KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to California

AB-722 • 2026

Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program.

Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program.

Budget Crime Housing
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Ávila Farías
Last action
2026-02-02
Official status
From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The specific criteria for scoring applicants are not detailed in the provided summary.

Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program

This law creates a program to provide grants for housing and job support to help people recently released from jail or prison find stable homes.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes the Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program to give grants for innovative or evidence-based housing, services, and employment interventions upon appropriation by the Legislature.
  • Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to collaborate with other agencies to refer participants to the program according to specified guidelines.
  • Sets up a scoring system based on certain criteria to choose who gets money from the program.
  • Needs recipients to use funds for long-term rental assistance, landlord incentives, and services that help people find stable homes.
  • Requires annual reports from those receiving grants and an independent evaluation of the program's success.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People with recent histories of incarceration
  • Landlords providing housing to participants
  • Agencies like the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Terms To Know

Innovative or evidence-based services
New ideas or proven methods for helping people find homes and jobs.
Permanent supportive housing
Stable, long-term living arrangements with support services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The program will only start if the Legislature gives it money.
  • It is not clear how much funding the program will receive or when it will begin operations.
  • Details about specific criteria for scoring applicants are not provided in the summary.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-02 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

  2. 2026-01-31 California Legislative Information

    Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.

  3. 2025-05-23 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Held under submission.

  4. 2025-05-14 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.

  5. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  6. 2025-04-22 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

  7. 2025-04-21 California Legislative Information

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended.

  8. 2025-03-03 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

  9. 2025-02-15 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.

  10. 2025-02-14 California Legislative Information

    Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 722, as amended, Ávila Farías.
Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program.
Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and makes the department responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program.
This bill would establish the Reentry Housing and Workforce Development Program. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, to take specified actions to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, provide grants to applicants, as defined, for innovative or evidence-based housing, housing-based services, and employment interventions to allow people with recent histories of incarceration to exit homelessness and remain stably housed. The bill would require the department to establish a process, in collaboration with the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation and with counties in which recipients are operating, for referral of participants, in accordance with certain guidelines and procedures.
The bill would require the department to score applicants to the program competitively according to specified criteria. The bill would require recipients of funds from the program to use those funds for, among other things, long-term rental assistance in permanent housing, incentives to landlords, and innovative or evidence-based services to assist participants in accessing permanent supportive housing. The bill would require the department to distribute funds allocated by executing contracts with awarded entities for a term of 5 years, subject to automatic renewal.
The bill would require a recipient of the program to submit an annual report to the department. The bill would require the department to hire an independent evaluator to assess outcomes from the
program and would require the department to submit that analysis to specified committees of the Legislature.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Download Bill PDF