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NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

"There is a lot to like in the final bond, but the truth is, this is just the beginning: The most critical part of this race is still ahead of us."



Now that the Governor has taken action on the final wave of legislation this week (see our full end-of-session bill update below), we can officially turn our attention to our highest priority this year: The passage of Prop 1.

Voters will start receiving their ballots in the mail in early October, and we’ll be using the next month to remind them of how critical this housing bond is for building the affordable homes Californians need.

The Prop 1 campaign received two major endorsements over the last week, with the Sacramento Bee and San Francisco Chronicle both encouraging their readers to support our measure. “California needs these homes,” said the Bee, while the Chronicle noted “Prop 1 is well-positioned to reap the benefits” of all of the work we’ve done to streamline housing approvals and bring down the cost of development. Read the full editorial from the SacBee here, and the Chronicle here.

There is more to come, including the campaign’s first set of TV spots, which will further elevate the message we’re sharing with voters. Our first ad started running this week, watch it here.

A month before the election, we’re in a good place: The latest PPIC survey showed 55% of likely voters say they plan to support the measure in November.

But we’re not there yet. And we appreciate everything you are doing to help get the word out about Prop 1 in your community — and get this measure across the finish line. 

Sincerely,

Ray Pearl

• Housing Development and Finance Committee Draft Regulations: The state’s new Housing Development and Finance Committee (HDFC) is currently in the process of developing its regulations in preparation for the release of its first NOFA in 2027. CHC expects HDFC to release its second draft in late October, and we plan to continue to weigh in on the regulations over the course of the next few months.

• New Impact Fee Study: The Terner Center for Housing Innovation recently published a new report on local development impact fees and reforms across California jurisdictions. The report includes findings on how local governments structure their fees, along with recommendations for continuing and expanding recent state and local impact fee reforms. The full report is available here.

• Proposed Community Reinvestment Act Regulations: CHC is signing on to a letter organized by the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL) outlining concerns with the proposed changes to CRA, which could significantly reduce community development activity and investments available to low- and moderate-income communities. See the federal update below for more on the proposed CRA rule and sign on here.

• CHC Participates in LAHDP Event: CHC members were proud to participate this September in one of the working sessions of the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate’s Howard and Irene Levine Affordable Housing Development Program (LAHDP). The program, now in its ninth year, offers training to entry-level affordable housing professionals, providing them with knowledge and practical skills on issues ranging from entitlements and public-private funding to design and project management. The event featured two panels of CHC practitioners—one on the state policy outlook for affordable housing, hosted by Ray Pearl, and the other on emerging funding sources, hosted by Michael Ruane of National CORE. Learn more about the UCLA program here. 

Endorsement: Affordable housing in CA isn't going to pay for itself. Is Prop 1 the answer?

(San Francisco Chronicle)

The Legislature adjourned the 2025-26 legislative session on Tuesday, September 1. Below you will find an update on the outcomes of our key legislative and budget priorities this year. CHC is currently in the process of developing its legislative agenda for the upcoming year. Stay tuned for more information on what we will be working on in 2027!

Affordable Housing Investments in the 2026-27 State Budget

The state’s final budget, which was approved over the summer, allocated funding to two key housing programs CHC advocated for this year, including the following:

• $500 million for the State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program
• $200 million for the Multifamily Housing Program

CHC also advocated to protect Tier III programs funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, including the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC), which face a significant funding reduction after a California Air Resources Board decision shifted resources to lower costs for oil refineries and other heavy industry. The final August budget agreement included an augmentation for some Tier III programs but did not provide additional funding for AHSC’s housing component. We are extremely disappointed by this outcome. In the upcoming year, we will continue to advocate for a permanent solution to close the funding shortfall that currently exists for AHSC.

CHC Priority Bills

Governor Newsom signed the following CHC priority bills this year:

• SB 417 (Limón and Rivas) – Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026: Authorizes $11.25 billion in funds through a statewide housing bond (now Proposition 1) to support critical affordable housing programs.
• AB 750 (Quirk-Silva) – Portfolio Reinvestment Program Changes: Expands the universe of projects that can qualify for the Portfolio Reinvestment Program.
•  AB 1815 (Wicks) – Statewide Building Code for Factory-Built Housing: Prohibits cities and counties from imposing or enforcing building standards that exceed state minimum building standards on a housing construction project that utilizes factory-built housing.
• AB 2058 (Harabedian) – Factory-Built Housing Permitting and Inspections: Eliminates the requirement that local enforcement agencies enforce and inspect the installation of factory-built housing. AB 2058 allows developers to choose whether a local agency or a third-party quality assurance agency conducts the inspection and also caps inspection and permitting fees.
• AB 2185 (Quirk-Silva) – Modernizing Affordable Housing Programs to Support Factory-Built Housing: Requires various state agencies to evaluate state-funded multi-family affordable housing programs to remove any barriers and create opportunities for them to support factory-built housing. 

The following CHC priority bills stalled during the legislative process or were vetoed by the Governor:

• AB 2748 (Quirk-Silva) – EV Readiness: Would have given affordable housing providers the option to delay adoption of new electric vehicle requirements that went into effect this year. This bill did not advance out of Senate Appropriations Committee.
• AB 2166 (Carrillo) – Multifamily Backstop Financing Program: Would have created a financial backstop to provide state-backed credit support for surety bonds issued to offsite housing factories. The Governor’s veto message for this bill is available here.
• AB 2012 (Hoover) – Reducing Factory-Built Housing Shipping Costs: Sought to ease the shipping requirements for factory-built housing and commercial modular. The bill would have created a workgroup responsible for developing recommendations on opportunities to improve the transport of manufactured homes, factory-built housing, and modular units. The Governor’s veto message for this bill is available here.

Join CHC's Policy Committee to learn more!

With the election just about a month away, Congress out of DC and the political world focused on the campaign trail, I would like to suggest we all instead focus on something much more important: the baseball play-offs.

Seriously though, we do have some unfinished business and foremost is the pending deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule changes to the Community Reinvestment Act.

The DC affordable housing establishment has been preparing you for this and now is the time to get those comment letters drafted. The ACTION Campaigns CRA working group has developed talking points you may use to draft an original letter, as well as a sample comment letter you may utilize, plugging in your relevant information related to your experience with investments and financing by financial institutions satisfying their CRA obligations. We ask that your comment letter be submitted using your letterhead.

The letter and talking points focus on the key points we believe are relevant to the changes the regulators are proposing for financial institutions and how those changes would affect affordable housing investment, financing and production. Comments to the regulators are due October 13^th and may be submitted using this link.

In addition to your comment letter, we again ask you to consider signing onto a letter to the regulators from the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. Ray may have already distributed this letter but just in case, we ask that if you have not signed onto the NAAHL letter, you do so now. The deadline for signing onto this letter is October 6th...

Governor hopeful Xavier Becerra’s California housing pitch: Build more, promise less (SacBee)

They earn $300,000 and pay $1,800 in rent in the Bay Area. Why they can stay in affordable housing. (San Jose Mercury News)

Reducing drug penalties likely increased homelessness in California, new report says (CalMatters)

Why a signature Newsom power move flopped in the last days of the Legislative session (CapRadio)

Why a bill to juice condo construction died even though California lawmakers voted for it (CalMatters)

California lawmakers just chose a billion-dollar corporate subsidy over affordable housing and transit (Capitol Weekly)

Major housing nonprofit in Los Angeles’ Skid Row facing financial collapse (Politico)

Bass skips hearing on L.A. homelessness spending, calling probe politically motivated (Los Angeles Times)

L.A. approves $466 million in affordable housing spending, the largest pool ever (Los Angeles Times)

CHC Member: Century Housing

Project Name: Colibrí at Restorative Care Village

Location: Los Angeles

Units: 296 units

Opening Date: Expected in 2028

Century Housing, joined community partners and stakeholders in August to break ground on the second phase of the newly named Colibrí at Restorative Care Village development at the Los Angeles General Medical Center campus. The initiative also includes a mental health urgent care center, a residential withdrawal management unit and a 128-bed mental health rehabilitation center. The model brings housing, health care, behavioral health services and other resources together in one location.

All homes are reserved for households earning between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income. Rents will remain affordable for at least 75 years.

“Too many Angelenos have been forced to choose between a safe place to live and the health care and support they need to thrive. Colibrí moves us closer to changing that by creating a community where affordable housing, health care, behavioral health services and a sense of belonging are connected in one place. This is the kind of investment we need to make to ensure that our seniors, people experiencing homelessness and working families can remain rooted in their communities and build more stable futures.” -Los Angeles County Board Chair & First District Supervisor 
Hilda L. Solis.

California Housing Consortium

30141 Agoura Road, Suite 106

Agoura Hills, CA 91301

818-735-9551 phone

Sacramento Office

1107 9th Street, Suite 710

Sacramento, CA 95814

916-272-2325 phone

calhsng.org