Budget Proposals Continue to Destabilize Efforts to Address Housing Affordability and Homelessness

Since taking office this year, the Trump administration has destabilized efforts to address housing affordability and homelessness by proposing mass layoffs at HUD, selling or moving the HUD headquarters, placing staff of the US Interagency on Homelessness on furlough, and rescinding housing grants.

The FY 2026 HUD “skinny budget” proposal, released in early May, continues this trend, proposing a 43.6% cut to the HUD budget. Under this proposal, HUD would receive $43.5B in funding, a drastic decrease from its current funding level of $77B, and would eliminate programs including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, HOME, and the PRO Housing program. The administration additionally proposes “transforming” current Federal rental assistance programs, including Section 8, into State-based formula grants that allow States to design their own rental assistance programs. 

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by Jennifer LeSar

Founder and CEO

LeSar Portfolio of Firms

California State Legislature Continues to Advance Bills to Produce Housing, Promote Equity, Protect Tenants, and more

This year, California’s State Legislature is advancing a comprehensive suite of housing bills to boost housing production, protect tenants, create innovations in funding, and develop models to preserve and promote more affordable housing in communities throughout the state.

These policies seek to accelerate production by removing regulatory barriers, incentivizing cities to plan for and approve housing production at scale, reducing costs, and creating new innovative financial tools to help facilitate new construction.  

Read more for a breakdown of the key legislative efforts >



by Holly Fraumeni de Jesus

Political Consultant

Lighthouse Public Affairs

Article contributor: Jacqueline Woo

California Legislative Analysis Manager

Global Policy Leadership Academy

California Fast Track Permit Reform Package Promises Further Housing Development Streamlining

In March, a bipartisan and bicameral group of legislators announced a comprehensive housing package to tackle California’s housing crisis. The package, dubbed the “Fast Track Housing Package,” includes more than 20 bills geared toward making housing more affordable by slashing red tape, removing uncertainty, and drastically diminishing the time it takes to get new housing projects approved, permitted, and built.

This package was born out of recommendations listed in the Final Report of the Select Committee on Permitting Reform, which is chaired by Asm. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). The proposals build on many best practices already in place throughout several pro-housing cities and improve permitting processes. When implemented as a package of cohesive and robust policies, they promise strong outcomes throughout the state.

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by Holly Fraumeni de Jesus

Political Consultant

Lighthouse Public Affairs

Sixth Vienna Social Housing Field Study Inspires Multisectoral Delegates to Continue Dialogue Back Home

In April, 31 delegates from Southern California, the Bay Area, and Virginia attended the 6th immersive Global Policy Leadership Academy (GPLA) Social Housing Field Study in Vienna, Austria. Attendees represented local and state agencies, including a contingent from the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA), a regional housing finance agency; elected officials; community-based organizations; developers; and the education and philanthropy sectors.

Vienna’s housing model is world-renowned for its focus on high-quality housing, which provides choices at an affordable price to more than 60% of its population, differentiating Vienna from the US in its focus on housing the middle class as well as low-income residents. Vienna is consistently considered the world’s most livable city. 

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by Anu Natarajan

Managing Director, Global Housing Practice

Global Policy Leadership Academy