LOS ANGELES — Democrats and Republicans expressed frustration Monday as they grilled Gov. Gavin Newsom's top housing officials in a tense legislative hearing about how billions of state dollars have been spent on the worsening homelessness crisis.

The hearing by the Assembly budget subcommittee on accountability and oversight came after a state audit released last month found that California has failed to adequately track the outcomes of its vast spending on homelessness programs, raising questions about efficacy and transparency.

California has spent more than $20 billion over the past five years to help people get off the streets, but homelessness has continued to rise — jumping by 6% in 2023 to more than 180,000 people. California has been the state with the largest homeless population for more than a decade, according to the latest federal data.

The audit raised concerns in the Legislature about whether the spending has worked and could hamper requests by cities and counties for more money to address the crisis as the state faces a massive budget deficit.

Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, hammered Newsom officials Monday, demanding data regarding how specific programs have worked to get homeless people sheltered. The officials repeatedly said the information is not yet available.

"You come to a budget committee, and there's no numbers," Ting said. "How many people have we helped? How many people are off the street? … Because that's what the public wants to know. What's the money been spent on?"

Meghan Marshall, executive officer of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, said the system is undergoing a "transformation," and officials are still working on reporting requirements mandated by a law Newsom signed in 2021.

New data about how homelessness funding has been spent should be available as soon as July, Marshall said, adding that the state is "working through data quality issues."

A frustrated Ting said, "That sounds like an excuse."

Last month's state audit found that Marshall's council has not evaluated program success or consistently monitored spending. The audit said California "must do more to assess the cost-effectiveness of its homelessness programs."

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