Governor Newsom and legislative leaders remain committed to
addressing California’s housing crisis through a variety of
policy interventions, including linkages between state
transportation investments and local housing decisions. In recent
weeks, the Administration has focused the discussion on providing
incentives, holding bad actors accountable, and revamping the
Regional Housing Needs Allocation process.
As counties recall, the passage of SB 1, The Road Repair and
Accountability Act of 2017, created a much-needed, annual funding
source for transportation projects across the state. In a
significant victory for counties, voters defeated Proposition 6,
which would have eliminated SB 1 funding, on the November 2018
ballot. Under SB 1, counties receive ongoing formula funding to
invest in safety projects, bicycle and pedestrian improvements,
and the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges.
In February, Assembly Member Kevin McCarty introduced
AB 1568, which would have withheld SB 1 transportation
funding from local governments if housing production failed to
meet the jurisdiction’s regional housing need allocation. This
would have penalized local governments for the private sector’s
inability to build housing as a result of market conditions, as
well as the lack of subsidy to build homes affordable to
lower-income families. CSAC and other transportation stakeholders
submitted a
letter of opposition to the initial version of the bill.
Similar to the discussion around the January budget release, the
conversation around the transportation funding and housing link
has shifted to focus more closely on the factors that local
governments directly control, including adequately planning to
accommodate housing growth. To that end, recent amendments to AB
1568 no longer link formula transportation funds to housing
production. Instead, the current version of the bill would
prohibit a city or county that is out of compliance with various
state housing laws, including requirements to identify adequate
sites to accommodate projected growth, from applying for state
grants beginning in 2023.
While CSAC is pleased that AB 1568 no longer ties SB 1 local
formula funding to housing production, we remain concerned by the
breadth of the amended current language—even though it is
unlikely that any individual county would violate the provisions
of housing law referenced in the bill. We are still reviewing the
current version of the bill to determine which county programs
could be affected by it.
CSAC is interested in receiving county input on AB 1568.
Please email comments and feedback to Marina Espinoza.
