Whereas, the Associated Students of UC Irvine (ASUCI) is a student body that supports and cares about different communities; and,

Whereas, the 2014 California Statewide Direct Primary Election takes place on Tuesday, June 3^rd, 2014; and,

Whereas, the voting for Proposition 41, Veterans Housing and Homeless Prevention Bond Act of 2014 or known as California AB 639, takes place in the 2014 California Statewide Direct Primary Election; and,

Whereas, the state and federal governments provide home loan assistance to a portion of the 1.9 million veterans living in California; and,

Whereas, the number of veterans receiving new home loans under the programs each year has declined significantly ever since 2000; and,

Whereas, many factors have contributed this decline: historically low mortgage interest rates, availability of federal home loan assistance, and the recent housing crisis; and,

Whereas, Proposition 41’s proposal allows the state to sell $600 million in new general obligation bonds to fund affordable multifamily housing for low-income veterans and the general obligation bonds authorized by this measure would be repaid using state tax revenue (meaning that taxpayers would pay for the new program); and,

Whereas, Proposition 41’s proposal funds construction, renovation, and acquisition of affordable housing by providing local governments, non-profit organizations, and private developers with financial assistance; and,

Whereas, Proposition 41 would implement state laws to give funding priority to in this program to projects that would house homeless veterans and veterans who are at risk of being homeless (~50% of the fund would be used to construct homes for homeless veterans); and,

Whereas, Proposition 41 allows the Legislature to make changes in the future to improve this program and the state can use up to $30 million of the bond funds to cover the costs of administering the program; and,

Whereas, Proposition 41 would allow the state to borrow up to $600 million by selling general obligation bonds to investors, who would be repaid using general tax revenues; and,

Whereas, the cost of these bonds would depend on their interest rates and the time period over which they are repaid; and,

Whereas, Proposition 41 supports and endorses building affording housing communities for California veterans without raising taxes or adding to California’s debt by redirecting $600 million of existing unallocated funds; and,

Let it be resolved that, ASUCI Legislative Council supports the California veterans; and,

Let it be further resolved that, ASUCI Legislative Council formally supports Proposition 41; and,

Let it be finally resolved that, ASUCI Legislative Council urges the UC Irvine community to vote yes on Proposition 41 at the 2014 California Statewide Direct Primary Election that is held on Tuesday, June 3^rd, 2014.

Sources:

http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2014/prop-41-062014.aspx