The carpenters have split from other labor groups in backing the bills, including the influential State Building and Construction Trades Council, which has long advocated for the more rigorous requirement of a "skilled and trained workforce." That standard guarantees that a portion of workers have gone through an apprenticeship program and most are unionized. Those labor standards were included in last year's agreement and are supported by the California Conference of Carpenters. Senate Bill 4 would allow allow nonprofit colleges and faith organizations such as churches, mosques and synagogues to quickly build affordable homes on their land, while Senate Bill 423 would make permanent a 2017 law that lets developers streamline their projects in cities that have failed to meet state-mandated housing goals.īoth bills include a guarantee of union-level pay, known as prevailing wages, and some healthcare benefits for construction workers. Wiener introduced two bills this year that he hopes will build on a rare deal Democrats struck with labor unions in August with legislation to convert underused commercial space into new units. It has recently added AB 68 to its annual "job killer" list, a designation that indicates the group will lobby hard to kill the bill. The California Chamber of Commerce agrees. "This is the ultimate housing killer," Dunmoyer said. That could mean new homes would be affordable only to wealthy people. And when you reduce the amount of land that's available for housing, the remaining parcels will increase in price. Urban areas flood, too, Dunmoyer said, and many of California's cities, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, are at high risk of earthquakes. "And we want to protect people from the incredibly high risk of fire and flood, and all the other climate risks associated with that."īut developers argue the proposal doesn't acknowledge how impossible and costly it would be to limit new construction to urban centers.ĭan Dunmoyer, president and CEO of the California Building Industry Assn., called AB 68 "the farthest-away solution to the housing crisis that can possibly be suggested." "We want to encourage housing in existing communities where people really want to live," Breach said. Melissa Breach, chief operating officer for California YIMBY, said the housing and climate crises are "inextricably linked" and that AB 68 offers a solution to both. The overall ambition is to encourage housing where climate risks are minimal and infrastructure already exists. Local governments would be able to approve projects outside of existing communities if they can show there's no more available space or that they have to expand outward in order to meet their state-required housing goals. Housing advocates and environmentalists have teamed up on a new bill to overhaul California's zoning rules to prevent so-called urban sprawl into rural regions where wildfires and floods are more common.Īssembly Bill 68, which is supported by California YIMBY and The Nature Conservancy, aims to make it easier to construct multifamily housing in developed communities that are hubs for transit and jobs. Rewriting zoning rules to protect the environment Here are notable housing bills to watch this year. "I think we are actually starting to turn the corner," he said. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who leads the Housing Committee, said progress has been made over the last several years to address the state's multimillion-unit shortage. Seventy-four percent of voters view housing affordability as a major issue, according to a February survey by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, and nearly 90% are worried that younger generations won't be able to afford a home in the state. Those efforts would add to laws passed in recent years to streamline student housing on college campuses, funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into affordable housing and clear red tape for more accessory dwelling units, known as casitas or granny flats.Īnd yet the majority of voters remain disillusioned with housing costs in California. Others would ask voters to add housing as a human right to the state Constitution and ease barriers homeowners face when building duplexes in their single-family neighborhoods. Some of the proposals include letting religious organizations quickly build affordable homes on their excess land and lowering the cap on how much landlords can raise rents each year. Chun / Los Angeles Times)įeeling political pressure to solve California's severe housing shortage and ballooning homelessness, state lawmakers are pushing new bills to increase production of affordable homes and strengthen tenant protections against evictions and surging rents. California lawmakers have introduced a flurry of bills to make it easier to increase housing production and strengthen tenant protections.
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