Sacramento Updates

It has been largely quiet inside the State Capitol as legislators and staff winnowed proposed bill ideas down to the dozen or so each member will introduce by next week's deadline. Speaker hopefuls pursed every angle this week jockeying for leadership of the Assembly, with the vote for that position now set for March 11.

With Sacramento Senator Darrell Steinberg coming in as Senate pro Tem, most observers predict a Southern California Democrat will take the helm in the Assembly, in keeping with an unwritten rule that leadership of the two houses be divided between north and south. That may be good news for housing advocates, as many of the leading Southern California candidates are pro-housing, pro-renter legislators.

The only real action this week came from the budget committees of both houses, which met to consider mid-year budget reductions to address the current year's deficit. Both committees made cuts to HCD's Housing Element Unit, trimming funding for one position. However, that is not expected to reduce staffing in the current year, as Prop 1C-funded positions will help fill the gap.

The committees held the line on closure of migrant housing centers, which HCD has now clarified will open in March as scheduled and remain open throughout the operating season. The only exception is the migrant center in Firebaugh, which is not owned by the state.

Proposed cuts to funding for the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) is still on the table as part of the package of proposed cuts for the coming budget year. Those proposals will be discussed in future budget hearings.