Hey all,
I hope you are doing well!
Quick Update on Past Actions
I wanted to thank all of you who sent letters to support the housing measures I put before you this summer. Two of them, SB 9 and 10, passed both houses and will likely be signed into law in the next few weeks. There was significant opposition to these bills, primarily concentrated in older, wealthy areas of LA and California. While these bills won’t fix California’s housing foes alone, they are essential to take steps in the right direction.
Unfortunately, not everything went as hoped. A third state bill that could have been impactful, SB 1401, did not pass this year. I think it is worth pointing out that the Senator who single-handedly killed the bill was Senator Anthony Portantino. He is very influential in Sacramento (chair of the appropriations committee) and has a track record of being against housing reform. His district includes Pasadena, La Canada, and Monrovia, areas that are generally wealthy and exclusive and thus not experiencing the negative consequences that we are on the Eastside:
To be clear: I say this not to single Senator Portantino out. Still, to illustrate something I think is essential for housing justice: we as a church need to speak prophetically to our fellow believers in wealthy areas of our city! We want to see a future where all neighborhoods in our state embrace the call to house people in their communities. And I am hopeful that the coming years will bring more opportunities to do so!
One More Housing Opportunity
There is one more opportunity to support housing in LA, Senate Bill 679. It would help significantly in simplifying and streamlining efforts to fund and build affordable, subsidized housing in Los Angeles.
Instead of a full write up, I will recommend a few lines from the LA Times editorial endorsing it from earlier this week:
The bill, which is modeled on 2019 legislation creating a Bay Area housing finance agency, set the stage for a big expansion of the housing safety net in the region by creating the Los Angeles County Housing Solutions Agency. This independent authority would build new affordable housing, preserve existing affordable housing and provide renter protections and support.
The timing of the bill was especially important. To fulfill its mission, the new agency would need funding. The housing and social justice advocacy groups behind the proposal envisioned a November 2022 ballot measure to enact a countywide tax on multimillion-dollar property sales. The tax could raise more than half a billion dollars a year for affordable housing and tenant aid programs, potentially allowing the new housing agency to build or preserve 100,000 affordable units over the next decade.
Due to various political machinations, the bill has looked “dead” until very recently. But there is a chance it will come up for a vote today before the session ends. But to do so, it needs Senator Rendon (from South Gate) to get fully on board. You can call him right now below:
Recall Election
In case you missed it, we are in the midst of a recall election for governor Gavin Newsom. I would encourage you to do your research and return your ballot this weekend (if you haven’t already). I wrote two articles on my blog outlining my reasoning on how to vote. You may or may not agree (which is great! I hope people disagree with me!), but hopefully, it will be helpful as a source of information. You can read that below:
I encourage you to ask around for more information if you are undecided. I hope you take the time to vote this weekend!
Until Next time!