FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sacramento, CA
Contact: Unai Montes, umontes@housingca.org, 310.962.7369 (Bilingual)

Housing California Response to the 2023 State Budget Proposal

Yesterday, Governor Newsom presented his 2023-24 California State Budget. We appreciate that in the face of an anticipated deficit and many difficult choices, the Administration avoided budget cuts to critical affordable housing and homelessness commitments made last year.

We are particularly pleased to see the Administration’s commitment to investing $1 billion in the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) Program, a critical program to provide local jurisdictions with funds to support regional coordination and address the challenges faced by unhoused Californians. We are similarly pleased to see the Administration maintain over $1 billion to fund several programs that are essential to support the development and preservation of affordable rental homes including funding for California’s Low Income Housing Tax Credits ($500 million), the Multifamily Housing Program ($225 million), and the Portfolio Reinvestment Program ($100 million).

While we were relieved to see no major cuts to essential state housing programs, there were several areas where the budget proposal fell short. We share the Administration’s desire to see state investments result in significant reductions in people experiencing homelessness overall and unsheltered homelessness specifically. However, we also know that alongside interim housing solutions, we can only end homelessness when we make significant investments in permanent, affordable, accessible housing interventions, both through bringing new affordable and supportive units online and by utilizing tools like rental assistance to help people afford the cost of existing housing. By the Administration’s own projections, our need for housing will far exceed the number of units available. Targeting investments to housing preservation programs that leverage and protect naturally occurring affordable housing, such as the proposed Community Anti-Displacement and Preservation Program (CAPP), is low hanging fruit.

California’s housing affordability and homelessness crisis is impacting the lives of millions of people, limiting economic opportunity, impacting public health, and accelerating alarming inequities. These problems are solvable, and we must do more to address them now. To create the future we want, we need a long term, comprehensive set of policy solutions, and stable ongoing investments-like those outlined in Roadmap Home 2030 – to build and preserve affordable homes, protect low-income renters, end homelessness, and advance racial equity and economic prosperity for all. We are calling on the Governor and legislature to lean into this challenge over the coming months and dedicate significant additional resources to address California’s affordable housing and homelessness needs.

We submitted a joint letter with our housing and homelessness partners spelling out immediate budget priorities, program by program. We are excited to work with the Governor and legislature to ensure that the May Revise, and final June budget, embrace these priorities, and invest in impactful programs that can keep the promise of the California Dream and deliver a California with homes, health, and prosperity for all.