Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

2 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

2 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

2 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

2 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
Rent Control Fuels Costliest Fight on California 2018 Ballot
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
August 13, 2018

Share

SACRAMENTO — A Los Angeles-based health care nonprofit known for funding controversial ballot measures is waging an expensive battle with the real estate industry over rent control in California.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has poured more than $12 million into a November initiative it’s spearheading to let cities and counties regulate rental fees in buildings that state law currently shields from such control.
A $10 million contribution the foundation reported Wednesday made the initiative the most expensive on the 2018 ballot so far.
Started in 1987 to provide hospice care to AIDS patients, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has grown into a global health care organization similar in size to Planned Parenthood. The group also has waded into politics, bankrolling measures ranging from prescription drug pricing to housing policy, as well as lobbying at the state and federal level.
Supporters say the rent control measure will protect low-income people from being priced out of their homes, while opponents argue it will decrease housing supply in a state facing a severe shortage.
Opponents have raised $22 million, mostly from rental companies and the California Association of Realtors.
The measure would repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a law that banned rent control on single-family homes and all housing built after Feb. 1, 1995. Costa-Hawkins also prohibits cities and counties from telling landlords what they can charge new renters. Legislative efforts since to expand rent control, including one this legislative session, have failed.

Tenant Groups Can’t Afford to Challenge the Industry Alone

Real estate industry groups and other rent control opponents spent more than $10 million lobbying California officials last year on a Costa-Hawkins repeal bill and other issues.

“No matter how much we are able to raise, we are going to be outspent. We know that without significant funding that we don’t have much of a fighting chance.” — Christina Livingston, executive director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action
Tenant groups can’t afford to challenge the industry alone, so they teamed up with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to put the rent control measure, Proposition 10, on the ballot, said Christina Livingston, executive director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action.
AIDS Healthcare, which reported nearly $270 million in net assets at the end of 2016, operates clinics and pharmacies around the world. It also brings in money from thrift stores it runs. Nonprofits like the foundation can spend money on political causes related to their mission.
The housing shortage in the nation’s most populous state directly affects people’s health, said Michael Weinstein, the foundation’s president. A lack of shelter can make people sick and prevent them from accessing care.
“We’re in an emergency crisis situation,” Weinstein said. “We have to do something to stop the displacement.”
The rent control campaign is part of a larger move by the nonprofit health care provider into housing issues.
Last year, it spearheaded an unsuccessful Los Angeles ballot measure to restrict large developments. Weinstein said the goal was to kneecap efforts to build only luxury high-rises.

Decreasing LA’s Housing Supply

Opponents said the measure would have decreased LA’s housing supply. They also point to the foundation’s attempts to block a high-rise development that will overshadow the organization’s downtown headquarters, suggesting a personal motivation.
Weinstein said the organization’s effort was prompted in part by development in the foundation’s Hollywood neighborhood where they could see gentrification firsthand. But he said he has nothing to gain personally from the housing policies the foundation supports.

“It’s a problem that everybody should be attempting to resolve. Instead we have a focus on a policy that we believe does nothing to address the affordable housing shortage that exists in California and is actually counterproductive to building new affordable housing.” — Tom Bannon, CEO of the California Apartment Association and leader of the opposition to Proposition 10
The foundation was also a driving force behind Proposition 61, the most expensive initiative on the California 2016 ballot. It spent $19 million on the unsuccessful bid to lower prescription drug prices, which drew fierce opposition from pharmaceutical companies and others. The foundation also mounted a similar unsuccessful initiative in Ohio in 2017.
The foundation operates three Los Angeles buildings that house more than 400 low-income people. Most of the units are rented for less than $400 per person per month, Weinstein said. The foundation also plans to expand its affordable housing efforts to other states.
California has a disproportionately high rate of homelessness, and nearly a third of California renters spend more than half their income on rent, according to the state’s housing agency. In recent years, California has produced fewer than half the new units it needs to house its growing population.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says Proposition 10 will lower the value of rental properties.
This will discourage developers from building new homes the state desperately needs and drive small landlords out of business, Bannon said. Reducing developers’ profits would slow the building of already scarce affordable housing for low-income people, he said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DON'T MISS

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

DON'T MISS

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

DON'T MISS

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

DON'T MISS

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

DON'T MISS

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

UP NEXT

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

UP NEXT

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

UP NEXT

Newsom Wants Voters to Weigh In on New Congressional Districts in November

UP NEXT

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

UP NEXT

US Reviewing Visa Denial for Venezuelan Little League Players, State Department Says

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to 23,588 Acres in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

8 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

8 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

8 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

8 hours ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

10 hours ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

10 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

1 day ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

1 day ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

1 day ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DUBAI — The commander-in-chief of Iran’s military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state me...

8 hours ago

Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami attends a meeting in the Iranian Army's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2025. AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
8 hours ago

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at a press conference to make an announcement on recognizing Palestinian statehood, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

World Aquatics Championships - Women 4x100m Medley Relay Final - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 3, 2025 Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the U.S. celebrate after winning the final and making a new world record REUTERS/Edgar Su
8 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

A view shows Alabama Fertility, an IVF clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., February, 23, 2024. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

8 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

The Gifford Fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as of Sunday, August 3, 2025, prompting multiple evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 166 as crews work to contain the fast-moving wildfire. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend