California Construction News staff writer
Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced a 2023-24 state budget proposal last week that maintains the state’s unprecedented investments in Californians while fortifying the state’s strong fiscal foundation amid economic and revenue uncertainties ahead.
“With our state and nation facing economic headwinds, this budget keeps the state on solid economic footing while continuing to invest in Californians,” said Governor Newsom. “In partnership with the Legislature, we’ll continue to prioritize the issues that matter most to Californians while building a strong fiscal foundation for the state’s future.”
One identified priority is increasing housing supply.
According to the budget summary presented Jan. 10, “the state remains focused on using new tools and scaling existing efforts that unlock residential and community development in alignment with the state’s climate goals.”
That includes practical innovations in land use, construction, and finance that can lower housing production costs.
“The Administration will continue identifying administrative or statutory barriers that delay housing production and increase housing costs, with a priority on removing barriers for extremely-low-income housing and permanent supportive housing,” Newsom said in the budget proposal.
“The state will continue pursuing federal resources that support housing construction and rental assistance to make units affordable to low-income households, and explore opportunities to increase voucher utilization rates and maximize federal funding for rental assistance.”
In the last four years, California invested more to increase housing supply than ever before in state history and focused on enforcing state housing so that “every community plans for its fair share of housing.”
The state adopted a legally binding goal that local governments must plan to build approximately 2.5 million new units by 2030, and 1 million of these units must be affordable.
Newsom said there will continue to be “major funding to address the homelessness crisis and housing affordability” and to tackle the climate crisis. Strategies will include:
- Implement historic investments to address homelessness and expand housing supply
- Fight climate change and protect communities from flooding, drought, wildfires and extreme heat
- Support economic development and small business across the state
The full budget summary is available at www.ebudget.ca.gov.
