Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • State Government
  •  

Governor, Democratic Leaders Reach Agreement On Major Pieces Of Housing Deal

  •  Ben Adler 
Monday, August 28, 2017 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) joins other Democratic lawmakers and California labor leaders at a news conference calling for a housing deal on Monday, August 28, 2017.

Ben Adler / Capital Public Radio

California Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats have reached a housing deal at the state Capitol that includes a $4 billion bond, a new fee on real estate transaction documents, and several efforts to streamline new development projects.

“We’re going to take a shot at this later this week,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) told Capital Public Radio in an interview Monday, adding that he believes his Democratic colleagues can muster the votes to pass the measures – including ones that require a two-thirds supermajority.

“We’re looking at a tremendous shortage of housing,” Rendon says, pointing to a California Department of Housing and Community Development estimate that the state must build 180,000 new units of housing every year to meet demand. “So I think the governor and everyone else here in Sacramento realizes the urgency of this.”

The bill package includes up to a dozen measures. Although negotiations continue on some of those bills, the three headliners are clear:

  • SB 3, a $4 billion housing bond measure that would require voter approval on the November 2018 ballot. It includes $3 billion to help subsidize affordable housing projects, with the debt payments coming from the state’s general fund; and $1 billion for the California Department of Veterans Affairs home loan program, which will be repaid through mortgage payments;
  • SB 2, a $75 document fee on real estate transactions – excluding new home purchases – to create a permanent funding source for affordable housing projects. It’s projected to raise between $200-$300 million per year; and
  • SB 35, a bill that seeks to force cities and counties to streamline the planning process for urban, multi-family projects. To be eligible, the projects must meet certain zoning and requirements, such as paying construction workers a prevailing wage.

“We recognize that this housing crisis is a problem that didn’t arise overnight, and it’s going to take some time to address it,” Rendon says. “I think this is a good first stab at the problem.”

SB 2 and SB 3 require two-thirds votes in each chamber of the Legislature, and it’s not yet clear whether they’ll be able to pass the Assembly. Both measures already passed the Senate earlier this year, although they’ll need to win final Senate approval should they pass the Assembly.

Assuming all Republicans vote no, every Democrat in both chambers would need to vote yes. Many Democrats are worried about a voter backlash after they approved a gas tax increase and cap-and-trade extension earlier this year.

One of the final outstanding issues in negotiations was the size of the housing bond. As we reported earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown linked the housing talks to discussions over a parks and water bond by seeking to limit the bonds’ combined size to $7 billion.

Because the $1 billion veterans home loans portion of the $4 billion housing bond will be repaid through mortgage payments, the state general fund will only be on the hook for repaying $3 billion. That suggests the parks and water bond will end up at $4 billion.

The other bills that comprise the deal are still being finalized could be announced as soon as Tuesday. They include additional efforts to streamline the development process and make it harder for cities and counties to evade state housing mandates.

Editor's Note: This story was updated Tuesday morning to reflect additional reporting.


UPDATE 3:29 p.m.: California lawmakers and labor leaders are mounting a final lobbying push at the state capitol as Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats near a housing deal.

A vote could come as soon as Friday.

“If we don’t get started in a serious way, with each and every one of these pieces of legislation, we will have more than a crisis on our hands,” Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said at a Monday morning news conference touting several bills to address California's sky-high housing costs. “We will have a humanitarian crisis of proportions you have never seen.”

Asm. Miguel Santiago says housing should not just be a privilege for the few Californians who can afford a place to live. “Housing should be a right – that any person who tries hard, who works hard, who plays by the rules has the availability to sleep with a roof over their head at night,” he said.

The three core pieces of the deal are a multi-billion dollar housing bond, a real estate document fee to fund affordable housing projects, and regulatory reforms to streamline developments.


ORIGINAL STORY: This could finally be the week that Gov. Jerry Brown and California lawmakers begin to address the state’s housing affordability crisis. Or, maybe not.

Lawmakers are preparing to vote on a dozen different bills, but they’re mostly focused on three:

  • a multi-billion dollar housing bond for the November 2018 ballot
  • a real estate document fee to permanently fund affordable housing projects
  • and a bill that would force cities and counties to streamline the planning process for multi-family projects that meet certain requirements.

