AB 309: The Social Housing Act.

Existing law establishes the Department of General Services to provide centralized services, including, but not limited to, planning, acquisition, construction and maintenance of state buildings and property. Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services, with the consent of the state agency concerned, to lease state-owned real property when the Director of General Services deems that leasing serves a beneficial public purpose limited to the development of housing.

This bill would enact the Social Housing Act and would create, in the Department of General Services, the Social Housing Program, the mission of which would be to ensure that qualified social housing developments are produced on leased state property to help address the housing crisis, as specified. The bill would authorize the program to identify and develop up to 3 qualified social housing projects, as specified, with the intent to use the results to inform public policy related to developing an independent public entity to develop statewide qualified social housing. The bill would require the program to solicit bids to develop qualified social housing units, and prioritize bids that demonstrate long-term revenue neutrality or a cost rent model, as those terms are defined. The bill would require the program to employ 2 different leasing models, the rental model and the ownership model, as specified, in creating social housing. The bill would prohibit a city or county from denying a social housing development authorized under the program. The bill would authorize a city or county to propose objective design review standards, as specified, and authorize a city or county to propose modifications to mitigate any specific, adverse impacts on public health or safety, as specified.