Positive Signs for Omnibus Appropriations Bill Passage This Year
On Wednesday, the four congressional leaders, following a session at the White House with President Joe Biden, agreed that the lame-duck Congress should negotiate and pass an omnibus appropriations bill in the next few weeks. Government funding runs out on December 16, before which Congress needs to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to extend negotiations into the next year with the new Congress or pass an appropriations bill. Affordable housing advocates see the lame duck negotiations as a prime opportunity to push for a tax extenders package that may include an expansion of and reforms to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in addition to increased funding for other affordable housing programs. Read more. . .
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Congressman Ro Khanna Introduces Bill on Corporate Landlords | |
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Congressman Ro Khanna (District 17, Santa Clara) recently introduced the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act of 2022 to place restrictions on corporate landlords that are profiting from the purchase of single-family homes. These new restrictions would apply to large institutional investors that have at least $100 million in assets during a calendar year.
Read more...
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Governor Shifts on Homeless Funding
Yelba Carrillo, Principal
After first rejecting all plans submitted by local jurisdictions that detailed how they were responding to homelessness and holding back $1 billion in Homelessness Housing, and Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grants, Governor Newsom reversed course after meeting with more than 100 local mayors and county officials. Read more...
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Projected State Budget Deficit May Impact Housing Funding
Jacqueline Woo, Senior Associate
The Legislative Analyst’s Office released its fiscal outlook on November 16th, warning that the State faces an estimated $24 billion deficit in 2023-24 and deficits of between $8 and $17 billion in subsequent years. The report includes a look at economic conditions, anticipated revenues, the impacts of inflation, and a discussion about reserves. It also makes recommendations to the Legislature, as members consider next year’s budget, on ways to bridge the expected revenue gap. Read more. . .
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HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit Marks First Year
Farzad Mashhood, Senior Associate
HCD’s Housing Accountability Unit (HAU) celebrated its first year of operation in November with the goal of “increasing stringent enforcement and oversight at the local level to create more housing, faster in California.” While the HAU has enforcement powers, it also works with local governments to ensure they are aware of housing laws and provides technical assistance to help them comply. The Unit is now also overseeing State Surplus Land law. Read more. . .
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New Tenant’s Caucus Formed in State Legislature
Natalie Donlin-Zappella, Principal
While renters make up 44% of the State’s population, 117 of the Legislature’s 120 members own their own home (or 97.5%) and more than 25% of the members also own rental property. Seeking to ensure that the perspective of renters is considered when laws are being adopted, the three members of the Legislature that are renters—Assemblymembers Matt Haney (San Francisco), Alex Lee (San Jose), and Isaac Bryan (Los Angeles)—have formed a renters’ caucus. Read more. . .
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- Establish and fund a permanent ERA Program to stabilize tenants and prevent eviction
- Explore innovative models such as the renters’ tax credit as proposed by the Rent Relief Act of 2022 (H.R. 8357)
- Expand the availability of vouchers to all eligible households as proposed by the Ending Homelessness Act (H.R. 4496) and the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act (S. 1991)
- Produce and preserve the affordable housing supply by passing bills like the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act (S. 1368/H.R. 2768) and the House-approved Build Back Better Act
- Enact tenant protections at all levels of government, which might include eviction moratoriums and increased legal representation, among other actions.
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Colleen Murphy is a Principal with LeSar Development Consultant's Homelessness Solutions Team, where she designs, implements, manages, and evaluates homelessness-related programs at the intersection of homelessness and healthcare. Previously, she was the Associate Director of Unsheltered Strategies at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) where she created and fostered a more robust and coordinated homeless system to better serve its unsheltered neighbors throughout LA County. She also served as a Director of Outreach and Community Engagement at both PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) in Southeast LA and St. Joseph’s Center in Venice. Colleen is a trained public health professional and researcher with more than 20 years’ experience fostering community engagement, partnerships and outreach in underserved communities both in LA and in sub-Saharan Africa. She received her bachelor’s degree in international affairs from James Madison University and her postgraduate diploma in epidemiology from the University of London, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. If you are interested in learning more about the intersection between homelessness and healthcare, please contact Colleen at [email protected].
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Danny Serrano is a bilingual land use/environmental specialist born in Mexico and raised in southern California with over 13 years of planning experience and a master’s in City Planning from San Diego State University. Danny has previously worked in a variety of capacities such as a project manager for an affordable housing developer, a senior land use/environmental planning consultant, and a senior policy advocate for an environmental justice organization. Throughout his career, Danny has helped to create more sustainable, equitable and inclusive communities. If you are interested in discussing equitable and inclusive neighborhood and regional housing development and policies, please contact Danny at [email protected]
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Yelba M. Carrillo, EdD, is currently a Principal and Co-lead of the Homelessness Solutions team at LeSar Development Consultants. Yelba has spent most of her career working within the homelessness sector in Los Angeles County, focusing on special populations including veterans, LGBTQ+, older adults/seniors, and survivors of trauma. In her previous role at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, she oversaw initiatives to end homelessness among older adults and improving health outcomes among the Black and Latinx communities in Los Angeles. Her research and study of this population culminated in the publication of a strategic plan to combat older adult homelessness in Los Angeles County, “Older Adult Strategy: A Roadmap To End Older Adult Homelessness in Los Angeles”. Yelba holds a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology, a Masters of Social Work from University of Southern California, and additional degrees in Education and Psychology. Please reach out to Yelba to learn more about the Homelessness team’s work at [email protected].
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