Affordable housing apartments in Oakland (Photo Credit: Mark Hogan/Flickr)
Sacramento, CA – California Forward released the following statement ahead of a joint hearing today of the Assembly Committee on Housing & Community Development and Senate Judiciary Committee regarding a proposed ballot initiative to expand local governments’ authority to enact rent control on residential property. CA Fwd is responding to a new effort by a group of housing organizations to encourage the committees to pursue a legislatively crafted compromise. The rent control measure has qualified for the November ballot, and, unless an alternative is developed, it will be certified by the Secretary of State no later than June 28 and placed on the ballot. That gives supporters, opponents, and the Legislature one week to act.
CA Fwd's statement is below:
“CA Fwd worked hard to develop and enact the Ballot Initiative Transparent Act in 2014 for exactly this purpose: to give the Legislature an opportunity to study proposed ballot initiatives before they are placed on the ballot—and to bring together proponents and supporters to explore potentially better alternatives.”
“A respected group of housing organizations has called on the Legislature to help avoid a costly fight on the November ballot by forging a compromise that will protect renters suffering from rising housing costs and promote development of housing affordable to low-income and middle-income Californians.”
“Through the California Economic Summit, CA Fwd has worked with many of these organizations to develop and advance a comprehensive strategy, the One Million Homes Framework, to alleviate California’s expanding housing crisis. We are confident our collective expertise can inform an effective compromise on rent control regulations.”
“CA Fwd encourages the Legislature to take advantage of the process created by the Ballot Initiative Transparency Act to determine whether an alternative approach would better serve the millions of Californians struggling to survive amidst the state’s housing affordability crisis.”
