July 5, 2023

The next two weeks are possibly the busiest time of the year for the Legislature, as authors scramble to get their bills out of committees by July 14.

We are happy to report that all of our priority bills are on track. Please open and respond to requests for support letters we will be forwarding separately from our advocacy colleagues. Letters are due in the NEXT TWO DAYS, so don't delay!

SB423 (Wiener) Extends the sunset of SB 35 (Wiener, 2017) to 2036, thus providing streamlined, ministerial approval of projects in cities that have not met their Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals or adopted a compliant housing element. The bill has been substantially amended to address labor concerns, and more amendments are expected. 

Status: To Assembly Natural Resources. July 10.

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CAL-ALHFA Comment

Most labor organizations have now adopted a neutral position on the bill, but the Building Trades continue to hold out for stringent labor provisions. Passing this bill is considered to be a major component in the State’s drive to streamline the affordable housing development process in California and get more homes built quicker as a result.

CAL-ALHFA supports this bill and has testified and written letters in support of the bill.

SB4 (Wiener) Senate Bill 4 Provides a streamlined process for religious organizations and nonprofit colleges to develop affordable housing on their property regardless of local zoning restrictions.

This proposed legislation also guarantees by-right approval of projects so long as they are consistent with all objective standards of the jurisdiction and comply with listed environmental protections. This approval process ensures that the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) cannot be misused against these projects. The bill contains labor language currently being negotiated as part of SB423

 Status: To Assembly Natural Resources. July 10. 

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CAL-ALHFA Comment

CAL-ALHFA supports this bill and has submitted both written and verbal testimony in support of the bill.

SB440 (Skinner) Empowers local governments to join forces to create regional housing finance agencies to address the unique affordable housing needs in their communities. 

Status: Assembly Local Government. July 12.

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CAL-ALHFA Comment

CAL-ALHFA strongly supports this bill, which will enable local agencies to create regional housing finance agencies without having to seek state approval. Speeds up the process and allows for smaller local bond measures to get to the ballot more quickly than statewide measures.

AB529 (Gabriel) Incentivizes local jurisdictions to develop underutilized commercial land into affordable housing to address California’s housing shortage. This bill adds adaptive reuse to the list of pro-housing criteria that a local jurisdiction can adopt in order to be granted the pro housing designation. AB 529 also requires the Building Standards Commission (BSC), in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), to update, clarify, and publish building standards for adaptive reuse projects so that Californians are not priced out of living in coastline communities.

Status: Hearing. Senate Housing Committee July 10.

CAL-ALHFA Comment

This bill also expands land opportunities and speeds up the development process. 

SB83 (Wiener) Public utilities. Requires expedited connection within eight weeks of project receiving a green tag.

Status: Died in committee.

CAL-ALHFA Comment

Essential for the speedy completion of affordable housing projects. Many projects have been languishing for months waiting for utility connections, particularly PGE utilities.

AB1449 (Alvarez) Extends CEQA exemptions to 100% affordable projects so long as project labor standards established by AB2011 are included.

Status: Passed Assembly Housing. To Assembly Floor

CAL-ALHFA Comment

Limits anti-YIMBY efforts to develop affordable housing by exempting the local planning process from CEQA.

SB225 and Community Anti-displacement and Preservation Program (CAPP) (Caballero) Establishes a program to provide revolving short-term acquisition capital and long-term public subsidy to acquire unsubsidized affordable homes and preserve them as permanently affordable. The CAPP program is an eligible activity in the bond bill AB1657 (Wicks). Efforts to get CAPP into the state budget were not successful.

Status: Assembly Appropriations

CAL-ALHFA Comment

Expands the supply of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) by developing a process by which non-profits can acquire these properties and maintain their affordability. Strong support for preserving existing affordable housing supply.

AB84 (Ward) Would expand the eligibility of affordable housing developments that can use the state’s welfare property tax exemption, which exempts housing affordable to low-income residents from local property taxes. The law would create more certainty on the exemption and provide a hold-harmless clause for tenants whose incomes grow above the current threshold of 80 percent of area median income after move-in.

CAL-ALHFA Comment

Using the property tax exemption from the time a project is approved allows additional financial resources (those which would have been used to pay property taxes) to be used for other development purposes.

Status: In Senate Governance and Finance. July 12

AB930 (Friedman) Would permit two or more local governments to jointly form a Reinvestment in Infrastructure for a Sustainable and Equitable California (RISE) district to unlock tax increment financing (TIF) for infrastructure and equitable development in location-efficient areas.

For jurisdictions that opt in to form a RISE district and have state-approved RISE Plans, the state will provide state sales tax increment and revolving loans to jump start equitable development and investments in supportive community infrastructure.

The RISE Act will align planning and infrastructure investments to refocus growth toward community centers while reducing car dependence, lower carbon emissions, and encourage economic development and climate resilient housing production near transit in walkable communities.

