When nearly 600 shelter beds remain empty on any given night across the state, there’s an obvious disconnect between the thousands of homeless individuals and families sleeping in public spaces and the shelters set up to house them.

That reality has raised eyebrows and red flags among lawmakers who are pushing for greater oversight on how homeless shelters spend about $13 million annually in state funding. Senate Bill 2559 seeks to make shelter space more accommodating while also tying state funding to performance measures.

It’s just one of several measures the state Legislature is considering in an effort to whittle the highest per capita homeless population in the nation — an estimated 7,620 homeless individuals statewide. SB 2559 was passed out of the House Finance Committee Tuesday.

Indeed, the startling empty-bed count must be addressed, and the agencies that receive state funding should provide some level of assurance that taxpayer dollars are being used well.

To that end, SB 2559 requires an annual financial audit that would include specific information on funds received under state homeless program contracts, plus recommendations to address any problems.

Failure to carry out recommendations in the audit could be grounds for reducing or eliminating funding, which would hold shelters more accountable.

The bill also would mandate that shelters comply with basic standards, such as having adequate bathroom facilities and storage for personal belongings, as well as partitioned sleeping spaces to allow for privacy.

While those kinds of improvements are helpful, it’s unclear whether they would result in increased shelter occupancy, especially since the reasons why the homeless shy away from shelters are varied. Some want fewer rules; others can’t part from their pets, which usually are banned from shelters; and the list goes on.

In fairness to shelter providers, the state will have to avoid crafting contracts that are too rigid and focus solely on occupancy rates. The goals and expectations of shelters should be reasonable and attainable. The homeless community is diverse, comprising difficult situations.

But the stepped-up pressure on providers could force a shift in how agencies conduct business, nudging them to be more innovative with outreach or form partnerships with other agencies in order to fill shelter beds.

The legislation signals loud and clear that shelter providers must move beyond the concept of “build it and they will come.”

Under SB 2559, by contract the Department of Human Services “shall pay homeless shelter stipends only for performance measures actually achieved by the provider agency, such as the number of homeless families or individuals actually provided with shelter and appropriate services at the emergency or transitional shelter.”

DHS Director Rachael Wong, in testimony, cautioned that an unintended consequence of basing shelter stipends solely on performance measures and outcomes is that “shelters may feel the need to “cherry pick” clients to increase the odds of achieving positive permanent housing discharges.” Those with more complex needs could be overlooked “in favor of clients with fewer or less complicated needs,” Wong said.

It’s important that even the most hardened homeless individuals have access to services. To avoid picking and choosing clients, performance evaluations will have to be more nuanced, not simply based on numbers.

The proposal also is receiving pushback from shelter providers, including the Institute for Human Services, which noted that requirements for partitioned sleeping spaces would decrease its capacity. IHS occupancy averaged 78 percent in shelter for women and family while the men’s shelter held at 80 percent.

House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke, however, said that mandating improvements is a necessary step.

“We need to set benchmarks,” Luke said, noting lawmakers need assurances that the $13 million being appropriated to shelters is being optimized.

Six hundred empty beds nightly raise that very question. If SB 2559 becomes law, it will challenge shelter providers to take more meaningful steps to fill shelter beds — or adapt programs accordingly.