Gov. Gavin Newsom is touting a number of new laws that he hopes will slow rent increases and spur more affordable housing.
On Wednesday, he signed a bill in San Diego that provides more than $300 million to protect renters and homeowners.
"Roughly 8 million of us in the state of California are renters that have deep anxiety every first and 15th of the month," the governor said.
Earlier in the week Newsom signed the strictest rent cap bill in the nation. He said these are necessary measures to deal with an extreme crisis.
"We’re living in a state where over 30% of Californians are spending, or roughly 30% are spending, 50% of their income on rent — which is an extraordinary number," Newsom said, adding that spending so much on housing is a recipe for disaster.
"That means they have no money to set aside for uncertainty and that’s why so many people end up out on the streets," he said. "We wonder what the hell is going in this state as it relates to homelessness it’s about affordability ... . We have created this mess. It’s not very complicated it’s seventh grade econ 101 — supply, demand, balance. Not enough supply, huge demand, increased costs."
The solution, the governor said, is in plain sight — build more housing. And he chided cities for not doing enough.
"It happens at the local level, 470-plus cities, 58 counties doing their job, and I say, lovingly and respectfully, doing their job and that is building more density around transit corridors," he said.
