SB 129 Summary

• Removes California Housing Finance Agency from Department of Housing and Community Development and continues it as independent entity within Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.

• Expands rural area definition for low-income housing tax credits to include eligibility under USDA multifamily housing programs and unincorporated areas not designated as urban by Census Bureau.

• Transfers list publication responsibility for prohousing jurisdiction programs from Department of Finance to Department of Housing and Community Development.

• Establishes Round 5 of Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program requiring regionally coordinated homelessness action plans, reallocating up to $360 million from Rounds 3-4 bonus funds and appropriating $1 billion for 2023-24 fiscal year.

• Modifies Middle Class Housing Act to require registered contractors, skilled workforce certification, prevailing wage compliance, and allows parcel exemptions only if replacement sites allow development by right.