THE BUZZ: OPENING DOORS — California’s Covid-era housing program managed to get tens of thousands of people off the street, and could offer valuable lessons for the state as it looks to roll out Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health and housing initiative. Project Roomkey, Newsom’s emergency plan for housing people and slowing the spread of the virus during the height of the pandemic, brought about 62,000 people into hotel rooms using state and federal money, according to a new outside report from the firm ABT Global, released Monday night. The firm did not track where those people are now, but found that around 22 percent of participants moved to permanent housing upon leaving. The authors described the program design and funding as “unprecedented in their speed and scale,” and said key to its success were services, such as help with doctor’s appointments and behavioral health care, that made it easier to get healthy and stay off the street for good. To the measure's supporters, Project Roomkey offers proof of concept for Prop 1 — and a lesson in political will. “The lesson from Project Roomkey is that we can do this,” said Jason Elliott, the governor’s deputy chief of staff. “A lot of people that were opposed to Prop 1 — publicly or privately — said this just isn’t an addressable issue. We just can’t see this working. And a lot of people said the same thing about Project Roomkey.” The approach that was tested under Roomkey is being made permanent under Prop 1, with help from $6.4 billion in bond money. But the state is already funding permanent supportive housing, hotel and motel renovations and new outpatient treatment slots through a behavioral health program already in place. Over 2,600 new treatment and residential beds were funded while the state was waiting for Prop 1 to pass. California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly, in a statement, said Project Roomkey demonstrated the ability of local governments to create housing models that can address peoples’ complex needs — which will also be key to Prop 1’s success. The positive findings for Project Roomkey come amid heightened scrutiny of California’s homelessness response and pressure from legislators to funnel more money toward housing. A recent state audit showed the state has spent over $20 billion to address homelessness in recent years, with little to show for it. In the meantime, the governor is turning his focus to local accountability. Newsom last month called for increased oversight of homelessness efforts and, as Elliot put it, the administration does not want to “continue to fund failure.” "There are some cities and some counties in California that are an example of exactly how to address homelessness, and behavioral health challenges. We want more cities and counties to follow their lead,” Elliott said. “We want fewer cities and counties to continue to fall back on the same excuses for why they can't do it." MORE ON HOMELESSNESS: Newsom will sponsor legislation that would compel cities and counties to plan more housing for homeless people, part of the governor’s larger push to get tougher with local governments on the issue. The bill being carried by Assemblymember Chris Ward would broaden state-mandated housing blueprints for local governments, requiring them to account for incomes at the very bottom of the income range — in other words, people who are homeless. That could encompass both identifying sites for temporary shelter, planning for longer-term permanent housing, and tweaking zoning rules to ensure units actually get built. “These new income categories mean everyone will need to focus more intently on the unique needs of people in homelessness,” Elliott said in an interview. — with help from Jeremy B. White GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Meanwhile, you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Delivering remarks at the California Highway Patrol Memorial Ceremony. | 
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