KCRA–

The $138.6 billion state budget that lawmakers are expected to approve on Thursday now includes one-time spending on critical programs for California’s homeless population.

Under the budget plan, California will be get $500 million for homeless emergency aid programs — double the amount originally penciled into the governor’s May revised budget. The programs include emergency shelters and rent relief for low-income people.

“We realize it’s a statewide problem,” said H.D. Palmer, a spokesperson for the California Department of Finance. “The state of California has roughly 25 percent of the homeless persons in the United States. That’s more than 130,000 (here in California) according to the latest numbers we’ve got.”

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