HousingBondCA! coalition launches campaign to support a $10 billion housing bond,
place critical funding measure on the 2026 ballot
On the heels of Governor Newsom endorsing a housing bond in May, campaign unveils new website and digital ads blanketing the state Capitol that highlight the urgent need to support affordable housing before funding runs out Bond measures fund construction of affordable rental housing for lower-income families, expand homeownership opportunities for California workers, and provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Two bond bills are moving in the Legislature toward the 2026 ballot: AB 736 (Wicks) and SB 417 (Cabaldon)
SACRAMENTO – The HousingBondCA! coalition formally launched its campaign today in support of a $10 billion housing bond, unveiling a new website that will serve as a platform for supporting bond proposals moving through the Legislature, as well as a digital ad campaign urging lawmakers to take action to send a final bond measure to Gov. Newsom’s desk.
HousingBondCA! brings together a diverse and growing coalition in support of a housing bond, including more than 100 affordable housing providers, local governments, labor and business groups, and environmental organizations. The HousingBondCA! website can be found here: www.housingbondca.com.
“With housing costs rising and millions of Californians struggling to find an affordable place to live, it has never been more critical to build more of the affordable housing lower-income Californians are depending on,” says Ray Pearl, executive director of the California Housing Consortium, “But with funding running out, California needs a housing bond now. We are proud to help lead the HousingBondCA! coalition. Together we are urging the Legislature and Governor to act—and to give voters a chance to support affordable housing on the ballot next year.”
Two bond bills are now moving through the Legislature: AB 736 (Wicks) and SB 417 (Cabaldon). Both bills share the same name, The Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, and the same goal: Authorizing a $10 billion bond that would go before voters on the June 2026 ballot. After Governor Newsom endorsed a housing bond this spring, the Assembly took the first vote on the measures in June, passing AB 736 by a vote of 65-11.
Adding urgency to the HousingBondCA! effort is the decline in funding for affordable housing in this year’s state budget. California has more than 40,000 shovel-ready units of affordable housing across the state waiting only on funding to move into construction. But with state revenues expected to remain uncertain over the next several years—and with resources from the state’s last housing bond (2018) exhausted—affordable housing production is in danger of grinding to a halt.
“California desperately needs a new housing bond to provide the stable, ongoing source of funding necessary to maintain affordable housing production,” says Chione Lucina Muñoz Flegal, executive director of Housing California, “At a time when the federal government is threatening to pull back investments in our safety net and cut off access to housing and other critical services, we need bold action from state leaders. The HousingBondCA! coalition gives us all a voice as we push the Legislature and Governor to pass a bond that helps build safe, affordable homes for struggling Californians and provide housing for people experiencing homelessness.”
The two bond bills now moving through the Legislature would have a direct impact on the state’s housing crisis. A recent impact analysis of the bills found they would…:
- Produce more than 40,000 affordable homes for lower-income households
- Preserve more than 5,500 existing housing units
- Help more than 13,000 first-time homebuyers purchase a home
- Create more than 53,000 construction jobs
- Generate $1.3 billion in state and local tax revenue
Learn more about the bond bills and the HousingBondCA! coalition here: www.housingbondca.com.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 10, 2025
Press Contact:
Mike Roth
916-444-7170, mike@paschalroth.com
