$20 Billion Housing Bond Pulled From Ballots - Leaving Advocates ‘Heartbroken’
A $10 billion affordable housing bond in California will not appear on the November ballot, causing concern among housing advocates about the future of funding after the state slashed over a billion dollars from related programs.
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Berkeley) introduced AB 1657, which was set to be the largest housing bond in decades, receiving strong backing from housing advocates and city officials throughout California. This bond would have allowed for general obligation bonds to fund affordable rental housing for low-income families and supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness, among other initiatives.
However, the Legislature had to prioritize other bonds and faced limitations on new borrowing due to a significant budget deficit. As a result, two measures aimed at allocating $10 billion each for K-12 school renovations and climate change preparedness secured spots on the November ballot, while AB 1657 was ultimately sidelined in the appropriations committee last week.
In November, voters in the Bay Area will also decide on a measure to simplify the process for local governments to pass bonds and taxes that support affordable housing and infrastructure. Currently, such measures require a two-thirds supermajority, or 66% approval from residents, to pass. Proposition 5 aims to reduce that requirement to 55%. Stay tuned - more to follow.
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Best news of the day.
ReplyDeleteThat is great news! As per SF Chronicle "A lawsuit filed earlier this month by a group of taxpayers alleged that the ballot language was misleading, in part because it misstated the annual cost of repaying the bond...BAHFA corrected the error, stating that the repayment cost is actually $911 million annually over 53 years, not $670 million as previously stated." Talk about transparency...lest we be deceived to vote for the other ballot measure California Constitutional amendment (Prop 5). Vote NO. NO. NO on all new tax measures in November.
ReplyDeletehttps://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_5,_Lower_Supermajority_Requirement_to_55%25_for_Local_Bond_Measures_to_Fund_Housing_and_Public_Infrastructure_Amendment_(2024)
Overall…great news!
DeleteHopefully this means no funding at least in the near future for a certain "approved" high density project and it's permits expire :)
ReplyDelete