California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill allowing state funds to pay for homeless housing that requires residents to stay sober, a year after vetoing a similar measure.

Assembly Bill 1556, written by Assemblymember Matt Haney, a Democrat from San Francisco, clarifies that sober housing providers can qualify for state funds as long as they follow certain rules.

For years, California has followed “housing first” principles on homelessness, funding low-barrier programmes that do not require people to meet conditions such as sobriety before receiving a place to live. That approach works for many people who are not ready to stop using substances, Haney said, but it leaves behind those who want to be sober and are struggling to stay that way. For them, he said, the only option is often housing surrounded by neighbours who use substances.

People working hard to stay sober deserve the choice to live in a home that supports their recovery

“I’m incredibly grateful to Governor Newsom for signing AB 1556 and for working with us to get this right,” Haney said in a news release. “This law will finally give Californians in recovery access to safe, stable, drug-free housing while making sure that if someone relapses, they are supported and stay connected to housing and services.”

Under the new law, sober residences receiving state funds must have a written policy on what to do if a resident relapses. The provider must offer the person the option to move into low-barrier housing; if the person declines, they can be evicted.

The measure is Haney’s third attempt to direct state money to sober housing. His first, AB 2479, died in 2024. His second, AB 255, reached Newsom’s desk before the governor vetoed it, saying the bill was unnecessary because recent state guidelines already allowed state funds to pay for sober housing.

Haney said he had never seen those guidelines. When CalMatters asked the governor’s office for a copy, it received a link to a 20-page document dated July 2025 that was not published online until the day after Newsom’s veto, according to the outlet.

After reviewing the guidelines, Haney spent a year working more closely with the governor’s office on the new bill. He said it remains necessary because the existing guidelines are unclear and housing providers still believe state funds are off-limits for sober housing. The proof, he said, is that providers still are not using them to fund sober-living projects.

Cost is a chief difference between the new law and last year’s failed bill. The earlier measure would have created a new system for the state housing department to regulate sober housing, at a cost of millions of dollars in the first year, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s analysis. The new law is expected to cost about $200,000 per year to fund one staff position, according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Even so, some housing organisations opposed the legislation, arguing it will divert scarce housing funds away from low-barrier models they say are proven to work.