State Budget and Legislative Update – May 31, 2016

The Budget Conference Committee, which begins meeting today, will take up the Assembly proposal to allocate $650 million to various housing programs in amounts still to be determined, as well as Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon’s “No Place Like Home” Initiative, that includes $2 billion in bonds for permanent supportive housing serviced by Prop. 63 Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) revenues. Find the Conference Committee Agenda here (Housing is Issue 5 on pages 20-25)

The constitutional deadline for adoption of a state budget is June 15 and budget trailer bills may be approved after the deadline.

Please plan to join us tomorrow, Thursday, June 2, for NPH’s Legislative Issues Committee meeting where we will discuss the latest state budget developments including responses to Governor Brown’s proposed trailer bill language to mandate by-right development opportunities for market-rate developments that include some affordable homes. Find the latest modified version of the proposed trailer bill language here. While the Assembly adopted the Governor’s by-right proposal, the Senate did not take action on it. At the Leg Committee meeting, we will also consider new federal tax credit legislation and review the status of housing funding in the FY17 federal budget.

We are very disappointed to report that, under tremendous pressure from the California Apartment Association (CAA) and the California Association of Realtors (CAR), the Senate Appropriations Committee decided to hold SB 1053 (Leno), the Housing Opportunities Act, effectively killing the bill without allowing a public vote. SB 1053 would have simply clarified that landlords cannot advertise and summarily refuse to accept rental applications from individuals, families or veterans who wish to use a Section 8 or VASH housing voucher. It is important to note, despite opposition talking points to the contrary, the bill did NOT mandate that landlords rent to voucher holders and would still have allowed voucher holders to be subject to the same screening process and selection criteria as all other prospective tenants.

NPH is a cosponsor of this anti-discrimination bill, along with the Western Center on Law and Poverty and the National Housing Law Project, and we are very proud of the broad coalition of supporters we assembled, including support from the Obama Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics who wrote, “Safe and affordable housing is a foundation for a child’s emotional and physical well-being, and securing stable housing for California families is a children’s health issue.”  Find the SB 1053 fact sheet here. 

AB 2502 (Mullin and Chiu), a.k.a. the “Palmer Fix,” would clarify that local jurisdictions may require, as a condition of approval, inclusion of affordable units in a multiple unit market-rate rental development. NPH is a cosponsor of the bill along with the Western Center on Law and Poverty and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. AB 2502 is currently awaiting a vote on the Assembly floor and must be taken up this week.

AB 2817 (Chiu), a reprise of NPH-cosponsored AB 35 (Chiu) from last year, would increase the value of the State Low Income Housing Tax Credit and increase the annual amount of available credits by $300 million per year. This bill, which has received unanimous and bipartisan support in the Assembly, will be considered as part of the Budget Conference Committee deliberations.

SB 873 (Beall) would increase the value of the State Low Income Housing Tax Credit by allowing credits to be “certificated” by nonprofit affordable developers. The legislation is a reprise of SB 377 (Beall) which was sponsored by the California Housing Partnership Corporation and supported by NPH last year as well. SB 377 has no fiscal impact to the state’s general fund and the bill received unanimous approval on the Senate floor yesterday. This bill may be included as part of the budget.

AB 2031 (Bonta and Atkins) would authorize local jurisdictions to issue affordable housing bonds against the revenue stream of “boomerang funds” which are a portion of “net available revenue” received by cities and counties after the dissolution of redevelopment. The bill does not redirect property taxes from any other taxing entity and has no state general fund impact. AB 2031 was approved by the Assembly and now heads to Senate policy committees. NPH and the City of Oakland are cosponsors of the bill.

SB 879 (Beall), would authorize a statewide $3 billion affordable housing bond to be placed on the November 8, 2016 presidential election ballot. Placing this bill on the statewide ballot would require 2/3rds majority votes in the Legislature and a signature by Governor Brown. The bill is currently awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.

SB 1413 (Leno), a bill to clarify that K-12 school districts may develop affordable housing for school employees on district-owned land, was approved on the Senate floor yesterday with a 29-7 vote and now moves to the Assembly for consideration. The bill is cosponsored by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and NPH. Find the Senate Floor Analysis for SB 1413 here.