Dear Supporter of the HOMeS Act, 

This afternoon the HOMeS Act (Senate Bill 1220), fell just two votes short of passage in the full Senate, with a final vote of 25-13. I am incredibly disappointed that this bill didn’t pass, but the number of votes is indicative of the great work that was done by so many of you during this campaign. If we can get just two votes away in a year with an election and a massive budget deficit, I know that we can get a permanent source of funding for affordable homes very soon.

We should all feel a sense of pride in the achievements we made during this campaign. This is the first time in several decades that a permanent source bill has made it to a floor vote. In just a few short months, our community and allies mobilized and changed perceptions and votes in the Capitol:

• More than 20,000 postcards were sent to legislators in support of the bill.
• More than 400 support letters were sent through the Housing California website. Hundreds more were faxed and even more sent through websites of other housing advocacy organizations throughout the state.
• More than 100 people traveled to Sacramento and met with legislators on The HOMeS Act Lobby Day.
• An additional 5 legislators signed-on as bill co-authors.

The California Housing Consortium (CHC) was our co-sponsor on SB 1220 and they did tremendous advocacy on this bill. The strong partnership between Housing California and CHC is one of the great by-products of this campaign. The Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing, San Diego Housing Federation, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California, and the California Coalition for Rural Housing all played key leadership roles and dedicated tremendous time and resources to this campaign. A special thanks to our campaign consultant Shawn Rowland for organizing the field campaign and working tirelessly to get votes for the bill.

I know that many of you are as disappointed as I am about coming up short on this vote, but I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the great work you did, the lessons we learned, and the growing capacity of our broadened community to make a political impact. This was phase one of what will ultimately be a successful campaign for a permanent source and the funding we need to bring more Californians home. 

Best,

Shamus Roller
Executive Director
Housing California