With the bill introduction deadline a few weeks behind us, we have a much clearer picture of what the Legislature has in store this year for affordable housing. As we’ve seen in the last few sessions, dozens of housing bills have been introduced, many of them spot bills or smaller-scale policy changes aimed at modifying complex state housing rules. There is a handful of significant new legislation—including, among a few others, bills that could provide billions in new affordable housing funding (SB 5, Atkins), open up new sites for affordable development (AB 115, Bloom), and strengthen enforcement of state housing laws (AB 215, Chiu).
But by and large, the Legislature is still tinkering around the edges of California’s housing issues. And you know what? That may be okay—for now.
California had an affordable housing crisis before COVID-19, and we know we’ll have one after it. The key, for the last year, has been to get there. And over the last month, we’ve seen steady progress toward that hard-earned, long awaited moment.
After the state took speedy action this winter to distribute $2.6 billion in federal relief to struggling renters, Governor Newsom signed a $7.6 billion economic stimulus package in February that includes $600 direct payments to 5.7 million lower-income Californians. Today, the governor signed another measure with $2 billion in financial incentives to push schools to reopen—an important step toward keeping our kids healthy and getting every part of the economy going again.
In Washington, Congress is moving on a parallel track, with the Senate poised to approve a new relief package that includes $1,400 stimulus checks and $300-per-week unemployment benefits, along with billions for state and local governments and $30 billion in additional rental assistance.
After the year we’ve had, it can be easy to lose perspective, but all of this is … a lot.
It represents government action on a nearly unprecedented scale. And with vaccinations starting to ramp up, I hope these massive relief efforts will help every community put COVID-19 in the rearview mirror. Whether it’s this summer or this fall, that will be a momentous milestone.
In the meantime, I think we all recognize we have to stay the course, even if it means waiting a bit longer for more decisive action on affordable housing. Keep wearing your mask. Remain vigilant. Governor Newsom will be giving his State of the State address next week, no doubt reminding us of the sacrifices that have been made to get us this far—and the heavy toll many families have paid over the last year.
As we keep up our work on behalf of millions of lower-income households still bearing the brunt of this pandemic, I hope none of us lose sight of the hard lessons we’ve learned—about the importance of watching out for each other and protecting the most vulnerable among us, and, of course, the essential role affordable housing plays in keeping us all safe and healthy.
That will continue to be our focus during what I hope are the last few months of COVID-19.
