Asm. Chris Ward

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside boundaries, that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law provides for the establishment of various special districts that may support and finance housing development, including affordable housing special beneficiary districts that are authorized to promote affordable housing development with certain property tax revenues that a city or county would otherwise be entitled to receive. This bill would prohibit a city, county, city and county, joint powers authority, or any other political subdivision of a state or local government from acquiring unrestricted multifamily housing, as defined, unless the development meets specified criteria, including, among other things, that units are subject to a long-term recorded regulatory agreement with a public entity that requires the unit to be affordable to, and occupied by, low- or moderate-income persons and families for a term of 55 years, and the public entity agrees to make certain reports and data public on its internet website. The bill would specify that those provisions do not apply to a development that is or will be subject to a regulatory agreement with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, the Department of Housing and Community Development, or a public entity that restricts use of the development to serve specified lower income individuals, or when a public entity purchases unrestricted multifamily housing that within one year will be removed from the housing market. The bill would include, among other findings, that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

This measure would call upon the Biden Administration to cancel all federal student debt.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and sets forth its powers and duties. Existing law creates a housing authority in each county or city, which functions upon the adoption of a specified resolution by the relevant governing body. Existing law authorizes these housing authorities, within their jurisdictions, to construct, reconstruct, improve, alter, or repair all or part of any housing project. Existing law establishes various programs that provide housing assistance. This bill would enact the Social Housing Act and would create the California Housing Authority, as an independent state body, the mission of which would be to produce and acquire social housing developments for the purpose of eliminating the gap between housing production and regional housing needs assessment targets, as specified. The bill would prescribe a definition of social housing that would describe, in addition to housing owned by the authority, housing owned by other entities, as specified, provided that all social housing developed by the authority would be owned by the authority. The bill would prescribe the composition of the California Housing Authority Board, which would govern the authority, and would be composed of appointed members and members who are elected by residents of social housing developments, as specified. The bill would prescribe the powers and duties of the authority and the board. The bill would provide that the authority seeks to achieve revenue neutrality, as defined, and would require the authority to seek to recover the cost of development and operations over the life of its properties through the mechanism of rent cross-subsidization, as defined. The bill would require the authority to prioritize the development of specified property, including vacant parcels and parcels near transit, and would prescribe a process for the annual determination of required social housing units. Under the bill, social housing would accommodate a mix of household income ranges and would provide specified protections for residents, who would participate in the operation and management of the units in which they reside. This bill would require the California Housing Authority to employ 2 leasing models in social housing developments, to be referred to as the rental model and the ownership model, and would prescribe the characteristics of both models. Under the ownership model, the authority would extend a 99-year lease, in the form of a limited equity arrangement, as defined, to individuals who commit to a minimum 5-year term of residence, and would authorize the authority to act as a lender to residents who lease under the ownership model, for the purpose of creating leasehold mortgages. The bill would prescribe how the amounts of rents and payments on leasehold mortgages are to be set in relation to household income, and with reference to property subject to the ownership model, how they may be sold and transferred. The bill would establish eligibility requirements for social housing residents and provide for the selection of residents by lottery, as specified, providing that people who may have been displaced from a property as part of its development would be granted a preference for occupancy. This bill, among other things, would require the authority to accept a local jurisdiction's preference for a project parcel if specified conditions are met. The bill would establish various duties for the authority and requirements for contractors and subcontracting in connection with the labor used to produce housing, including provisions relating to the solicitation of bids, the payment of prevailing wages, and the participation of a skilled and trained workforce. The bill would prescribe civil penalties to be imposed by the Labor Commissioner on the authority, contractors, and subcontractors for specified violations of these provisions. The bill would prescribe requirements for the participation of labor in the production, rehabilitation, and maintenance of housing, including requiring the authority to enter into community workforce agreements and to comply with specified requirements for the payment of prevailing wages. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to provide financing for the activities of the authority through the issuance of general obligations bonds. The bill would authorize the authority to issue revenue bonds, as specified. The bill would require the board to provide for regular audits of the authority's accounts and records, as specified. The bill would also require the authority to prepare and submit specified reporting information on its business plan and progress to the Legislature on an annual basis.

(1) Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, English, mathematics, social sciences, science, and visual and performing arts, as specified. This bill, with respect to both of the above-referenced adopted courses of study, would require the science area of study to include an emphasis on the causes and effects of climate change and methods to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The bill would require that appropriate coursework including this material be offered to pupils as soon as possible, commencing no later than the 2023–24 school year. Because the bill would impose new duties on school districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The California Constitution declares that defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy are inalienable rights, and that a person may not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law or equal protection of the laws. Existing law, the Reproductive Privacy Act, declares that every individual possesses a fundamental right of privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions and prohibits the state from denying or interfering with a person's right to choose or obtain an abortion before viability of the fetus, or when the abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the person. This measure would amend the California Constitution to prohibit the state from denying or interfering with an individual's reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.

This measure would proclaim the week of May 23 through May 27, inclusive, as Firefighter Mental Health Awareness Week.

This measure would declare June 8, 2022, as California Nonprofits Day in recognition of the importance of nonprofit organizations to the economy and well-being of this state.

This measure would urge the President, the Congress of the United States, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to take all measures to ensure that military veterans can access necessary treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders in a timely manner.