Victories in Sacramento for the HOMeS Act - but we need your action to get to the finish line!
Last Tuesday, April 24, well over
100 advocates and residents traveled to Sacramento with one message:
"Support SB 1220 and support affordable homes!" Our presence was felt
at the afternoon's Housing & Transportation Committee, where we
filled the room in support of the HOMEs Act, Senator Mark DeSaulnier's
bill that would raise $500 million for affordable housing. The bill
passed its first two committees, but soon will go to a vote by the full
State Senate. Read on to find out how you can help SB 1220 go all the
way, and establish a permanent source of funding for homes for
low-income families, seniors, veterans and others in need.
A Great Lobby Day
Coordinated by Housing California's campaign consultant Shawn Rowland
(formerly EBHO staff member!), we had team leaders from the Non-Profit
Housing Association of Northern California (NPH), San Diego Housing
Federation, Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing
(SCANPH), Satellite Housing, EBHO, and the California Coalition for
Rural Housing. There was great energy among the participants, including
nearly 50 residents from MidPen Housing and Satellite Housing. After
visiting Senators' offices in the morning, supporters for SB 1220
filled nearly every seat in the hearing room and some of the regular
Capitol lobbyists jokingly complained that they couldn't find a seat! The
final vote was 6-2-1 in the Transportation and Housing Committee.
The next day, the bill was passed by the Senate Governance and Finance
Committee on a 5-2 vote. Two victories made possible by your advocacy!
So what's next?
In the next four weeks we have to pass out of the Senate Appropriations
Committee and get a 2/3rds vote of the full Senate. We need 100 percent
of the Democrats and two Republicans to win.
Action 1: Send thank you notes to those who voted YES! Appreciation goes a long way and we need them to vote YES again when the bill comes to the floor. Thanks are especially due to our East Bay representatives - bill author Senator Mark DeSaulnier (Walnut Creek) and Senator Loni Hancock (Berkeley-Oakland) View vote count.
Action 2: Send support letters to the Appropriations Committee. Letters will go to Appropriations Committee members and Your Senator so please use your home addresses. Senators listen to their constituents. Use Housing California's click-and-send letter OR download the SAMPLE LETTER and fax it to the committee members and Julie Snyder at 916.447.1900
On Monday, May 7th, the bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee chaired by San Diego Senator Kehoe. The committee will not be taking a vote on SB 1220 on Monday (it will be placed in the suspense file); however, it will be voted on later this month (likely around May 24th), so we need to send support letters to the committee members now.
Action 3: Get in touch with your Senator in the next 10 days and ask them to vote YES on SB 1220 when it comes to the floor this month. You can call them, set up a meeting, write an e-mail, or send a note. Let's let them know how many people care! Find my Senator.
Thank you for all your hard work on this important bill, and thanks to Housing California for this information and action alert.
Thank you for all you do,
Amie Fishman
Executive Director, EBHO