{"id":379225,"date":"2026-06-29T13:09:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/379225\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:09:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:09:04","slug":"column-california-pushes-for-affordable-housing-while-trump-plays-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/379225\/","title":{"rendered":"Column: California pushes for affordable housing while Trump plays games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Trump was handed a golden opportunity to upstage Gov. Gavin Newsom in Newsom\u2019s own state on an issue of critical importance to Americans everywhere. But Trump naturally blew it.<\/a> <\/p>\n

The governor and the Democratic-led state Legislature shined.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Trump was victimized by his own self-centered obstinance and inhumanity. And Republican congressional leaders were left looking embarrassed and wimpy.<\/p>\n

The issue was housing affordability \u2014 the lack of it that is stifling the American dream of homeownership everywhere, not just in California.<\/p>\n

In Sacramento, the Legislature lopsidedly passed an $11.25-billion bond proposal <\/a>aimed primarily at providing government subsidies for building affordable housing. Newsom immediately signed the measure last week, just beating the deadline for getting it on the Nov. 3 election ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn California, we don\u2019t turn away from the needs of our people,\u201d Newsom boasted in a prepared statement, taking a veiled shot at Trump, his favorite political target.<\/p>\n

This came just after both houses of Congress, with members working collaboratively in a rare bipartisan manner, overwhelmingly passed a landmark bill aimed at boosting housing supply. The measure removed regulatory barriers, upgraded federal programs and incentivized new home building.<\/p>\n

A Trump \u201cpromise kept,\u201d the White House proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Whoops! The president then suddenly flip-flopped. He canceled a planned bill-signing ceremony, torpedoing the legislation, an opportunity to gain sorely-needed points for the GOP heading into the fall elections and a chance to outboast Newsom, arguably his most annoying political antagonist.<\/p>\n

Trump said he wouldn\u2019t sign the housing bill unless Congress approved his unrelated voter ID legislation, which has practically no chance of passage. The least of his concerns seemed to be struggling homebuyers and renters.<\/p>\n

As of this writing, it wasn\u2019t clear what Trump would ultimately do. Nothing ever is certain with him. Shocked and confused GOP congressional leaders<\/a> even held back sending the president the bill, then ducked out on holiday recess.<\/p>\n

At the California state Capitol, by contrast, the governor and legislative leaders were united, working off the same page and successfully negotiating a final agreement on housing help.<\/p>\n

As icing on the cake for voters, $1.25 billion was added for the popular CalVet loan program for military veterans. <\/a>Their home loans are repaid through mortgages, costing the state nothing.<\/p>\n

But the remaining $10 billion would need to be paid off by taxpayers over 30 years \u2014 at an estimated $580 million annually, bringing the total bond cost to about $17.4 billion, including interest.<\/p>\n

Putting this in perspective, the Legislature just passed a $352-billion state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. Of that, $7.5 billion will go for retiring debt on $73 billion in bonds. And the state has voter authorization to sell $38 billion more in bonds.<\/p>\n

During legislative floor debates, some Republicans objected to the additional borrowing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got record revenue, why do we need to borrow money?\u201d asked Assemblyman David Tangipa (R-Fresno).<\/p>\n

That was answered during the Senate debate by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), one of the measure\u2019s principal jockeys.<\/p>\n

Building affordable housing \u201csimply is impossible, it can\u2019t be done without this bond\u201d to finance government subsidies, Cabaldon told colleagues.<\/p>\n

Developers are subsidized so they can build at a cost that will result in affordable consumer prices, mainly rents in this case.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans also objected to inserting the CalVet money for voter appeal. Assemblyman Carl DeMaio called it \u201cwindow dressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

CalVet funds normally are acquired through very small, separate bond measures.<\/p>\n

But in the end, only a few Republicans voted against the big bond, which was officially authored by the Assembly Speaker and the Senate leader to display political muscle.<\/p>\n

To their credit, the Legislature and governor in recent years have been whittling away at regulatory obstacles to home building. But many cities still balk at rezoning residential neighborhoods to make room for new multifamily dwellings.<\/p>\n

The bond proposal is mainly designed to generate affordable rentals for poor people. More money was added at the end for affordable student and farmworker housing.<\/p>\n

There\u2019ll be a separate bond proposal on the November ballot that goes in a different direction but doesn\u2019t conflict. It would help middle class homebuyers. And that measure wouldn\u2019t cost taxpayers a cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing supply is not just about poor people. It\u2019s not just about homelessness,\u201d says the middle class initiative\u2019s originator, former legislative leader Bob Hertzberg, a Los Angeles County Democrat.<\/p>\n

His proposal would authorize $25 billion in revenue bonds.<\/a> Like the CalVet program, those bonds would be repaid by homebuyers through mortgages \u2014 not costing the state anything.<\/p>\n

Under the plan, a homebuyer could borrow most of the money needed for a down payment on a newly constructed single-family home or condo. Typically, a 20% down payment is required. Under Hertzberg\u2019s proposal, 17% could be borrowed. Regular lending institutions would arrange the second mortgage.<\/p>\n

To be eligible, a homebuyer\u2019s income could not exceed 200% of the area\u2019s median income. In L.A. County, that would be around $213,000 for a family of four, Hertzberg figures. The home would need to be the owner\u2019s primary residence.<\/p>\n

The November ballot will be bursting with state propositions \u2014 14 in all, mostly very complex, running the gamut. Besides housing, there\u2019ll be proposals for a billionaires tax, voter ID requirement, local tax limitations and fast-tracking of public works.<\/p>\n

Voters could just throw up their hands and reject everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point, voters are just gonna say, \u2018I don\u2019t know about all this stuff. There\u2019s a lot of stuff,\u2019\u201d says Dan Dunmoyer, who heads the California Building Industry Assn.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s housing affordability crunch won\u2019t be solved by just two bond packages. But they\u2019d help.<\/p>\n

We and all of America could also use some help from our seemingly unconcerned president, who enjoys free public housing.<\/p>\n

What else you should be reading<\/p>\n

The must-read: Newsom, California Legislature reach $351.7-billion budget deal<\/a>
Money (That\u2019s what I want<\/a>): Controversial billionaire tax proposal will appear on November ballot<\/a>
The L.A. Times Special: Here\u2019s a clue about these mystery books: \u2018Papa\u2019 may be California\u2019s next governor<\/a> <\/p>\n

Until next week,
George Skelton<\/p>\n

\u2014
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