AB 90 Support Letter - California Housing Consortium

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Linda Mandolini Chair
Executive Director, Eden Housing
Jim Silverwood Vice Chair
President, Affirmed Housing
Lynn Hutchins Secretary
Partner, Goldfarb Lipman
Ken Sauder Treasurer
President/CEO, Wakeland Housing
April 6, 2015
The Honorable Toni Atkins
Speaker of the California State Assembly
State Capitol, Room 219
Sacramento, CA 95814
Doug Shoemaker Policy Chair
President, Mercy Housing California
Justin Cooper Membership Chair
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliff
Geoff Brown Immediate Past-Chair
President, USA Properties Fund
Laura Archuleta
President, Jamboree Housing
RE: SUPPORT AB 90
Orlando Cabrera
Counsel, Squire Patton Boggs
Dear Speaker Atkins:
Rebecca Clark
President/CEO, LINC Housing
The California Housing Consortium (CHC) is pleased to support your bill AB
90, which creates a framework for how California will spend the funds it receives
from the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF).
CHC is a non-partisan advocate for the production and preservation of housing
affordable to low- and moderate-income Californians. We represent the
development, building, financial, and public sectors united in their goal that
every Californian has a safe, affordable place to call home.
In California, 36% of homeowners and 48% of renters spend more than one third
of their household income on housing. For the 32% of working renters who
spend over half their income on housing, they’re forced every day to choose
between other necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical
care. Until production of affordable homes keeps up with demand, California will
continue to face the highest poverty rate in the nation and struggle to maintain
California’s business competitiveness.
Michael Costa
President/CEO, Highridge Costa
Carol Galante
Professor, UC Berkeley
Rick Gentry
President/CEO, San Diego Housing
Commission
Robin Hughes
President/CEO, Abode Communities
Mary Kaiser Membership Vice Chair
President, California Community
Reinvestment Corporation
Jim Kroger
Partner, Novogradac & Company
Mary Murtagh
President/CEO, EAH Housing
Jeanne Peterson Policy Vice Chair
Director, CohnReznick
Caleb Roope
President/CEO, The Pacific
Companies
Last December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency directed Fannie Mae and
Mary Ellen Shay
Freddie Mac to begin setting aside and allocating funds to the NHTF pursuant to
President, ME Shay Co.
the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). HERA requires
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to transfer up to 1% of their new business revenues to finance the fund. Starting in
2016, the funds will be capitalized through an assessment of 0.042 percent on the Enterprises’ new business
purchases, with 65% of the revenue will go to the NHTF. AB 90 will ensure that the funds received by
California will be allocated to the most appropriate housing production programs.
Having a healthy housing market that provides an adequate supply of homes affordable to Californians at all
income levels is critical to the economic prosperity and quality of life in the state of California. Thank you for
authoring this important bill and for your ongoing commitment to supporting affordable housing.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our policy director, Marina Wiant, at (916) 930-5248 or
mwiant@calhsng.org.
Sincerely,
Ray Pearl
Executive Director
CC:
Lisa Engel, Chief Consultant, Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee
California Housing Consortium ▪ 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 900 ▪ Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916.930.5248 ▪ E-mail: info@calhsng.org ▪ Website: www.calhsng.org