SACRAMENTO – A broad coalition of support from statewide and local organizations are asking the Governor to sign AB 1197, following the legislature’s near-unanimous support of the bill last week. The measure, authored by California State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) and principal coauthored by Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), would speed the construction of housing for homeless families and individuals in Los Angeles.
The urgent need to build both temporary and permanent housing to move those suffering from homelessness off the streets only grows with each passing day. Due to the extreme homelessness crisis facing the City of LA, a growing number of groups are leaning in to fight for solutions that will cut through existing hurdles to building more temporary and permanent housing. Nonprofits, business groups, as well as housing and homelessness advocates are leading the call for Governor Newsom to sign this measure.
“As long as Californians are struggling to survive in our streets, we have a moral responsibility to do everything in our power to provide the shelter and assistance they need to get back on their feet,” Santiago said. “I am proud of the strong support we have received throughout this process. It takes a village to alleviate this nightmarish crisis as quickly as possible.”
Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) added, “We made this bill an urgency matter because the homeless crisis is urgent. Both houses of the Legislature overwhelmingly adopted these changes to break down barriers and get people into shelter, and the coalition of support has only grown.”
“We thank Assemblymember Santiago for his leadership working to expedite supportive housing. To make true progress, Los Angeles’ homeless crisis should be treated with the same urgency and dedication of resources we’ve harnessed to address other regional crisis. We urge the Governor to sign this critical measure, knocking down key barriers and allowing local governments to immediately build the necessary housing to alleviate our homelessness crisis.” – Mary Leslie, President, Los Angeles Business Council
“AB 1197 will go far to help the City of Los Angeles expeditiously develop emergency housing and move those suffering from homelessness off the streets and into safe and decent housing and we urge the Governor to sign this important measure.” – Debra Carlton, Senior Vice President Public Affairs, California Apartment Association
“We are proud to lend our support to AB 1197, a bill that will help facilitate the development of what we urgently need to solve Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis: more units of permanent supportive housing. Ultimately AB 1197 will help us achieve our shared goals of getting people, families and communities off the streets and into homes.” – Joel John Roberts, CEO, PATH
“With Governor Newsom’s signature, AB 1197 will untie Los Angeles’ hands to better address our crisis. This law is a key missing ingredient to help prioritize the shelter and supportive housing that will strengthen our communities and give hope to thousands of Angelenos.” – Doug Smith, Supervising Staff Attorney, Public Counsel
“Los Angeles voters committed to solving our homeless crisis when they overwhelmingly stepped up three years ago to fund the construction of permanent supportive housing. We owe it to everyone to make the best use of those funds to treat this as the emergency it is and house those experiencing homelessness as soon as possible.” – Maria S. Salinas, President & CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
“Homes end homelessness. Short-term and supportive housing is critical if we’re going to bring more people indoors, and AB 1197 will expedite our ability to create much-needed homes. We need to eliminate the barriers, streamline the process, and keep building.” – Daniel Huynh, Vice President of Real Estate, LA Family Housing
“It is urgent that Governor Newsom sign AB 1197 to help speed up the construction of emergency shelters and supportive housing in the City of Los Angeles while ensuring high quality labor and environmental protections remain in place. Union Station Homeless Services stands in strong support of the goals of the CEQA and believe this bill strikes the right balance to help us address our homeless crisis.” – Anne Miskey, CEO, Union Station Homeless Services
“It is urgent that Governor Newsom sign AB 1197 to help speed up the construction of emergency shelters and supportive housing in the City of Los Angeles while ensuring high quality labor and environmental protections remain in place. Union Station Homeless Services stands in strong support of the goals of the CEQA and believe this bill strikes the right balance to help us address our homeless crisis.” – Anne Miskey, CEO, Union Station Homeless Services“Assemblymember Santiago’s bill will expedite the delivery of supportive housing and emergency shelters, and quickly help our homeless neighbors find stable housing. We are facing a homeless humanitarian crisis, and we need policies that will significantly speed up the entitlement process and construction which will ultimately get people housed faster.” – Jessica Lall, President & CEO, Central City Association
“Like so many cities in California, Los Angeles is in the midst of a crushing housing affordability crisis. The City has responded by approving significant new funding for affordable housing, but this bill is needed to ensure critical housing can be built quickly to help Los Angeles address its homelessness challenges.” – Ray Pearl, Executive Director, California Housing Consortium
“The California Community Foundation has supported Measure HHH to build homes for our neighbors on the street, and we share the frustration of voters, residents and community leaders about production delays. AB 1197 will help the 120 developments in the Measure HHH pipeline build over 8,600 units more quickly so we can move people from street to home. We urge the Governor to support Los Angeles’ work to remove barriers to housing the most vulnerable in our community.” – Ann Sewill, Vice President, Health and Housing, California Community Foundation
Governor Newsom is expected to take action on the bill – with either his signature or his veto – by October 13, 2019.
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago is the Chair of the Assembly’s Communications and Conveyance Committee, and a member of both the Assembly Public Safety Committee and the California Latino Legislative Caucus. He represents the 53rd District composed of the cities of Los Angeles, Huntington Park, and Vernon.
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