With an August 31st deadline to approve bills and send them to the Governor for his consideration, the Legislature worked hard over the final days of the legislative session to take action on many bills that are important to the housing and unhoused community. The Governor has until September 30th to sign or veto the bills or they become law without his signature.
New Housing Finance Agencies
SB 679 (Kamlager) would create the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA), a new, independent agency in Los Angeles county with the authority to raise funds for the production of new housing and the provision of renter protections.
SB 1177 (Portantino) creates a regional housing trust fund between the cities of Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena by enabling them to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement to fund housing for lower- and moderate-income households and assist people facing homelessness. (Signed by the Governor on August 22nd)
SB 1444 (Allen) would enable the County of Los Angeles and cities within the jurisdiction of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments to form a South Bay Regional Housing Trust and enter into a joint powers agreement to fund housing for extremely low, very low, and low-income households and assist people facing homelessness.
Student and Faculty Housing Programs
AB 886 (Wiener) known as the Student and Faculty Housing Act, would streamline and accelerate the development of student and faculty housing across the State by exempting the housing from CEQA.
AB 1719 (Ward) would enact the Community College Faculty and Employee Housing Act of 2022 to allow community college districts to restrict occupancy to their faculty and staff and still qualify for both Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program and other State and local funds.
Housing Production
AB 1206 (Bennett) would increase the feasibility of community land trusts by extending the welfare tax exemption to developments when a renter’s income goes up to 140% of Area Median Income (AMI) as long as the owner is a community land trust and the unit continues to be restricted.
AB 2011 (Wicks) known as the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act, would allow for the by-right development of 100% affordable housing on underutilized commercially-zoned lands and mixed-income housing along commercial corridors.
AB 2097 (Friedman) would prohibit local jurisdictions from imposing parking minimums on housing and commercial developments that are located within a half mile walking distance of public transit.
AB 2334 (Wicks) would expand the application of the state’s affordable housing density bonus law to allow unlimited density bonus for affordable housing in low vehicle miles traveled (VMT) areas.
SB 6 (Caballero) known as the Middle-Class Housing Act, would provide an expedited process for the development of housing on land zoned for employment uses.
SB 649 (Cortese) would allow local governments and developers to create a local tenant preference in an affordable housing rental development funded with State or local funds or tax programs to prevent displacement.
Homelessness
SB 1338 (Umberg) would enact the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which would authorize specified persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services that would be provided by county behavioral health agencies and include behavioral health care, stabilization medication, housing, and other services to adults who are suffering from schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders.
Two bills that LeSar was following did not make it to the Governor’s desk, but it is expected that they both will be reintroduced in 2023:
AB 2053 (Lee) would have created the Social Housing Act, setting up a new California Housing Authority (CHA) to produce and preserve mixed-income homes that are union built, sustainable, collectively owned, affordable for all income levels, and are financially self-sustaining.
SB 1105 (Hueso) would have created the San Diego Regional Equitable and Environmentally Friendly Affordable Housing Agency, which, like SB 679, would have created a new, independent county agency with the authority to raise funds for the production of new housing and the provision of renter protections for residents of San Diego County and its cities.
Look for a more comprehensive report on bills the Governor signs in our October issue.
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