Policy Platform and Priorities

2024 Legislative Year in Review

The second year of the 2023-2024 legislative session began with new leadership: Assemblymember Robert Rivas assumed the role of Speaker in late 2023, while Senator Toni Atkins transitioned the role of Senate Pro Tempore to Senator Mike McGuire in early 2024. McGuire, who was selected by his peers last August, worked closely with Atkins to ensure a smooth transition. These changes also led to notable shifts in committee chairs and memberships.

The Legislature convened on January 3^rd and began introducing bills. Legislators had until February 16, 2024 to finalize their legislative packages before diving into policy committee hearings, which were crucial for meeting the house of origin deadline on April 26^th. Overall, we saw 2,159 bills introduced—1,520 Assembly bills and 639 Senate bills. This was a decrease from the 2,600 bills introduced in 2023.

By May 17^th, fiscal committees had to act on all bills referred to Appropriations. Amid grim budget projections, attention turned to new Appropriations Committee Chairs Assemblymember Buffy Wicks and Senator Anna Caballero. Together, they managed 1,009 bills, with 74.5% of the Senate Appropriations Committee measures and 65% of the Assembly Appropriations Committee measures passing. The two chambers advanced 689 bills to their respective floors and held 320, reflecting a 31.7% clip rate—significantly higher than the historic average of 25% due to the pressing budget deficit.

July 3^rd marked the deadline for bills to be moved through policy committees in the second house, which provided a clearer picture of what legislation was “real,” heading into the final stretch of the 2024 legislative session. The month of August was a whirlwind with the Legislature working hard to meet the fiscal committee deadline on August 16^th and end of session deadline on August 31^st. The Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees took up their respective suspense files on August 15^th. The Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees’ suspense files consisted in total of 830 bills, 67% of which were passed along to the Senate and Assembly floors.

During the final two weeks of August, Senate and Assembly floor sessions were the main focus as the two chambers met daily for extended lengths of time to move through the 1,021 measures shared

between the two files. The 2023-2024 session came to a close with the Legislature adjourning in the late hours of Saturday August 31^st as Legislators rushed against the clock to vote on priority legislation before midnight.

The final hours of the legislative session put a spotlight on inter-house tensions as both houses leveraged priority bills from the opposite house. The delay tactics, which are typical at end of session, led the Assembly to limit debate on bills in order to vote on as many priorities as possible before the midnight hour. Assemblymember Essayli (R – Corona) took issue with the limits on debates and continuously interrupted the floor proceedings.

Even amongst the chaos, the Legislature sent hundreds of bills to the Governor’s desk for his

consideration. The Governor had until September 30^th to sign or veto each measure.

2024 STATE BUDGET

On January 10, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom released his Proposed 2024-25 State Budget to close an estimated $37.9 billion shortfall while protecting key investments in education, public safety, addressing homelessness, mental health care reform, and climate action.

The proposed budget contained $18.4 billion in total budgetary reserves, including $11.1 billion in the Rainy-Day Fund. While maintaining investments in several priority areas, the January budget proposal addressed the budget shortfall through a package of solutions:

• $13.1 Billion: Reserves – Drawing upon state reserves.
• $8.5 Billion: Reductions – Pulling back items primarily from 2023 Budget Act.
• $5.7 Billion: Borrowing – Borrowing funds through special funds and a MCO Tax.
• $5.1 Billion: Delays – Focusing investment over multiple years and delaying funding.
• $3.4 Billion: Fund shifts – Shifting funding through bonds to cash.
• $3.1 Billion: Deferrals – Pushes specific obligations out to 2025-26.

The Governor submitted his $288 billion May Revision to the Legislature for consideration on May 14, 2024. The Governor framed this budget proposal as “right sizing expenditures.” The proposal included taking a slightly different approach to what we have seen in the past by challenging the State to look at both current and future budget years.

After tax collection numbers were finalized, an additional $7 billion shortfall was identified. The proposal therefore addressed a $27.6 billion “budget challenge” – accounting for the $17.3 billion in early action taken by the Legislature earlier this year. The Governor applauded Legislative Leadership on early action, dealing with a budget in “real time” rather than waiting for a date on the calendar.

