This week in affordable housing news…:

State Update:

• Governor Newsom signed a package of 50-plus housing bills this week, including all of the CHC-sponsored legislation on his desk: SB 423 (Wiener) extending SB 35 streamlining for another decade; SB 439 (Skinner) allowing courts to throw out frivolous lawsuits brought against affordable housing projects; and AB 1449 (Alvarez) extending new CEQA exemptions to 100% affordable housing. The Governor signed one additional CHC-sponsored bill, AB 1307 (Wicks), in September, which reverses a recent state court decision by clarifying that the sound of residents’ voices cannot be considered an environmental impact under CEQA. Several other noteworthy bills supported by CHC were also signed this week, including SB 4 (Wiener), accelerating approvals of affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions and nonprofit colleges, and AB 346 (Quirk-Silva), which makes critical changes for certifying state tax credits. 

• CHC’s Ray Pearl was invited to the bill signings today of two additional pieces of this year’s housing package: the Mental Health Services Act reforms of SB 326 (Eggman) and AB 531 (Irwin). This legislation, which will now go before voters on the March 2024 ballot, sets aside 30% of MHSA program funds to support housing interventions for people suffering from mental illness and substance abuse, while also authorizing a $6.4 billion bond to provide new resources to the program. Ray Pearl said in a statement: “With every California community looking for ways to assist residents wrestling with behavioral health challenges and the dangers of homelessness, it is heartening to see Governor Newsom and legislative leaders embracing affordable housing as an essential part of the solution. We look forward to encouraging voters to support these critical measures on the ballot next year.”

• As attention now turns to next year’s session, CHC and our affordable housing partners submitted a detailed 2024-25 budget framework to legislative leaders this week, highlighting the need for a “full suite of investments” to achieve the state’s goal of producing at least one million homes affordable to lower-income Californians over the next decade. Included in the framework are a $10 billion housing bond, ongoing General Fund resources for successful housing programs, new revenue targeting homelessness, and additional financial support for vulnerable households. The letter urges action on this “complete package” next year: “With a renewed commitment from state leaders—and ongoing financial support for successful housing programs—California can ensure that affordable housing units no longer languish in the pipeline, unhoused residents do not wait months or years to access affordable and accessible housing options, and more individuals and families avoid falling into homelessness.”

• Last week CHW President & CEO, Sean Spear joined FOX San Diego anchors Maria Arcega-Dunn and Phil Blauer to talk about the DreamBuilder gala celebrating CHW’s 35th anniversary. Sean shared how the event directly supports residents of their communities by raising funds for on-site programs and services. To watch the on air interview click here.

ICYMI – Top news stories:

How the carpenters’ union broke the California logjam over new housing laws
Los Angeles Times
Every few months over the last two years, a sea of California carpenters has clogged the state Capitol to voice their support of high-profile housing legislation, their yellow and orange vests, hard hats and work boots in stark contrast to the suits, dresses and fancy shoes more customary in the hallways and hearing rooms of Sacramento. Their grassroots lobbying has paid off with major legislative wins, including a pair of housing construction bills that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Wednesday. Last year’s coalition included the California Housing Consortium and other affordable housing groups and two other major unions—the California School Employees Assn. and the Service Employees International Union. This year, Wiener and the carpenters expanded support for the labor changes to add more construction unions.

Californians face an insurance crisis. Can they trust the man in charge of fixing it?
San Francisco Chronicle
One of the favorite party tricks by California officials for making politically difficult decisions is to unveil an announcement that makes it seem like they’re solving the problem but actually kicks it down the road. That’s what Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara did late last month when he announced a package of proposals to shore up California’s faltering home insurance market. Lara heralded his package as “the largest insurance reform since state voters’ passage of Proposition 103 nearly 35 years ago.” But industry players say the reforms won’t be fully implemented until 2026—which happens to be the year Lara terms out of office. That timing may be convenient for Lara, a political ladder-climber with a long track record of ethical scandals. But it’s anything but convenient for the rest of California.

As rooftop solar debate flares, builders, landlords and renter advocates are taking sides
CalMatters
California isn’t short on lofty goals: Lawmakers have vowed to zero out the state’s carbon emissions by 2045, build 2.5 million new homes by the end of the decade and swap gas-burning appliances with electric ones in 7 million homes over the next 12 years. Now California’s chief utility regulator is considering a new rooftop solar policy that a chorus of critics say will make it harder for the state to meet any of those ambitious targets. On Oct. 12, the California Public Utilities Commission will vote on whether to reduce the payments that owners of solar panel-equipped apartment buildings receive for the electricity they generate on their rooftops. A notably diverse coalition of California interest groups have banded together to push back against the proposal. Landlords, tenant rights organizations, affordable housing advocates, environmental nonprofits and the building industry — which rarely all agree — say the policy would “eviscerate” the multifamily solar market.