Governor Newsom signed CHC’s sponsored bill, AB 2011 (Wicks), yesterday in a signing ceremony celebrating a nearly 40-bill housing package that also included CHC’s two other sponsored bills, AB 2006 (Berman) and AB 2334 (Wicks). 

AB 2011 took center stage at the event, with Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and many other legislative housing champions joining CHC VP of Government Affairs Marina Wiant on stage, along with representatives of SEIU California, the California Conference of Carpenters, and other members of the diverse coalition of groups that rallied to support the legislation. 

“California has made historic investments and taken unprecedented actions to tackle the state’s housing crisis over the past four years,” Governor Newsom said when he took the podium. “But we recognize there’s more work to do—this package of smart, much-needed legislation will help us build new homes while rebuilding the middle class.”

Assemblymember Wicks received special praise at the event for her leadership—and for bringing together the unprecedented coalition of affordable housing, labor, and other groups around a compromise that is expected to create a wave of new affordable housing and high-wage jobs. 

“Today we are taking a monumental step in our efforts to turn our housing crisis in a different direction,” said Asm. Wicks. “The Governor’s signature on AB 2011 marks a turning point for California’s housing production needs—no longer will lack of land be an issue. No longer will there be a lack of incentive for workers to join the construction workforce. And, no longer will red tape and bureaucracy prohibit us from building housing in the right locations to address our climate crisis.”

CHC was invited by the Governor’s Office to speak at the event, and Marina Wiant thanked legislative leaders for breaking through the years of political gridlock on housing policy—highlighting the steady support of a growing coalition that rallied behind the legislation: “Our success this year was due in no small part to the diverse coalition that came together to support this bill—including housing advocates, labor, environmental and business groups, and many others,” Wiant said. “Together we showed we can do great things.”

CHC’s Ray Pearl was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story on the bill signingand in a release yesterday from Asm. Wicks’ office—calling AB 2011 “the breakthrough affordable housing advocates have been fighting for.” “CHC was proud to co-sponsor this legislation,” Pearl said, “and we recognize it for what it is: A watershed moment for housing policy in California, that sets a new precedent for opening underutilized, environmentally friendly sites to affordable housing, streamlining approvals, and building a well-paid, middle-class construction workforce in every community. Californians desperately need safe, high-quality affordable homes. AB 2011 will help us produce a lot more of them.”

AB 2011 will go into effect on July 1, 2023, and CHC is eager to assist members who would like to take advantage of its provisions. Please contact Marina Wiant for more information: mwiant@calhsng.org.

For more information: 

• Governor Newsom’s press release on yesterday’s bill signing is here.
• Asm. Wicks press statement on AB 2011 is here.