California Coalition for Homeownership submitted over 900,000 signatures to county officials for verification for a ballot initiative that would issue $25 billion in revenue bonds to fund a homeownership loan program for households with incomes that do not exceed 200% of the area median income for families of similar size.
The campaign is sponsored by former Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg (D). Explaining the initiative, he said, "I wanted to create something that would support the building of, and therefore supply, more middle-class housing. We need to increase supply. Because these subsidy programs, most of them, just end up increasing the cost of housing. You wind up buying your grandma’s house with bad pipes and a leaky roof, and then you’re stuck with all those expenses. The subsidies raise prices, but they don’t add supply. And lately, everything has been focused on affordable rental housing. This is about ownership. Because, as I always say, home is where the wealth is."
The homeownership loan program would be administered by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA). To qualify for the program, homebuyers must:
- Be a California resident for one year prior to application;
- Agree to occupy the home as a primary residence within 60 days of closing;
- Have an income at or below 200% of the area median income for a similar-sized family in the county or city where the qualified new home is located; and
- Supply a down payment of no less than 3% of the purchase price of the qualified home.
The initiative would be limited to qualifying homes, including newly constructed homes, townhomes, row houses, condominiums, or manufactured homes, or a condominium or other residence in a nonresidential building repurposed for residential use, where the borrower is the first purchaser.
In addition to the loan program, the initiative would establish a qualified builder option that housing developers may opt into, requiring higher labor and enforcement standards, including making the builder liable for labor violations committed by contractors or subcontractors. The option would also subject builders to different construction defect rules.
The initiative would require housing developers to certify that participating construction meets the qualifying new home requirements established in the initiative. CalHFA would confirm builder participation by sending a letter within 30 days of receiving certification that builders can use for marketing, financing, and sales.
CA Homes Committee is the registered sponsor of the campaign and has reported over $4.5 million. The top donors to the committee include California Association of Realtors ($2.8 million), United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America ($750,000), Northern California Carpenters Regional Council Issues PAC ($450,000), and Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Issues Committee ($450,000). No committees have registered in opposition to the initiative.
To qualify an initiated state statute in California, petitioners need to collect 546,651 valid signatures, equal to 5% of the votes cast in the prior gubernatorial election. The deadline to qualify for the 2026 ballot is June 25.
Including this measure, three initiative campaigns have submitted signatures in California. Another 10 initiatives have collected at least 25% of the required number of signatures to make the 2026 ballot.
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