California housing crisis podcast: Will there be a package of state housing bills in 2019?
California state lawmakers in recent weeks advanced major housing legislation, including Senate Bill 50, a measure that would increase allowable home building across the state, and multiple bills to add protections for renters.
With those bills clearing big hurdles, it’s beginning to become clear how state lawmakers might try to address California’s housing affordability problems this year. On this episode of “Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast,” we discuss how those measures changed after their committee hearings and their ultimate prospects of passing.
One guest interview is with state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the author of bills to suspend local government restrictions on growth and increase funding for tenants at risk of homelessness, and a key supporter of SB 50. The other interview is with Michael Weinstein, an SB 50 opponent and the financial backer of last year’s failed statewide rent control initiative. Weinstein, who leads the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is considering trying again with a new rent control measure for 2020.
“Gimme Shelter,” a biweekly podcast that looks at why it’s so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times’ Sacramento bureau, and Matt Levin, data and housing reporter for CALmatters.
You can subscribe to “Gimme Shelter” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast.
High-profile California housing bill clears hurdle after tense debate over local control »
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