Response to the State Auditor’s November 2020 Report

We agree with the State Auditor that California must develop and implement a long-term, comprehensive and coordinated plan to house those who are experiencing homelessness and lack access to affordable homes. While the claim in the November 2020 audit that $2.7B in tax-exempt bonds were wasted oversimplifies the program mechanics and ignores the economic conditions at the time, what’s critical now — when housing bond demand exceeds supply by more than two-to-one — is that the state allocate all remaining bond issuance authority to affordable housing.

 

We therefore ask that the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee allocate all of the $600 million in recently returned bonds to affordable housing developments when it meets to consider this issue later today. All those interested can follow today’s CDLAC discussion at approximately 1:30 via Zoom using meeting ID 820 7245 7346 and passcode 702560 or by phone by calling (888) 557-8511 and entering participant code 5651115.