The couple hundred people who rallied on the Capitol steps Tuesday for renters’ rights want affordable housing.
"Housing is a right!" they chanted. "We demand our rights!"
That help used to come through local Redevelopment Agencies. But the state abolished the RDAs two years ago, and when they went away, affordable housing funds did too.
Last year, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed local governments to set affordable housing requirements for rental developments. That left supporters frustrated.
“If the governor’s saying by the demise of redevelopment that there can be no public money for affordable housing, and there won’t be any allowance for private developers to put in their contribution to affordable housing, it’s really a very difficult situation,” said state Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) after Tuesday's rally.
Now, backers are pushing a measure would charge a $75 fee on real estate transactions to raise $500 million a year for affordable housing projects.
Meanwhile, the governor has called for the creation of a new funding mechanism for affordable housing in his January budget proposal.
May 30, 2018Fair Political Practices Commission chairperson Jodi Remke announced Tuesday that she will step down on Friday. It follows months of acrimony with other commissioners.
February 22, 2018His resignation followed an outside investigation, which found that Mendoza likely engaged in "flirtatious or sexually suggestive" behavior with six different women, including former staffers and fellows. The allegations date back to 2007.
February 20, 2018A summary of the Senate’s outside investigation comes after the chamber’s Rules Committee met in closed session to discuss Mendoza’s fate for the second weekday in a row.
January 18, 2018New legislative efforts supporting the “Me Too” anti-harassment movement could change the reporting process for victims filing complaints.
October 26, 2017Women in California politics, protesting sexual harassment and abuse at the Capitol, distrust the response from legislative leaders.
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