boat owners.
This story sucked. I used to belong to a Facebook group of independent news outlets across the country. It was a place for local-level reporters to talk shop. When the Outpost was trying to figure out what to do with this — whether or not we should run something about it — I sent a message to the group with my quandary. I said: We got this flyer in the mail that threatens to launch a campaign of vandalism against local Tesla owners. Police say they’re aware of it. We’re trying to figure out whether or not we should run a story about it. What do you think?
The responses from our peers fell into two categories. Both of them were idiotic.
The first category of response was: What? Why would you censor the news? This is an organized campaign of violence! Your readers will want to know about it! I bet it will get lots of clicks!
The second category of response was: Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you publish a story. Immediately notify police and turn over all your material to them! Otherwise you are party to a crime!
That is when I bid this Facebook group adieu.
Eventually we decided that the fact that the flyers were getting police attention (without our help) made posting a story about them worthwhile, even though it was clear that the dipshit who was making them — “one idiot with a brick, a stamp and a printer,” as commenter Phyllobates terribilis would put it — was begging for our platform to amplify his would-be reign of terror.
And then, of course, every content mill in this stupid nation called us and tried to get us to give them hi-res versions of the letter, including the postmark and whatnot, so they could play true-crime and pretend to crack the case themselves. Of course we did not, and of course this wave of organized Tesla sabotage never came to pass.
This chonker was a whirlwind sensation when she first sashayed into her enclosure back in April, but as much as you loved her then you loved her even more when she was able to crash diet herself down to a more reasonable (though still far from svelte) body-mass index.
The (apparently) final chapter in the long drama over what to do with the big ol’ K-Mart at the south end of Eureka, which became a ghost building when Papa & Barkley — once the Great Green Hope of the local weed industry — closed its doors.
For a while a local school was looking at it. We heard a rumor that Tractor Supply Company was interested. Finally county government stepped in, with dreams of turning the spot into a customer-forward “one-stop shop” permitting center. Drive up, get your building permit and whatever else you might need, then be on your way! Easy peasy!
But those dreams were crushed when Walmart rolled up and offered more money, and so Walmart it will be. But what kind of Walmart? Not a whole lot can be said for certain at this point, but there are some indications that we’ll be getting a “Walmart Neighborhood Market” — essentially, a grocery store.
This one involved search warrants served at multiple locations throughout the county following a long-running undercover operation by a member of the Drug Task Force, in which the agent insinuated himself into the alleged dealer’s circle and made several illicit purchases before the Task Force brought the hammer down.
The Trump administration bans refugees, asylum seekers and DACA holders from operating large vehicles. Assault on the working poor or long-overdue corrective? People had opinions.
This was the very, very horrifying crash outside Leon’s Car Care Center that involved a young Fortuna woman who was apparently having a mental health crisis.
The prudish among you fainted when you saw the headline — even after all these years, you still do that! — but what do you call a person who continuously calls bomb threats into schools halfway across the country, as well as threats of violence to local businesses? Lots of things, probably, but “asshole” is a pretty good place to start.
This (alleged) asshole had been (allegedly) doing that for years, wreaking special havoc at McK High in particular, and everyone rejoiced at his long-delayed arrest.
This was the first of the big “No Kings” protests in downtown Eureka, and our Andrew Goff took a zillion photos of it.
The “No Kings” protests, if you haven’t been, are fun, positive community events. If you want to come to one in that spirit, you will have a good time. Meanness and lawlessness are strongly frowned upon.
That’s a long tunnel! It’ll take years and years, but it does look like California will someday solve the problem of Last Chance Grade — that section of Highway 101 just before Crescent City that is fast disappearing down the hillside— with a state-of-the-art supertunnel!
We dare you to try holding your breath through this one! For reference, the Randolph Collier Tunnel on Highway 199 is about a third as long, at 1,900 feet. The Robin Williams Tunnel, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, is only about 1,000 feet.