The Legislature announced a two-party agreement on the budget on May 29, 2024. Legislative Leadership aligned on several budget priorities, including to restore funding to build housing and reject many social services cuts. The legislative budget proposal also included saving approximately half of the state’s reserves for future budget years. The Governor and Legislative leaders later announced a joint

agreement on the 2024-25 budget through AB 107 (Gabriel), which was signed by the Governor on June 29, 2024.

The $297.9 billion agreement includes commitments to support further budget resilience by proposing additional legislation requiring the state to set aside a portion of anticipated surplus funds to be allocated in a subsequent budget act. Below are a few highlights of the enacted budget, which reflects the state spending plan passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor:

• Balanced solutions: the enacted budget utilizes reductions, reserves, fund shifts, delays and pauses, and deferrals to address a $46.8 billion deficit for the budget year.
• Education: the enacted budget protects the minimum guaranteed $115.3 billion of Proposition 98 funding for the budget year for Pre-K through 12 schools and community colleges.
• Healthcare: the enacted budget maintains funding for the Medi-Cal expansion of healthcare to all income eligible Californians regardless of immigration status and inclusive of In-Home Supportive Services. It also maintains significant investments in behavioral health – totaling $7.1 billion.
• Homelessness: the enacted budget includes $1 billion one-time Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program funding to assist local governments in combating the homelessness crisis.
• Youth and Families: the enacted budget maintains a 31.3% increase in CalWORKs Maximum Aid Payment levels and invests $20.5 million to begin automation for updated foster care rates.

Following the signing of AB 107, the Governor and Legislature continued to negotiate additional aspects of the state budget. Those continued negotiations occurred up until the last week of the legislative session and are reflected in the additional Budget Bill Juniors and numerous Trailer Bills passed by the Legislature and later signed by the Governor.

2024 AFFORDABLE HOUSING BUDGET

In his May Revision, the Governor announced further cuts to affordable housing programs. Then in June, after severe pushback from affordable housing groups, including CCAH, the Legislature proposed increasing one-time funding to several affordable housing programs.

Although the affordable housing agreement was largely positive, the Legislature did agree to cut over $1

billion in affordable housing programs for this year’s budget.

Below is a breakdown in changes made:

Multifamily Housing Program. In May, Newsom proposed cutting an additional $75 million to MHP, totaling $325 million in proposed cuts. The final budget restored $315 million in one-time funding.

Regional Early Action Program. The final budget agreement restored $260 million in one-time funding to the REAP 2.0 Program, reducing the cut to $40 million out of the original $600 million allocation.

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. As requested in the May Revision, the final budget included an increase of $500 million for the low-income housing tax credit.

Additional details regarding the 2024 Budget Act can be found in the Department of Finance’s Enacted

Budget Summary and Detail.

CCAH FOLLOWED THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS CLOSELY AND ENGAGED ON DOZENS OF BILLS

After several years of blockbuster housing bills passing through the California Legislature, the 2024 legislative session was no different.

Legislators began this year by introducing a series of determined proposals, one which would have made it easier to build on the coastline and another that would have limited investors’ ability to buy and rent out single family homes in the state. Additionally, there was a proposed $10 billion affordable housing bond for the November ballot and a $20 billion bond for the Bay Area.

However, both bond measures died, as did many pieces of housing legislation. Legislation that did in fact make it through the finish line to the Governor’s desk was not without controversy.

CCAH SPONSORED Legislation

AB 2638 (Ward D) Housing programs: financing: Would allow for sales and refinancing of HCD financed properties. CCAH had a strong working relationship with HCD throughout the legislative session to fine- tune the language of the bill. Similar to AB 515 (Ward) from 2023, AB 2638 was held in Senate Appropriations Committee. CCAH will continue efforts next year to address the issue with the governor’s office and the Legislature.

