Policy Update September 2023

Let’s Drive Action for Groundbreaking Local Policies

From the Town of Windsor’s Zoning Ordinance Update to Petaluma’s Downtown Zoning Overlay – now is the time to get activated and ensure your community is driving local policy that delivers a more vibrant, equitable, and sustainable tomorrow.

If you or someone you know is interested in engaging on these topics or issues in the region, please contact our Policy Director, Calum Weeks, at calum@generationhousing.org. 

Legislative Lowdown: Your Monthly Digest on State Housing Policy

Once again, we’ve had a banner year for housing legislation! While a lion’s share of legislation approved by both Assembly and Senate still awaits the Governor’s signature, we’re confident that he will continue to empower the Legislature and the state as a whole to continue delivering more, more affordable, and more diverse housing.

Local power to fund necessary housing and infrastructure! ACA 1 was approved by the Legislature, and if approved by the voters, would ultimately reduce the threshold needed to pass bonds and taxes that fund affordable housing and specified public infrastructure projects from two-thirds to a simple majority – 55%. Constitutional amendments do not require the signature of the Governor to move forward to the ballot.

This constitutional amendment, if approved by the voters, would immediately go into effect, so anything else on the ballot, like the BAHA bond measure, would benefit from this change.

—> We applaud our own local Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for her tenacity in getting this constitutional amendment to the voters!

We’re also pleased to announce that 9 of the 11 bills endorsed by Generation Housing have made it to the Governor’s desk!

You can learn more about our endorsed legislation here.

What’s the fate of the two bills that didn’t make the cut? Any bills that didn’t successfully make their way through both houses of the State Legislature and receive their respective stamps of approval can be taken up where they left off at the beginning of next year since the Legislature operates on a 2-year cycle. Those bills were AB 68 and AB 1532.