Housing advocates in California are celebrating a strong legislative session that provided billions of dollars in new funding for housing programs and a new ban on source-of-income discrimination, among other important measures (see Memo, 9/23/2019). Two recently signed bills address housing needs in rural California. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed on October 11 Assembly Bill 1010 (AB 1010), which clarifies eligibility for tribes and tribal housing entities using state funds, expanding access to many programs that had previously excluded tribal communities or had ambiguous eligibility. Two days later, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1783 (AB 1783), which allows for expanded development of rental farmworker housing on excess farmland.
AB 1010 is an important step forward in addressing tribal housing needs in California. Tribes are co-sovereigns subject to federal law and, generally, not subject to state laws on tribal trust land. In many states there can therefore be confusion about which program resources are and are not available to tribes. AB 1010 amends statutes for programs administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, using consistent language for all programs to refer to tribal entities and establish their right to participate in essential housing and development programs.
In addition to clarifying program eligibility, the bill reconstitutes the California Indian Assistance Program (CIAP). The CIAP, established in 1974, assisted tribes in leveraging federal HUD, USDA, and EPA funds for development and preservation until it was eliminated in 2006. CIAP is now reconstituted with a focus on improving tribal capacity to access more resources. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D) introduced AB 1010 to address growing tribal housing and development concerns in his district, which includes many tribal lands in Riverside and Imperial Counties, most notably the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation. Tribal lands in California struggle with an extreme scarcity of quality, affordable, and accessible homes, as described in California Tribal Housing Needs and Opportunities: A Vision Forward, a recent report released by the Rural Community Assistance Corporation and the California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH), an NLIHC state partner (see Memo, 8/26/2019).
AB 1783 addresses the acute shortage of housing for California farmworkers, approximately 85% of whom are renters. The rental housing shortage in California has especially impacted farmworkers in areas that lost significant housing in the recent wildfires. AB 1783 allows for the streamlined construction and approval of homes for workers on excess farmland. Land zoned for agriculture can now be developed as long as it complies with basic environmental restrictions and other local building safety codes.
Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D) introduced AB 1783 after seeing increasingly deplorable living conditions for farmworkers, which he described as over-crowded and low-quality spaces. In some cases, farmworkers are homeless because their wages are not enough to afford rapidly rising rents. The expectation is that zoning allowances and fee waivers in AB 1783 will incentivize housing development (provided funding is available), the willingness of farm operators to dedicate a portion of their land to housing, and the capacity of both farm operators and local nonprofit organizations to build and operate housing for agricultural workers.