Learn about Habitat for Humanity California’s legislative priorities and current public policies aimed at advancing homeownership opportunities for lower-income households. Sign up here for updates and Action Alerts from our Legislative Affairs Committee.
Not Just Your Granny’s Granny Flat: An Examination of Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Law and Policy Issues in California Summary – On January 30th, members of the Assembly Committees on Housing and Community Development and Local Government convened a joint informational hearing to discuss the utility and increased popularity of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) – or Granny Flats as a small piece of the solution to California’s housing crisis. Experts spoke to the committee about the need to reduce fees and other hurdles to building ADUs as they are and...
During his inaugural address on January 7th, the Governor Newsom professed that housing is one of his top priorities for his tenure in office and he practically declared war on local governments who continuously say “no” to housing developments in their communities. On Thursday, he put the money where his mouth was throughout his campaign, appropriating $1.75 billion towards housing and putting “teeth” in housing policies. For the first time in history, cities will be penalized and lose funding if they do not comply and produce their fair share of...
January 15 – California Housing Update Committee Membership President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Senator Toni Atkins announced Senate committee memberships on January 7th. Most notably, the Senate Housing and Transportation Committee was split into two separate committees, the Housing Committee and the Transportation Committee. The Housing Committee is now chaired by Senator Scott Weiner – a staunch housing advocate and strong proponent of reducing barriers to building housing in California. While the Transportation Committee is chaired former joint committee chair, Senator Beall. Senator McGuire remains the chair of the...
This hearing is the first of two hearings jointly held by the Transportation and Housing Committee and the Governance and Finance Committee and will assess current state and other funding for affordable housing, seek to identify funding gaps, and begin a discussion of why funding alone is not sufficient to address the state’s housing crisis. The second hearing will focus on the effects of land use policies on housing affordability and non-fiscal policy options to address California’s housing needs. Download the Entire Document...
On October 2nd, members of the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee and the Governance and Finance Committee convened for a joint informational hearing to address California’s housing and homelessness crisis. The hearing, titled “Housing Working Families: How Do We Pay For It?” was the first of two informational hearings meant to highlight problems and identify solutions. This hearing was primarily focused on the mechanisms currently in place to fund affordable housing throughout the state. Whereas the second hearing, on November 16th...
As of midnight September 30th, Governor Brown took final action on all pieces of legislation, closing out the 2017-2018 legislative session and his last bill signing cycle as Governor. This year saw over 900 bills make their way to the Governor’s desk, many of which were hotly contested and led to lively debates amongst members, proponents, and opponents. While 2017 was viewed as the housing-heavy legislative year and one that caused a significant amount of “housing fatigue”, we did see quite a few additional...
On August 31st, the 2017-2018 legislative session ended and with it, the passage of a number of important pieces of housing legislation now awaiting the Governor’s signature. Your Lighthouse Sacramento team has actively been tracking and negotiating Habitat supported legislation to ensure that these critical measures are signed into law. As we watch to see what Governor Brown decides to do with his final year in office, we wanted to update you and your constituents on where each bill currently sits, before the Governor takes final action.
Habitat for Humanity California Supports Prop 1 We are a broad coalition of veterans’ organizations, affordable housing advocates, business and labor leaders, cities, environmental groups and many more committed to helping Californians have safe, affordable homes with the $4 billion Veterans and Affordable Housing Act that will go before voters in November 2018. What the Act Does for California Veterans, Struggling Families and People with Disabilities Dedicates funding to help military veterans have a safe place to call home. Provides stable housing for struggling families, people experiencing homelessness and...
On June 29th the Secretary of State (SoS) assigned numbers to all qualifying ballot initiatives for the November election. Below is a list of all propositions with their assigned number and a brief description. You will also find the in depth, SoS press release with detailed descriptions attached to this email. We expect a few measures to be particularly controversial and so wanted to be sure to highlight them for you here. Controversial Propositions: Proposition 5 – changes the requirements for certain property owners to transfer their property...
The Senate and Assembly have both been plugging away to get through over 700 bills in 2 days! We have been monitoring, negotiating, and working Habitat supported legislation closely and have the following updates: Assembly Bills AB 2890, Ting: The assembly’s accessory dwelling unit bill made it off the floor with a vote of 53-17! This bill reduces the barriers local governments can impose on those wishing to build an ADU on their property. AB 2923, Chiu: BART Transit Oriented Development. This measure has led to quite...
As many of you know, on May 9th, the California Energy Commission passed a landmark decision to adopt new standards requiring solar systems to be installed on new homes built in California beginning January 1, 2020. While these still need to be approved by the California Building Standards Commission, it is expected to take effect. There has been quite a bit of discussion and confusion on the matter so we wanted to be sure to give you an update to clarify and provide additional information. After reaching out to those involved...
Legislative Update on Habitat for Humanity California Sponsored Bill AB 2922, Assemblymember Gipson: On May 9th, Assembly Bill 2922 by Assemblymember Gipson passed through its second of two policy committees with bipartisan support. AB 2922 sailed through both the Assembly Housing and Community Development and Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committees with unanimous support. This Habitat for Humanity California sponsored bill has been lauded as a creative and innovative solution to California’s housing crisis. AB 2922 is modeled after a successful tax credit program in Florida. This bill, if...
