Housing remains a top issue for local government leaders, and recent years have seen more states stepping into the conversation with housing policies of their own.
The housing crisis also reached the national stage this summer with Congress’ passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.
This November, more state-level housing policies are in the hands of voters, with six housing policies on the ballot across four states, according to Ballotpedia — the most such ballot measures in a single election year since 2006.
Here are the state housing policies voters will decide.
California
Proposition 1 asks voters to sign off on $11.25 billion in bonds for California to fund affordable housing programs. Of that amount, $1.25 billion will be allocated for veteran housing, with the rest going toward an array of home and rental assistance programs, CalMatters reported.
Proposition 37 is a homebuying assistance measure that, if approved, will establish a second mortgage program for qualifying homebuyers and give the California Housing Finance Agency the go-ahead to issue up to $25 billion in revenue bonds in loans for qualifying homes, to be paid back by homeowners through their loan payments.
Proposition 45 alters the California Environmental Quality Act by establishing deadlines and streamlined procedures for specified projects, including housing. It would also update the judicial review process for projects, potentially reducing the scope of what a court can consider in legal challenges to development.
Hawai’i
Voters are asked to consider an amendment to the state constitution that will authorize the legislature to allow counties to issue housing infrastructure bonds. The amendment would allow counties and municipalities to repay bonds through future growth in property tax revenues, rather than real property tax rates, which have debt limits.
Massachusetts
Question 7 on the ballot asks voters whether the state should require local governments to allow single-family homes on residentially zoned land of at least 5,000 square feet, among other qualifying characteristics, such as access to public sewer and water services.
If approved, cities and towns would still be able to “reasonably regulate” some aspects of the single-family homes built, including height, parking requirements, distance from neighboring buildings and whether they can be rented out on a short-term basis, according to the proposed measure.
Rhode Island
Question 2, if voters agree, will authorize $120 million in bonds for affordable housing, with at least $25 million set aside for housing intended for homeownership and $10 million for public housing development, the Rhode Island Current reported. Voters authorized the same amount two years ago, which was the largest housing bond in state history at the time, according to the Current.
