HAC’s First Three Pieces of Sponsored State Legislation

While HAC started as a San Francisco based organization focused on supporting homebuilders to get their projects approved, over the past couple of years the breadth and scope of our work have expanded immensely. 

We’ve not only brought our project advocacy work to both the East and South Bay (and soon LA), but we’ve also started to amplify our voice in the legislative arena by lobbying, collaborating, and building relationships with local and state lawmakers to enact necessary pro-housing reforms. 

Now in 2022, we’re increasing our efforts to make statewide change by co-sponsoring our first pieces of statewide legislation.

While we plan to continue to work with state lawmakers throughout the year to advocate for pro-housing legislative reform, here are the first three bills HAC is sponsoring: 

1. Assembly Bill 2063 (Berman), which was passed by the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee unanimously with 7 aye votes earlier this week, will explicitly prevent cities from imposing inclusionary fees on density bonus units. These inclusionary fees have substantially hindered the development of affordable housing in San Francisco by disincentivizing homebuilders from using the state density bonus. AB 2063 will make it financially feasible to build thousands of much-needed new homes for residents of all income levels.
2. Assembly Bill 2234 (Grayson and Rivas) will create a framework for local governments to process residential building permits more efficiently and cost-effectively.
3. Senate Bill 649 (Cortese) will promote community stabilization by allowing cities to enact tenant preference, which enables tenants to access set aside units when affordable housing is built and allows lenders to safely finance projects that include tenant preference.

California’s housing shortage, affordability, and displacement crisis is a complex issue that requires a multitude of impactful solutions. Legislative reform like AB 2063, AB 2234, and SB 649 will create the kind of incremental pro-housing changes California desperately needs.