If you were unaware, 2017 is the “Year Of Housing Bills” at the state legislature. Funding, streamlining and prevailing wages have been top of mind for many housing advocates, and we wanted to give you a quick rundown of what happened on “Deadline Day,” June 1st. All bills starting with SB (Senate Bills) now need to go through the Assembly and vice-versa (Note: these are only the bills SFHAC took formal positions on). This will go on for a while, so we’ll keep you updated. At the end of each update, we let you know the “Yes – No – No Vote Recorded“ count for each bill.
SFHAC Supported Bills:
SB 35
This bill streamlines the approval process of code compliant housing in jurisdictions that don’t achieve their targeted Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) goals at the different income levels. If they build the housing they’re suppose to build, nothing happens. Here’s our blog post and support letter, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle endorsement.
Passed the Senate (25 Y – 12 N – 3 NVR)
SB 167
This bill updates the State’s Housing Accountability Act, which was a seldom used law to get local jurisdictions to build housing. Known as the “YIMBY Bill”, this is what CaRLA used to sue the City of Lafayette.
Passed the Senate (30 Y – 10 N)
AB 71
This eliminates the state mortgage interest deduction on second homes, resulting in $300 million of additional revenue for the state’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Learn more here.
Votes still being counted
AB 73
This creates the incentive for jurisdictions to re-zone and complete an environmental review on infill sites close to transit. In exchange, the local jurisdiction will be rewarded with additional funding. The bill also includes affordability requirements and prevailing wages. We’re fans because it’s going to incentivize jurisdictions to up-zone transit rich areas for more housing. There is a “use it or lose it” timeline as well. Learn more here.
Passed the Assembly (56 Y – 24 N – 4 NVR)
AB 678
The Assembly version of SB 167.
Passed the Assembly (56 Y – 24 N – 4 NVR)
SFHAC Opposed Bill:
AB 915
This would require that all projects using the state density bonus apply the same local inclusionary requirements on the bonus units as the base project. Since this bill started through the legislature, it’s been whittled down to only applying in San Francisco.
Passed the Assembly (41 Y – 28 N – 11 NVR)
For additional updates, Liam Dillion at the LA Times wrote a piece on the Senate’s bills here. KQED also wrote a nice summary.
Image: Sergio Ruiz
