Xavier Becerra

So one, you go after the red tape.

So we try to streamline.

And again, the legislation that the legislature passed over this last year helps reduce some of the red tape that you have at the state level.

We have to tack it at the local level because of the high fees that are imposed.

You have to also make sure that they aren't trying to use their ordinances to try to prevent us from being able to build.

Remember that most home, most housing that's built today is reserved for single family homes.

Very little construction is done with apartments and condominiums.

Very little to buy other than single family homes.

We're never going to reach the number we need if we continue to only build single-family homes.

And that's why the legislation that allows us to really build out, do the infill, where we know we have transportation, will give us an opportunity to increase greater amounts of housing at affordable rates for people who need to either buy or rent.

And I think that if we do that and come up with a stable source of funding into the future so it's not just a one-time housing bond that people can count on, developers will begin to have confidence

that we are looking to give them a predictable means of being able to finance these projects and have them pencil out.

Ezra, you have to use every tool you have, and certainly litigation is one.

You hate to have to go there.

You would hope that you would have cooperation between state and local government.

Local governments have, for any number of reasons, decided they want to be able to control what happens when it comes to housing in their jurisdiction.

And they do have tools, zoning laws.

We talk about these fees that they try to collect to help with infrastructure.

But what I would say is we have to have an agreement.

a state-local government agreement that there has to be a clear path on what the state of California will do when it comes to housing.