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Sacramento delegation urges Los Angeles to start larger, permanent housing trust fund now
Summary
State legislators visiting City Hall urged the Los Angeles City Council to adopt a permanent, renewable housing trust fund, pressing the city to find $100 million or, if that is not feasible, $75 million to address an affordable-housing crisis they said has reached emergency levels.
Assembly members and state senators from Sacramento told the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday that California faces a severe affordable housing shortage and urged the city to establish a larger, permanent housing trust fund.
The delegation, which included Assembly Member Jackie Goldberg and Assembly Member Alan Lowenthal, said the city should commit to $100 million for a housing trust fund; if that was not attainable this year, they urged the council to start with $75 million from a renewable source. "If you can't do a hundred million, do 75,000,000, but get started," Goldberg said.
Why it matters: The speakers said statewide funding and local commitments must work together to produce housing at scale. Assembly members and senators pledged to try to shield the city from cuts in Sacramento and to support a proposed $2 billion state housing bond they said would be brought to the November ballot if it secures the necessary legislative votes.
State context and numbers: Assembly Member Richard (last name not specified in the record) described a 2001 state appropriation of roughly $500 million for housing programs, saying it could produce approximately 50,000 units over three years but that the statewide shortage remains on the order of 250,000 units. "We have to join forces to ensure that the state government does not reduce that $500,000,000," he said. The visitors emphasized that public funds should be drawn from permanent, renewable sources rather than year-to-year allocations.
What council heard and next steps: City council members thanked the delegation and said they would consider the request. The delegation also said they would advocate in Sacramento to protect or replace lost funding and to support the proposed state bond. The transcript records the visitors asking the council to start the local trust fund even if it has to be phased in and to use hotel tax receipts and other revenue options as possibilities.
Public comment and follow-up: The delegation said they would push to protect city dollars from state cuts and to move a state-level bond forward; Assembly Member Lowenthal said his committee would work to advance the bond proposal. Council members did not adopt a binding commitment on the floor during the visit; the remarks were delivered during the public comment portion of the meeting and as a presentation to the council.
Ending: The Sacramento delegation concluded by reiterating a partnership offer: they said they would try to protect Los Angeles funding in the state budget and asked the city to begin building its trust fund this year rather than waiting for a full $100 million pledge.