Thank you to all who provided feedback on Opportunity Zones this month. This is a new community development program enacted by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of December 2017. The program authorizes a tax incentive for investment in low-income neighborhoods. The nominated zones will become effective when reviewed and accepted by the U.S. Treasury. The Governor’s nominations for qualifying census tracts for the new federal Opportunity Zones are now posted on the Department of Finance’s website. Click here to view background on the program, interactive maps,...
On March 20th the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management and Senate Insurance Committee held and informational hearing titled, “Drought, Climate Change and Fire: How is the California Homeowners Insurance Market Responding.” The purpose of the hearing was to bring stakeholders from the Department of Insurance, CALFIRE, Rural County representatives, and Insurance Association representatives to discuss how the drought, extended wildfire season, and above average temperatures impacted various cities and counties in California. The intent of the hearing was to discuss the current state of residential insurance, whether homeowners...
Affiliate leaders, Despite the fact that Governor Jerry Brown signed fifteen bills last year aimed at addressing California’s housing crisis, the state legislature has continued to propose numerous bills to facilitate more affordable housing development throughout the state. Members have introduced language to address issues, which include, but are not limited to the following: the use of public “surplus land” for affordable housing (AB 2065), streamlining the permitting process for Ancillary Dwelling Units, tax increment financing, opportunity zones, and inclusionary housing/high density bonuses. Although all Habitat for Humanity affiliates may not directly benefit from every bill we...
The housing bills were signed by Gov. Jerry Brown today, which will put a down payment on restoring the state’s commitment to taking on the affordable housing crisis. More than 40 local Habitat organizations across California supported the passage of the bills, particularly SB 2, SB 3 and SB 35, which will create new sources of revenue and streamline approval processes for affordable housing across the state. read more… Download our Habitat CA press release Download the Governor Brown press release (with summary of...
Comprehensive Housing Package Heads to Governor’s Desk After a long, hard fought effort and approaching the deadline for approving bills for the 2017 session, Assembly and Senate leaders voted late last week to pass a comprehensive package of housing bills. The bills now head to the Governor for signature. He has until October 15 to take action. The good news is that the Governor has previously signaled his intention to sign the package. Once he signs, we will be in campaign mode once again – for the Veterans and Affordable...
Despite waiting until the last minute, the Legislature ultimately passed a package of housing bills to the governor which he is expected to sign. SB 2 was the most contentious measure with concerns expressed about the funding source and whether members’ districts would reap the benefits of the bill. It was passed on a partisan basis except for Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego) who voted for it and Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) who voted against. This measure has been contained in various iterations for the last six years. After Senator...
Rendon, de León Announce Housing Bond Agreement $4 billion bond includes additional $1 billion for veteran housing SACRAMENTO – Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) today announced that agreement has been reached on legislation that will provide a $4 billion infusion of funding for affordable housing from bond sales. Senate Bill 3 (Beall) proposes $4 billion in bonds for affordable housing, including $1 billion to extend the CalVet Home Loan Program, which is currently scheduled to expire in 2018. “The...
Poll Reveals Strong Support for Affordable Housing Bond A new poll shows strong voter support for a $6-9 billion statewide affordable housing bond in 2018. The poll, conducted by JMM Research, found that the electorate is attuned to the state’s housing problems, with 60 percent of likely November 2018 voters supporting a $6 billion to $9 billion statewide affordable housing bond. Earlier this month, Governor Brown and legislative leaders committed to begin tackling the growing housing gap with a housing package that would include a permanent source of state investment...
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS BEFORE THEY RETURN TO SACRAMENTO ON AUGUST 21 st ! In a joint statement issued at the end of July, the Governor, Senate Pro Tempore and Assembly Speaker announced their commitment to finally negotiating a housing package of bills upon their return from the summer legislative recess on August 21st. Habitat for Humanity California leaders are very hopeful with this announcement, however, we want to ensure that the set aside for homeownership, specifically in SB 2 (Atkins – permanent source) and inclusion of homeownership...
Your calls made the difference! After a very lengthy partisan debate on the floor, SB 2 (Atkins) passed the Senate last week with 27 votes. (All Democrats voted “aye” and Republicans “oppose” – Republicans remain concerned that the funding source will put an unfair financial burden on homeowners.) The bill will now be heard in the Assembly where it is expected to pass the Housing and Community Development and Appropriations Committees. However, we are expecting MAJOR challenges on the Assembly floor. It will be extremely difficult to...
We join many other statewide housing advocacy organizations in taking action this week and it will make a difference in supporting Housing across California. CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TODAY! The California Legislature cannot get away with another year of inaction on funding for workforce housing. The Legislature is close to adjourning for summer recess on July 21st without addressing the housing crisis in California. The cost of renting a home is at an all-time high. Homeownership in California is at its lowest rate since the 1940s! 1 out of 5 residents...