• Status: Held in Appropriations Committee; Dead
• CCAH Sponsor
• CCAH will pursue the issue in 2025

Status of Legislation SUPPORTED by CCAH

AB 1657 (Wicks) would have enacted the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2024 Would have placed a

$10 billion general obligation bond before voters on the November 2024 ballot to finance affordable housing and homeownership programs. The bill would have specifically authorized general obligation

bonds to be used for affordable rental housing programs for lower income families and supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness, among other uses. The Legislature had other bonds to consider and a limited capacity for authorizing new borrowing as the state faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

• Status: Dead
• CCAH Support

AB 1820 (Schiavo D) Housing development projects: applications: fees and exactions: Establishes a process through which development proponents can request preliminary project fee and exaction

estimates when submitting a preliminary application, and receive a final good faith estimate of all fees and exactions related to the project after final approval, within a specified timeframe.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

AB 1886 (Alvarez D) Housing Element Law: substantial compliance: Housing Accountability Act: Clarifies that a housing element or amendment is not considered substantially compliant with housing element law until the local agency has adopted a housing element that the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has determined is in substantial compliance with housing element law.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

AB 1893 (Wicks D) Housing Accountability Act: housing disapprovals: required local findings: Amends

the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) to revise the standards a housing development project must meet in order to qualify for the “Builder’s Remedy,” which authorizes projects to bypass local development standards in jurisdictions that fail to adopt a substantially compliant housing element.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

AB 2117 (Patterson, Joe R) Development permit expirations: actions or proceedings: Excludes time spent in litigation from the timeframe in which a permit or other local project approval can expire.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

AB 2430 (Alvarez D) Planning and zoning: density bonuses: monitoring fees: Prohibits a city, county, or city and county from charging a monitoring fee on a 100% affordable housing development using State Density Bonus Law (DBL) to ensure the continued affordability required under DBL and any applicable local inclusionary housing ordinance if the units in the development are subject to a regulatory

monitoring agreement with certain state agencies.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

SB 937 (Wiener D) Development projects: fees and charges: Prohibits a local government from requiring payment of fees or charges for public improvements or facilities on a designated residential

development project before the development receives a certificate of occupancy, except under certain conditions. Authorizes a local government to collect certain unpaid fees or charges in accordance with a specified procedure if the housing developer does not post a performance bond or letter of credit.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Support

Status of Legislation OPPOSED by CCAH

AB 846 (Bonta D) Housing programs: rent increases: Requires the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC), by June 30, 2025, to adopt regulations to establish a limit on annual rent increases for tenants in existing properties that were allowed a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), and requires TCAC to annually assess the rent increase limit.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Oppose

AB 3186 (Petrie-Norris D) Public works: prevailing wages: access to records: Requires owners and developers undertaking any public works project to make specified records available to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), multi-employer Taft-Hartley trust funds, and to joint labor- management committees.

• Status: Dead
• CCAH Oppose

AB 3190 (Haney D) Public works: Subjects to public works law, beginning on January 1, 2026 and ending on January 1, 2031, certain affordable housing projects by adding certain low-income housing tax credits to the definition of “paid for in whole or in part out of public funds,” and providing that specified

projects built pursuant to certain low-income housing tax credits with a state agency, redevelopment agency, successor agency to a redevelopment agency when acting in that capacity, or a local housing authority, are subject to public works requirements.

• Status: Signed by Governor: To the Members of the California State Assembly: I am signing Assembly Bill 3190, which applies public works law to certain affordable housing projects by expanding the definition of “paid for in whole or in part out of public funds” to include low- income housing tax credits. Additionally, it requires private residential projects built on private property to abide by public works law if the project receives low-income housing tax credits. This bill is contingent upon enactment of Assembly Bill 3160. While the provisions of this bill will not be going into effect given the veto of Assembly Bill 3160, I want to be clear that I generally share in the goals of this measure, and I am committed to building on the progress we have made as a state to address our housing shortage while also supporting good jobs and wages for those who make this progress possible. Sincerely, Gavin Newsom.
• Cojoined with AB 3160.
• Bill will NOT go into effect, given AB 3160 was vetoed.
• CCAH Oppose

SB 466 (Wahab D) Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act: rental rates: Gives local jurisdictions the option to limit the amount that residential landlords can raise the rent each year for housing that is more than 28 years old.

