This week in affordable housing news…:

State Update:

Assembly and Senate leaders released their joint budget agreement this week—the Legislature’s formal response to Governor Newsom’s revised May budget proposal. CHC’s most recent budget request with our affordable housing partners organizations is available here.
The legislative package funds several key elements of the Administration’s affordable housing budget, including:

• $500 million over two years for the Infill infrastructure Grant Program
• $250 million over two years for Adaptive Reuse
• $150 million over two years for the Portfolio Reinvestment Program
• $100 million over two years for mobile homes and manufactured housing
• $100 million over two years for affordable housing on state excess sites

The Legislature also proposed more than $1 billion in additional affordable housing funding, including:

• $400 million over two years for the Multifamily Housing Program
• $350 million for the CalHOME program
• $300 million for the Housing Accelerator Program
• $200 million for affordable housing preservation through the Community Anti-Displacement Acquisition Program (CAPP)
• $150 million over two years to continue the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program created by Proposition 41 (2014)
• $100 million for the Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Program

The legislative budget package also includes $1 billion over two years in local grants to address homelessness, $2 billion over three years for new student housing, and $130 million for downpayment assistance, ADU financing, and legal aid for eviction protection. The Legislature has also proposed a new “California Dream for All” program—a $1 billion revolving revenue bond over ten years that will assist approximately 8,000 first-time homebuyers each year with downpayment assistance.
The Legislature has until June 15 to finalize and vote on a final 2022-23 budget bill, which the Governor is required to sign before the end of June. 
In other news, ahead of House of Origin deadlines all three of CHC’s sponsored bills passed off the Assembly Floor last week. AB 2011 (Wicks) will open new sites to affordable development with the potential to produce millions of units, while creating strong labor protections that support all of the workers on these essential jobs. AB 2334 (Wicks) increases the number of sites qualifying for expanded Density Bonuses available to 100% affordable projects, and AB 2006 (Berman) aims to streamline the state’s compliance monitoring system.

ICYMI – Top news stories:
Assembly Speaker Rendon keeps his crown
CalMatters
After a weekend of lobbying, jockeying and speculating, then a flurry of parliamentary maneuvers and a six-hour closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, California Assembly Democrats finally came to a decision about who ought to serve as speaker. The answer: The current speaker, Anthony Rendon. If you need a quick refresher: On Friday, Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) announced that 34 of the Assembly’s 58 Democrats supported him to become the next speaker. Rendon refused to acknowledge the declaration publicly. All manner of machinations and mishigas ensued. This week both parties agreed that Rendon will serve as Speaker for the remainder of this session, and Rivas will be first in line when a new vote is taken next year.

Does California have enough water for lots of new homes? Yes, experts say, despite drought.
Los Angeles Times
To some, it defies common sense. California is once again in the middle of a punishing drought with state leaders telling people to take shorter showers and do fewer loads of laundry to conserve water. Yet at the same time, many of the same elected officials, pledging to solve the housing crisis, are pushing for the construction of millions of new homes. “It’s the first question I’d always get,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, former General Manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. “How in the world are you approving new housing when we’re running out of water?” The answer, according to Kightlinger and other experts, is that there’s plenty of water available for new Californians if the 60-year trend of residents using less continues and accelerates into the future.

Alameda residents fight housing plan to create 5,000 homes: ‘We are fearful paradise will go away’
San Francisco Chronicle
The fight over state housing mandates playing out throughout the Bay Area hit the city of Alameda this week, with neighbors yelling at officials during a chaotic public meeting about where to build homes. The small island city with just over 78,000 people is being forced to reckon with California’s housing crisis—the state is requiring it to plan for 5,353 new homes from 2023 to 2031. As part of the plan, Alameda officials are proposing allowing multifamily apartments throughout the city and are prioritizing placing denser housing on nearly 100 acres of shopping centers and near bus and ferry connections. In the past, smaller cities including Alameda have ignored the mandates, bowing to resident opposition. But Alameda officials say this time the state will levy fines or withhold funding for city projects, like infrastructure, if they don’t plan for the required number of units