This morning, Governor Newsom unveiled his January budget proposal, which forecasts General Fund revenues will be $29.5 billion lower than at the 2022 Budget Act projections and an estimated budget gap of $22.5 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Despite this outlook, the budget proposal maintains investments in affordable housing production and addressing homelessness for FY23-24 that were included in last year’s budget:

• $500 million continued annual investment in the state LIHTC program 
• $250 million for adaptive reuse
• $225 million for the Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG) Program 
• $225 million for the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP)
• $100 million for the Portfolio Reinvestment Program
• $75 million for State Excess Sites
• $50 million for Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention (VHHP) Program

But, the proposal reduces last year’s commitment to CalHome by $100 million, the CA Dream for All Program by $200 million, and the Accessory Dwelling Unit Program by $50 million.

The California Housing Consortium released the following statement today from Executive Director Ray Pearl:

“While economic uncertainties have forced Governor Newsom to adopt what he’s called a ‘wait and see’ approach to this year’s budget, the Administration’s spending proposal nonetheless maintains a strong commitment to affordable housing and addressing homelessness. Even with cuts looming to other top state priorities, the Governor has pledged to sustain investments in vital programs that support the production and preservation of affordable housing—continuing the $500 million annual allocation for the state Low Income Housing Tax Credit and maintaining funding for MHP and the Portfolio Reinvestment Program.”

“The Governor also doubled down again today on his pledge to support policies that match the scale of the state’s housing problem—recommitting his Administration to a statewide housing goal of 2.5 million new homes by 2030, at least one million of which need to be affordable.”

“This is the kind of leadership we need to maintain recent progress on affordable housing production. But it will require even more substantial, ongoing investments to make meaningful progress on addressing our state’s affordable housing goals—and we look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature to expand on this initial budget proposal.”

“One thing we know for sure: When the state faces an economic downturn, struggling Californians depend on affordable housing more than ever. On behalf of affordable housing providers across the state, I can tell you we are ready to build it.”