This week in affordable housing news…:

State Update:

• The final 2023-24 budget was signed this week, with the Governor and Legislature agreeing to maintain ongoing commitments to the state’s successful affordable housing programs. Toplines include $500 million for the LIHTC, $325 million for MHP (including a $100 million boost proposed by legislators), $225 for the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program, $250 million for Adaptive Reuse, and $100 million for the Portfolio Reinvestment Program. The budget also invests $1.1 billion in homelessness programs and more than $300 million in homebuyer assistance. CHC signed a joint statement with our partners applauding state leaders’ ongoing support for affordable housing, while highlighting the need for additional, long-term investments to achieve the state’s housing goals—including new opportunities on the 2024 ballot.

• SB 423 (Wiener), CHC’s sponsored legislation extending SB 35, was approved by the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee this week by a vote of 7-1. The bill got a boost over the last few days when it earned the support of SEIU-California and its 700,000 members. Last week, several major building trades unions also withdrew their opposition. The legislation now moves to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, where it will be heard on July 10. If you haven’t submitted a support letter, there’s still time: Sample support letters are available on the CHC website and should be uploaded through the Legislative Position Letter Portal.

•  The long-awaited Assembly leadership transition is occurring this week, with new Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) taking the gavel on Friday from Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). Asm. Rendon has served in the post since 2016, giving him the second-longest run as speaker in state history behind Willie Brown. Rendon has opened a campaign committee to run for State Treasurer and says he intends to serve in the Assembly until he is termed out in 2024. Speaker-Designate Rivas, who spent his early years living in farmworker housing in San Benito County, earned the votes to replace Rendon in a December vote and will take the gavel for the remainder of the legislative session. Rivas served as chair of the Assembly Housing Work Group in 2021 that produced a comprehensive report on how to break down barriers to affordable housing development. The Sacramento Bee recently published a detailed profile on Rivas’s background and plans for his term.

• In another notable transition, this week also saw a major shakeup of leadership at the California State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, with current president Andrew Meredith announcing that he was stepping down. Meredith will be replaced by Chris Hannan, who heads the union group’s Orange County and Los Angeles branch.

• HCD released its 2023 SuperNOFA last month, with applications due by 4pm on July 12. Pursuant to the negative points policy, potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Department in advance of submitting an application for funding to identify any outstanding reports, payments due or other deficiencies which may result in assessment of negative points if not cured prior to the application due date by sending an email to ComplianceVerification@hcd.ca.gov.

ICYMI – Top news stories:
EDITORIAL: Turning office buildings into apartments is how California eases the housing crisis
Los Angeles Times
California’s many half-empty office buildings and vacant big-box stores may soon get new leases on life. Thanks to local and state efforts to loosen land-use laws, developers in California will soon find it much easier to convert commercial properties into apartments, condominiums and townhomes. Moribund suburban strip malls and downtown office buildings present a tremendous opportunity for California to address one of its most pressing problems: the crippling shortage of housing that has driven up rents and home prices to unaffordable levels. Perhaps the biggest reform will come July 1 when Assembly Bill 2011 takes effect. The law, written by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), will fast-track approval to build 100% affordable housing on most properties zoned for retail, office or parking.

‘I don’t want to become San Francisco’: Urban woes spur state action on housing
Politico
Officials in Washington state and Vermont looked at the housing crisis in San Francisco this year and took action to prevent the same thing happening in their states: They effectively banned single-family zoning. Those new laws are part of a wave of municipal and state efforts to guard against the worst effects of the crunch already on display in California’s fourth-largest city as housing costs ballooned nationwide since the pandemic. The solutions to skyrocketing housing costs all take time to have an effect. But officials know what could happen if they don’t do something: “Every state in the country other than California is saying, ‘I don’t want to become California,’ and every other city is like, ‘I don’t want to become San Francisco,’” said Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow on urban economics and housing policy at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

This California county now tops S.F. as the most expensive place for renters in the U.S., report says
San Francisco Chronicle
Santa Cruz County has vaulted over the San Francisco area as the most expensive market in the country for renters, according to a new report. The 2023 Out of Reach Report, published annually by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, found that the Bay Area and surrounding region dominate the list of U.S. markets least affordable for renters—with Santa Cruz topping the list of cities with the highest hourly wage needed to afford a two-bedroom home. In a county where 40% of households are renters, the hourly wage needed in 2023 for a two-bedroom home is $63.33—an annual income of $131,720—which would require a minimum-wage earner to work 4.1 full-time jobs to afford such a home.