SUCCESSES

Policy
PRIORITIES
SUCCESSES
RESIDENT UNITED NETWORK
POLICY ROUNDUP

SCANPH is the leading voice representing the affordable housing industry in a region of over 18 million residents, and our advocacy efforts have contributed greatly toward assisting the financially vulnerable in our communities since the mid-1980s. Our policy efforts in Los Angeles County alone merit serious consideration as a national model because coordination with city and county leaders have spearheaded local solutions to our region’s homeless and affordable housing crises with wide voter support.

We are at the forefront of major policy initiatives in the region and our longstanding policy work dedicated to securing local public sector financial investment – as well as favorable land use policies – for affordable housing and homeless solutions have only grown in importance amidst federal budget cuts and voter appetite for local solutions.

Measure ULA:
SCANPH worked tirelessly during the November 2022 election to successfully pass Measure ULA on the Los Angeles ballot to secure permanent, substantial funding for affordable housing and tenant protections, which will result in more than $900 million annually. SCANPH worked very closely with a grassroots coalition, including labor unions, to achieve this important campaign victory. More about Measure ULA here.

Legislative Visioning
SCANPH’s strength comes from our members – their experience, their expertise, and their passion to build affordable housing for Californians who need it most. Because our members know best what policy changes are necessary to build more affordable housing and expedite production, SCANPH convenes on an annual basis a Legislative Visioning Session. SCANPH brings together nonprofit developers, academics, public sector leaders, and policy experts all into one room to solicit feedback on legislative concepts for SCANPH's future advocacy work. We emerge from our Legislative Visioning Sessions with dozens of ideas – ranging from common sense approaches to outside-the-box innovations. These concepts enable SCANPH’s Policy Team to follow up with our members and other experts to distill these policy ideas into a handful of proposals to champion as key industry priorities. As a result of our Legislative Visioning process, our affordable housing advocacy is guided by a set of strong policy proposals.

2020 Census Outreach
SCANPH is partnering with our nonprofit developer members to ensure all Californians are counted in the 2020 United States Census. We are focusing our efforts solely in Hard-to-Count Census (HTC) tracts by implementing both retail and train-the-trainer outreach models. SCANPH expects to provide increased Census awareness and support to over 6,000 households across Los Angeles. By coordinating with our nonprofit developer partners, we are able to enter buildings and work with resident service coordinators and residents directly. This level of access makes the outreach work seamless and builds connectivity between us. For every person who goes uncounted, a community loses approximately $2,000/year for a total of $20,000 until the next Census occurs. Those dollars fund affordable housing, as well as other community assets like schools and clinics.

In 2018, SCANPH pushed forward the passage of Propositions 1 and 2 along with a coalition of regional and statewide housing advocates. Proposition 1 dedicates a $4 billion general bond to fund affordable housing programs and the veterans homeownership program. Prop. 1 is called the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018. Proposition 2 dedicates $2 billion to help Californians living with a serious mental illness who are homeless get off the streets and into supportive housing that is connected to mental health and medical services. Prop. 2 is known as the No Place Like Home Act of 2018. Together, Prop 1 and Prop 2 offer an additional $6 billion in public subsidies to assist our membership as they continue to tackle head on our state’s affordable housing and homelessness crises. As the regional campaign lead for Southern California, SCANPH was instrumental in securing donations/endorsements, press functions, communication to members/public, door-knocking, engaging residents of affordable housing in the campaign, and training members on civic engagement activities.

Affordable Housing Linkage Fee (City of Los Angeles)
In a historic vote on December 13th 2017, the L.A. City Council adopted the linkage fee, so for the first time since the founding of Los Angeles, the city will have its first dedicated revenue source for affordable housing! SCANPH was proud to partner with the Coalition for Just Los Angeles a successful campaign that reflects an unprecedented, city-wide collaboration among community organizations and advocates, affordable housing developers, and civic and religious leaders committed to advancing public policies that make a more inclusive and just Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County’s Permanent Affordable Housing Source Implementation
Among SCANPH’s most recent achievements, our organizing and mobilization efforts paid off dramatic results with historic motions unanimously approved in 2016 and 2015 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to commit substantial new funding for affordable home development on an ongoing basis. In fact, SCANPH spearheaded the campaign around securing these funds, which amounted to $300 million between 2016 and 2020 and $100 million annually thereafter for affordable housing. Additionally, SCANPH’s work to secure this permanent source of funding paved the way for the region’s recent efforts to further advance the political successes won at the ballot in November 2016 and March 2017, which was accomplished with a broad collation of housing advocates that included SCANPH and our membership.