At its April 8, 2019 meeting, the Legislation Committee considered AB 723 (Wicks and Bonta): Low-Income Housing Incentives and took no position. The Committee requested that staff provide additional information related to the bill.
The Board's adopted 2019 State Platform includes the identified legislative priority:
Homelessness – With the growing numbers of homeless, the County will work on the implementation of the No Place Like Home program, the Homeless Emergency Aid Program, and the SB 2 funding program, to ensure that Contra Costa County receives its fair share of funding and that the guidelines work for implementation in the county. In addition, Contra Costa County will advocate for additional funding that reduces and prevents homelessness; expands the availability of permanent supportive housing; and provides counties with the ability to maximize and leverage available Federal, State and local funds to provide services for at-risk and homeless families and individuals.
The adopted 2019 State Platform also includes the following policies and statements related to housing:
122. SUPPORT funding, legislation, policy, and programs that would accomplish the following: a. create an effective crisis response system of services for persons experiencing homelessness, particularly families and transition-age youth; b. increases permanent housing with services for persons experiencing or at-risk of homelessness with a chronic disability; and c. protects and expands the availability of affordable housing, particularly for the Very Low and Extremely Low Income population.
Increasing Access to Housing and Ending Homelessness
According to the Self-Sufficiency Standard, a family of four in Contra Costa County would need to earn $71,700 annually to cover basic costs for housing, food, health care, transportation, childcare, and taxes. This is equivalent to more than three full-time jobs at the California minimum wage. The cost of living in Contra Costa County has increased exponentially. Fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is now $2,173 a month, a 74 percent increase from 2007. Further, Contra Costa County is home to over 2,200 homeless individuals, many of whom are minors and transition age youth. Human Services has partnered with the Health Department to develop more robust services for the homeless, however, most of these programs are contingent on grant funding rather than permanent investments. These policy positions support legislation and initiatives that strengthen housing justice to ensure all Contra Costa residents have access to safe shelter.
149. SUPPORT efforts to revise the definition of “homelessness” in the Welfare & Institutions Codes to include families who have received eviction notices due to a verified financial hardship or are temporarily staying in someone else’s home, thus allowing early intervention assistance for CalWORKs families. Current law prevents CalWORKs from providing homeless assistance until the CalWORKs family is actually “on the street.” This rule change would enable the County to work with CalWORKs families who are being threatened with homelessness to prevent the eviction and, presumably, better maintain the family members’ employment status.
150. SUPPORT increase of daily rate available under Temporary Homeless Assistance for CalWORKs families. Current rates do not reflect the cost of shelter in California.
151. SUPPORT efforts to secure permanent housing assistance for CalWORKs participants, including initiatives to create support for shared housing. Permanent housing is key to improving the overall health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations.
170. SUPPORT creation of funding opportunities and policies which promote the development of aging-friendly communities. Rising costs of living create barriers to aging in place, potentially displacing seniors from their support systems and care providers. While housing is an issue for many in Contra Costa County, there is an even greater shortage of ADA accessible and senior-friendly affordable housing.
171. SUPPORT legislation and investments related to long-term care, senior housing affordability, medical service access, transportation, isolation and other quality of life issues to support aging with dignity.
224. SUPPORT efforts to promote economic incentives for "smart growth," in Priority Development and Priority Production Areas including in-fill and transit-oriented development. Balancing the need for housing and economic growth with the urban limit line requirements of Measure J (2004) will rely on maximum utilization of “smart growth” and Sustainable Community Strategy principles. Priority Production Areas are locally designated zones where manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and repair services would be a priority consideration in determining future land use.
225. SUPPORT efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing, including, but not limited to, state issuance of private activity bonds, affordable and low income housing bond measures, low-income housing tax credits and state infrastructure financing. This position supports a number of goals in the County General Plan Housing Element.
228. SUPPORT efforts to reform State housing element law to promote the actual production and preservation of affordable housing and to focus less on process and paper compliance.
229. OPPOSE efforts to limit the County’s ability to exercise local land use authority.
230. SUPPORT efforts to reduce the fiscalization of land use decision-making by local government, which favors retail uses over other job-creating uses and housing. Reducing incentives for inappropriate land use decisions, particularly those that negatively affect neighboring jurisdictions, could result in more rational and harmonious land use.
