Sacramento gets busy seeking remedies to California’s housing crisis.

Like a tsunami in slow motion, California’s economy is under threat of drowning in costs related to a housing shortage. Last year the McKinsey Global Institute based in New York estimated California loses $143 billion-$233 billion annually because there aren’t enough affordable homes.

Beyond the data are the human stories of what happens when people can’t find places to live, says Monterey County Supervisor Mary Adams.

“They can’t get a job that will allow them to buy homes, so they have to move out of the area,” she says. “It impacts the overall health of the community.”

The hard data and anecdotal evidence spurred California legislators this year to introduce more than 130 bills related to affordable housing. By the Sept. 15 legislative deadline, several key bills passed both chambers and were sent on to Gov. Jerry Brown for a signature or veto.

While some of the bills passed are aimed mostly at urban cities, at least two – SB 2 and SB 3 – could increase the number of affordable housing projects constructed in Monterey County.

“Both couldn’t come at a better time in terms of the level of frustration and need that we have here in the Monterey Bay region,” says Matt Huerta, housing manager for the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, a nonprofit that oversees a housing trust.

Jan Lindenthal, vice president of real estate development for MidPen Housing, a nonprofit developer and owner of affordable housing projects in 11 counties, including Monterey, says MidPen could double the number of projects it’s currently building in the region.

SB 3, the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018, will put $4 billion in bonds for affordable housing on the ballot on Nov. 6, 2018. If passed by voters, $1 billion would go to housing veterans, which local housing advocates say will benefit Monterey County’s large veteran population.

SB 2, the Building Homes and Jobs Act, is expected to be signed into law and take effect on Jan. 1. It’s considered a major win by advocates, because it creates a permanent source of funding for affordable housing, something other states have had for years.

The monies will come from imposing fees of up to $225 on certain real estate transactions, like mortgage refinancing. (It will not be imposed on home or commercial real estate sales.) Combined with federal, local and private matching funds, it’s expected to raise $5.8 billion over five years, creating an affordable housing trust fund.

During the first year, half the money – an estimated $150 million – will flow back to local governments (such as Monterey County) to pay for affordable housing planning. The other half will go to the state Department of Housing and Community Development to assist homeless people or those at risk of becoming homeless.

The California Association of Realtors supported the bill, but Huerta points out it was real-estate lobbyists that negotiated to remove fees commonly used by other states. The size of the fund could have been three or four times bigger had the bill passed as originally proposed.

“It’s still a good step forward, but not the leap forward it could have been,” Huerta says.