A proposed state ballot measure for an $11.5 billion bond to pay for affordable housing now has a key backer: Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The governor and state lawmakers have cut a deal to place the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 on the ballot in November, Realtor.com reported. Newsom is urging voters to adopt the bond aimed at boosting home construction and homeownership rates.
The proposed ballot measure includes $10 billion in general obligation bonds to pay for the construction, rehabilitation, acquisition and preservation of affordable housing for lower-income residents. It includes down payment assistance and low-interest mortgage financing.
It includes $1.25 billion in self-supporting revenue bonds for the CalVet Home Loan Program to help veterans and military families buy homes.
The proposed measure also designates investments for California’s Multifamily Housing Program, as well as for affordable housing and homeownership for low-income households, seniors, farmworkers, tribal communities, college students and homeless people.
Proponents say the bond will support tens of thousands of high-paying construction jobs across the state.
The bonds would be repaid through state tax revenues over the next 35 years, which raised concern among some Republican legislators.
Approval of the measure would spur the development of 40,000 approved and shovel-ready homes, according to assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland. She cited a statewide shortage of 1.2 million affordable homes, as well as 170,000 residents living on the streets.
Newsom said the ballot-bound proposal is an attempt to tackle California’s chronic underbuilding, which has made the state one of the nation’s least affordable.
Some 17 percent of households can afford to buy a median-priced single-family home, while more than half of renters are classified as “cost-burdened.”
“California’s future depends on whether people can afford to put down roots, raise a family, and build a life here,” Newsom said in a statement.
The measure comes as housing affordability and homelessness are hot topics in California during a gubernatorial campaign where Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton fight to replace the term-limited Newsom.
The depth of the crisis in California goes far beyond political campaigns. In a 2026 Realtor.com Housing Report Card, the Golden State was among just six states to earn an F grade for homebuilding and housing affordability.
– Dana Bartholomew
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