Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is under fire for skipping more than half of the city's recent board meetings on homelessness as the city continues to struggle with high levels of vagrancy.
Bass has missed 13 of 21 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) Commission meetings held since mid-August of last year, LAist reported.
She has also missed 25 of 47 meetings since she became the first LA mayor to appoint herself to the commission back in October 2023.
The agency's bylaws, most recently updated last March, state that commission members 'may be subject to removal' after four absences within a year-long period.
The report comes as liberal politicians in LA voted to rescind a ban on some homeless encampments.
Last Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council lifted the ban on 12 homeless encampments in neighborhoods represented by District 13 Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez.
Significant numbers of homeless people are now expected to return to the Hollywood Rec Center, the Barnsdall Art Park, and other areas including Silver Lake or Echo Park.
When Bass appointed herself to the 10-member LAHSA Commission in 2023, her addition was billed as 'stepping up and transforming [the agency] for the better.'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is under fire for having skipped more than half of the city's homelessness Commission meetings since she appointed herself to the role in 2023
The LA City Council recently voted to remove a ban on 12 homeless encampments in neighborhoods including Hollywood, Echo Park and Silver Lake. Pictured: Skid Row in July 2026
A homeless person sits on a sidewalk with his head under a cardboard box in downtown Los Angeles, August 2026
A map released by board member Hugo Soto-Martínez showed the locations of the twelve homeless encampments that would no longer be banned after the LA council voted to rescind the policy
'The City and County, together, are implementing strategies to bring unhoused Angelenos inside from encampments,' Bass said then. 'Now, together, we will continue to directly address this issue with locked arms.'
However, Bass's LAHSA attendance record opened up questions about her focus on LA's homeless.
The agency's commissioner, Justin Szlasa, emphasized the importance of attending meetings.
'That's why we have a commission,' he told LAist. 'It's not just about achieving a quorum. It's about people who are focused on considering the issue, tracking the things as they unfold and being part of that deliberative process. If people don't show up, they can't do that.'
About 93 percent of LA residents consider homelessness to be a problem in the county, according to a 2024 survey published by the University of Southern California.
The survey also found that roughly 64 percent of locals considered homelessness to be a problem in their own neighborhood.
Despite her absences, Bass's office told the outlet that she has been up to date on LAHSA's actions.
Bass appointed herself to the 10-member LAHSA Commission in October 2023, but has missed 25 of 47 meetings since then
Data published by LAHSA said there were 72,195 homeless people in Los Angeles County as of 2025. Pictured: Skid Row encampment in June 2026
LAHSA also has not moved to remove Bass from her role in the commission.
'The Commission and its committees have consistently achieved a quorum and fulfilled their responsibilities, so LAHSA has not notified the City or the County regarding commissioner attendance,' Ahmad Chapman, the LAHSA communications director, told LAist.
The LAHSA Commission is tasked with budgeting, funding and planning for the homelessness-related agency.
Its commissioners oversee the allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds.
Bass touted her administration's homelessness record last month, adding that 'this crisis was ignored by city leaders for decades.'
'I will never stop fighting until we end street homelessness, because no Angeleno should be sleeping on the street,' she said.
There were 72,195 homeless people in LA County as of last year, per data released by LAHSA. That was slightly down from 75,312 in 2024.
A 2024 survey found that approximately 93 percent of LA residents considered homelessness to be a problem in their county
Soto-Martínez argued that banning the homeless encampments could 'make it harder for outreach workers to consistently engage [homeless] people ... and connect them to housing'
Soto-Martinez, a member of the LA chapter of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), led the measure aiming to lift the prohibition on encampments. It passed last Tuesday with a 10-3 vote.
Los Angeles' municipal code, which is at the heart of the ban, makes it illegal for people to sit, lie, sleep or place personal property on any street, sidewalk or public right-of-way.
Soto-Martínez had argued that the 12 enforcement zones could 'make it harder for outreach workers to consistently engage people experiencing homelessness and connect them to housing.'
He claimed that his own district had reduced street homelessness by more than 40 percent by connecting people with housing, treatment and supportive services instead of 'simply moving people from one location to another.'
The councilmember said schools would not be affected by the measure.
Bass is currently running against LA city councilmember Nithya Raman, a member of DSA, to be reelected as mayor. Raman voted in favor of removing the ban.
A spokesman for LAHSA told the Daily Mail: 'The Commission's bylaws contain a section on attendance.
'The Commission and its committees have consistently achieved a quorum and fulfilled their responsibilities, so LAHSA has not notified the City or the County regarding commissioner attendance.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to Bass's office and campaign for comment.
