State Lawmakers Advance Major Housing Bills #investment #realestate #homeownership

Source:  Los Angeles Times

California lawmakers advanced key housing legislation late Thursday, clearing the most substantial hurdle for a package of bills aimed at addressing the state's housing affordability crisis.

Legislators in the Assembly passed Senate Bill 2, a $75 fee on mortgage refinances and other real estate transactions except for home and commercial property sales.  The measure is expected to raise $250 million a year to help finance new and rehabilitated developments for low-income residents - a key step, lawmakers said, in beginning to get housing costs under control.

The bill required two-thirds support from Assembly members, a threshold that the bill's author, Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), and legislative leaders had been struggling to meet.  Assembly Democrats, who hold exactly a supermajority, have been wary of backing a measure that would increase fees.  The lack of a decision on SB 2 had been holding up votes on potentially more than a dozen housing bills in the Legislature.

Check out the full story here:
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-housing-bills-pass-assembly-20170914-story,html

---