The first round of the DOGE firings hit in February, and they hit Humboldt’s natural resources sector pretty hard. Our Ryan Burns talked to several people who had been terminated from their positions at Six Rivers National Forest, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Redwood National Parks and elsewhere, all for basically no reason. It didn’t even save the federal government money, to speak of. It did cripple numerous federal institutions, so … good job?
It was brave of this 59-year-old man to get out of his car, on the highway, to try to render assistance to a bear who had been struck by a vehicle. Bravery is a virtue that our culture — rightly — celebrates and honors. There are other such virtues, too, but bravery is one of them.
Sanchez — a former Eureka Police Department sergeant — was on a construction crew, working on that stretch of Highway 36 just east of Swimmer’s Delight in the middle of the night, when the hillside slid again.
If you’re re-reading about all this today, you should also re-read the beautiful obituary written by her sister. We gather from the Facebook commentary that the woman who died in this terrible series of events was very much loved in the Fortuna area, and that many people were left despondent by this incident.
The excitement had been building in the weeks leading up to this, as local jurisdictions signed on to an agreement that would continue to send some water south in exchange for cash payment, but this was the big announcement: PG&E was officially getting itself out of the business of damming the Eel River! Humboldt County was happy. Sonoma County’s water agency was happy. Mendocino County’s water agency was happy. Environmentalists were happy. The Round Valley Tribes were happy. PG&E was happy.
Who was not happy? Lake County and a few Farm Bureau chapters. They eventually managed to get the ear of the Trump Administration, which sensed an opportunity to step in and make some headlines for itself. Now everything is uncertain.
A gargantuan 8.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka, Russia prompted everyone in Humboldt to put their experience playing Risk to use for a night. The waves did strike Crescent City with some force, as they always do, but the tsunami had very little impact in Humboldt. No injuries, no property damage.
Now that we have some perspective on this: Didn’t it seem like a bit much? Like: Too much flooding for the amount of rain that fell? Doesn’t it seem like we’ve had a lot more rain with a lot less flooding? Where can I file a complaint?
Current residents at the Humboldt County Animal Shelter (from left): Laguna, Bishop and Batman.
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Hopefully you and your family got everything on your Christmas wish lists this year, but it appears that Santa forgot to drop off a few things for the dogs at the Humboldt County Animal Shelter (perhaps because it lacks a chimney?).
Shelter volunteers this morning put out a call to the local community for donations of clean, thick blankets, which keep them from having to lie on the cement floors, according to volunteer coordinator Mara Segal.
“The dogs would definitely appreciate it!” says a post on social media.
Donated dog toys and treats would also be welcomed. The post continues:
This holiday season did your dog get some new toys and they no longer want their old gently used ones? Maybe they got a new toy and they do not like it? Out shopping and see discounted holiday toys? The shelter dogs would love to have any of those!
If you find yourself at one of our local pet stores, Costco, or grocery stores this week consider picking up a few treats or toys for the shelter dogs! The dogs also love hot dogs and string cheese.
Volunteers with Redwood Pals Rescue have created wish lists at both Chewy.com and Amazon.
Here’s the Chewy list, and here’s the one for Amazon. For the latter you can enter the shelter address (980 Lycoming Ave, McKinleyville Ca 95519) and phone number (707-840-9132), and Shelter Manager Andre Hale’s name will appear.
The shelter is not currently in need of towels, fitted sheets, pillow cases, pillows, bathmats, electric blankets or down filled blankets.
More shelter info:
Phone number: 707-840-9132 Email: hsoanimalshelter@co.humboldt.ca.us Hours: M/T/Th/F/Sa 10-4 and W 10-7 Address: 980 Lycoming Ave, McKinleyville 95519
People chat together at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 12, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters
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Most bills in the California Legislature are barely talked about in public before lawmakers take action, often after secret negotiations with lobbyists.
But a handful of controversial proposals broke through the usual rushed process, drawing hours of testimony and intense public lobbying from some of the state’s most powerful organizations that spend millions of dollars to get their way, according to an analysis of CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database, which tracks every word spoken in the Legislature.
