2014 WINS IN THE STATE BUDGET

On June 15th, 2014, the State Legislature approved the budget prior to the constitutional deadline. Leading up to this event, our affordable housing community demonstrated great resiliency (again) and successfully pivoted and engaged our broad SB 391, Homes and Jobs Act coalition partners in intense advocacy work to ensure that cap-and-trade auction revenues are dedicated to equitable transit-oriented development (TOD) through at least the year 2020 under Senator Darrell Steinberg’s long-term investment plan and that a state general fund allocation for HCD’s Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) proposed by Assembly Speaker and housing champion Toni Atkins was included in the final adopted budget. Here are some of the budget details:

1.) HCD’s Multifamily Housing Program (MHP) will receive a General Fund allocation of $100 million in this Fiscal Year with half of that amount directed to the MHP Supportive Housing program.

2.) In this FY 2014-2015, $130 million of cap-and-trade auction revenues will be dedicated to the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program which includes transit-oriented affordable housing development as an eligible activity and key funding priority. The Strategic Growth Council will administer these funds and it is expected that at least half of this amount will be invested in affordable TOD in this Fiscal Year.

3.) For the long-term cap-and-trade investment plan, and as part of the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program, affordable TOD will receive at least 10% of cap-and-trade auction revenues. This could generate $200 to $300 million per year in funding for affordable TOD through 2020.

We are grateful to everyone who worked to secure this critical funding for affordable housing and we will provide additional information on program implementation and funding opportunities as it becomes available.