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By MADISON HIRNEISENTHE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — California could soon ask voters to funnel $600 million to continue funding affordable housing projects for veterans under a bill advanced by lawmakers in the Senate on Tuesday.
The bill, AB 411, would enact the Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2022 and authorize the issuance of $600 million in bonds to continue funding affordable housing projects for the state’s low-income veterans.
In 2014, voters approved a measure that allowed the state to issue $600 million in bonds to develop affordable housing for veterans. Since then, nearly 6,000 units have been created, and around $100 million remains for future projects, lawmakers said Tuesday.
Assembly Bill 411 would provide additional funding to continue these housing projects, using the funds to acquire and construct multi-family affordable supportive housing for veterans and their families. The proposal is subject to voter approval and will be submitted to voters in the March 2024 statewide primary election. If approved by voters, the bond would be repaid over time with a certain amount of interest, typically lower than a traditional loan.
“There are an estimated 11,000 homeless veterans in California and even more experiencing housing insecurity or struggling to make ends meet and transition,” Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said on behalf of the bill’s author Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks. “AB 411 will assist veterans who are homeless or who need affordable rental housing to secure housing and services for themselves and their families.”
Lawmakers unanimously passed the bill in the Senate Committee on Housing on Tuesday. It will be heard next in the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance.
A handful of builders’ alliances have backed the bill, and no groups have registered in opposition. A representative speaking on behalf of the California Association of Veterans Service Agencies voiced strong support for the measure on Tuesday, praising it for coupling both affordable housing and supportive services for veterans.
“Here in our state, veterans have trouble finding housing and access to services, and this measure works to address these disparities and serve our California veterans,” Alex Torres, senior director of government relations for Strategies 360, told lawmakers.
Madison Hirneisen covers California for The Center Square.
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