Senator Toni Atkins’ affordable housing bill will move on to the State Assembly after passing in the California Senate 27-12 last week.
The Building Homes and Jobs Act would create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing, according to a representative for Atkins.
“On behalf of the thousands of California families who will benefit each year from SB 2 and the housing stability it will bring, I want to thank my Senate colleagues who voted for this important bill,” Atkins said, in a statement.
The bill would create a new, reliable source of funding for affordable homes. Atkin’s bill would draw funding from a fee on certain types of real-estate documents, excluding sales of residential and commercial property, said the representative.
“After today’s vote, I am increasingly hopeful that relief is coming soon for many hard-working people,” added Atkins.
Housing advocates have applauded the Senate’s vote, for making progress on the affordable-housing crisis in California. They say as rents and homelessness rates rise across the state, it is important to provide more affordable homes.
California falls 100,000 homes short of what’s needed to stabilize housing costs each year, compared to the rest of the nation, according to the representative.
The bill would generate $250 million each year to create affordable housing, said the representative. Over the next five years, the bill may create more than 20,000 new houses and nearly 57,000 jobs if it passes.