California governor signs new housing laws 

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a host of bills last week aimed at addressing the state’s affordable housing crisis and mitigating its impacts. One bill, perhaps the highest-profile, will cap yearly rental increases for buildings built 15 or more years ago or owned by corporations or institutional investors to 5 percent plus inflation. The bill  was criticized  by many landlords in the state, who said that it may force them to raise rents more frequently. However the California Apartment Association and the California Building Industry Association did not lobby against the bill, which was supported by many NHC members, including NHC Board Chair Linda Mandolini, president and CEO of Eden Housing, one of the state’s largest affordable housing developers. Many traditional supporters of rent control supported or refrained from actively opposing the bill because it focuses on rent gouging and displacement, rather than market control. Newsom also signed several other bills into law, including  a package  that would aim to incentivize more housing construction, a bill that would outlaw discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders, and a bill legalizing public banking, which could be used spur affordable housing.

Bennet, O’Rourke unveil housing plans

Democratic presidential candidates Michael Bennet and Beto O’Rourke introduced their plans to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis. Bennet's plan calls for supporting the construction or refurbishment of almost 4 million affordable units through transit oriented-development, disincentivizing exclusionary zoning codes, and expanding programs like the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the Housing Trust Fund, and the Capital Magnet Fund. The plan also calls for fully funding the Section 8 voucher program, providing down payment assistance, and creating a loan fund for smaller mortgages. O’Rourke’s plan focuses on helping families gain access to homeownership through a new matched savings program and Public Credit Reporting Agency. O’Rourke’s plan would support the construction of 6 million housing units through a $400 billion investment in the National Housing Trust Fund and a $60 billion investment in the Capital Magnet Fund, in addition to rehabilitating the nation’s public housing and rural housing stock and eliminating homelessness through increased Section 8 vouchers and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants.

USDA invests $152 in expanding rural broadband access

On Monday, USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald LaVoy announced that the agency will invest $152 million expanding rural access to broadband service. The investment will fund 20 projects in 14 states and will be made through the Community Connect Grant Program, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Loan Program, and the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. Also last week, the Brookings Institution published a report on what states, rather than the federal government, can do to facilitate the expansion of rural broadband service.

CFPB issues final HMDA rule

On Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its final rule on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The new rule would extend the higher threshold of 500 open-end lines of credit for lenders who have to report data under HMDA. The rule comes after CFPB relaxed other aspects of the law last year, excluding some data from the set that is publicly disclosed under HMDA. In its press release, the agency said it would issue a separate final rule in 2020 addressing the permanent coverage thresholds for closed-end mortgage loans and open-end lines of credit, which were also addressed in the May 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.