“I am encouraged by the announcement that Governor Newsom has designated the City of Los Angeles as a Prohousing jurisdiction. As the Assemblymember representing South Los Angeles, I’m grateful to Mayor Karen Bass for leading the charge to advance housing initiatives that have brought us to this point.
This designation means Los Angeles will receive an advantage in applying for additional state funds in support of our efforts to accelerate affordable housing development. I look forward to our continued work to ensure adequate housing supply.
To that end, my bill, AB 86, will create a Statewide Homeless Coordinator who will serve as the lead authority in the fight to end homelessness. The Coordinator will be empowered to work directly with local leaders like Mayor Bass and her team. Our housing and homelessness efforts have been too diffuse; split over multiple agencies all with shared jurisdiction.
My bill will centralize decision-making at both the state and local level so that when Los Angeles receives Prohousing designation funds, the dollars are used effectively and efficiently. Californians deserve to have someone at the state level who is keeping cities and developers accountable and ensuring that we are making progress in providing housing for all.”