Policy & Legislation
May Deadline Sees Rush of Legislative Activity
June 11, 2008
May Deadline Sees Rush of Legislative Activity
Legislators faced a May 30 deadline for moving their bills out of the house in which they were introduced (known as the "House of Origin Deadline"). Any bill that did not pass is now dead.
Housing California successfully ensured the passage of several priority bills and was able to stop others that negatively affected the development of affordable homes.
Passed the House of Origin:
AB 2069 (Jones, D-Sacramento) Local Planning: Residential Development --
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation-sponsored AB 2069 passed off the Assembly floor with a 44-30 vote. The bill applies the No Net-Loss Law (NNL) to sites that are zoned for either housing or commercial uses (aka "double-zoned" sites). Under the NNL, a jurisdiction cannot downzone a site identified in the housing element for higher-density homes unless it finds that it has enough remaining land to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) or upzones a new site to replace the downzoned site. Housing California position: Support
AB 2097 (Coto, D-San Jose) Low and Moderate Income Fund --
AB 2097 passed the Assembly floor by a small margin, a 41-33 vote . The bill authorizes a Redevelopment Agency to use up to 5 percent of its Low and Moderate Income Housing Fund for emergency shelters or supportive services attached to permanent homes. Housing California position -- Oppose, unless amended. (Housing California is currently working with the author to find another funding source, but will continue to oppose this bill unless it is amended to use a funding source that is not already dedicated to the development of affordable homes.)
AB 2280 (Saldaņa, D-San Diego) Density Bonus Law --
After being stripped of its most controversial provisions, AB 2280 flew out of the Assembly on May 28, 2008, with a 74-0 vote. Housing California position -- Oppose, unless amended. (Housing California and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation remain opposed to the bill, but hope to hammer out our remaining differences in a meeting with the author and proponents this week. Senate Transportation and Housing will likely hear the measure in late June.)
SB 1681 (Battin, R- Palm Desert) State Surplus Property --
SB 1681 garnered plenty of bi-partisan support, passing off the Senate floor on a 31-6 vote. Housing California and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation have worked extensively with the sponsor, Department of General Services, to ensure nonprofit home developers still have access to state surplus land at below-market prices. We've removed our opposition as a result of the extensive amendments accepted by the author. Housing California position -- Neuetral
SB 1738 (Steinberg, D-Sacramento) Frequent Users of Medical Pilot Program --
SB 1738 passed off the Senate floor without opposition. SB 1738 requires the Department of Health Services to establish the Frequent Users of Health Care Pilot Program to provide supplemental services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are frequent users of health care. SB 1738 also requires the department to evaluate the program by November 1, 2012. Housing California position: Support
SB 1165 (Kuehl, D-Santa Monica) California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) --
Opposed by a long list of developers and business interests, SB 1165 failed passage of the Senate floor by four votes, 17-18. This Planning and Conservation League-sponsored bill required a lead agency to retain all written communication and drafts regarding a project or its Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and required recertification of EIR's more than five years old. Housing California position: Opposed. (Housing California opposed this bill, because it would lengthen the CEQA process and subject nonprofit developers to even greater litigation risk.) Senate and Assembly policy committees will be meeting extensively through the end of June to hear the other houses' bills. June 27 is the deadline for policy committee hearings this year.
Contact: Narisha Bonakdar, (916) 447-0503 x 109 or .
