CHC opened its Annual Lobby Days in Sacramento on Tuesday, March 5, with presentations from affordable housing champions, Assemblymember Toni Atkins, Assembly Majority Leader and principle co-author of SB 391, and Assemblymember Norma Torres, Chair of Assembly Housing and Community Development and co-author of SB 391. They spoke about the imperative of creating a dedicated source of revenue for affordable home development, the challenges facing the affordable housing industry in the post-RDA world, and the political challenges facing the Democratic super-majority in the legislature.  We then heard from key staffers: Steve Shea, Policy Adviser to Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Mark Stivers, Senate Transportation and Housing Consultant, and Lisa Engel, Assembly Housing and Community Development Chief Consultant. We closed our day with a presentation from Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, who was San Diego’s First Commissioner on Homelessness. During his tenure, Assemblymember Maienschein built a home for 35 of San Diego’s most chronic homeless and saved the city $7 million!

On Wednesday, March 6, CHC met with Claudia Cappio, Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency to discuss key issues facing CalHFA and HCD and the struggles our members have been facing since the demise of redevelopment. The CHC delegation then met with close to 30 members and advocated for SB 391.