Politics & Government

Bill to Shift $600M in Aid to Homeless Vets Passes Hurdle

The proposal, if passed by the whole legislature, would need to be approved by voters, but would tap unused housing funds to offer help to troubled veterans.

The state Assembly has passed a bill to offer homeless veterans hundreds of millions of dollars in aid that was originally intended for home-buying programs, reports the Los Angeles Times

AB 639 – should it pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown – would need to go before voters, who originally approved the sale of $1.4 million in bonds to fund housing loans for veterans. The program has been largely ignored though, according to the report.

So if the terms of the new bill go into effect, $600 million of the bond proceeds could be used to help troubled veterans find housing and tap into other services.

Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, is behind the bill. It also has the support of Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, R-San Diego.


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