04/19/2024

Gov. Brown opts for policy changes, not funding, to boost affordable housing

While the state’s revised budget includes $2 billion to house the homeless, Gov. Jerry Brown is looking to cities to increase housing supply for their low-income renters, saying he would support a state law that would force cities to fast-track developments that offer below-market-rate housing.

Brown’s revised budget sets aside $267 million in first-year funding for homeless housing programs with a particular focus on the mentally ill and chronically homeless.

The money would come from future Proposition 63 revenues, the so-called “millionaires tax” fund that’s used for mental health. The funding would pay for supportive housing services for this population and tenant rental assistance. 

“It’s the first time that the governor, in quite a while, has made a significant investment in affordable housing,” said Alan Greenlee, executive director of Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing, referring to the homeless housing funding.

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