What Bills Have Been Introduced to Address California's Housing Crisis?

Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Kristopher Hooks
ABC (Sacramento)

California’s housing crisis is a hot topic for both residents and lawmakers — and for good reason, too.

Earlier this year, the California Department of Housing and Community Development published a report that uncovered a pretty bleak future for the state’s housing. According to the report, about 1.8 million new homes need to be built between 2015 and 2025 to meet the state’s projected population growth.

The problem, however, is that the state has only averaged less than 80,000 new homes built annually. For comparison’s sake, from 1955 to 1989, the state averaged 200,000 homes built annually, the report showed.

There’s also the major issue of California’s homelessness, homeownership rate (lowest since the ’40s) and the high price of already existing homes that many in the state can’t afford.

In attempts to help with this issue, state lawmakers have introduced over 120 new bills that will finance low-income housing, address developmental rules and give tax breaks to home renters and buyers.

Here are just a few of the bills:

Financing low-income housing

Assembly Bill 71: Introduced by Assemblymember David Chiu (D–San Francisco), AB 71 would eliminate the mortgage interest deduction on second homes, increase the state Low-Income Housing Program (LIHTC) by $300 million and make various changes to the LIHTC.

Senate Bill 2: Senator Toni Atkins (D–San Diego) introduced SB 2, a bill that could raise between $230 million and $260 million annually by imposing a $75 fee for real estate transactions.

Senate Bill 3: Senator Jim Beall’s (D–San Jose) bill would create a $3 billion bond for low-income housing.

Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4: Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D–Winters) introduced ACA4, which would make it easier for city and county governments to raise taxes to fund low-income housing. The measure, which would go on the 2018 ballot, would also make it so a 55 percent vote instead of two-thirds vote to pass similar measures.

Zoning and developmental stuff

Senate Bill 35: This bill, introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco), would make cities streamline the approval process for building new housing.

Assembly Bill 72: Assemblymember Miguel Santiago’s (D–Los Angeles) AB72 would allow the state Attorney General to enforce state housing laws.

Assembly Bill 678: AB 678, introduced by Assemblymember Raul Bocanegra (D–Pacoima), makes the Housing Accountability Act easier to enforce.

Senate Bill 167: Sen. Nancy Skinner (D–Berkeley) introduced SB 167, which would add money to enforce a state law that prohibits cities from denying low-income housing projects.

Assembly Bill 352: Tiny homes and apartments are a thing now, and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D–Los Angeles) wants to let that continue. AB 352 would prohibit cities from stopping tiny homes or apartments from being built.

Senate Bill 540: Sen. Richard Roth’s (D–Riverside) SB 540 would allow cities to borrow money from state to plan neighborhoods are areas for affordable housing.

Tax breaks for renters and buyers

Assembly Bill 181: Assemblymember Tom Lackey (R–Palmdale) introduced this bill which would double the state tax credit for low- and middle-class to $240 for married couples and $120 for single filers.

Assembly Bill 53: Another tax break-related bill is Assemblymember Marc Steinorth’s (R–Rancho Cucamonga). AB 53 would allow couples to save up to $20,000 tax free and individuals up to $10,000 for the purchase of a permanent home.

Rent-controlled, low-income rentals

Assembly Bill 1505: Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D–Santa Monica) has introduced several bills aimed at rent control and low-income housing. The first on this list is AB 1505, which would increase the amount of low-income housing by allowing cities to force developers to build more low-income rentals as part of their projects.

Assembly Bill 1506: The latest hot topic in local housing circles is rent controlled housing. Bloom’s AB 1506 addresses that by repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which would essentially expand rent control.

Assembly Bill 1521: Bloom’s AB 1521 protects old affordable housing properties from being re-sold.

Assembly Bill 1585: This bill (again, introduced by Bloom) would introduce and out-of-court state appeals board for developers who had low-income housing projects rejected.

Other Bills

Senate Bill 136: Sen. Connie Leyva’s (D–Chino) SB 136 expands use of Mobilehome Park Rehabilitation and Resident Ownership Program (MPRROP) funds to include grants to nonprofit organizations that help mobile home residents.

Assembly Bill 686: “Affirmatively furthering fair housing” is a mouthful, but the bill, introduced by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D–Los Angeles), is pretty simple. It essentially reinforces the state’s commitment to fair and equal housing despite Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson’s objection to the rule.

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