Legislative Priorities

Promoting policies that increase affordable housing opportunities

The need for affordable housing is greater than ever.  When MidPen opens a new community we commonly receive well over 1,000 applications for each 50 homes. This means there are still thousands of working families, seniors and individuals with supportive housing needs living in substandard housing or left without money for other necessities after paying their rent. We are committed to narrowing the gap between the supply of quality affordable housing and the need for it. We work with local, state and national leaders in both the public and private sectors to promote policies that increase affordable housing opportunities for the people who need them. At all levels of our organization, MidPen supports and actively participates in the efforts of leading advocacy groups. MidPen’s leadership sit on the boards of regional, state and national organizations that drive legislation and regulations in support of affordable housing. They are often called on to testify or provide expert advice on issues related to affordable housing development policy and public funding.

MidPen Housing’s 2024 Legislative Priorities

MidPen housing works diligently with our partners to support proven affordable housing solutions. For the 2024 California legislative session, MidPen supports the following Bills and Constitutional Amendments.

Constitutional Amendment, 55% Vote for Local Affordable Housing and Public Infrastructure

Prop 5 is Constitutional Amendment that makes it easier to pass local affordable housing bonds—a major structural change that can unlock new funding streams across the state. There are countless examples of local revenue measures that received more than 60% of voter support, only to fail to meet the 2/3 threshold currently required constitutionally for local general obligation bonds and special taxes. Prop 5 will significantly strengthen local democratic governance and further equitable housing policy by reducing the voter approval threshold to 55% for affordable housing and infrastructure revenue measures. The proposition will appear on the ballot thanks to enabling legislation: ACA 1 (passed legislatively in 2023) placed the proposition on the November 2024 ballot, and ACA 10 (passed legislatively in 2024) updates the proposition by removing special taxes from the scope.

AB 3160 (Gabriel), $500M in Permanent State Tax Credits

Since 2020, state tax credits have provided the final gap financing to bring more than 25,000 new affordable homes online. However, unlike almost all other tax credits, state credits are subject to yearly appropriation in the budget, making them vulnerable to budget cuts in deficit years. This bill will make $500 million in state tax credits permanent, resulting in an additional 6,400 affordable homes per year and effectively increasing statewide production by a third.

AB 1657 (Wicks), Statewide Housing Bond (no longer active)

This bill provides the necessary authorization for a $10B statewide housing bond to be placed on the November 2024 ballot. AB 1657 is part of a broader effort that MidPen is supporting, “the California Housing Initiative”, to unlock significant regional and state bond revenue at the 2024 and lower the voter threshold for local affordable housing bond measures.

AB 3093 (Ward), ELI and ALI RHNA Categories

The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) currently splits incomes into four categories that end at very-low income (50% AMI), which fails to account for people experiencing homelessness, many of whom have incomes that fall below the 50% AMI threshold. AB 3093 establishes Acutely Low Income (0-15% AMI) and Extremely Low Income (15-30% AMI) as new categories. By more accurately defining and identifying need, HCD and local governments can administer resources to those who have historically been left out of the RHND/RHNA process.

Important Links

Bill and Amendment Support Letters

The need to reform and invest in housing infrastructure is more pressing than ever. MidPen has taken a support position on numerous bills, advocating for important legislative changes to shift the affordable housing landscape in the Bay Area, working toward the common goal of safe, affordable housing for all. 

2023 Support Positions >>

2022 Support Positions>>