Requesting that SB 50 (Wiener) be brought for a floor vote in the Senate

May 20, 2019

The Honorable Toni Atkins
President Pro Tempore California State Senate California State Capitol, Room 205 Sacramento CA, 95814

Re: Requesting that SB 50 (Wiener) be brought for a floor vote in the Senate

Dear President Pro Tempore Atkins,

As organizations who advocate for and build safe and affordable homes for low-income Californians, we know that California can have a future where our seniors, students, families, workers, and all of us have access to safe, stable, affordable homes. We write to respectfully request SB 50 (Wiener) be brought back for a vote on the Senate floor for due consideration by the full Senate before the May House of Origin deadline.

SB 50 will help address our state’s affordable housing crisis by promoting inclusive growth while combating restrictive and exclusionary zoning and protecting existing affordability. As Governor Newsom said in his statement on SB 50 being held in Senate Appropriations “…developing housing around transit must also be part of the solution, and today’s developments can’t end or stall that critical conversation.”

SB 50 addresses head on the most critical issues facing our state – housing affordability, poverty, and climate change. Making SB 50 a two-year bill means that families must wait another year and a half for critical solutions that they desperately need. That is why we respectfully request that you allow SB 50 to come to a vote on the Senate floor so that Californians may have the benefit of a vigorous debate on a bill that addresses our state’s housing catastrophe. This has been done in the past for other bills held in committee such as SB 384 (Wiener) from 2017 that was brought back and amended into another bill. We believe that SB 50 is just as critical to bring back so that more Californians can have a roof over their heads.

We are grateful for your consideration and respectfully urge you to bring SB 50 to a floor vote before the May House of Origin deadline,

Sincerely,

Amie Fishman
Executive Director
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California

Tomiquia Moss
Chief Executive Officer
Hamilton Families

Larry Florin
Chief Executive Officer
Burbank Housing

Geoffrey Morgan
President & Chief Executive Officer
First Community Housing

Jack Gardner
President & Chief Executive Officer
The John Stewart Company

Leslye Corsiglia
Executive Director
Silicon Valley at Home

Mary Murtagh
President & Chief Executive Officer
EAH Housing

Evelyn Stivers
Executive Director
Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County

Sharon Ellis
Chair
Habitat for Humanity California

Phil Kramer
Executive Director
Homeless Services Center (Santa Cruz)

Sibley Simon
President
New Way Homes