(Sacramento, CA) – Earlier today, Assembly Bill 943, authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), met the approval of the Assembly Local Government Committee with a vote of 8-0. The bill will increase the vote threshold for approval of local initiatives intended to curb growth and development throughout California. The measure is sponsored by the California Apartment Association and supported by a broad coalition including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Council on Affordable Housing, the California Building and Construction Trades Council, the Central City Association, the Downtown Women’s Center, the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and others.
"By all accounts, the state is in the middle of a housing crisis; in many areas, our firefighters, police officers, and teachers cannot afford to live in the cities in which they work. You can’t address California’s housing crisis by suppressing the construction of housing,” said Assemblymember Santiago. “I think even my 3-year-old can understand that.”
A March 2015 report by the state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office concluded that the state would need to build millions more homes – including more than a million in Los Angeles County alone – to keep housing prices in line with the rest of the country. Those million construction starts would only just meet the population’s demands for housing.
"Laws that curtail the development of housing threaten efforts to solve our housing crisis. Such moves carry heavy consequences for all Californians and warrant a higher approval threshold from voters," said Debra Carlton, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the California Apartment Association.
While many local governments are devoting energy and attention to the issue of increasing housing production, there are others who been unable to do so – due to either a lack of will by the local legislative body or by constituent groups within those localities. In some areas, attempts have even been made to block future housing developments of various kinds. Examples include 2015’s Measure A in Buena Park and Measure I in San Francisco, Santa Monica’s Measure LV in 2016, and Measure S which recently failed passage on the Los Angeles City ballot earlier this year.
“I fully support local democracy,” added Assemblymember Santiago. “But NIMBYism on steroids is not helpful when we’re trying to provide housing for all of California’s residents.”
AB 943 will be heard in the Assembly Elections Committee next week.
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly’s Communications and Conveyance Committee. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.
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