September 4, 2024

KQED: It Was a Sleepy Year For Housing Legislation; Here Are Some That Made It Through

After several years of blockbuster housing bills passing through the California Legislature, this past session was lackluster by comparison, some housing advocates said. But activists are still holding out hope that a statewide proposition — set to appear in November — could turn things around. Proposition 5 (PDF) would make it easier for local governments to pass bonds to fund affordable housing and public infrastructure projects by lowering the voter threshold from a two-thirds supermajority to 55%. “Prop 5 is a critical step to empowering local communities to…
September 30, 2024

Mercury News: Prop 5 would make it easier to pass Bay Area spending bills for housing, transit

Proposition 5 on the November ballot asks voters to lower that threshold to 55%, which would make it easier to fund and build many much-needed infrastructure projects around the Bay Area and the state.
September 30, 2024

KQED: It Was a Sleepy Year For Housing Legislation; Here Are Some That Made It Through

After several years of blockbuster housing bills passing through the California Legislature, this past session was lackluster by comparison, some housing advocates said.
October 10, 2024

KQED: Newsom Vowed to Build Housing on Surplus State Property. 99% of the Land Will Stay Vacant

Before Gavin Newsom became governor of California, he campaigned on a promise to make surplus state-owned land available for affordable housing. Shortly after he entered office, he made good on that promise, issuing an executive order that directed state agencies to assess more than 44,000 parcels to determine their suitability for development. “We have to use every tool in our toolbox to deliver more affordable housing for low-income and middle-class Californians,” he said in 2019 when he announced the first…