FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2015

Contact: Mike Roth, 916.444.7170

4-Bill Package to Build Affordable Homes and Create Good Jobs Receives Assembly Housing Committee Stamp of Approval

Sacramento, CA – A package of bills that begin to tackle California’s housing affordability crisis is moving forward with the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee’s passage of AB 1335 (Atkins) and AB 1056 (Atkins) today.  With AB 35 (Chiu and Atkins) and AB 90 (Chau) approved two weeks ago, the committee has given a strong endorsement to the entirety of Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins’ four-pronged package of legislation that will generate billions of dollars in federal and private investment in California annually and create tens of thousands of affordable homes each year.  Currently, California’s families suffer from a shortfall of 1.5 million affordable homes, driving rents sky-high across the state and impeding California’s businesses’ ability to compete for talent.

“AB 1335 and AB 1056 are critical elements in a comprehensive approach to affordable home finance in our state.  Together, the package of affordable home construction bills will jumpstart building on affordable homes for California’s workforce, families, veterans, seniors, people with disabilities and people at risk of homelessness,” said Shamus Roller, Executive Director of Housing California.  “This new investment comes at a crucial time for California families, as state dollars necessary to make affordable home developments feasible are at record lows.”

With current public investment hitting a historic low, Speaker Atkins’ package of bills would begin to replace the $1.5 billion in state affordable home financing lost as redevelopment was eliminated and voter-approved bonds from Props. 46 and 1C have been extinguished.  State seed money opens the door to billions of dollars in federal housing dollars and private investment in California affordable homes and jobs, so shovel-ready projects can move forward.

“Investing in public-private partnerships that create affordable homes and jobs is a smart move for California’s economy.  California’s affordable home builders are pleased that legislators of both parties have joined leading business organizations and California mayors to call for the state investment needed to jumpstart construction,” said Ray Pearl, Executive Director of the California Housing Consortium.

The Mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento, Santa Ana and Long Beach signed a joint letter supporting the four housing finance bills, and AB 35 gained a unanimous, bi-partisan vote in the Housing and Community Development committee April 15.

• AB 1335 (Atkins) would create an ongoing, predictable source of funding to fund the state housing trust fund. Until now, California’s housing trust fund has been funded by periodic, voter-approved housing bonds that eventually run dry. For every $500 million generated by AB 1335, 29,000 well-paying jobs will be created. The source for all this economic activity would be a $75 document recording fee on real-estate transactions (excluding commercial and residential home sales). The fee would be capped at $225. These funds would be used for the development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of housing, including transitional and permanent rental housing, workforce housing, supportive services, foreclosure mitigation, and homeownership programs.
• AB 1056 (Atkins) targets 33 percent of the budget savings under Proposition 47 for use in a Rapid Re-housing Program aimed at helping house formerly incarcerated persons who suffer from mental health or substance use issues.

The California Housing Consortium is a non-partisan advocate for the production and preservation of housing affordable to lower and moderate income Californians.  CHC’s vision is a safe, affordable place to call home for every Californian.

Housing California is the voice in the state Capitol for children, seniors, families, people experiencing homelessness, and everyone who needs a safe, stable affordable place to call home.