Advocacy Updates, Eden Updates, Policy Updates
End of legislative session recap: Eden-supported bills signed by the Governor
October 8, 2021
After the Legislature concluded its second legislative session of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-September, the Governor has signed a range of bills that seek to accelerate the production and preservation of affordable housing.
Through this year’s state budget, the Governor and Legislature also provided unprecedented support for affordable housing—with the budget investing more than $10 billion in affordable production. Last week the Governor launched one of the budget’s biggest new programs: the $1.75 billion California Housing Accelerator, a fund for shovel-ready affordable projects that are awaiting financing in the state’s backlogged tax credit system. The fund is expected to jumpstart production of between 6,300 and 7,200 units of affordable housing—including 1,200 units for people who are homeless.
Eden supported nine bills that advanced to the Governor, who signed all but one. A summary of this legislation is below:
Eden-supported bills signed by the Governor
- AB 215 (Chiu) – Expands the authority of the state Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) and the state Attorney General to enforce state housing laws—requiring HCD to notify the Attorney General if local governments have taken action in violation of recent legislation aimed at accelerating approvals, including SB 35 (2017), AB 2162 (2018), and AB 101 (2019). (
- AB 721 (Bloom) – Exempts 100% affordable housing developments from recorded covenants, restrictions, or private limits that restrict the number, size, or location of residence that may be built on a property, or that restrict the number of people of families who may reside there.
- AB 787 (Gabriel) – Authorizes cities and counties to receive credit towards their regional housing need for the conversion of above-moderate income housing to deed-restricted “moderate-income” housing.
- AB 1304 (Santiago) – Requires that sites included in a local government’s housing element affirmatively further fair housing.
- SB 8 (Skinner) – Extends the provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 until 2030.
- SB 9 (Atkins – Streamlines approvals for homeowners creating duplexes/subdividing their property.
- AB 14 (Aguiar-Curry) – With SB 4 below, extends through 2032 the operation of the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), a program that supports the expansion of broadband access in unserved and underserved parts of the state.
- SB 4 (Gonzalez) – With AB 14 above, establishes an annual CASF funding cap of $150 million.
Eden- supported bills vetoed by the Governor
- AB 1423 (Daly) – Authorizes borrowers to use state Multifamily Housing Program loan funds for construction financing, permanent financing, or a combination of the two. (Governor’s veto message here.)