Paul and I have been spending a lot of time at the Capitol these past few weeks, and I’m excited to share that CCAH is now officially sponsoring two bills this session, both of which speak directly to the real‑world challenges our members face every day.
The first, AB 2748 (Quirk‑Silva), tackles potentially one of the biggest cost pressures hitting affordable housing developers right now: California’s new EV‑readiness mandate. As many of you know, the updated 2025 Building Standards Code requires every assigned parking space plus 50% of all unassigned spaces in a multifamily development to be EV‑ready. The costs add up fast. Wired EV‑ready infrastructure is currently around $2,000 per unit, and that number is projected to rise to $2,500–$3,000. Fully installed Level 2 chargers can run $5,000–$15,000 per stall, depending on upgrades needed to electrical service.
For a typical 100‑unit affordable development, that means hundreds of thousands of dollars added to already tight budgets. AB 2748 would delay these requirements for 100% affordable projects until 2037, allowing developers to continue following the more manageable 2022 Code and giving the industry time to catch up with evolving EV technology and utility programs. It’s a practical, much‑needed fix and we’re excited to have our friends at the California Housing Consortium co-sponsoring with us on this one.
Our second sponsored bill, AB 2089 (Ward), addresses a different but equally frustrating issue and that is the administrative burden and financial risk tied to the welfare property tax exemption for affordable housing. Under current law, developers can avoid interest and penalties on property taxes while their welfare exemption is being processed, but only under limited circumstances, and only during construction. That leaves long‑term preservation projects exposed when they undergo routine changes in ownership or managing general partner structure, which can temporarily disrupt the exemption. AB 2089 expands the existing protections so developers won’t have to float large, unnecessary tax payments whenever these normal transactions occur. This ensures scarce affordable housing dollars are spent on operations, services, and stewardship, not on fronting avoidable tax bills.
Both bills directly reflect what we hear from you, our members, about the regulatory friction and cost pressures shaping your projects. These are practical, high‑impact policy solutions, and I couldn’t be more proud that CCAH is helping lead them.
On the events front, I also want to share how thrilled I am by the momentum for our Spring Conference at Silverado Resort in Napa. During the VIP early‑access window for members and sponsors, you snapped up one‑third of all available tickets and you did it in record time. Early general registration opened on March 1 and runs until midnight on March 15, and based on this start, we’re expecting a full house. I can’t wait to see so many of you there, reconnecting in person and enjoying that beautiful Napa setting.
And finally, member-only invitations are out for our upcoming affordable housing roundtable and private dinner events with Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and State Treasurer Fiona Ma. We expect these conversations to be candid, energizing, and deeply relevant to the policy and financing challenges we all navigate. We’re looking forward to bringing our members into direct dialogue with two of the state’s most important constitutional officers and housing leaders.
Thanks for all you do—and I’ll see you soon, either in the Capitol hallways, at Silverado, or around the discussion table with our statewide leaders.
Warmly and in partnership,
