When California legislators voted last June to again extend eviction protections, they promised the third time would be the charm.

But the state’s rent relief program, which has struggled to reach the neediest tenants and landlords from the start, continues to lag. As of last week, the state has paid $2.4 billion to about 214,000 households — fewer than half of all who have applied for aid.

Those delays — which one study found left the average tenant waiting about three months to get paid — forced legislators’ hands: On March 24, the state’s top legislative leaders struck another last-minute deal designed to stave off eviction for another three months for hundreds of thousands of renters who have applied for relief but are still waiting to hear back.

Assembly Bill 2179 was approved Thursday by the state Senate on a 36-1 vote after passing the Assembly on a 62-1 vote Monday. A few hours later, the bill was signed into law by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who is acting governor with Gov. Gavin Newsom out of the country on vacation.

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