Newsom vetoes controversial housing bill meant to help undocumented immigrants – Press Enterprise

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, Sept. 6 vetoed a controversial housing bill that would have allowed undocumented immigrants apply for state help to buy a home.AB 1840 would have ensured that immigration status was not the sole reason why someone was denied from any of California’s Housing Finance Authority’s home purchase assistance programs, including the Dream for All Program, which provides a loan for first-time homebuyers.“Given the finite funding available for CalHFA programs, expanding program eligibility must be carefully considered within the broader context of the annual state budget to ensure we manage our resources effectively,” Newsom wrote in his veto.The idea, according to bill author Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, was that the “social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone,” including undocumented individuals, and doing so will bolster personal economic stability as well as the local economy.The bill received significant pushback and national media attention, particularly as opponents questioned its cost in a year when California is already grappling with a major budget deficit.A fiscal analysis determined the bill would result in “unknown significant cost pressures, potentially in the millions annually,” to cover the expanded eligibility for the California Dream for All Program.Orange County lawmakers were mostly opposed to the bill.“Very simply, we cannot afford it,” Sen. Kelly Seyarto, a Republican whose district includes Yorba Linda, said in late August. “We’re already battling with deficits every year, year after year.”Others who opposed it included Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach, and Democratic Sens. Catherine Blakespear, Dave Min and Tom Umberg.“While I support down payment assistance programs for those who need it, the California Dream for All Program provides down payments on home purchases up to nearly $1 million,” Min said in August. “I believe this program exacerbates the main problem with housing in our state, by helping to inflate home prices, while failing to create more new housing stock.”Local assemblymembers who voted against it included Phillip Chen, R-Yorba Linda; Laurie Davies, R-Laguna Niguel; Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach; Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine; Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita; and Tri Ta, R-Westminster.Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton; Avalenio Valencia, D-Anaheim, Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, and Sen. Bob Archuleta, a Democrat whose district includes Buena Park, all voted in favor of the bill.Newman said the bill was more of a “clarification.”  The Dream for All Program, Newman said, already says eligibility is limited to a U.S. citizen or “qualified alien.”“The bill does not create a new program or substantially expand an existing program,” he said. “What it does is it attempts to address ambiguity in the existing regulation, and many borrowers have received conflicting information.”Seyarto, in floor comments in late August, also cautioned that the bill could end up incentivizing mortgage brokers to give loans to people who cannot afford them.“This is a recipe for financial disaster for individuals, especially (for) people that can’t really afford it,” said Seyarto.