California voters approved an $11.25 billion housing bond Tuesday that includes dedicated funding for affordable student housing at the state’s public universities. Proposition 1 had received 59.3% of the vote as of 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to results announced by the Associated Press.
The measure sets aside $350 million for student housing, with the money divided equally between the University of California and California State University systems, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. The allocation is expected to support as many as 1,200 student beds.
Funding reaches public university systems
The amount available to individual campuses will depend on how each university system distributes its share. Shane Phillips, housing initiative manager at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, said it was not yet clear how much of the University of California’s portion would go to UCLA.
UCLA is the only University of California campus that guarantees students four years of university housing. The measure’s student-housing money comes as colleges in the state continue to plan for both enrollment demand and limited affordable housing options.
- $350 million is designated for affordable student housing.
- The funding is split evenly between the University of California and California State University systems.
- The Legislative Analyst’s Office projects that the measure could support up to 1,200 student beds.
Broader housing programs
Most of the bond is directed toward housing beyond college campuses. The measure provides $5.1 billion for constructing and renovating multifamily rental housing and $2.1 billion to buy, rehabilitate or preserve affordable homes. It also includes money for supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness and $1.25 billion for home loans for veterans.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office projects that the bond could subsidize as many as 40,000 multifamily rental units and assist up to 40,000 households with homeownership. CalMatters reported that more than 180,000 Californians are unhoused.
Supporters, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party, said the bond would expand access to housing. The California Apartment Association and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations also endorsed it. Some Republican lawmakers opposed the measure, questioning whether California should assume additional debt and arguing that the veterans’ allocation was too small compared with the bond’s total value.
