2021 Policy Agenda
This is a PAST agenda.
Please click here for the Housing California 2024 Policy Agenda.
Sponsor
AB 816 (Chiu) Signed by Governor
Prioritizes resources from the national Housing Trust Fund
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to prioritize the national Housing Trust Fund resources to produce housing for people experiencing homelessness.
AB 816 aligns with Policy Solution A2 in the Roadmap Home 2030.
SB 490 (Caballero)
Housing Acquisition and Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Program
This bill would create a technical assistance program to provide capacity and expertise to local governments to engage in the acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation (acq-rehab) of unsubsidized affordable housing. Acq-rehab is a cost-effective strategy that allows low-income people to stay in their homes, while quickly and economically increasing the stock of deed-restricted affordable housing.
SB 490 aligns with Policy Solution A7 in the Roadmap Home to convert rental properties occupied by low-income households currently on the private market into affordable homes.
Support
AB 27 (Rivas) Signed by Governor
Homeless Children and Youths and Unaccompanied Youths
This bill would create three regionally located Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) to identify and connect students to services.
AB 118 (Kamlager)
Emergency Services: Community Response
This bill would establish the Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems (CRISES) Act pilot program, which would scale up community-based alternatives to police.
AB 215 (Chiu) Signed by Governor
Planning and Zoning Law: housing element: violations
This bill would strengthen housing element public participation requirements and add a number of laws, including AB 686 (affirmatively furthering fair housing) and AB 2162 (by right approval for permanent supportive housing) to HCD’s AB 72 enforcement authority, which allows the department to revoke housing element compliance for jurisdictions that violate other housing-related laws.
AB 362 (Quirk-Silva) Signed by Governor
Homeless Shelters: Safety Regulations
This bill would establish habitability standards for shelters and prohibit shelters with habitability violations from accessing state and federal funds.
AB 369 (Kamlager)
Medi-Cal: Street Medicine
This bill would create a reimbursement mechanism for street medicine and Medi-Cal access.
AB 369 aligns with Policy Solution A15 in the Roadmap Home 2030 to expand Medi-Cal for housing navigation and tenancy support services.
AB 411 (Irwin)
Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2022
This bill would authorize the issuing of $600 million in bonds to provide additional funding for provisions within the Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Bond Act of 2022. VHHP finances the development of affordable rental and transitional housing for veterans with an emphasis on housing for homeless and extremely low-income veterans.
AB 411 aligns with Policy Solution A2 in the Roadmap Home 2030 to scale state housing programs.
AB 721 (Bloom) Signed by Governor
Covenants and Restrictions
This bill would make private restrictive covenants limiting the number of people or units, or size of a property, unenforceable against affordable developments. Private restrictive covenants historically were used to discriminate against people of color, and are still a barrier to the development of affordable housing.
AB 977 (Gabriel) Signed by Governor
Homelessness program data reporting: Homeless Management Information System
This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2023, that a grantee or entity operating in many State homelessness programs as a condition of receiving state funds, to enter data elements, as defined by HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Data Standards, on the individuals and families it serves into its local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The bill would apply the data entry requirements to all new state homelessness programs that commence on or after July 1, 2021. The bill would also require the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to provide technical assistance and guidance to any grantee or entity that operates a program subject to the bill, if the grantee or entity does not already collect and enter into the local Homeless Management Information System the data elements required.
AB 1043 (Bryan) Signed by Governor
Acutely Low Income
This bill would establish a new acutely low-income category, defined as at or below 15% of area median income (AMI).
AB 1043 aligns with the Roadmap Home by prioritizing those struggling the most to make ends meet.
AB 1220 (Rivas) Signed by Governor
Homelessness: California Interagency Council on Homelessness
This bill would make changes to the structure of the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council and eliminate the exemption for emergency shelter from housing first law (SB 1380, 2016 Mitchell).
