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CA
Prop 1
Affordable and Veterans' Housing Bond
Bond
Authorizes Bonds to Fund Housing

Authorizes the state to issue $4 billion in general obligation bonds to support affordable housing.

 

Vote YES

Jump to SPUR’s Recommendation

What the Measure Would Do

California Proposition 1 would authorize the state to issue $4 billion in general obligation bonds to support affordable housing. Under this measure, $3 billion of the bonds would go to fund existing state affordable housing programs, and $1 billion would go to an existing program that assists veterans with purchasing farms, homes and mobile homes.

The funds would be distributed as follows:

  • $1.5 billion to the Multifamily Housing Program for the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of multifamily homes for households with incomes under 60 percent of their area median income
  • $150 million to the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Program, which provides low-interest loans to high-density development near transit
  • $300 million to the Infill Incentive Grant Program, which funds new construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure that supports higher-density affordable and mixed-income housing in infill locations (empty or underused sites in existing neighborhoods)
  • $150 million to the California Housing Finance Agency’s homebuyer assistance programs for low- and moderate-income homebuyers
  • $300 million to the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program to assist with the construction or rehabilitation of housing for agricultural employees and families
  • $300 million to the Local Housing Trust Matching Grant Program
  • $300 million to the CalHome Program to provide grants to local public agencies and nonprofit developers to assist multifamily homeownership projects through deferred-payment loans
  • $1 billion to the CalVet Home Loan Program, which provides loans to veterans for the purchase of single-family homes, farms, units in cooperative developments and mobile homes

The Backstory

Prop. 1 takes Senate Bill 3 to the voters for approval. SB 3 was authored by Senator Jim Beall during the 2017–18 legislative session and enjoyed widespread support. This measure was a key funding component of the state housing package that was passed last fall. The bond was originally in the amount of $3 billion, but negotiations among Democratic leaders at the last minute led to a $1 billion increase to fund veterans’ housing programs.

This state general obligation bond measure needs a simple majority (50 percent plus one vote) to pass.

Pros

  • The state has an affordable housing crisis that cannot be addressed without significant public investments to bring down housing costs for low- and moderate-income households. This bond is one piece of the solution.
  • The funding would be distributed through existing programs that have a successful track record of making housing more affordable for California residents.
  • The Bay Area has one of the worst housing shortages in the state, and the multifamily, infill infrastructure and transit-oriented development programs funded by Prop. 1 are likely to benefit this region, among others.

Cons

  • SPUR has not identified any points that we believe to be true cons of this measure.
SPUR's Recommendation

The scale of California’s housing shortage and the vast need for affordable housing in particular are pressing issues today, and serious investment in the creation and preservation of affordable housing is urgently needed. This bond measure is one important way to make housing more affordable to residents across California, whether through new construction, preservation or homebuyer assistance. Funds would be distributed through programs that are already up and running and that prioritize affordable and environmentally sustainable housing for California’s future.

Vote YES on Prop 1 - Affordable and Veterans' Housing Bond