California is in the midst of a housing and homeless crisis. For decades, we have not been building enough housing units. As demand exceeded supply, prices skyrocketed, pushing families to live farther from their jobs, or worse, forcing them onto the streets.

I'm proud the new 2019-2020 state budget takes significant steps to address these issues, dedicating $2.75 billion toward housing and homeless solutions - the largest investment in recent history. Highlights include:

Housing

• $750 million to help local governments increase and accelerate housing production
• $500 million to expand our state housing tax credit program and attract more private investment in affordable housing projects
• $500 million to encourage mixed-income project developers to include more low- and moderate-income housing

Homelessness

• $650 million for local homelessness programs, including an estimated $40 million for San Francisco, to offer more emergency beds, shelters, navigation centers and services
  • 8% of local funds will be set aside for homeless youth - it is unacceptable that on any given night, more than 1,000 unaccompanied youth in San Francisco (12,000 statewide) do not have a safe place to call home
• $331.5 million through the CalWORKs program to assist low-income families with housing payments and other wraparound services to prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place

As part of the San Francisco Chronicle's SF Homeless Project, a series of in-depth reporting by regional media organizations on the issue, I recently spoke with San Francisco Magazine about my efforts to combat homelessness. Read more about the causes and solutions here.

By continuing partnerships with local governments to tackle our housing and homeless crisis, our solutions-oriented state budget commitment will pay off in the near future.

Sincerely,