California voters approve $11.25 billion housing bond

California voters approved $11.25 billion in housing bonds in last week's midterms, according to Ballotpedia results reported by Multifamily Dive. Proposition 1 allocates $1.25 billion to veteran housing and $10 billion to the state's Multifamily Housing Program, CalHome Program and other income-qualified housing initiatives, with $7.2 billion of that $10 billion dedicated to affordable multifamily programs, per the National Apartment Association.

Voters narrowly rejected Proposition 45, which would have streamlined environmental and permit review for essential projects, including housing. The measure would have amended the California Environmental Quality Act and the Permit Streamlining Act, set deadlines for permit decisions and narrowed the scope of legal challenges courts could consider.

The bond money is a known, state-administered funding source for income-restricted deals, with $7.2 billion routed through programs developers and their capital partners apply to directly. Because Proposition 45 failed, entitlement and litigation timelines are unchanged, so the units the money buys will arrive at the pace the existing review process allows.

Florida voters passed Amendment 3, which lowers the assessment cap that applies to non-homestead properties, a category that includes apartment buildings, Multifamily Dive reported.

Nicole Upano of the National Apartment Association told Multifamily Dive that Proposition 1 could support up to 40,000 multifamily units, citing the Legislative Services Office, though that estimate depends on projects clearing permitting. Upano called the results "there were significant wins in terms of bonds and other solutions that will help drive and boost more housing supply." Of the California review measure, she said: "It's unfortunate that it didn't pass," adding that it would have built on federal changes in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The next decision point is the state legislative session: as Private Wealth Daily previously reported, the National Multifamily Housing Council's Fulton expects housing bills to be introduced in January.