Capitol Reporter

Affordable-home and homelessness policy news from the halls of the Capitol

The May 20, 2019 Issue

State News:
Where Our Housing Bills Stand
Housing CA Partners with Big City Mayors on Budget Ask
Fight for Housing First
New AHSC Campaign Launched 
State Funding and Comment Opportunities
National News:
Oppose HUD Rule to Evict Immigrant Families
Housing California Conference Update:
Download Workshop Presentations and Conference Photos
Save the Date: April 14-16, 2020 in San Diego

State News

Where Our Housing Bills Stand

Friday marked the final day for bills to get out of committees in their house of origin. To move to the next house, bills must pass with a floor vote in their respective houses by May 31, with some deadline exceptions. See where our Housing California-sponsored bills landed last week:

Sponsored Bills

ACA 1 (Aguiar-Curry) Affordable Housing and Public Infrastructure Voter Approval: Needs 2/3 of Assembly to pass (not subject to deadline). This bill would place on the 2020 ballot the opportunity to reduce the local vote threshold for approval of bond and special tax measures to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of infrastructure, including affordable housing, from a two-thirds vote to a 55% majority.

AB 10 (Chiu) Expanding the California Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program: Needs majority Assembly vote to pass by May 31. This bill increases state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program funding beginning in 2020 by an additional $500 million.

SB 282 (Beall) Supportive Housing for People on Parole Experiencing Homelessness: Needs majority Senate vote to pass by May 31. A grant program for counties to provide supportive housing for people on parole with a mental illness who are homeless.

SB 361 (Mitchell) Health Home Program Clean-Up: Needs majority Senate vote to pass by May 31. In 2013, Governor Brown signed AB 361 (Mitchell), which authorized the state to take advantage of an Affordable Care Act optional Medi-Cal benefit, now referred to as the Health Home Program (HHP). This clean-up legislation would remove language around restricting state funding and also make the program more meaningful.​

AB 307 (Reyes) Homeless Youth Grant Program: Needs majority Senate vote to pass by May 31. A grant program to provide housing for youth experiencing homelessness.

SB 329 (Mitchell) Source of Income Discrimination: Needs majority Assembly vote to pass by May 31. Ends the state's legal discrimination against Housing Choice Voucher holders who are looking for a rental and allowed to be denied housing.​

AB 816 (Quirk-Silva) Flexible Housing Program: Not moving out of the Assembly this year. Creates a Flexible Housing Program to provide rental assistance, operating subsidies, services, systems funding, and interim housing (capped at 20%) to cities, counties, and Continuums of Care. Watch our press conference for AB 816.

SCA 1 (Allen) Repeal Article 34: Committee hearing June 4 (not subject to deadline). Would repeal Article 34 of the California Constitution, which currently prohibits the development, construction, or acquisition of an affordable housing development in any manner by any state public body until a majority of the qualified electors of the jurisdiction where the housing development is proposed approve the project by voting in favor at an election.

Supported Bills

Our website has been updated with complete a list of supported bills.

 

Housing CA Partners with Big City Mayors on Budget Ask

California cities and counties are releasing their latest homelessness counts, and so far, nearly all have a higher count than last year. The situation is dire but solvable. Housing California, the Big City Mayors and more than 100 organizations have signed on to an evidence-based proposal that will reduce homelessness in all of our communities if adopted into this year's budget.

The administration and legislature have until June 15 to adopt a final budget. We will continue to urge Governor Newsom and legislative leaders to take the unprecedented level of investment they are offering and put it into solutions that we know will reduce homelessness across California.

Read the letter.

 

Fight for Housing First

Housing California and the Corporation for Supportive Housing found out last month that the California Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council voted to ask the state for an exemption for sober living programs to California's Housing First law (SB 1380, passed in 2016). Only two members of the Council voted against this exemption - both are residents with lived experience of homelessness.

Housing CA and CSH are deeply troubled by this move from a state agency that is required by statute to uphold Housing First. As a result, we met with Senate and Assembly leadership, as well as the governor's office, to ensure the exemption does not occur. Both houses have said they oppose the exemption. We will keep you updated as we learn the final outcome of this critical issue.

 

New AHSC Campaign Launched

California takes equity seriously when it comes to investment in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) for our state's future. When all residents of California have better quality air, public and active transit, outdoor spaces, and affordable homes, we all have better outcomes. We know that providing these crucial elements to a better quality of life also significantly reduce GHG emissions, a top priority for our state, which leads the nation in climate investment.

California continues to prioritize affordable homes as a key investment in its state budget, and a key climate investment, but that doesn't mean we remain passive. We must continue to advocate for this important funding source.

That's why Housing California and our partners are excited to announce the launch of the investAHSC campaign to help all communities advocate for Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program continuous funding.

A new campaign website has AHSC Stories from residents now living in AHSC developments as well as Advocacy Tools your organization can download and use. We ask that you join us by endorsing investAHSC today.

In the News:

 

State Funding and Comment Opportunities

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released the following:

  • Request for comments on proposed amendments to the No Place Like Home Program, which received $2 billion in funding for supportive housing for people with mental illness after Housing California and partners ran a successful Proposition 2 ballot campaign. Written comments due no later than 5 p.m., Monday, June 10, to nplh@hcd.ca.gov.
  • CalHome Program NOFA for nonprofits and local governments in areas affected by the 2017 and 2018 disasters (Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sonoma, and Ventura). CalHome supports a variety of homeownership activities for lower-income households, including reconstruction of homes affected by the disasters. 
  • Request for comments on the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program draft guidelines. In 2017, as part of a 15-bill housing package, Senate Bill 2 was signed into law to address California's housing shortage and high housing costs. Specifically, the bill established a permanent funding source to increase California's affordable housing stock. The bill allocates 70 percent of the revenue deposited in the Building Homes and Jobs Trust Fund beginning in calendar year 2019 to provide financial assistance to local governments for eligible housing-related projects and programs to assist in addressing the unmet housing needs of their local communities. Help shape these guidelines - Submit comments by email to PLHA@hcd.ca.gov. Public comment period ends June 5, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.

National News

Oppose HUD Rule to Evict Immigrant Families

The Trump administration has proposed a new rule that would prohibit “mixed-status” immigrant families from living in public and other subsidized housing. The rule would result in family separations and evictions for certain immigrant families, putting tens of thousands of people and children at increased risk of homelessness. Learn more here.

Housing California is opposing the rule in partnership with the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the National Housing Law Project (NHLP), who are leading the opposition effort and have developed advocacy tools for you to use to join us. Together, NLIHC and NHLP launched a new website, www.Keep-Families-Together.org, where you can find fact sheets and other resources (including talking points and social media images), read the latest news, and submit your own comments directly to HUD by July 9.

 

Housing California Annual Conference Update

We are still feeling that post-conference glow and excited to share more workshop presentations and photos for the 2,000+ participants who joined the movement to shape the future of California! Be sure to save the date for San Diego next year: April 14-16!

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Housing California
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