Senate housing committee advances townhome ownership bill after removing proposed wage increase

Assemblymember Wicks presented AB 17 51 on behalf of Assemblymember Sharon Quirk Silva, saying the bill would expand opportunities for townhome ownership by allowing ministerial approval for projects that meet clear objective standards. "If we are serious about addressing affordability, we need to create more pathways into homeownership," Wicks said during her opening remarks.

Supporters including Ed Manning of the New California Coalition and Danny Curtin of the California Conference of Carpenters said the bill would create financeable, buildable townhomes priced substantially below single‑family homes and open the door to working families. Curtin said raising wages for housing construction workers ‘‘will make a huge difference in many of their lives,’’ while also urging that protections for prevailing wage standards remain a legislative priority.

Opponents and equity advocates, led by Brian Acosta of the Public Interest Law Project, warned that the bill’s draft language creates ambiguity around protections for rent‑controlled and rent‑stabilized units and leaves gaps on demolition and displacement. Acosta noted the bill’s current wording protects only rent‑stabilized units “enacted by adopted ordinance,” a phrase that may exclude voter‑enacted rent control ordinances in some cities and that the bill lacks a five‑year lookback to guard against eviction followed by demolition to game streamlining provisions.

Committee negotiators reported an agreement on three amendments designed to address some concerns while keeping the bill moving. The adopted package limits average unit size to 1,750 net square feet, caps projects at 150 units, and removes the bill’s private‑sector minimum wage provision. The author told senators the wage provision was struck to allow the bill to advance after “staunch resistance” from building‑trades groups.

During floor discussion in committee, vice chair Ciarco and other senators pressed on ministerial approval mechanics and HCD’s potential role in enforcing outcomes, while several members emphasized the need to address construction‑defect liability, infrastructure capacity and local planning constraints before the bill reaches local government. The Public Interest Law Project and League of California Cities signaled they would continue to press for clearer demolition‑and‑displacement protections in subsequent hearings.

The committee voted to advance AB 17 51 as amended to the Committee on Local Government by a recorded vote; the measure was placed on call for absent senators and recorded later as passing the committee on a unanimous vote.

What’s next: The bill advances to the Assembly/Senate committee specified by the motion (local government) for further consideration and any additional amendments.

Votes and formal action: The committee moved to pass AB 17 51 as amended to the Committee on Local Government; the committee later reported the bill out on a unanimous vote.