Bill Text: CA AJR43 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Joint Resolution 43 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Housing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 53-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-08-31 - In Senate. To Com. on RLS. [AJR43 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AJR43-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Joint Resolution

No. 43

Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

June 18, 2018

Relative to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AJR 43, as introduced, Bloom. Housing.

This measure would call on our state Congressional Representatives to voice their concerns on the proposed fiscal cuts to programs created by the federal Housing and Community Development Act. The measure would also call on the President of the United States and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to protect and these programs, to veto any legislation to do so, and to work with the Congress to further protect these programs.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Our nation and state are facing a dramatic affordable housing crisis. This crisis affects our great State of California to the degree that 97.6 percent of cities and counties have failed to approve necessary housing development needed to maintain the population growth; and

WHEREAS, Cities and towns, large and small, are having larger and larger numbers of families, single people, and seniors experiencing homelessness at levels never seen in our history. This crisis has grown to include over 55,000 people who are homeless in Los Angeles County, over 9,000 people who are homeless in San Diego County, and in our capital, Sacramento, a total of over 3,600 people experience this state and national epidemic; and

WHEREAS, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson introduced the Making Affordable Housing Work Act of 2018, a proposed bill that could force the poorest tenants receiving federal aid—those most likely on the edge of homelessness—to pay three times as much in rent. It would also shrink the rent subsidies received by other low-income Americans, leaving them with less money for food, medical expenses, and education. Additionally, it would allow local public housing authorities to impose work requirements on people receiving housing assistance; and

WHEREAS, This proposed bill would have a direct impact on those receiving subsidies by increasing their monthly commitment for these federal subsidies from 30 percent of their total net income to 35 percent of their total gross income, which would unfairly impact working families and those with medical conditions, and by requiring those receiving subsidies to work for a minimum of 15 hours a week at federal minimum wage; and

WHEREAS, After six years, this proposed bill would also impose an increase of $50 monthly on the disabled and elderly, those who often require the largest share of assistance; and

WHEREAS, Currently, over 300,000 Californians benefit from the federal housing choice voucher subsidies and over 97,000 Californians benefit from the federal project-based Section 8 housing subsidies; and

WHEREAS, For every household in California that receives housing assistance, over three times more low-income households are homeless or pay more than one-half of their income for rent; and

WHEREAS, Forty-two percent of federal rental assistance helps the elderly, who without this assistance would likely be on the streets; and

WHEREAS, These programs began through the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which were aimed at enhancing communities and establishing healthy and vibrant communities; and

WHEREAS, These programs are the hallmark of a vital safety net which protects over 600,000 people in Los Angeles who are considered “severely rent burdened”; and

WHEREAS, These are vital programs which protect the interests of families, the elderly, and veterans in our society from being one step away from homelessness; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature opposes cuts to these vital programs created by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and calls on our state Congressional Representatives to voice their concerns over these proposed cuts; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President of the United States and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to honor their pledges to protect these programs, to veto any legislation to do so, and to work with the Congress on further protecting these programs and the mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to “ensure that Americans have access to fair, affordable housing and opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency, thereby strengthening our communities and nation”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States and to the author for appropriate distribution.