By Paul Shafer, CCAH Public Policy Manager (Tuesday May 13, 2025)
On Tuesday May 13, 2025, the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions and the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development convened a joint informational hearing to discuss the Governor’s proposed plan to reorganize the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency (BCHS) into two agencies: Business and Consumer Services Agency and the California Housing and Homelessness Agency.
BCHS Secretary, Tomiquia Moss, offered opening remarks and was joined by a panel of BCHS department directors to provide commentary on the proposed plan and answer questions from the committee members. The comments made by Secretary Moss and the department directors shared the same optimistic tone towards this proposed reorganization. On questions about cost and funding, Secretary Moss flagged that the cost estimates to execute this reorganization would be revealed in the Governor’s May revision of the budget which was released the morning of Wednesday, May 14.
Representatives from The John Stewart Company and the Community Housing Improvement Systems and Planning Association (CHISPA) offered comments from the developer’s perspective on the reorganization. They both expressed their support for the reorganization in order to achieve greater output of housing units to address the state’s home affordability crisis. Examples were shared of affordable housing projects having to be abandoned because gap funding could not be secured in time, in part, due to the fragmented nature of the state’s current funding system.
CCAH Executive Director, Jenna Abbott, provided public comment to express our shared enthusiasm in seeing meaningful work being undertaken to provide a dedicated housing agency. Abbott also encouraged the legislators and BCSH leadership to look at the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) and California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) as examples of agencies providing creative, nimble and transparent processes around funding using LIHTC and urged caution about moving to reorganize those entities into the proposed Housing and Homelessness Agency without additional input from stakeholders.
You can watch the hearing and see Executive Director Jenna Abbott’s testimony at the 2:30 minute mark here.
This hearing was informational only; no action was taken by the legislature on this reorganization plan. The Little Hoover Commission’s recommendation on the proposed reorganization is due to the Governor and Legislature by June 4th 2025. The plan, if adopted, will be executed by July 2026. Your CCAH advocacy team will continue to provide updates on this as information becomes available. Please reach out to Paul Shafer should you have any questions.