The Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026.

Total bond authorization increased from $10 billion to $11.25 billion, with $10 billion for affordable housing programs and $1.25 billion for veterans housing assistance.

Multifamily Housing Program allocation decreased from $5.25 billion to $5.1 billion; supportive housing decreased from $1.75 billion to $1.15 billion; Portfolio Reinvestment Program decreased from $800 million to $750 million; natural disaster housing decreased from $500 million to $200 million.

Farmworker Housing Grant Program increased from $250 million to $450 million, with expanded eligibility including manufactured housing acquisition and technical assistance. Tribal Housing Grant Program decreased from $250 million to $200 million.

New allocation of $600 million to the Self-Help Housing Fund for direct forgivable loans to multi-unit home ownership projects, self-help mortgage assistance, and manufactured homes.

New allocation of $500 million continuously appropriated to the Home Purchase Assistance Fund at the California Housing Finance Agency.

New allocation of $500 million for the Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019 for infrastructure supporting high-density affordable and mixed-income housing in designated infill locations.

New allocation of $350 million split evenly between the University of California and California State University for new affordable student housing projects, subject to Education Code accountability requirements.

New allocation of $200 million to the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund for competitive grants or loans to local housing trust funds to pilot innovative, cost-saving approaches to creating or preserving affordable housing.

New Section 54076.5 allows bond proceeds to reimburse costs already paid from other lawfully available sources after November 3, 2026, for projects authorized under this act, provided prior indebtedness is retired with bond proceeds.

New Article 5ab added to the Military and Veterans Code (Section 998.750) establishing a separate veterans bond component for farm, home, and mobilehome purchase assistance for veterans, with the Department of Veterans Affairs designated as the administering board.

Bill title changed from 'Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026' to 'Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026,' reflecting the addition of the veterans housing component.

Within the supportive housing allocation, up to 15% may be used as grants to acquire capital assets for converting interim housing to permanent housing for homeless persons, with regulatory streamlining provisions applying. A separate $150 million is designated for youth housing (foster youth, homeless minors or youth), restricted to capital costs only.

Multiple new reversion deadlines: funds not encumbered by November 3, 2036 revert to the Multifamily Housing Program (applies to Portfolio Reinvestment, Farmworker Housing, Tribal Housing, Infill Infrastructure, and Self-Help Housing allocations). Some other funds revert within three years of availability.

New Chapter 4 (Accountability) at Section 54088 requires the administering entity to publish an annual report with detailed information on investments resulting from the bond, pursuant to Section 50408 of the Health and Safety Code.

Governance structure changed: the 'board' designation now references the Housing Development and Finance Committee with authority delegable to HCD or CHFA, rather than designating each agency separately as the board for its own programs.

New Section 54077 allows administering entities to adopt program guidelines not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

New paragraph (12) in Section 54054(b) authorizes the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency to align or streamline funded programs to improve efficiency and accelerate fund deployment, provided expenditures remain consistent with voter-approved purposes.

The bill text was reformatted from a traditional enrolled legislative document (with page numbers, formal section numbering like 'SEC. 2.', and legislative layout) to a web-based chaptered presentation with website navigation elements (skip to content, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login, Quick Search, etc.)

Line breaks, spacing, and paragraph structure were adjusted for web display, but the actual statutory language and policy provisions are substantively identical between versions

Removed enrolled-bill elements: 'Passed the Senate June 25, 2026', 'Passed the Assembly June 25, 2026', signature lines for Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and the Governor's receipt block with blank date/time fields.

Added chaptered-law elements: 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, official chapter number 'CHAPTER 16', and the line '[Approved by Governor June 25, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State June 25, 2026.]'.

Page headers changed from 'SB 417' with page numbers starting at 96 to 'Ch. 16' with page numbers starting at 95, reflecting the standard renumbering that occurs when a bill is enrolled into the statutes.

The bond measure will now appear on both the June 2, 2026 statewide primary ballot and the November 3, 2026 general election ballot, instead of only the June primary. This gives voters two opportunities to approve or reject the $10 billion bond.

Section 54051 was updated so the act becomes operative upon adoption at either the June 2 or November 3, 2026 election, rather than only the June 2 primary.

Senators Caballero and Wahab were added as principal coauthors, and Assembly Members Addis, Ahrens, and Caloza were added as coauthors, indicating expanded legislative sponsorship.