The governor has linked the housing bond to a parks and water bond by seeking to limit the bonds’ combined size. That’s pitting advocates for each cause against each other – and lawmakers, too.

“I definitely think that housing is a more urgent need than parks and water,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) said last week. “Keep in mind, I wrote the water bond in 2014, I understand how important it is. I think if you asked most Californians, housing is an incredibly urgent need.”

Another challenge is rounding up the votes for the real estate document fee. That measure requires a supermajority – and some Democrats are wary of voting for a fee increase after already backing a gas tax hike and a cap-and-trade extension earlier this year.

The housing bond requires a supermajority vote too but is seen as having an easier path to passage.


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about housing

  • Andrew Nixon / Capital Public Radio

    Housing

    CapRadio's coverage of California housing issues in the Sacramento region and throughout the state.

    Related Stories

  • Vanessa S. Nelson / Capital Public Radio

    Place And Privilege

    Friday, October 6, 2017
    Sacramento's housing shortage affects everyone, from middle-class renters to homeless residents. We explore the history, politics and economics of housing in California's capital through personal stories of neighbors hit the hardest.
  • The Basics On California Lawmakers' Housing Proposals

    Friday, September 15, 2017
    California lawmakers approved and Gov. Jerry Brown signed a package of bills designed to address the state's housing crisis. Here's what you need to know about each proposal.
  • Housing, Parks, Immigration Top Legislature's Agenda In Final Two Weeks

    Tuesday, September 5, 2017
    California lawmakers return to the Capitol Tuesday with just two weeks to go before they adjourn for the year.
  • Housing Votes Delayed At California Capitol

    Friday, September 1, 2017
    UPDATE 9:36 A.M.: The California Legislature won't vote on a package of housing bills Friday after all.
  • Governor, Legislative Democrats At Odds Over Inclusionary Housing For Rental Units

    Wednesday, August 30, 2017
    The final sticking point in negotiations over a housing deal at the California Capitol appears to be an issue known as “inclusionary housing.”
  • Creative Commons

    Capitol Chat: Lawmakers Prepare To Address Affordable Housing Crisis

    Tuesday, August 29, 2017
    Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler joins Insight to preview a raft of bills the California Legislature will take up this week to address the statewide affordable housing crisis.
  • Parks And Water Bond Linked To Housing Deal At California Capitol

    Thursday, August 10, 2017
    As California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown work to hammer out an affordable housing deal that includes a multi-billion dollar bond measure, they’re also negotiating a parks and water bond that would advance at the same time.
  • Efforts To Streamline Housing Developments Draw Scrutiny At California Capitol

    Wednesday, August 9, 2017
    California lawmakers are weighing several ideas to encourage – or force – cities and counties to speed up the approval process for housing projects.
  • Creative Commons

    Housing Negotiations Move Ahead Over Legislative Recess

    Wednesday, August 2, 2017
    California’s housing crisis will take center stage when state lawmakers return from summer recess later this month.

 housingstate governmentaffordable housing

Ben Adler

Director of Programming and Audience Development

Director of Programming and Audience Development Ben Adler first became a public radio listener in the car on his way to preschool — though not necessarily by choice.  Read Full Bio 

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

More State Government Stories

Aaron Kehoe/AP

Backed by Newsom, California Democrats revive changes to state concealed carry law

February 1, 2023

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File

Q&A: Speaker Anthony Rendon on a budget deficit, gun bills and handing over the gavel

January 31, 2023

Ariana Drehsler / CalMatters

California reparations task force zeroes in on who’d be eligible for compensation

January 30, 2023

Most Viewed

California ends plans for kids’ Covid vaccine mandate

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

California coronavirus updates: COVID-19 pandemic has shifted people's finances

California announces plan to convert 3 office buildings in downtown Sacramento into housing

Sacramento Council approves armored vehicle for police despite opposition to military equipment purchase

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

California ends plans for kids’ Covid vaccine mandate

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

California coronavirus updates: COVID-19 pandemic has shifted people's finances

California announces plan to convert 3 office buildings in downtown Sacramento into housing

Sacramento Council approves armored vehicle for police despite opposition to military equipment purchase

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.