State policy activity:
- At CHC’s request, Asm. Richard Bloom pulled our sponsored bill, AB 3107, from further consideration this session, after it became clear the bill could not advance without amendments that would severely limit the workforce available to build new affordable housing.
- CHC also submitted letters of opposition on two other active bills, including SB 995 (Atkins), which has recently taken on similar workforce language, and AB 1385 (Caballero), a housing production bill that does not currently have any affordability requirements.
- Low-income renters are bracing for a potential wave of evictions next week, when the state court system’s pause on eviction proceedings are set to expire. The Assembly and Senate each have their own anti-eviction bills: AB 1436 (Chiu), which would prevent the eviction of renters unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 emergency, and SB 1410 (Caballero, Bradford), which would create a new tax credit program to support financially struggling renters. The bills have until August 31 to be approved.
Federal action:
- Congressional leaders failed to reach an agreement after another week of negotiations since the expiration of COVID-related unemployment benefits at the end of July.
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that the White House would move forward to issue executive orders on evictions and student loan debt, though he offered no details, and it remains unclear if the President has the authority to take such steps.
- Significant gaps still remain between Republicans’ $1 trillion coronavirus relief plan, which would offer scaled-back unemployment benefits and maintain support for small businesses, and House Democrats’ $3 trillion stimulus proposal, which maintains the level of unemployment benefits approved by Congress in March and extends new support to state and local governments.