• Status: DEAD
• CCAH Oppose

Status of Legislation WATCHED by CCAH

AB 3160 (Gabriel) Insurance, income, and corporation taxes: credits: low-income housing: Provides that an additional allocation of $500 million to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is not subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for calendar years 2026 through 2030.

• Specifies that the provisions of this bill shall only become operative if AB 3190 (Haney, 2024) is enacted and becomes effective on or before January 1, 2025.
• Status: Vetoed by Governor: To the Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 3160 without my signature. This bill would appropriate $500 million annually to the enhanced Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) for calendar years 2026 through 2030. This bill is contingent upon the enactment of Assembly Bill 3190 (Haney). Codifying an allocation of $500 million per year of tax credits would result in a significant ongoing commitment of General Fund resources. Such decisions should be considered within the broader context of the state budget to ensure our collective priorities and financial commitments are balanced over both the short and long term. Additionally, without the ability to review this allocation annually through the Budget Act, the state would lose the flexibility to adjust expenditures in response to changing fiscal conditions, highlighting the importance of evaluating multi-year funding commitments during

the budget process. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill. Sincerely, Gavin Newsom.

• CCAH Watch

AB 1053 (Gabriel) Housing programs: multifamily housing programs: expenditure of loan proceeds:

Allows a borrower to request funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as a construction loan, the traditional permanent financing option, or a combination of both.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

AB 1789 (Quirk-Silva) Department of Housing and Community Development: Would expand the types of housing projects that may be funded under the Department of Housing and Community

Development’s (HCD’s) Portfolio Reinvestment Program (PRP) to include a “challenged development.

• Status: Held in Appropriations; Dead
• CCAH Watch

AB 2243 (Wicks D) Housing development projects: objective standards: affordability and site criteria: Expands and modifies the provisions of the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act (Act) of 2022 and the Middle-Class Housing Act of 2022.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

AB 2926(Kalra D) Planning and zoning: assisted housing developments: notice of expiration of affordability restrictions: Makes several changes to the Preservation Notice Law (PNL), including

requiring an owner of an assisted housing development to accept a bona fide offer from a qualified

entity to purchase and to execute a purchase agreement, or to record a new regulatory agreement with a term of at least 30 years that meets specified requirements, and deleting the option for an owner to decline to sell the property.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

AB 3068 (Haney) Adaptive reuse: streamlining: incentives: Establishes the Office to Housing Conversion Act (the Act), creating streamlined, ministerial approvals process for adaptive reuse projects, as defined, and providing certain financial incentives for the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. Last-minute amendments added ‘skilled and trained’ workforce mandates to its provisions.

• Status: Vetoed by Governor: To the Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 3068 without my signature. This bill would establish the Office to Housing Conversion Act, creating a ministerial approval process for adaptive reuse projects, aimed at converting nonresidential buildings, such as offices or industrial sites, into residential or mixed- use developments. The bill also provides financial incentives for developers, including the option for local governments to allocate up to 30 years of property tax revenue to support affordable housing conversions, and establishes specific labor standards for qualified adaptive reuse projects. While I strongly support efforts to address California’s housing crisis by promoting adaptive reuse projects, this bill raises several concerns. The proposed compliance and enforcement mechanisms for labor standards, including the issuance of stop-work orders for any violations, represent a significant expansion beyond existing law, which limits this remedy to a narrow subset of violations, such as those posing immediate threats to health and safety. Moreover, the bill lacks clear procedures for contesting violations or addressing noncompliance, creating considerable uncertainty that could lead to delays, and increased costs, potentially making projects financially unviable – ultimately undermining the bill’s goal of increasing housing production. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill. Sincerely, Gavin Newsom
• CCAH Watch

AB 3093 (Ward) Land use: housing element: Creates two new income categories, Acutely Low Income (ALI) and Extremely Low Income (ELI), in the Regional Housing Needs Determination (RHND), Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), and Housing Element Law.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

SB 7 (Blakespear D) Regional housing need: determination: Makes a number of technical changes to the regional housing needs determination (RHND) process conducted by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) process conducted by HCD or Councils of Governments (COGs).

