AB 1165: California Housing Justice Act of 2025.

Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program administered by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency for the purpose of providing jurisdictions, as defined, with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address homelessness challenges, as specified. Existing law also establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the agency and makes the department responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, the Housing for a Healthy California Program, and the California Emergency Solutions Grants Program.

This bill would enact the California Housing Justice Act of 2025, which would create the California Housing Justice Fund in the General Fund and would require the Legislature to invest an ongoing annual allocation into that fund in an amount needed to solve homelessness and housing unaffordability, as specified. The bill would require moneys in the fund to be appropriated by the Legislature annually to the department and to be expended by the agency to fund, among other things, the development, acquisition, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable and supportive housing that is affordable to acutely low, extremely low, very low, and lower income households, as provided. The bill would also require the department to create, by no later than January 1, 2027, and in collaboration with specified entities, including local entities, finance plans to solve homelessness and to solve the housing unaffordability crisis, and related statewide annual performance metrics. By imposing additional duties on local entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require the agency, on or before October 1 of each year, beginning in 2027, to report to the Legislature on its progress in meeting the performance measures and benchmarks contained in the finance plans and annual performance metrics described above, and to publish goals on its internet website and update progress toward the goals at least annually. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.