A November ballot measure to make it easier for local governments to borrow money for new infrastructure and affordable housing will likely include a big exception, preventing that money from being used to buy single-family homes. That’s thanks to a last-minute deal hammered out between a top legislative Democrat and the state real estate lobby.
Next Thursday is the deadline for state lawmakers to get their preferred initiatives finalized for the Nov. 5 ballot. That makes these final weeks of June peak sausage-making season in the state Capitol.
The affordable housing measure is a prime example of legislative bratwurst.
Last year, Davis Democratic Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry pushed through the proposed amendment to the state constitution that would lower the electoral bar that local infrastructure and housing bonds need to clear. Currently, that threshold sits at a heightened two-thirds majority of voters. Aguiar-Curry’s proposal, which had failed to get out of the Legislature three times until last session, would bring that figure down to a more attainable 55%.
Though the amendment passed last year, it left some implementation questions unanswered. Two bills — ACA 10 and AB 2813 — were introduced to do that tweaking. That set of a fresh months-long round of negotiations.
After winning an exemption for single-family home, duplex, triplex and fourplex purchases, the California Association of Realtors announced that it would no longer oppose the legislation — and by implication, the Nov. 5 ballot measure.
“Over the course of several months, the author, her staff and stakeholders were able to reach an agreement that satisfies the concerns C.A.R. raised. C.A.R. would like to thank the author for her leadership and steadfast commitment to…
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