These next few days are critical for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program!
The Governor and Legislature have expressed their commitment to reauthorize the Cap & Trade Program this legislative session. Revenue from this program goes into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which provides funding for a wide variety of climate, environmental, transportation, and housing programs, including the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. AHSC receives a 20% continuous appropriation from GGRF, providing significant funding for integrated housing and transportation projects across California. AHSC is an integral program for meeting California’s climate, equity, and affordable housing goals and it is critical that its 20% allocation is maintained.
We are asking CCEDA members to email their California legislative representatives to support a continued 20% allocation for AHSC in Cap & Trade negotiations.
We need to rally support in the Assembly and Senate to ensure that we maintain a 20% allocation for AHSC from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in the Cap & Trade negotiations. Here’s how to do it quickly and easily:
- Look up who your legislators are (look-up tool here)
- Find the names and emails of their Chief of Staff and their Legislative Director here (FYI there are separate tabs for Senate and Assembly). Email both the Chief of Staff and the Legislative Director. Alternatively, if you have an existing relationship with other staff that work for the Legislator, or with the Legislator themself, reach out to them – existing relationships are always the best!
- Draft your email. Below is a template to get started, but always personalize the voice and perspective to best reflect yourself and your organization.
Email Template
Subject: Protect GGRF Funding for the AHSC Program
Hi [Member/Staff Contact(s)],
As the Legislature works to reauthorize the Cap & Trade program, [Organization] urges [Legislator’s Name] to support the 20% continuous appropriation of GGRF funds for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. AHSC provides California’s largest source of ongoing funding for affordable housing and also delivers significant climate, economic, and transportation benefits from a single investment, making it an efficient use of public dollars.
The recent significant expansion of the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) adds an even greater need for ongoing funding for state housing programs like AHSC, which leverages these federal dollars. Otherwise, California risks leaving at least $3 billion in federal funding on the table during a time when every dollar is critical. The reliability of the AHSC program allows developers to plan for a pipeline of projects, and paired with the broader availability of tax credits, can help ramp up affordable housing production.
The AHSC program funds integrated public investments that include affordable housing, transportation, urban greening, and community programming, all with the ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over the course of the program, AHSC has helped avoid 5.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, funded over 20,000 affordable homes, and provided over 28,000 transit passes for residents. AHSC is the only significant source of ongoing state funding for affordable housing, and residents of AHSC developments benefit from an average of $10,566 in rent savings each year. AHSC’s proven track record demonstrates that climate solutions and affordability can go hand in hand.
AHSC is a priority for our organization because [brief note about the need and/or impact of the AHSC program, such as the need you see in your work/community, projects in the pipeline in need of funds, etc.] For these reasons and more, we respectfully urge the legislator to support a continued 20% allocation for AHSC from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund in Cap and Trade negotiations.
For more information, please see the Enterprise Community Partners AHSC fact sheet