Following months of work, Senate Leader Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) and the Senate Democratic Caucus this past week launched a three-pillar legislative package to help tackle the affordability crisis in the state—focusing on the critical areas of Energy, Housing, and Workforce.
The package includes three bills along with strategic budget actions to: accelerate housing supply and increase housing stability for homeowners and renters across California; help protect Californians from skyrocketing utility costs to save ratepayers billions over the next decade; and expedite the development of clean energy projects to meet the state’s demands for electricity and open up opportunities to good-paying careers.
The Senate’s efforts are designed to expand housing opportunities for first time home buyers and make it easier to build workforce housing, all while investing in expanded career training programs. The package addresses many of the key pillars of affordability—increasing housing supply, working to bring down some of the largest drivers of high electric bills, and building foundations to family-sustaining careers.
The three bills—SB 254 by Senator Josh Becker, SB 681 by Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab, SB 638 by Senator Steve Padilla—are part of the Senate’s comprehensive effort to increase housing stock, reduce ongoing utility costs, and expand workforce and career training programs for quality, good-paying jobs.
SB 254 (Becker) tackles utility costs and expedites clean energy production, which will save consumers billions of dollars on energy bills in the coming years. It will require utility companies to use the most cost-effective ways to save ratepayers money, expedite thousands of megawatts of clean energy projects and creates a program to accelerate large-scale battery energy storage and cut red tape for clean energy projects. SB 254 also forces utilities to use the most cost-effective wildfire mitigation plans, as rising wildfire mitigation costs have become some of the largest drivers of utility bill increases. The bill also adds transparency provisions for ratepayers at the Public Utilities Commission.
SB 681 (Wahab) helps tackle the housing crisis by making it easier to build housing across California, advances protections and housing stability measures for renters, helps first time homebuyers achieve the American dream, and kickstarts housing production at all levels. It expands the Surplus Lands Act and the Permit Streamlining Act, which expedites the development of housing units in cities and counties. The bill makes it easier to build affordable housing in regions most impacted by housing shortages, increases housing stability for renters by curbing junk fee practices, and significantly increases the renters tax credit. SB 681 will also establish new paths to homeownership, and defends homeowners from predatory mortgage debt practices.
SB 638 (Padilla) invests in results-driven programs that build a more vigorous pathway to the middle class. The bill expands and modernizes California’s career training programs and creates a pathway to better paying jobs in traditional and emerging industries. The bill establishes a groundbreaking new collaboration between K-12 school districts, community colleges, and local industries to expand strong workforce opportunities across the state. Specifically, the program will focus on regional needs, including the demands of emerging industries such as information technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and the green economy. The legislation will expand apprenticeship programs at community colleges and streamline the state’s career education system to ensure that all relevant stakeholders—in both education and local business—work together to implement a cohesive, successful workforce strategy for all regions of California.
“For too long, hardworking families have struggled to afford the basics—skyrocketing housing costs and utility bills are stretching budgets and folks are struggling to achieve a job that pays a family-sustaining wage,” said Senate President Pro Tem McGuire. “Our plan delivers real, lasting solutions to make our state more affordable—from housing, to utility costs, to expanding career opportunities across California. These three impactful bills should be considered an opening salvo; we know there’s much more work to do. We’re going to continue to deliver results that make a difference for Californians.”
The bill package follows months of work from the Senate’s Affordability Working Group. The group is co-chaired by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) and Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley), and will continue to focus on the areas of energy, housing, and workforce on behalf of all Californians.
