Saratoga, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed legislation modernizing California's affordable-housing finance system, the latest step in a years-long push to lower building costs and accelerate home construction across the state.
The measure, Assembly Bill 179 — a budget trailer bill tied to the 2026-27 state spending plan — creates a "One-Stop Shop" to streamline project review and reduce duplicate approvals. The administration estimates the financing and impact-fee changes will lower the cost of building an affordable unit by roughly $60,000 to $70,000, allowing state dollars to stretch further.
The law also sets up a $100 million Disaster Rebuilding Fund to reduce financing costs for homeowners repairing or rebuilding after wildfires and other disasters, and extends the Housing and Homelessness Assistance and Prevention program with $900 million in the new fiscal year. It adds $500 million for low-income housing tax credits and $200 million for the Multifamily Housing Program.
Saratoga, in Santa Clara County, sits in Silicon Valley, where housing demand consistently outpaces supply in one of California's most expensive regions.