This week in affordable housing news…:

State update:

• Governor Newsom unveiled an 11-bill CEQA reform package last Friday, saying the legislation was critical to accelerating construction of critical energy infrastructure projects across the state. No affordable housing proposals were included in the package, however, an omission noted with concern by many housing advocates. In response to a question about this, the governor said California was already making “tremendous progress” on housing, including the ongoing ramp-up of state housing law enforcement. Gov. Newsom said changes to CEQA administrative record rules in his package would also help speed housing development (though experts disputed whether that would be the case). The governor also said there are “many bills” in the Legislature modifying the CEQA process for housing “that I look forward to signing.”

• CHC is sponsoring several active bills on this issue: SB 439 (Skinner), a bill creating a new special motion to strike non-meritorious CEQA lawsuits; AB 1307 (Wicks), legislation that would reverse a recent court decision in the People’s Park case in Berkeley by clarifying that the sound of residents’ voices should not be considered an environmental impact under CEQA; and SB 423 (Wiener), a bill that would extend SB 35 through 2035 and allow affordable housing projects to maintain access to its accelerated approval process.

• In other news, the Assembly released its budget priorities this week, proposing additional state support for affordable housing beyond the Governor’s May budget proposal. Of particular note is the Assembly’s plan to add $150 million to the Administration’s $225 million in funding for the Multifamily Housing Program. In April, Senate Democrats released a spending blueprint that also proposed additional housing funding, including $500 million for the state tax credit and $300 million in flexible funding for HCD. With the state continuing to face a tight fiscal situation, all of these proposals underscore the importance of AB 1657 (Wicks), a $10 billion housing bond that could significantly expand the state’s ability to support critical affordable housing programs. The Legislature needs to take action this year to put the bond on the March 2024 ballot.

• All of these bills can still use your support! Take action today by placing your letterhead on CHC’s sample support letters and uploading them onto the Legislative Position Letter Portal. Send copies to our Policy Associate, Jennifer Armenta: jarmenta@calhsng.org. You can find fact sheets and sample support letters for these bills on CHC’s Legislative Priorities page.

Top news stories:

‘A nothingburger’: YIMBY activists frustrated by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to reform CEQA
San Francisco Chronicle
Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a proposal last week to reform part of the California Environmental Quality Act, a sweeping law often blamed for making it too difficult and expensive to build here. But his plan had one glaring omission: It barely grapples with the law’s contribution to the state’s crushing housing crisis. His proposal would apply only to certain clean energy and infrastructure projects challenged under the law. The exclusion of a housing-related CEQA reform from the centerpiece of Newsom’s plan didn’t go unnoticed by YIMBY activists and other pro-housing advocates. “It’s a nothingburger—there’s really nothing that would assist housing in any substantial way,” said David Kellogg, a lawyer and housing advocate from Walnut Creek.

EDITORIAL: Homeless people shouldn’t spend weeks proving they’re poor before they get an apartment
Los Angeles Times
From Venice to downtown Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass’ Inside Safe program moved some 1,200 homeless people out of encampments into motels and hotels during her first four months in office. But only 70 people have moved from those temporary accommodations into permanent housing. That’s a number she rightly finds disappointing. Los Angeles has a crippling shortage of housing for homeless people and affordable housing in general. But the pace at which Inside Safe participants — or any homeless person eligible for a rent voucher — are housed should pick up when, as the mayor said, “we have hundreds of vacancies in permanent supportive housing.”

Why California public transit is pleading for state aid
CalMatters
California is grappling with a $31.5 billion budget deficit. Gov. Gavin Newsom denied public transit agencies a lifeline in his latest spending plan, and time is running out. But transit officials and their supporters in the Legislature aren’t giving up hope yet that the state will offer at least some aid. And Friday, the California Transit Association delivered a plan for how individual agencies should ask for money—and how they would be held accountable for how they spend it. Transit agencies are seeking $5.15 billion in operating funds over the next five years—warning that without substantial cash, they’ll fall deep into a financial pit caused by a continued decline in ridership since the pandemic and the drying up of federal funds.