I don't see how having homeless people everywhere in LA and SF is related to whether they have a functional legislature.
Is there some law that California could pass to solve homelessness and they're just too dysfunctional to do so?
But specifically to homelessness, obviously no easy solutions since the problem has been allowed to go from bad to worse and more. But how about enforcing existing laws. The governor made a big deal about enforcing the law about clearing out the homeless from under the freeway bridges and some other public places, where it was getting out of hand. The media came, he had his publicity shot, the cops cleared out the homeless. Mission accomplished... and a week later, the homeless are back.
This is a specific example of feel good nonsense with zero follow through.
But the main problem is the endless funding for the homeless problem. In LA alone, the state has spent $6.5 billion in the last 10 years (number has been increasing over the years). This means, every year there is roughly $650 million to be doled out between businesses, local governments, activists, etc... Given that more homelessness results in more money to all these organizations, you would be hard pressed to ask them to actually solve the problem that feeds them. This problem is on the legislature.
Long term:
Amend the state constitution to defang the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Commission with regard to new housing development
- Amend the state constitution to punitively remove local zoning privileges for 10 years on the first offense, permanently on the second, for any region that fails to have its housing element plan approved.
What laws do you think they should pass that would actually address the problem?
My sense (and I lived in the Bay Area for 27 years) is that it is because they have never worked.
It's almost as if removing them didn't solve their homelessness. If you ignore the actual problem and only make a lazy effort to address the most visible symptom of the problem being ignored than it's not really surprising when the symptom returns.
Look at the no fee law that conveniently exempted all restaurants for example. It's abundantly clear the legislature doesn't have the average voter in mind when it comes to the work it does.