This week in affordable housing news…:

State Update:

• The state budget picture may be worse than expected, according to a report released this week by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which says “further weakness” in revenue collections has added $15 billion to the budget shortfall—raising the total budget problem, by the LAO’s calculations, to $73 billion for the coming fiscal year. The Newsom Administration, using a different set of forecasting assumptions, pegged the budget shortfall at $38 billion in January. “All else equal, this means the budget problem is likely to be higher” in the May Revise, the LAO said this week. “No one can say today with certainty how those numbers may change the budget estimate,” H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the Department of Finance, said in a statement. “A responsible step would be for the Legislature to act now on the early action budget measures needed for $8 billion in solutions to help close this gap.”

• The state’s borrowing options are also narrowing as state revenues decline, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a press conference this week. Rivas said the state is likely to be able to take on only $15 billion to $16 billion of additional bond debt this year—on top of the $6.4 billion raised by the passage of Proposition 1 in March—complicating the path forward for AB 1657 (Wicks), the $10 billion affordable housing bond sponsored by CHC. The housing bond is competing with two other bond measures, a $15-plus billion climate bond and $14-plus billion school construction bond. All three measures will need to shrink substantially before they can make their way to the November ballot. Rivas didn’t offer a specific timeline for finalizing the bond proposals, according to Politico, but said a decision has to be made soon if Assembly Democrats are “going to align whatever bonds we decide to move forward with the Senate.”

ICYMI – Top news stories: 

Sen. Padilla rekindles Housing for All Act, tackling homelessness and housing affordability
San Jose Mercury News
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla announced the reintroduction of a bill he said would offer a comprehensive approach to addressing the nation’s homelessness and affordable housing crises. The Housing for All Act, if approved, would result in a historic investment in federal funding to pay for existing programs to prevent homelessness and to provide housing and other support services to those facing homelessness. The money would also fund innovative local initiatives to remedy these crises. “The problem boils down to scale,” Padilla said. “We know how to help. But we need the full weight of the federal government to meet the moment.”

Malibu’s homeless numbers are down nearly 80% from 2020, city announces
Los Angeles Times
In an early release of its annual homeless count, Malibu announced a fourth straight year of declining encampments on its streets and beaches. The team surveying Malibu as part of the annual countywide point-in-time count found 51 people living outdoors in January, compared with 71 in 2023 and 239 at the peak in 2020. The results reflect Malibu’s proactive approach combining contracted outreach with enforcement by the LA County Sheriff’s Department, said Luis Flores, the city’s public safety liaison. Flores said Malibu is showcasing its preliminary numbers months ahead of the official countywide release to combat “a perception that not a lot is being done and that we have a major crisis on our hands. We want to ensure and highlight that a lot of great work is being done.”

Battle Over San Francisco’s Coastal Development Sparks Statewide Concerns
KQED
A feud over balancing housing needs and preserving the California coast as seas rise is brewing along the western shores of San Francisco. Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced a bill—SB 951—in mid-January that aims to remove urban San Francisco from the protections of the California Coastal Commission. He said his bill, sponsored by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, would “aid cities’ efforts to meet state housing goals by refining the commission’s role in housing approvals and permitting.” Members of the Board of Supervisors, on the other hand, have ridiculed the plan, saying the bill is shortsighted, favors developers, and would limit the commission’s power to prepare the city for future sea-level rise.