That’s compared to the overall 2025 average, which showed lawmakers and advocates spent just 32 minutes publicly talking about each of the 1,657 bills that were discussed in at least one hearing.
These were the 10 most debated bills of the 2025 regular legislative session, according to Digital Democracy.
(Note: Advocacy groups listed below may have changed their positions as the bills were amended.)
Lead author: Democratic assemblymembers Dawn Addis of San Luis Obispo and Rick Zbur of Los Angeles.
Time discussed: 15 hours
Approximate number of speakers: 486
Why it was a talker: California’s Jewish lawmakers made countering antisemitism in schools their top priority this year, but opposing the bill was a coalition of education groups, unions, civil rights advocates and Muslim community organizations who feared censorship of pro-Palestinian voices and infringement on academic freedom. The groups turned out in droves to testify.
Number of groups in support: At least 68, including the Jewish Community Action, the Los Angeles County Business Federation and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Number of groups opposed: At least 92, including the California Federation of Teachers, the California Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the California School Boards Association.
Status: Signed into law.
Local governments balk at transit-oriented housing
Lead author: Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco
Time discussed: 6 hours, 40 minutes
Approximate number of speakers: 198
Why it was a talker: Local governments balked at a new state mandate allowing developers to build midrise apartment buildings within walking distance of many major train, light-rail, subway and high-frequency rapid bus stations — even if local zoning restrictions would otherwise ban such dense development.
Number of groups in support: At least 49, including pro home-building groups and the California Apartment Association.
Number of groups opposed: At least 76, including, at one point, the building trades unions, the California Association of Realtors and dozens of municipalities.
Lead authors: Democratic assemblymembers Robert Garcia of Rancho Cucamonga and Al Muratsuchi of Torrance.
Time discussed: 6 hours, 32 minutes
Approximate number of speakers: 491
Why it was a talker: This was the latest legislative effort by California’s powerful teachers unions and their allies to add restrictions and oversight to charter schools. Homeschool families and charter schools opposed the measure, introduced in response to high-profile charter school fraud scandals, saying it would strip millions of dollars in state funding from their programs. The bill added auditing requirements and new fees as well as a proposed new Office of Inspector General inside the Department of Education.
Number of groups in support: At least six, almost all influential unions.
Number of groups opposed: More than 200, many of them charter schools or home school groups.
Lead author: Democratic Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen of Elk Grove
Time discussed: 5 hours, 28 minutes
Approximate number of speakers: 149
Why it was a talker: This bill, originally authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Maggy Krell, a former state prosecutor, sought to increase penalties for soliciting teen sex. But the legislation sparked difficult discussions between progressive and moderate members of the Democratic caucus about how hard to crack down on those accused of soliciting sex from minors, based on whether the victims were younger or older teenagers.
Number of groups in support: At least 48, including law enforcement unions and some Native American tribes.
Number of groups opposed: At least 25, including ACLU and various advocates for progressive criminal justice reforms.
Lead authors: Democratic Sen. Jessie Arreguín of Berkeley and three other senators
Time discussed: 5 hours
Approximate number of speakers: 100
Why it was a talker: Members of California’s Democratic legislative supermajority aren’t shy about speaking their minds on President Donald Trump and his controversial immigration policies, so it’s no surprise that there was a lot of discussion over California’s first-in-the nation measure to prohibit federal immigration officers and local police from wearing masks in California.
Number of groups in support: At least 45, including non-police unions, public defenders, the ACLU and immigrant rights groups.
Number of groups opposed: At least 16, almost all of them police unions.
Why it was a talker: There were plenty of heated discussions after California Democrats put forward their own gerrymandering plan after Trump pressured Texas to change its congressional maps to make new Republican districts.
Number of groups in support: At least 54, including labor unions and progressive groups.
Number of groups opposed: At least 19, including California Common Cause, Govern for California and conservative groups.