• To qualify, districts must submit plans in compliance with state standards.
• A minimum of 20% of all new housing must be affordable and a minimum of 50% of the funds must be spend on infill supportive infrastructure, including water, sewer, energy improvement, environmental cleanup, sidewalks, parks, transit facilities and economic development.
• RISE districts will have access to TIF comprised of local property, sales and use tax increments, and state sales tax increment.
• RISE financed projects must pay prevailing wages to construction workers, among other labor standards.

Status: Held in Assembly Appropriations. This bill is one of several local financing bills that are being held while Asm Member Alvarez chairs a working group on redesigning redevelopment. See CAL-ALHFA Comment below.

CAL-ALHFA Comment

Ever since the abolition of California Redevelopment Agencies in 2012, local agencies have been struggling to replace the Tax Increment Financing for low- and moderate-income housing that was included in redevelopment agency financing. This bill builds on other forms of Tax Increment Financing created since 2012, Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts and Community Revitalization and Investment Authorities. While there may only be a few jurisdictions interested in the RISE program, EVERY new financing tool is needed, including AB 930.

CAL-ALHFA IS A MEMBER OF THIS WORKING GROUP, AND IS REPRESENTED BY JULIE ROMEY AND MARY ELLEN SHAY

Strengthening Existing Tools and Removing Barriers

*ACA1 (Aguiar-Curry)  Places a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot that would lower the voter threshold for approving affordable housing bonds to 55%. The threshold is currently two thirds.

Status: Hearing set. Asm. Local Government. July 12

AB519 (Schiavo) Would require each city and county to establish a workgroup to develop a consolidated application for the purposes of obtaining grants, loans, tax credits, credit enhancement, and other types of financing for building affordable housing and developing a coordinated review process for the application. 

Status: Hearing set. Senate Housing Committee. July 10

*AB480 (Ting) Prioritizes affordable housing development when public lands are sold or leased.

Status: Re-referred to Senate Committee on Housing

CEQA

*AB1307 (Wicks) Reverses a court decision in the People’s Park case in Berkeley by clarifying that that the sound of residents’ voices should not be considered an environmental impact under CEQA.

Status: Hearing Set. Senate Housing Committee. July 10.

SB393 (Glazer) Would require a person or organization who brings a CEQA lawsuit to disclose any financial support they receive.

Status: Re-referred to Natural Resources. Hearing not set.

*AB1633 (Ting) Will end the inappropriate abuse of CEQA by jurisdictions that attempt to block new housing developments that have already been found in compliance with local and state land use and environmental regulations.

Status: Re-referred to committee on Environmental Quality. 6/21. Hearing not set.

*SB469 (Allen) Would expand Article 34 exclusions to include housing built with funding from state or federal low income housing tax credits or state funding sources.

Status: Passed Asm Housing 6/28. Referred to Assembly Appropriations.

STREAMLINING/PROCESSING

AB821 (Grayson) Would require localities to amend zoning ordinance that are inconsistent with their general plan within 90 days and by deeming certain applications for housing development projects complete for purposes of the Project Streamlining Act. The bill would require localities to approve or disapprove the application at any of the five hearings required by the act. The bill would prohibit localities from disapproving the housing development project or requiring the project developed at a lower density, unless it first makes written findings supported by a preponderance of the evidence.

Status: Passed Assembly Housing. Referred to Asm. Appropriations.

Status: Re-referred to Senate Judiciary. July 6

SB341 (Becker) More appropriately aligns pro housing incentives to projects where local programs are the applicants. Exempts developers from pro housing bonus points requirement.

Status: Assembly Floor

FINANCING

*AB578 (Berman) Caps HCD monitoring fees so that more money can be leveraged to building housing.

Status: Hearing Set. Senate Housing Committee. July 10

*SB482 (Blakespeare) Would require HCD to offer capitalized operating reserves to supportive housing units developed under the Multifamily Housing Program.

Status: Hearing set. Assembly Appropriations

*AB1657 (Wicks) Would place an affordable housing bond before the voters in Spring of 2024. 

Status: All bond bills (AB531, AB1657, SB834) are being negotiated with the Governor’s Office. TBD: Size of bonds and timing. Competition with other bond measures. Re-referred to Governance and Finance.

*AB1053 (Gabriel) Would reduce affordable housing costs by funding HCD loans during construction.

Status: Hearing set. Senate Housing. July 10.

AB346 (Quirk-Silva) Would allow TCAC to pair enhanced state low-income housing tax credits with either 9% or 4% federal credits in years when CDLAC is competitive.

Status: Referred to Senate Governance and Finance. 

when CDLAC is competitive.

Status: Assembly Appropriations Suspense file

In preparing this report CAL-ALHFA referred to work done by the

following advocacy organizations:

Terner Center

California Housing Partnership

Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California

California Housing Consortium

California YIMBY

Provide even more support for CAL-ALHFA efforts by becoming a

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For further information contact:

Mary Ellen Shay, ED

CAL-ALHFA

916 444 0288 - office

916 799 0119