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Committee advances Community Stabilization Act to help wildfire-burned homeowners and preserve neighborhoods
Summary
AB 797 would let mission-driven nonprofits acquire burned properties using securities issued by the state and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) funds, a market-based tool backers say would protect homeowners from predatory offers; committee voted to send the bill to Appropriations on an 8-0 vote.
Assemblymember Harbidian presented Assembly Bill 797, the Community Stabilization Act, describing the measure as a financing tool to protect wildfire-affected homeowners from predatory purchases and to preserve neighborhood stability.
Harbidian said the bill would authorize the state — through the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) — to issue zero-interest securities that financial institutions could purchase using Community Reinvestment Act funds. Those securities would fund qualified nonprofit entities to acquire damaged properties, hold them for community-directed redevelopment or resale and thereby prevent outside investors from buying at depressed prices. "These securities would raise money through the CRA dollars," he said, adding that the proposal is designed to be zero cost to the state because monetization occurs when properties are resold.
Shaney England of the California Community Foundation testified that her foundation's wildfire recovery fund has distributed more than $30,000,000 to community-serving organizations and that AB 797 would help mission-driven nonprofits "acquire homes at fair market value and ensure those properties are redeveloped or resold in ways that benefit the community, not just private equity." She said the bill would help maintain neighborhood character and keep wealth circulating locally.
Committee members asked procedural questions; no witnesses registered opposition in the hearing. Members moved AB 797 to the Appropriations Committee and noted the bill contains an urgency clause. The motion passed on an 8-0 vote.
Supporters described AB 797 as a market-based mechanism — relying on federally regulated CRA dollars and state-issued securities — to give wildfire survivors humane options for selling and to allow nonprofits to preserve housing and community uses. The committee did not adopt amendments during the subcommittee hearing.
