AB 595 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Housing: Building Home Ownership for All Program.

Summary

Existing law defines the duties of the Treasurer, which include, but are not limited to, keeping an account of all money received and disbursed. Existing law requires, as soon as April 1, 2022, but no later than specified, the Treasurer, in consultation with the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and other relevant stakeholders, to develop a framework for the California Dream For All Program in accordance with the goals and intent of the program, including, among other things, making home ownership more affordable by reducing the cost of home ownership by up to 45 percent for lower and moderate-income Californians, and submit a report outlining the program framework to the Legislature, as specified. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2027, would require the Treasurer, in consultation with the California Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Community Development, and other stakeholders deemed relevant by the Treasurer, to develop the Building Home Ownership for All Program in accordance with the goals of the program, including, among other things, expanding access to home ownership and maximizing wealth-building opportunities by making it affordable for lower and moderate-income Californians to buy a home, as specified, and with the elements of the program, including, among other things, certain eligibility limits for persons obtaining housing under the program and for housing eligible under the program, as specified. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the Legislative Analyst to collaborate with the California Tax Allocation Committee to review the effectiveness of the program. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 31, 2031.

Issues: ✓ Housing

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 13, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

03/24/25 - Amended Assembly → 05/05/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · May 5, 2025

MODERATE

AB 595 was significantly narrowed in scope by removing all provisions related to a personal income tax credit for rehabilitation of certified historic structures (Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17053.91). The remaining housing program (Building Home Ownership for All) gained two new goals emphasizing historically excluded homebuyers and below-market pricing, plus explicit eligibility limits restricting participation to lower and moderate-income homebuyers and owner-occupied housing only. The fiscal committee vote changed from no to yes, indicating the bill is now considered fiscally responsible.

Scope change

The bill was narrowed from a dual-purpose measure (housing program plus historic rehabilitation tax credit) to a single-purpose housing bill. The removal of the tax credit provisions eliminates all references to the Revenue and Taxation Code, leaving only the Government Code Section 12335 housing program with tighter eligibility criteria.

SCOPE

The entire amendment to Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17053.91 was deleted. This provision had created a personal income tax credit for rehabilitation of certified historic structures, including a $50 million annual allocation cap, a $2 million set-aside for qualified residences, detailed partnership allocation rules, recapture provisions, and a sunset date of December 1, 2027.

ELIGIBILITY

New element (c)(7) adds explicit eligibility limits: persons obtaining housing under the program are limited to lower and moderate-income homebuyers, and eligible housing is limited to owner-occupied units only.

REQUIREMENT

Two new program goals were added in Section 12335(b): goal (5) requires focusing on homebuyers historically excluded from home ownership due to systemic barriers, and goal (6) requires that housing under the program be priced below market rate so the tax credit value is passed on as lower housing costs.

The Legislative Analyst review criteria were modified: 'purchase a market rate home' was changed to 'purchase a market rate home at or below market rate,' aligning the review metric with the new below-market pricing goal.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no yes' (indicating a split or negative recommendation) to 'yes,' meaning the bill now has fiscal committee support, likely because removing the historic tax credit eliminated a significant unfunded mandate.

02/13/25 - Introduced → 03/24/25 - Amended Assembly · 8 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

The amendment adds a major new component to the bill: the Building Home Ownership for All Program, which would use tradable tax credits to finance construction of for-sale housing affordable to moderate- and middle-income Californians. The original historic rehabilitation tax credit provision was retained with only minor grammatical corrections. This significantly expands the bill from a narrow tax cleanup into a new state housing finance program.

SCOPE

Added an entirely new Section 12335 to the Government Code establishing the Building Home Ownership for All Program, which would require the Treasurer to develop a tax credit-based program to finance for-sale housing for moderate- and middle-income Californians by January 1, 2027 (upon appropriation).

FISCAL

The new program would allocate tax credits offsetting 40 percent of eligible costs for income-restricted for-sale housing, using a tradable/syndicable credit structure similar to the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and New Markets Tax Credit programs.

Fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the fiscal impact of the new housing program.

ELIGIBILITY

Income limits and price limits for eligible homes would be consistent with those already used by the California Housing Finance Agency's first-time homebuyer programs. The program specifically targets moderate- and middle-income Californians, including those impacted by systemic racism (redlining), the Great Recession, student loan debt, and natural disasters.

REQUIREMENT

The program must include resale restrictions consistent with the California Dream for All Program, an incentive structure to attract homebuilders and traditional investors, and the ability for tax credits to be syndicated and resyndicated.

The bill requires that existing rental housing programs do not see a reduction in funding due to enactment of the new for-sale home ownership program.

TIMELINE

The new Section 12335 becomes inoperative on December 31, 2031. The Legislative Analyst must review program effectiveness by January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, collaborating with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

TECHNICAL

Minor grammatical corrections in the historic rehabilitation tax credit section: changed 'in which that the structure' to 'that the structure' and 'in which that the sale' to 'that the sale' in two places.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

In committee: Held under submission.

lower

May 14, 2025

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.

lower

May 6, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

May 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

May 1, 2025

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (April 30).

lower

Mar 25, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

lower

Feb 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors