A bill by California Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) to alleviate the state’s housing crisis passed the community development committee last week. Assembly Bill (AB) 1335, the Building Homes and Jobs Act, would create a permanent funding source for affordable-housing.

“Affordable housing is one of California’s greatest challenges,” Atkins said. “It’s absolutely necessary that we act now to create a permanent source of funding for affordable housing. Increasing the construction, building and availability of affordable housing is good for the economy and jobs, the budget and families.”

The Building Homes and Jobs Act would use a pay-as-you-go approach and generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually for affordable housing through a $75 fee on real estate recorded documents, excluding those documents associated with real estate sales. The fee is capped at $225 on a per parcel, per transaction basis. The funds generated would leverage an additional $2 to $3 billion in federal, local and bank investment.