AB 1304 (Santiago) Signed by Governor
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
This bill clarifies various housing element requirements to ensure that cities and counties are meaningfully complying with their legal duty to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH), which requires public entities to take active steps to dismantle segregation, foster inclusive communities, create equal housing opportunities, address disinvestment in low-income neighborhoods, and protect residents from displacement.
AB 1304 aligns with the Roadmap Home’s goals to advance racial equity, create affordable homes, and protect renters.
SB 17 (Pan) – 2 year bill
Office of Racial Equity
This bill would establish the Office of Racial Equity (ORE) and the Racial Equity Advisory and Accountability Council to address systemic and institutional racism. It will also require the ORE to develop a Racial Equity Framework for the state and direct state agencies to create and implement Racial Equity Action Plans based on the framework.
SB 17 aligns with the Roadmap Home’s cross-cutting recommendation to create a statewide racial equity framework for investment and the Roadmap Home’s overall goal of advancing racial equity.
SB 57 (Wiener) – 2 year bill
Controlled substances: overdose prevention program
This bill would, until January 1, 2027, authorize the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to approve overdose protection programs for safe, hygienic use of controlled substances under staff supervision.
SB 344 (Hertzberg) – 2 year bill
Shelter Pet Program
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and administer a program which awards grants to qualified homeless shelters for the provision of shelter, food, and basic veterinary services for pets owned by people experiencing homelessness.
SB 629 (Roth)
Identification Cards
This bill would expand eligibility for reduced cost of identification cards and increase re-entry population access to IDs. Assembly amendments would require Dept. of Corrections and Rehab to manage the process between inmates and other agencies, repeal existing law that makes ineligible those with unpaid fees; and authorize DMV to issue licences in lieu of ID cards.
SB 678 (Rubio)
Unaccompanied Women Experiencing Homelessness Act of 2021
This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and administer a program which awards grants to qualified homeless shelters for the provision of shelter, food, and basic veterinary services for pets owned by people experiencing homelessness.
Oppose
SB 6 (Caballero)
Housing in Commercial Zones
(Previously SB 1385). Allows for residential use on neighborhood lots, defined as parcels zoned in retail or commercial use, not adjacent to industrial use. Would allow streamlined, ministerial approval of multi-family housing under Planning and Zoning Law provisions (which expire in 2026), which grant ministerial approval to MFH that is residential, mixed use, and meets objective zoning and development standards.
SB 7 (Atkins)
Environmental quality: Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021
(Previously SB 995). The bill would broaden the application and utilization of the Master Environment Impact Report (MEIR) by reducing the dollar amount required for applicants from $100 million to $15 million. In addition, the bill allows projects an expedited CEQA litigation process. However, this bill contains a provision that would limit the eligible workforce, particularly in non-major urban areas throughout the state, which would severely impede the production of affordable housing.
SB 10 (Wiener) Signed by Governor
Planning and zoning: housing development: density
Allows local governments to zone any parcel for up to 10 units if the parcel is in a transit-rich or infill area. An ordinance passed under this bill would not be subject to CEQA. Housing California has concerns SB 10 will undermine existing streamlining of affordable and supportive housing available under SB 35 (Wiener, 2017) and AB 2162 (Chiu, 2018).
SB 15 (Portantino)
Rezoning Idle Retail
This bill would establish a program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to provide grants to cities and counties that rezone idle or underutilized big box retailer or commercial shopping center properties and instead provide for the development of specified lower and moderate income housing.
Neutral
AB 491 (Gonzalez) Signed by Governor
AB 787 (Gabriel) Signed by Governor
AB 989 (Gabriel) – 2 year bill
Housing Accountability Committee
This bill would create the Housing Accountability Committee within HCD, whose responsibilities would include reviewing appeals regarding multifamily projects that have been denied or rendered financially infeasible by local governments.
AB 989 aligns with Policy Solution C5 in the Roadmap Home 2030.
SB 9 (Atkins) Signed by Governor
Housing development: approvals
Would allow by-right duplexes and by-right lot splits in single-family housing zones, affecting market-rate housing production.
