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Press Contact: Mike Roth
916-444-7170, mike@paschalroth.com
California Housing Consortium applauds Governor Newsom for signing historic budget with substantial new investments aimed at affordable housing crisis
New budget expands tax credit program, other proposals highlighted by CHC and its partners to ensure vulnerable Californians have access to safe, affordable homes
SACRAMENTO – The California Housing Consortium released the following statement from Executive Director Ray Pearl following Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature today of the 2019-20 state budget:
“Governor Newsom took a historic step today in signing a state budget with unprecedented new funding to support millions of Californians struggling to find affordable housing. We applaud the Governor and the Legislature for including more than $2 billion for affordable housing, local infrastructure, and homelessness programs—including a $500 million expansion of the state Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, one of the best tools available for financing construction of new affordable housing projects.
“This year’s budget, together with the passage of Propositions 1 and 2 last year and the many important bills still moving through the legislative process, demonstrate our state leaders understand the scale of the affordable housing crisis—and are committed to advancing bold solutions to address it.
“To bring supplies into balance with growing demand, we still need to find a way to produce at least 1.4 million more units of affordable housing. That will require making some of this year’s investments ongoing—the newly expanded tax credit program, in particular. It will also require reducing barriers to producing new affordable housing and preserving existing affordable stock that is allowing millions of low- and moderate-income households renting today to live in their communities.
“We believe the Governor shares these same goals, and we look forward to working with his administration to keep them at the forefront of state housing policy for years to come.” ###