283. OPPOSE efforts to condition or link the distribution of transportation funds to a jurisdiction’s production of housing relative to RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation). |
At their May 2, 2019 meeting, the Contra Costa Mayors' Conference adopted a housing policy framework that had been developed through the Public Managers Association (PMA). The housing policy framework is Attachment A. The Legislation Committee is requested to provide input on this document and consider recommending positions on the following related bills:
1. ACA 1 The text of the bill is available here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200ACA1
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Author: |
Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry (D-004) |
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Coauthor |
Beall (D), Chu (D), Cooper (D), Garcia E (D), Gipson (D), Low (D), McCarty (D), Santiago (D), Wood (D), Berman (D), Gloria (D), Grayson (D), Kalra (D), Rubio (D), Rivas (D), Rivas R (D), Burke (D), Gonzalez (D), Weber (D), Hill (D), Skinner (D), Bloom (D), Bonta (D), Daly (D), Eggman (D), Frazier (D), Holden (D), Jones-Sawyer (D), Ting (D), Stone (D), Quirk (D), Nazarian (D), Mullin (D), Levine (D), Wicks (D), Wiener (D), Chiu (D) |
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Title: |
Local Government Financing: Affordable Housing |
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Fiscal Committee: |
no |
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Introduced: |
12/03/2018 |
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Last Amend: |
03/18/2019 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Location: |
Assembly Appropriations Committee |
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Summary: |
Creates an exception to the 1% limit on the ad valorem property tax rate on real property that would authorize a city or county to levy an ad valorem tax to service bonded indebtedness incurred to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure or affordable housing, if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of the voters of the city or county. |
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Status: |
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04/24/2019 |
In ASSEMBLY Committee on APPROPRIATIONS: To Suspense File. |
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SUMMARY:
ACA 1 Proposes amendments to the California Constitution to allow a city, county, or special district, with 55% voter approval, to incur bonded indebtedness or impose specified special taxes to fund projects for affordable housing, permanent supportive housing, or public infrastructure. Specifically, this bill:
1) Allows a city, county, city and county, or special district, to incur indebtedness in the form of general obligation (GO) bonds to fund the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing for persons at risk of chronic homelessness, including persons with mental illness, or the acquisition or lease of real property for public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing, as defined, to be approved by 55% of the voters voting on the proposition.
2) Allows a city, county, city and county, or special district, to impose, extend, or increase a sales and use tax or transactions and use tax, or parcel tax, for the purposes of funding the construction, rehabilitation, or replacement of public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing for persons at risk of chronic homelessness, including persons with mental illness, or the acquisition or lease of real property for public infrastructure, affordable housing, or permanent supportive housing, as defined, if the proposition proposing that tax is approved by 55% of the voters voting on the proposition.
The Assembly Local Government Committee bill analysis of ACA 1 is Attachment B.
The Board of Supervisors' adopted 2019 State Platform contains the following related policy:
56. SUPPORT a reduction in the 2/3rd vote requirement to 55% voter approval for locally-approved special taxes that fund health, education, economic, stormwater services, library, transportation and/or public safety programs and services.
2. AB 1487 The text of the bill is available here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1487
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Author: |
David Chiu (D-017) |
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Coauthor |
Mullin (D), Wiener (D), Wicks (D) |
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Title: |
San Francisco Bay Area: Housing Development: Financing |
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Fiscal Committee: |
yes |
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Introduced: |
02/22/2019 |
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Last Amend: |
04/29/2019 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Committee: |
Assembly Appropriations Committee |
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Hearing: |
05/08/2019 9:00 am, State Capitol, Room 4202 |
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Summary: |
Authorizes an entity to raise and allocate new revenue by placing funding measures on the ballot in the San Francisco Bay area, incur and issue indebtedness, and allocate funds to the various municipalities and affordable housing projects to finance affordable housing development, preserve and enhance existing affordable housing, and fund tenant protection programs. |
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Status: |
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04/29/2019 |
In ASSEMBLY. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Committee on APPROPRIATIONS. |
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This bill establishes the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act and creates the Housing Alliance for the Bay Area, a regional housing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The bill provides for the powers and duties, governance, financing, and elections provisions for a potential regional tax measure and specifies how revenues can be spent.
The Assembly Committee on Appropriations analysis for AB 1487 is Attachment C. The Contra Costa Mayors' Conference adopted an "Oppose Unless Amended" position on AB 1487 at their May 2, 2019 meeting.
3. AB 723 The text of the bill is available here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB723
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Author: |
Buffy Wicks (D-015) |
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Coauthor |
Bonta (D) |
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Title: |
Low-Income Housing Incentives: Leased Rental Housing |
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Fiscal Committee: |
no |
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Introduced: |
02/19/2019 |
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Last Amend: |
04/29/2019 |
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Disposition: |
Pending |
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Location: |
SENATE |
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Summary: |
Authorizes specified counties to provide the lessor of an eligible property located within its territorial boundaries with a low-income rental housing incentive. Imposes requirements for recipients of the incentive. |
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Status: |
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05/06/2019 |
In ASSEMBLY. Read third time. Passed ASSEMBLY. *****To SENATE. (77-0) |
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SUMMARY: Authorizes the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa to pay a low-income rental housing incentive to a lessor who leases residential property to specified entities to operate as low-income rental housing. This payment is to incentivize property owners
to enter into a long-term lease (35-years or more) of their property to be operated by other specified entities for low-income rental housing purposes. This bill is designed to switch between a tenant income-qualification standard and a rent-based qualification standard for
incentive payment eligibility. The purpose of an alternate qualification standard is twofold. First, it serves to avoid displacing existing tenants at the onset of the lease agreement. Second, it avoids displacement of future new tenants that are income-qualified at move in, if their income subsequently increases. This bill is sponsored by the City of Oakland.
The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development analysis is Attachment D.
The Legislation Committee requested information related to the fiscal impacts of AB 723 and the position on the bill by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. Apparently a fiscal impact analysis has not been prepared. The Alameda Board of Supervisors is likely to formally oppose the bill, according to their state advocate, due to a lack of funding source for the bill. The bill passed the Assembly with no opposition.
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