Article 34 of the California Constitution requires cities to submit projects to a voter referendum when public funds are allocated to developing low-income rental housing. No other type of housing is subjected to this requirement. SCA 1 repeals this racist provision.
(From Press Release – Senator Wiener) – Today, Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) legislation to repeal article 34 of the California Constitution passed the Senate with a unanimous vote. It now heads to the Assembly for a vote. SCA 1 is sponsored by Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City of Los Angeles. Added by the voters in 1950, Article 34 of the California Constitution requires cities to submit projects to a voter referendum when public funds are allocated to developing low-income rental housing. No other type of housing is subjected to this requirement. This constitutional amendment was designed to keep people of color and poor people out of certain neighborhoods. In the decades since its passage, cities have also been forced to comply with a web of regulatory requirements and costly elections to build affordable housing.