This week in affordable housing news…:

State update:

• California is expected to have a $31 billion budget surplus next year, according to a fiscal outlook release this week by the Legislative Analyst’s Office. While there are some limits on how much incoming revenue can be spent, the LAO projects operating surpluses of between $3 billion to $8 billion per year through 2026. Governor Newsom told reporters he plans to use the unexpected windfall to “substantially increase our one-time investments in infrastructure” and deliver another round of stimulus checks to Californians. “How we framed that historic surplus last year,” the Governors said, “similarly, we will frame our approach this year.”

• Will California’s plan for clearing homeless camps work? CalMatters explores the state’s evolving plans for finding shelter and permanent homes for the growing homeless population. The state’s last homeless count was conducted prior to the pandemic—in January 2020—when 161,000 people were living on the streets. “The tally is widely considered an underestimate,” notes CalMatters, “and it doesn’t take into account the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Even so, last year the state had a total of 53,000 beds in either emergency shelters or transitional housing—or fewer than one bed for every three people. The same goes for permanent housing: The Los Angeles Housing Authority says it needs more than triple the existing permanent supportive housing supply to match demand. The story ends with a letter a group of homeless campers sent recently to elected officials, asking them to “be honest” about the lack of services for homeless people—especially the fact that “there is not enough housing for everyone who qualifies for it.”

Federal update:

• The $2 trillion Build Back Better Act passed out of the House of Representatives today by a vote of 220-213, and the bill now moves to the Senate. The legislation, H.R. 5376, includes more than $160 billion for affordable housing, including $63 billion for the preservation of public housing, $25 billion for rental assistance, and $15 billion for the National Housing Trust Fund.

• The bill also includes the largest expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit since its inception in 1986 and would finance an estimated 812,000 affordable rental homes over the next decade. According to the Novogradac, its $12 billion in investments in the Housing Credit are expected to create over 1.2 million jobs, $137 billion in wages and business income, and $47 billion in tax revenue.

ICYMI – Top news stories:

“I’m not very hopeful right now.” Jackie Speier on why she’s leaving Congress next year.
Sacramento Bee – Oped by Dan Morain
On Tuesday, Speier announced she would not seek re-election to the Peninsula congressional seat she has held since 2008. Whenever politicians quit at the top of their game, insiders are surprised and immediately speculate about what it means. Speier had choice assignments on the Armed Services and House Intelligence committees. Her Hillsborough district is safely Democratic. She worries her party will lose the House majority in 2022, but she’s been through that before. At 71, Speier decided to “come home to California.” She says she wants to be more “than a weekend wife” and spend more time with her adult children. And then there’s the matter of toxicity of Washington. “I’m not very hopeful right now,” Speier said. “It’s not about legislating, it’s about winning so you have the power.”

He’s been blamed for killing housing, but credited with keeping SoMa affordable. Meet S.F.’s most influential housing advocate.
San Francisco Chronicle
TODCO, the organization led by nonprofit housing boss John Eberling, owns eight low-income apartment buildings in the South of Market neighborhood. In the 1980s and ’90s, the nonprofit was a real estate developer, putting up senior housing and residential hotels. In the early 2000s, however, TODCO stopped building and began focusing on advocating for South of Market’s poorest and most vulnerable residents. That power came into sharp relief on Oct. 27 when the Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to indefinitely delay a proposed 494-unit apartment complex at 469 Stevenson St., a 28,000-square-foot surface parking lot, used by a nearby Nordstrom, that is lined with homeless encampments. The vote caught the attention not only of his critics in the vocal YIMBY movement, but also state officials like Gustavo Velasquez, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s housing and community development director, who said his agency is looking into whether the vote violated state law.

Sacramento mayor’s ‘right to housing’ plan for the homeless likely moving forward
Sacramento Bee
Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s long-awaited proposal for Sacramento to become the first city in the country to adopt a legal “right to housing” will likely move forward in some capacity following a City Council discussion on Tuesday. If the City Council eventually approves the ordinance, the city would be required starting in 2023 to create enough shelter and housing for the homeless. If it fails to do so, homeless individuals could sue the city. “My motive is not to make life harder for people, Steinberg said during Tuesday night’s council meeting. “It’s to get people indoors because I think living outdoors in these tent encampments is horrible.” The council’s Law and Legislation Committee plans to discuss the topic next, though a date is not yet scheduled. The ordinance would require approval by the full council in order to be adopted.