CHC is closely monitoring the state and federal response to COVID-19—and we are working with our members to preserve and protect access to affordable housing:

California situation:

• Counties across California continued to reopen, with many parts of the state moving into “Phase 3,” though state officials continued to urge caution, even as gyms, bars, and campgrounds are allowed to reopen.
• The state’s joblessness numbers have climbed past 6 million, and California also recorded its largest one-day increase in new cases Thursday, with a total of 3,620 new infections. The total death toll in the state has now climbed close to 5,000.
• Governor Newsom says the Administration is tracking these numbers closely—and the state is much better prepared to handle the spread of COVID-19 than it was earlier this spring. “As we phase in, in a responsible way, a reopening of the economy, we’ve made it abundantly clear that we anticipate an increase in the total number of positive cases,” Newsom said this week, noting that hospitalization rates have increased slightly but are not yet a cause for concern. “We also made it abundantly clear that the concurrent recognition and commitment that we are in a substantially different place than we were 90 days ago.”

Federal action:

• With the stock market fluctuating day by day and economic forecasts showing unemployment likely to remain high at least through this year, there are still mixed signals in Washington about the timing and scope of the next stimulus package. While a White House advisor has been quoted saying last week’s jobs report “takes a lot of the wind out of the sails of any phase 4,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Senate testimony on Wednesday that the economy needs more help: “I think we’re going to seriously look at whether we want to do more direct money to stimulate the economy,” he said. “This is all going to be about getting people back to work.” 

State policy activity:

• The state Assembly voted this week to advance a key CHC-sponsored bill, AB 3107 (Bloom, Ting), which would allow affordable housing development on land zoned for commercial uses.  
• The Judicial Council also voted this week to postpone a decision about when to resume eviction and foreclosure court proceedings—which the judicial system has put on hold until August 4. In related news, Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) announced legislation this week to bar evictions for nonpayment of rent for 90 days after state and local coronavirus emergency orders end. Asm. Chiu’s new bill, AB 1436, would give renters an additional year before landlords could file civil suits to collect unpaid rent.
• State budget negotiations have entered their final phase, with the Assembly and Senate required to vote on a new state spending plan by the end of the day on Monday, June 15.