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

SB 440 (Skinner) Regional Housing Finance Authorities: Would authorize two or more local

governments to establish a regional housing authority to raise, administer, and allocate funds and provide technical assistance for affordable housing development.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

SB 1210 (Skinner) New housing construction: electrical, gas, sewer, and water service: service connection information: Requires electrical, gas, sewer, and water service utilities, with exceptions, to post estimated fees and timeframes for new service connections needed to connect new housing construction projects.

• Status: Signed by Governor
• CCAH Watch

2024 General Election

The 2024 General Election received a well-known boost of excitement when Vice President Kamala

Harris became the Democratic Party’s official nominee, alongside Vice Presidential nominee and current Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz, after President Joe Biden’s late summer decision to not seek re-

election in November. Harris & Walz’ short, three-month window to campaign has generated a nationwide buzz that will certainly impact down-ballot races across the country.

Looking to the hot ticket races in our own Golden State, we compiled a high-level overview of California races that we watched closely, below.

Congressional Races

+13% Dem seat

• CD 03 (Kevin Kiley) – Rep incumbent Kiley will face Jessica Morse in this leaning Rep seat
• CD 09 (Josh Harder) – Dem Incumbent Harder will face Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln (R) in this

• CD 13 (John Duarte) – Rep incumbent Duarte will face Adam Gray (D) in this +12.98% Dem seat
• CD 16 (Eshoo) – Sam Liccardo (D) will face Joe Simitian (D) and Evan Low (D)after the two tied for second and both advanced
• CD 22 (David Valadao) – Rep incumbent Valadao will face Rudy Salas (D) in this +15.50% Dem seat
• CD 27 (Mike Garcia) – Rep incumbent Garcia will face George Whitesides (D) in this +11.77% Dem seat
• CD 34 (Jimmy Gomez) – Dem incumbent Gomez will face David Kim (D)
• CD 40 (Young Kim) – Rep incumbent Kim will face Joe Kerr (D) in this +4.30% Rep seat
• CD 41 (Ken Calvert) – Rep incumbent Calvert will face Will Rollins (D) in this +0.03% Dem seat
• CD 45 (Michelle Steel) – Rep incumbent Steel will face Derek Tran (D) in this +5.19% Dem seat
• CD 47 (Katie Porter) – Scott Baugh (R) will face Dave Min (D) in this +0.80% Dem seat
• CD 49 (Mike Levin) – Dem incumbent Levin will face Matt Gunderson (R) in this +2.92% Dem seat

State Senate Races

• SD 01 (Dahle) – Assemblymember Megan Dahle (R) is running to fill her husband’s (Brian Dahle)

Senate seat, versus fellow Republican Davie Fennell

• SD 03 (Dodd) – Democrat Christopher Cabaldon will face off against Republican Thom Bogue to replace long time Democrat, Bill Dodd
• SD 07 (Skinner) – Jesse Arreguín (D) will face Jovanka Beckles (D) in this safe Dem seat
• SD 19 (Ochoa Bogh) – Incumbent Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R) will face Lisa Middleton (D) in this now

+1.59% Dem seat

• SD 23 (Wilk) – Suzette Martinez Valladares (R) will face Kipp Mueller (D) in this now +9.64% Dem seat
• SD 29 (NEW) – Eloise Gomez Reyes (D) will face Carlos A. Garcia (R) in this +22.10% Dem seat
• SD 35 (Bradford) – Laura Richardson (D) will face Michelle Chambers (D)
• SD 37 (Min) – Josh Newman (D) will face Steven Choi in this +3.69% Dem seat

State Assembly Races

• AD 01 (Dahle) As Megan Dahle vacates her seat to run for Senate, two Republicans will face off –

