Bipartisan federal housing bill can help if California does its part

The “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act” has passed Congress, with bipartisan support.The question is whether it will help Americans — and Californians in particular.The answer is: It depends on what state and local governments decide to do.With California comprising a vast share of the US housing market, the state has an outsized interest in the new federal legislation. Combine that with the fact that home ownership remains unaffordable for the average California resident, and no state will be more affected by the changes the bill makes to the housing market.The legislative process was constructive, with participation from both political parties.

It gathered enough support in a deeply divided Congress to pass and to arrive at President Donald Trump‘s desk for signature (delayed, for now, because he wants his SAVE America Act on voting integrity to pass first). The question is whether the housing bill will provide any significant benefit to the American people, or if it was just “virtue signaling.”  There are a multitude of compromises and many aspects to this bill, which the authors are touting as the “most significant housing bill in 50 years.”  Let’s take a look.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story The bill caps the number of single-family homes that major investors — “Wall Street money” — can buy at 350.But the bill declines to force investment companies to sell what they already own, to avoid fracturing the housing market.

 Possibly the biggest win in the bill its the way it revises how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) impacts local development projects.The act streamlines NEPA reviews, and in many cases exempts projects from NEPA review altogether.  Most projects are exempted if they are built or mod...