April 24, 2025
Several high-profile housing and homelessness bills are moving through key legislative committees this week, as lawmakers act with renewed urgency to address the affordability crisis facing Californians. While the housing shortage has long been a top concern at the Capitol, voters last fall made it clear that the high cost of living was their number one issue.
“The urgency for action and for results on housing in the legislature this year could not be higher,” said Assemblymember Matt Haney, who chairs the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and leads the Legislative Renters’ Caucus.
More than 160 housing-related bills have been introduced this year, according to the Terner Center for Housing Innovation. Haney says it’s not just the quantity that’s notable — a new class of diverse lawmakers has come in hungry to take on the state’s greatest challenges.