Current:Home > Contact-usCalifornia lawmakers abandon attempt to repeal law requiring voter approval for some public housing-LoTradeCoin
California lawmakers abandon attempt to repeal law requiring voter approval for some public housing
View Date:2024-12-23 20:18:51
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Monday abandoned their attempt to repeal the nation’s only law requiring voter approval for publicly funded affordable housing projects, a provision added to the state Constitution more than half a century ago that aimed to keep people of color out of white neighborhoods.
Most everyone in the state Capitol agrees the law needs to go, and no organized opposition has emerged to repealing it. But the measure is one of more than a dozen that have qualified for the November election, and supporters worry about raising the millions of dollars it will take to campaign for its passage.
That’s one reason why lawmakers voted to withdraw the measure on Monday just three days before the secretary of state must certify the ballot for the November election.
“While (the repeal) was one of many efforts to help address the housing crisis, the November ballot will be very crowded and reaching voters will be difficult and expensive,” said Democratic state Sen. Ben Allen, who authored the bill to remove the measure from the ballot.
California has a robust initiative process that lets the public bypass the state Legislature to propose and pass laws via a statewide election. Each election, there are sometimes more than a dozen measures crowding the ballot competing for voters’ attention.
This year, initiatives have qualified that would raise the minimum wage to $18 per hour, increase penalties for certain drug and theft crimes and require high-school students to take a personal finance course before they can graduate.
Some ballot measures have been removed. The California Supreme Court last week removed a measure that would have made it harder to raise taxes. Business groups and legislative leaders reached a compromise last week to withdraw a measure that would have repealed a state law that allows workers to sue their employers for labor violations.
The ballot measures that are left will require expensive campaigns to advocate for or against them — campaigns that can cost as much as $20 million or more because California has some of the country’s most expensive media markets.
Going to the ballot is more than just expensive — it’s risky. Once a campaign fails, it can take years for supporters to try again. Voters have rejected attempts to either repeal or change California’s housing law three times before, in 1974, 1980 and 1993.
The housing law dates to 1949, when the federal Housing Act banned racial discrimination in public housing projects. A year later, voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring the government to get voter approval before using public money to build affordable housing.
Decades later, California is the only state that has a law like this, and it only applies to public funding for affordable housing, which is disproportionately used by people of color.
Over the years, lawmakers have found ways around the law. They changed the definition of “low-rent housing project” to mean any development where more than 49% of the units are set aside for people with low incomes. Anything less than that doesn’t require an election.
And last year, lawmakers passed and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that exempted housing developments that received funding from various state programs.
veryGood! (317)
Related
- Smithfield agrees to pay $2 million to resolve child labor allegations at Minnesota meat plant
- Man fired from upstate New York hospital pulled over with loaded shotgun near facility
- These Are the Must-Have Pet Carriers for Jet-Setting With Your Fur Baby—and They’re Airline-Approved
- Cyberattacks on hospitals are likely to increase, putting lives at risk, experts warn
- Trump breaks GOP losing streak in nation’s largest majority-Arab city with a pivotal final week
- First-ever February tornadoes in Wisconsin caused $2.4M in damages
- Will Georgia prosecutor be removed from election case against Donald Trump? Judge to hear arguments
- Megan Fox Reacts to Critics Over Double Date Photo With Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- 2 arrested in 'random murder spree' in southeast LA that killed 4, including juvenile
Ranking
- Louisville officials mourn victims of 'unthinkable' plant explosion amid investigation
- The 'food' you see on-screen often isn't real food. Not so, in 'The Taste of Things'
- San Francisco 49ers fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks three days after Super Bowl 58 loss
- He died 7 years ago, but still sends his wife a bouquet every Valentine's Day
- Halle Berry surprises crowd in iconic 2002 Elie Saab gown from her historic Oscar win
- Bill would let Atlantic City casinos keep smoking with some more restrictions
- 'We believe the child is in danger.' AMBER Alert issued for missing 5-year-old Ohio boy
- Kansas City Chiefs Share Message After 22 Wounded in Shooting at 2024 Super Bowl Parade
Recommendation
-
Angels sign Travis d'Arnaud: Former All-Star catcher gets multiyear contract in LA
-
Maker of Tinder, Hinge sued over 'addictive' dating apps that put profits over love
-
Avalanche kills 1 backcountry skier, leaves 2 others with head injuries in Alaska
-
Skiier killed, 2 others hurt after falling about 1,000 feet in Alaska avalanche
-
Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
-
Biden touts hostage talks that could yield 6-week cease-fire between Israel and Hamas
-
Dozens of gang members in Boston charged with drug trafficking, COVID-19 fraud
-
Caitlin Clark is on the cusp of the NCAA women’s scoring record. She gets a chance to do it at home