Under pressure from fire survivors and elected officials, California Treasurer Fiona Ma said Friday that $100 million in new federal tax credits will be used as intended to pay for housing projects in 13 counties — including Sonoma County — that suffered devastation during wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
Sonoma County business and elected leaders had expressed concerns last month that the tax credits might be diverted for homeless housing developments, after a state committee overseen by Ma released planned guidelines for the use of the funding. They insisted the tax credits should be used for housing in fire-affected areas including the North Bay 2017 fires.