Governor Signs Majority of Key Housing and Homelessness Bills by Deadline

The Governor signed the majority of key housing and homelessness bills by Monday, September 30, 2024, concluding another legislative year by signing nearly 1,000 bills. Key themes of the legislative session were housing enforcement and accountability, maximizing density on underutilized properties to reinforce housing production, and accountability for legislation passed in previous years. 

Read more about housing and homelessness-related bills that the Governor has signed or vetoed and those that did not pass the legislature >



by Jacqueline Woo

California Legislative Analysis Manager

Global Policy Leadership Academy

Harris-Walz and Ocasio-Cortez-Smith Housing Plans Reference Social Housing Elements

Underscoring the intensity of the housing crisis, two plans to address the issue were recently introduced, one from the Harris-Walz presidential campaign and the other from Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Tina Smith.

Since the beginning of their campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have centered their platform on strengthening the middle class and tackling the challenge of housing affordability, releasing their Housing Plan on August 16, 2024. Not long after, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced a housing bill, the Homes Act of 2024, that focuses on a public social housing option, looking to the federal government to provide housing that the private market has failed to deliver.

Although these plans highlight different approaches to solving the housing crisis, their timeliness reflects a new sense of urgency and attention in Washington, and both plans reflect elements of Vienna’s social housing program.

Read more for details of each plan >



by Anu Natarajan

Managing Director, Global Housing Practice

Global Policy Leadership Academy

Federal Stopgap Bill Maintains Funding for Federal Programs Despite Cost Increases

On September 30, President Biden signed a continuing resolution (CR) that extends funding for the Federal government until December 20, setting up a spending fight in December. The CR ensures that the Federal government will continue operating when the new fiscal year begins.

However, the CR maintains current levels of funding for programs even though the cost of housing and homelessness programs rises every year. As such, it is imperative that Congress enact a final FY 25 spending bill with increased funding for housing and homelessness programs.

Both Senate and Housing spending proposals for FY 25 were released earlier this year, with the House bill proposing an overall cut to HUD Programs of $2.3B (3% of funding provided in FY24) and the Senate bill providing an increase of $8.2B (or more than 10% over FY24 levels). With the new continuing resolution, Congress will need to negotiate, draft, and pass a final Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) by December 20, alongside the other 11 annual spending bills.



by Pamela Kestner

Chief of Staff

Global Policy Leadership Academy

ADU Programs as an Affordable Housing Strategy: Insights from a New Paper

A newly published paper from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies highlights programs that use Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a form of affordable housing. A growing body of work is showing how ADUs help address many housing challenges of affordability and access by increasing the availability of homes in existing residential neighborhoods. This paper highlights the role of nonprofits in creating the financial and cultural infrastructure to support ADUs, including case studies of ADUs as a solution for senior housing, ADUs as basement conversions, and ADUs to advance racial, social, and economic justice for disadvantaged communities and more.

LDC works with clients to create ADU policies and programs, including recently supporting the County of Napa in revising its Affordable ADU forgivable loan program and leveraging public and private funds to help homeowners create ADUs for lower-income renters. This innovative program additionally aligns with the nonprofit Napa Sonoma ADU Center’s Standard Plans Program.

For more information on LDC’s work supporting ADUs as an affordable housing solution, please contact Farzad Mashhood at Farzad@lesardevelopment.com.



by Farzad Mashhood

Senior Associate, Housing Team

LeSar Development Consultants