New bill would shore up California's affordable housing supply

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – A new bill introduced in the California legislature would bolster the state’s affordable housing market, if it passes.

Senate Bill 1091, authored by Senator Anna Caballero, D-Fresno, would preserve the state’s affordable housing supply by starting the Community Anti-Displacement and Preservation Program, which would fund and rehabilitate unrestricted housing units. It would also institute restrictions on affordable housing units that would prevent residents from being displaced, according to the text of the bill.

A private-sector entity would be given authority to manage the affordable housing units for five years, and loans or grants would be made available to eligible borrowers.

“Stable housing is foundational to racial equity and intergenerational opportunity,” Chione Flegal, Executive Director of Housing California, wrote to The Center Square on Monday. “For decades, communities of color have experienced widespread housing instability, displacement, and underinvestment. SB 1091 helps reverse that pattern.

The bill did not specify where the money would come from or the cost of the legislation.

Flegal added that the bill helps to preserve family homes and expands access to new affordable housing supply.

“By securing long-term affordability and preventing displacement, this bill ensures that California’s growth serves all of our communities and contributes to a future of shared prosperity,” Flegal wrote.

According to a January 2026 report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, home prices in the state far outpace the rest of the country. Mid-range prices for homes in California hover around $755,000, twice that of a mid-priced home elsewhere in the U.S. A bottom-range price for a California home is 30% more expensive than a lower-priced home in other states, the Legislative Analyst’s Office report found.

With so many homes priced out range for many potential home buyers, the state faces an affordable housing shortfall of roughly 306,149 homes, according to data from the California Housing Partnership.

“I do think that our housing crisis in California is decades in the making, and it’s from a lack of focus on the right policies and bills,” Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares, R-Lancaster, told The Center Square in the Senate chambers after a Senate floor session on Monday. “We have to look at creative ways to make affordable housing. We have to take serious positions that address the costs of building, because if it doesn’t pencil out for developers, housing isn’t going to be affordable.”

Several affordable housing bills were introduced by Republican lawmakers in California over the last 13 years, according to a fact sheet from the California Senate Republican Caucus. Several were never heard in the committees they were assigned to, while others were pulled from having a bill hearing or died in committee. Some never got scheduled to have a bill hearing, all crucial steps in the process for bills to make their way through the legislature on their way to passing and being signed into law by the governor.

Caballero was not able to respond to requests for comment about her bill on Monday.