Lead authors: Democratic Sen. Josh Becker of Menlo Park and two other lawmakers.
Time discussed: 4 hours, 55 minutes
Approximate number of speakers: 119
Why it was a talker: This energy bill created a new public financing system for electric transmission projects and extended a controversial program that shields utilities from some wildfire liability costs, but critics warned it could ultimately drive consumer bills higher. It was part of a package of energy and climate measures the Legislature passed this year.
Number of groups in support: At least 55, including trades unions, the California Democratic Party, the California Chamber of Commerce, environmental groups and the California Municipal Utilities Association.
Number of groups opposed: At least seven, including the California Farm Bureau Federation, Rural County Representatives of California and the California State Association of Counties.
Why it was a talker: For years, veterans advocates have wanted a state law preventing companies from charging exorbitant fees to help veterans file federal disability benefits claims, something they can do for free through the government and certain veterans’ organizations. But the Legislature has repeatedly balked, as companies claim they provide an important service to help veterans get the benefits they need.
Number of groups in support: At least 25, including the California State Association of Counties and the American Legion.
Number of groups opposed: At least nine, including Veterans Guardian, one of the companies that files claims.
Status: The bill did not pass the Senate, although lawmakers announced they had a deal on the legislation and would vote on it in January.
Lead author: Democratic Assemblymember Tina McKinnor of Inglewood
Time discussed: 4 hours, 13 minutes
Approximate number of speakers: 209
Why it was a talker: AT&T has spent millions in lobbying as it tried unsuccessfully to bow out of its legal requirement to provide copper landlines in much of the state. Rural communities and others pushed back, leading to some of the lengthiest discussions in the Legislature this year.
Number of groups in support: At least 145, including AT&T, some tribes and other groups aligned with the telecommunications company.
Number of groups opposed: At least 96, including rural counties, some unions and AARP.
Number of groups in support: At least 59, including nurses and school unions, the California Medical Association and some school districts.
Number of groups opposed: At least 46, including agricultural associations, the American Beverage Association and other business trade groups.
Status: Signed into law.
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Digital Democracy’s Foaad Khosmood, Forbes professor of computer engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Digital Democracy’s Thomas Gerrity contributed to this story.
Physician assistant Brett Feldman checks Carla Bolen’s blood pressure at her encampment on the Figueroa Street Viaduct above Highway 110 in Elysian Valley Park in Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
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Senate Bill 634 would have made a big splash if it survived in the form Pasadena Democrat Sasha Renée Pérez originally intended. She wanted to make it illegal for cities to cite or arrest homeless Californians for sleeping outside. But, faced with intense backlash from cities and law enforcement agencies, the legislator watered down her bill.
Now signed into law and taking effect Jan. 1, it takes aim at an issue that is much less prevalent on the streets of California. It says cities cannot punish outreach workers for helping homeless clients, even if those clients are sleeping in an illegal encampment.
More precisely, the law says cities cannot bar people or organizations from providing homeless residents with legal services, medical care or things needed for survival, such as food, water, blankets, pillows and materials to protect themselves from the elements.
“The legislation provides commonsense protections for service providers, especially non-profits and faith-based ones, who are doing the work every day to assist unhoused Californians,” Pérez said in an October statement.
San Bernardino County, on the other hand, said the law will “override local authority and restrict enforcement tools that cities and counties use to promote public safety.”
It’s not unheard of for aid workers to find themselves caught in the crosshairs of a city’s crackdown on homeless encampments. The Bay Area city of Fremont earlier this year briefly made “aiding, abetting or concealing” an illegal homeless encampment a misdemeanor. Its city council later walked back that language — after CalMatters first reported it — but it made a lasting impression on state legislators.
The legislation follows a statewide push toward the increased policing of homeless Californians. In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court gave cities more power to cite and arrest people for sleeping outside, even if they have no shelter available. Since then, arrests and citations for homelessness-related offenses have soared in cities across the state.
