Gavin Newsom wants a California housing law in 2020. His best option just failed
Gov. Gavin Newsom and Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins pledged to get “something big” done to spur home construction this year, but their options narrowed on Thursday when state lawmakers killed a high-profile housing bill.
For the second time this week, the Senate rejected a proposal that would have compelled cities to build more housing near jobs and transit hubs.
Advocates, including Atkins, supported Senate Bill 50 as a way to address the state’s housing shortage by knocking down barriers to development. Senate Bill 50 upset local government leaders who worried it would overrule their zoning regulations.
Newsom said in a statement that he expected a major production bill by the end of the year.
“California’s housing affordability crisis demands our state pass a historic housing production bill,” Newsom said. During his campaign for governor, Newsom promised to build 3.5 million homes in the stat eby 2025.
The controversial proposal initially failed on Wednesday afternoon by an 18-15 vote, then again on Thursday morning. Six senators did not vote on the bill. It needed 21 votes to pass the Senate and move to the Assembly.
The legislation would end what state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, called an era of “exclusionary” zoning that’s “systemically de-prioritized” new construction and forced Californians from their communities.
“This did not just happen. It was because of deliberate policy choices,” Wiener said on Thursday. “We have the opportunity today to take a step forward to reform a broken zoning system, our broken housing status quo.”
The legislation was blocked in the Senate Appropriations Committee in May. Wiener then introduced an updated version in January to appease local governments, incorporating provisions that would give cities two years to write their own plans to achieve the bill’s construction targets.
Despite the concessions, cities and affordable housing advocates continued to fight the bill. They argued the measure would either increase construction in high-fire zones, exacerbate gentrification in vulnerable neighborhoods or promote market-rate housing instead of affordable units.
“Housing policy has been plagued by racist historic policies. The intersection of race and class has a major impact on housing policy in the state and we can’t deny that or oversimplify our conversation about ‘we need housing,’” Sen. Holly Mitchell, who represents South Los Angeles, said on Wednesday.
Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, urged the Senate to “get ready to come to the table” and said all lawmakers need to “communicate, collaborate and compromise.”
Wiener called SB 50’s death “deeply disappointing,” but vowed to continue discussions on a future solution.
He declined to detail whether he’d be behind that “something big” proposal, but promised several housing measures by the end of next month. Legislators face a Feb. 21 deadline to introduce new bills.
“Stay tuned,” Wiener said.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom wants a California housing law in 2020. His best option just failed."