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Senate committee advances $10 billion housing bond bill aimed at preserving pipeline of affordable projects
Summary
SB417 would place a $10 billion Affordable Housing Bond Act before voters to fund construction and preservation of affordable rental and ownership housing; backers said it would unlock 40,000 shovel‑ready homes, while some groups urged dedicated CalHome funding and lawmakers debated debt levels and long‑term cost control.
Sen. C. Cabaldon introduced SB417, calling it “a $10,000,000,000 affordable housing bond act” intended to fund construction, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing and homeownership opportunities and to leverage federal tax credits to advance projects. He said tens of thousands of units are shovel‑ready but lack capital.
Ray Pearl of the California Housing Consortium and other coalition witnesses said the measure is necessary to sustain progress on affordable housing after prior bond funds were exhausted. Labor witnesses highlighted construction jobs the bond would support; housing advocates described the bond as critical to preventing project pipeline collapse.
Holden Weisman of Habitat for Humanity requested an amendment to dedicate 10% of the bond (about $1 billion) to CalHome for homeownership programs, arguing that ongoing investment in homeownership must be explicit to secure support. Committee members debated the fiscal tradeoffs of additional bonded indebtedness versus pay‑as‑you‑go budget allocations; proponents said bonds are a customary and practical way to finance long‑lived assets and to leverage additional federal and local funding.
The committee passed SB417 to the appropriations committee, with members urging continued negotiation on allocations for CalHome, seniors, foster youth and rehabilitation programs.