Tenessa Audette and Heather Hadwick

• AD 07 (Hoover) – Rep incumbent Josh Hoover will face Porsche Middleton (D) in this +5.15% Dem seat
• AD 08 (Jim Patterson) – George Radanovich (R) will face David J. Tangipa (R) in this safe Rep seat
• AD 19 (Ting) – Catherine Stefani (D) will face David E. Lee (D) in this safe Dem seat
• AD 23 (Berman) – Dem incumbent Berman received 57% of the vote but will be facing NIMBY candidate Lydia Kou (D) in this safe Dem seat
• AD 26 (Low) – Patrick Ahrens (D) will face Tara Sreekrishnan (D) in this safe Dem seat
• AD 27 (Soria) – Dem incumbent EsmeraldaSoria will face Joanna Garcia Rose (R)
• AD 33 (Mathis) – Alexandra Macedo (R) will face Xavier Avila (R)
• AD 36 (E. Garcia) – Jeff Gonzalez (R) vs Joey Acuna Jr. (D) in this leaning Dem seat
• AD 40 (Schiavo) – Pilar Schiavo (D-incumbent) vs Patrick Lee Gipson (R)
• AD 47 (Wallis) – Rep incumbent Wallis will face Christy Holstege (D) in this 6.20% Dem seat
• AD 50 (Reyes) – Robert Garcia (D) will face Adam Perez (D) in this safe Dem seat
• AD 52 (W. Carrillo) – Jessica Caloza (D) will face Franky Carrillo (D)
• AD 54 (Santiago) – Mark Gonzalez (D) will face John K. Yi (D)
• AD 57 (Jones-Sawyer) – Efren Martinez (D) will face Sade Elhawary (D)
• AD 58 (Cervantes) – Democrat Clarissa Cervantes is running to replace her sister, who is running for Senate, she faces Republican Leticia Castillo, this is a 16% Dem seat
• AD 70 (Ta) – Tri Ta (R) is fighting to defend his seat this November against Democrat Jimmy Pham, in this 3.08% Dem seat
• AD 74 (Davies) – Laurie Davies (R-incumbent) will face Chris Duncan (D)
• AD 75 (Waldron) – Carl DeMaio (R) will face Andrew Hayes (R) in this Rep seat
• AD 76 (Maienschein) – Kristie Bruce-Lane (R) will face Darshana Patel (D)
• AD 79 (Weber) – Colin Parent (D) will face LaShae Sharp-Collins (D) in this safe Dem seat

2024 General Election: Ballot Initiatives

The 2024 General Election ballot was less crowded with propositions than in years past, due largely to the cooperation between the Governor and Legislative leaders seeking to streamline the number of propositions vying for voter attention amidst a challenging budget climate. Propositions of interest to CCAH are noted below:

• Proposition 2: Authorizes $10 billion in bonds for public school and community college facilities

Sponsor: State Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi, Mike Fong, Lori Wilson, Steven Glazer, and Josh Newman

STATUS:  LIKELY TO PASS

In Brief: Borrow $10 billion to build schools. Legislative Democrats put on the ballot a bond issue to give $8.5 billion to K-12 schools and $1.5 billion to community colleges for construction and modernization. Increased state costs of about $500 million annually for 35 years to repay the bond.

Major Support: Coalition for Adequate School Housing, California Teachers Association, California School Nurses, Community College League of CA

Major Opposition: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Campaign Finance: $1.4 Million in Support, $0 in Opposition

• Proposition 4: Authorizes $10 billion in bonds to fund state and local parks, environmental protection projects, water infrastructure projects, energy projects, and flood protection projects

Sponsor: State Senators Ben Allen, Josh Becker, Eduardo Garcia, Lena Gonzalez, Monique Limon, Anthony Portantino, Henry Stern and Lori Wilson.

STATUS:  LIKELY TO PASS

In Brief: Borrow $10 billion for climate programs. Legislative Democrats also placed a bond issue on the ballot that includes $3.8 billion for drinking water and groundwater, $1.5 billion for wildfire and forest programs and $1.2 billion for sea level rise. In part, the money would offset some budget cuts. Increased state costs of about $400 million annually for 40 years to repay the bond.

