News & Updates - CBRT Commends Defeat of Attempt to Repeal Costa-Hawkins Legislation in California
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2018
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(SACRAMENTO)— Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, issued the following statement in response to the defeat of AB 1506 (Bloom) in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee. The legislation would have repealed Costa-Hawkins in California:
“Assemblymember Wood rightly argued AB 1506 (Bloom) could negatively impact the ability of the state to recover from natural disasters that devastated communities throughout California this year. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst stated that repealing Costa-Hawkins ‘will do nothing to increase our supply of affordable housing and, in fact, likely would discourage new construction.’ Repealing Costa-Hawkins would have only exacerbated an already out-of-control housing crisis in California and done nothing to address the true factors that have made rent and housing prices skyrocket in the past decade.
“If the Legislature wants to get serious about the housing crisis, it must address the mounting list of both state and local regulations and fees that cumulatively have increased the cost of a new home by $100,000 or more and, more critically, have severely restricted the number of units that are built to begin with. This is not just a low-income issue; it is a middle-class issue eating away at the fabric of our economy.
“For too long, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has been used as a weapon, crippling homebuilders’ ability to make critical investments in both affordable and market-rate housing. By-right legislation would be transformative for our housing market. No longer could special interest groups use the process to demand special treatment, bog down needed new housing in years of litigation, or fund their interests on the back of struggling renters and prospective homebuyers.
“The Legislature has repeatedly exempted large entertainment and sports complexes from strict CEQA review; it is time to give homeowners and renters in California the same opportunity.”