The California Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state has spent $37 billion on homelessness since 2019 and undercounts the homeless.

It also urges delaying one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s key programs until data proves its effectiveness.

A 2023 UC San Francisco report found 34% of homeless individuals in California are not from California, meaning state taxpayers may have covered $12.6 billion since 2019 on homeless spending for individuals from other states or nations.

“A long-standing way that California and the rest of the United States have estimated the number of people experiencing homelessness is through a point-in-time count,” wrote the LAO. “Since the count is only a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness on one given night in a year (typically in late January) and those conducting the count may miss individuals who are hidden from view at the time (such as people sleeping in a secluded area), the homelessness data collected is an undercount.”