Major Support: Campaign for Safe Drinking Water and Wildfire Prevention, Clean Water Action, CALFIRE Firefighters, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, CA Labor Federation Major Opposition: Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Senator Brian Jones, Assemblymember Jim Patterson

Campaign Finance: $569,900 in Support, $0 in Opposition

• Proposition 5: Lower voter approval requirements for local housing and infrastructure bonds Sponsor: State Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
• STATUS:  LIKELY TO FAIL

In Brief: Lower voter approval requirements for local housing and infrastructure bonds. This constitutional amendment from the Legislature would make it easier for local governments to borrow money for affordable housing and other infrastructure. To avoid opposition from the influential real estate industry, supporters agreed to block bond money from being used to buy single-family homes. Increased local borrowing to fund affordable housing, supportive housing, and public infrastructure. The amount would depend on decisions by local governments and voters. Borrowing would be repaid with higher property taxes.

Major Support: Californians for Safe Affordable Communities, California Professional Firefighters, League of Women Voters of California, Habitat for Humanity California. CA Democratic Party, CA State Building & Construction Trades Council, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, CA Housing Partnership, CA YIMBY

Major Opposition: Protect Local Taxpayers, California Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Veteran Alliance, California Taxpayers Association, Howard Jarvis Tax Foundation, National Federation for Independent Business

Campaign Finance: $5 Million in Support, $53.6 Million in Opposition

• Proposition 33: Allow local governments to impose rent controls: CCAH OPPOSE Sponsor: Justice for Renters
• STATUS:  LIKELY TO FAIL

In Brief: Allow local governments to impose rent controls. This is the latest attempt to roll back a state law that generally prevents cities and counties from limiting rents in properties first occupied after Feb. 1, 1995. Reduction in local property tax revenues of at least tens of millions of dollars annually due to likely expansion of rent control in some communities. CCAH was in opposition to this proposition since affordable housing is already rent restricted.

Major Support: AIDS Healthcare Foundation, CA Democratic Party, Veterans Voices, Justice for Renters, California Nurses Association, California Alliance for Retired Americans, Mental Health Advocacy, Coalition for Economic Survival, Tenants Together, Housing is a Human Right, Consumer Watchdog, Housing NOW, ACCE, UNITE HERE Local 11

Major Opposition: CA Small Business Association, CA Senior Alliance, CA Council of Carpenters, CA YIMBY, Californians for Responsible Housing, California Council for Affordable Housing, Women Veterans Alliance, California Chamber of Commerce

Campaign Finance: $26.2 Million in Support, $68.5 Million in Opposition

• Proposition 34: Requires certain health care providers to use prescription drug revenue for patients

Sponsor: California Apartment Association

STATUS:  LIKELY TO PASS

In Brief: Require certain health providers to use nearly all revenue from a federal prescription drug program on patient care. Sponsored by the trade group for California’s landlords, this measure is squarely aimed at knee-capping the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has been active in funding ballot measures (see Prop. 33). Increased state costs, likely in the millions of dollars annually, to enforce new rules on certain health care entities. Affected entities would pay fees to cover these costs.

Major Support: CA Apartment Association, The ALS Association, California Chronic Care Coalition, Latino heritage Los Angeles

Major Opposition: AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Consumer Watchdog, Vote No on Landlord Greed, National Organization for Women, Coalition for Economic Survival, Dolores Huerta Campaign Finance: $22 Million in Support, $532,100 in Opposition

LOOKING FORWARD INTO 2025

The 2025-2026 Legislative Session will officially begin on December 2nd when Legislators reconvene in Sacramento for an organizational session. During this organizational session, newly elected members of the Assembly and Senate will be officially sworn in, and Legislators may begin introducing bills.

Legislators will then return to Sacramento the first week of January to begin the session in full swing. We anticipate that the Legislature will continue to focus on several key issues including, but not limited to, public safety reforms, climate change mitigation, expansion of healthcare access and affordability,

strategies to address the state’s ongoing housing and homelessness crisis, and measures to address affordability issues and economic inequality. 2025 is anticipated to be a very busy legislative year.