SACRAMENTO - Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) announced today that his bill addressing “homeless dumping” passed out of the State legislature and will go to Governor Schwarzenegger for signature.

Assembly Bill 2745 prohibits the dumping of homeless individuals from one county to another to receive supportive services without the knowledge of and approval from the recipient county agency or service provider.

Assembly Bill 2745 also requires each hospital to participate in regional planning meetings with key stakeholders to identify community based best practices for the post-hospital transition of homeless patients and requires a document compiling the recommendations of the meetings be made available to the public by January 1, 2008.

“Communities with sufficient services available for their own homeless residents should not be overburdened by the dumping of homeless individuals discharged from hospitals in neighboring counties,” explained Assemblymember Jones .  “Communication and collaboration are crucial in the process.  It is imperative for the stakeholders involved to communicate effectively.  This bill both facilitates that communication and stops the practice of ‘dumping’ across county lines.

The bill resulted from cases where hospitals or county social service offices transported homeless people across county lines from El Dorado County to Sacramento County .