ICYMI, Governor Newsom and the State Legislature were able to agree on Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget allocations and trailer bill language that make record investments in affordable housing and homelessness solutions.

They also negotiated provisions to impose hefty fines on local jurisdictions that refuse to comply with basic state housing element law. Find the budget trailer bill AB 101 here.

The expenditures include:

• $650 million for the new Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program that will distribute funds to Continuums of Care, cities and counties based on the point-in-time homeless count. The program will be administered by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.
• $500 million one-time allocation to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Infill Infrastructure Grant (IIG) Program for infrastructure improvements that support the development of housing.
• $500 million increase to the State’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit; a fivefold increase. Up to $200 million of this amount will be available to projects receiving assistance from CalHFA’s Mixed-Income Program with unit restrictions between 30% and 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The Mixed-Income Program will also receive a $500 million one-time allocation from the general fund in this budget.
• $250 million in grants to regional and local governments to increase housing planning and accelerate production.
• $20 million to provide legal aid for renters and assist with landlord-tenant disputes, including legal assistance for counseling, renter education programs, and preventing evictions.

As the largest and most populous city and county in Northern California, the City of San Jose, cities and towns across the Valley, and the County of Santa Clara stand to benefit tremendously from these various budget allocations to programs that are formula-driven and competitive. We could potentially receive more than $300 million from the various sources due to both our large homeless population identified during the point-in-time count, but also as a result of our impressive number of effective and experienced nonprofit affordable housing developers that utilize County of Santa Clara Measure A dollars and project-based vouchers from the Santa Clara Housing Authority that position us well to access these new State resources right away.

In addition to the budget actions, several key pieces of housing legislation continue to move this year including bills to cap rents for three years, strengthen the Housing Accountability Act, prioritize publicly-held land for affordable housing and create a regional Bay Area Housing Finance Authority. This is the last week for bills to be considered in policy committees and then the month-long Summer Recess for the State Legislature begins. Upon its return, bills will be heard in the Appropriations Committees and, if approved, taken up for floor votes. The first year of this two-year State Legislative Session ends on Friday, September 13.

Find more information about the “3Ps” Housing Plan for California, of which SV@Home is a proud supporter, here.