Speaker Robert Rivas Appoints Renters’ Caucus Chair Matt Haney as New Chair of Assembly Housing Committee

SACRAMENTO - Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas has announced the appointment of San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) as the Chair of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee. Haney, who also serves as co-founder and chair of the California Legislative Renters’ Caucus, will be the first renter to serve as chair of the Housing Committee in many years.

During his two years in the State Legislature, Haney introduced a dozen bills to confront the housing and homelessness crisis, and has been among the foremost leaders in confronting San Francisco’s famously awful anti-housing policies. Haney introduced laws to cap security deposits at one month, convert empty office space to housing, reduce HOA fees, and remove unnecessary bureaucratic appeals and hurdles that stop and slow housing projects.

As Housing Chair, Haney plans to take an aggressive, proactive approach to confronting California's housing shortage and reducing the cost of housing for Californians. He will put a special emphasis on increasing density, jobs, transit, and building housing in California’s struggling downtowns.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say that decades of bad housing policy at the state and local levels are hurting every single Californian,” said Haney. “On nearly every meaningful indicator, California is behind the rest of the country on housing and Californians experience this firsthand in some of the highest rents and home prices, and more homeless people than any other state. The policies that we pass in Sacramento have to meet the crisis we are facing with urgency and scale. We can't rest until Californians see their rents go down and homeless people off the streets.”

The last decade has seen California fall into a housing crisis, with severe housing shortages leading to rising rents and homelessness. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2.5 million renters in California cannot afford their rent and over 70% of low-income families struggle to make rent every month. A staggering 1.5 million low-income renters pay more than half their monthly income toward housing. Among all states, California has the second highest median rent for a one bedroom apartment, only ranking behind Hawaii.

Haney, who also chairs the Select Committee on Downtown Recovery, has been touring major California cities and meeting with local leaders to develop an action plan for the legislature that will help the state’s many struggling downtown urban areas.

“To bring California’s struggling downtowns back, we need more housing. A lot more housing,” said Haney. “There isn’t a downtown in California that couldn’t benefit from an influx of new residents and the small businesses that come with them. Saving our downtowns means changing the ridiculous policies that prevent new housing from being built and converting empty office buildings to desperately needed housing.”

The Assembly Housing Committee approves all new legislation related to housing, building standards, land use planning, homelessness programs, housing discrimination, natural disaster assistance and preparedness, and rent control.

Haney will take over as Housing Chair effective immediately as the legislature returns back to start their session today, January 6th.