CHC is closely monitoring the state and federal response to COVID-19—and we are working with our members to preserve and protect access to affordable housing:

California situation:

• Governor Newsom announced this week that public schools would remain closed for the remainder of the school year—a sign shelter-in-place measures will extend past April and at least into May. The Governor said today current projects indicate California’s COVID peak will be in the “first few weeks of May.”
• Six Bay Area counties adopted new, stricter shelter-in-place measures this week in response to COVID-19. While most construction is now prohibited, critical affordable housing development has been granted an exemption and will be allowed to proceed.

Federal action:

• After the passage last week of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package, House Democrats have begun to discuss options for the next phase of relief—“CARES 2”—when they return to the Capitol on April 20.
• While infrastructure briefly emerged as a potential focus this week, Speaker Pelosi said Friday her preference is to focus on more immediate economic stimulus. “It is imperative that we go bigger and further assisting small business, to go longer in unemployment benefits and provide additional resources,” to process jobless claims, “and more direct payments for families,” she said. Advocates are also continuing to seek action to protect the more than 800,000 California households living in affordable housing.
• Senate Republicans have said they are not yet willing to consider another stimulus bill.

State policy activity:

• A new director of the Department of Housing & Community Development was announced this week, with the Governor appointing Gustavo Velasquez, a senior director at the Urban Institute and former assistant secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (Announcement here; Velasquez biography here.)
• The chairs of the Legislature’s two housing committees raised questions this week about Governor Newsom’s new executive order temporarily banning evictions—saying the order won’t stop landlords from initiating eviction proceedings or evicting renters once the order ends. “Tenants are being told you can’t move and you can’t stay,” said Assemblymember David Chiu, who joined Senator Scott Wiener in calling for a broader ban on all eviction proceedings.