Senator Christopher Cabaldon welcomes governor’s support of housing bond, pushes to restore funding for homelessness and higher education
Sacramento (May 14, 2025) Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo) Wednesday welcomed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s expression of support for a housing bond on the 2026 ballot. Cabaldon is the author of SB 417, a $10 billion bond to support the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing.
“I’m eager to get to work with the governor to get a housing bond in front of voters in 2026,” Cabaldon said. “Addressing our affordable housing crisis is the biggest challenge we face as a state, and it’s time to get moving.”
Sen. Cabaldon chairs the Senate Budget Committee that oversees housing and homelessness spending. He noted that the Governor’s May Budget Revision still contains no funding for affordable housing or continuation of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Grant Program, which currently provides $1 billion to local governments to run emergency shelters, support permanent housing, conduct outreach and other initiatives to reduce homelessness.
“The governor has called for more accountability when it comes to spending on homelessness, and he’s absolutely right, but that doesn’t mean we can zero out the money to local governments for emergency shelter and housing and expect things to get better,” Sen. Cabaldon said.
In addition to chairing Budget Subcommittee 4, Cabaldon also serves on the Senate Education Committee and has spent his career working on higher education policy and programs, including a stint as vice chancellor of the California Community College System. He was a tenured CSU faculty member. Since joining the Senate, he has convened two lengthy public forums on the future of Sonoma State University, which is planning drastic budget cuts due to the state budget and declining enrollment.
The governor’s proposed budget restores a portion of the $771 million in cuts previously proposed to the California State University and University of California systems. The current proposal would cut the UCs by $129.7 million and the CSUs by $143.8 million.
“We’ve been shining a spotlight on the need to invest in our CSUs and UCs – our state’s biggest drivers of social mobility -- and we’re glad the governor responded by reducing the size of the proposed cuts,” Sen. Cabaldon said. “Still, making any reduction to the UC and CSU budgets right now would compound the cuts coming from the federal government. We will see fewer classes, fewer instructors and fewer research opportunities for students and faculty. While the reduction in the cut is welcome, but it is a first step in our ongoing budget negotiation.”
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Senator Christopher Cabaldon represents the 3rd Senate District which includes the cities of Oakley and Brentwood in Contra Costa County; American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, Yountville, and St. Helena in Napa County; Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville, and Vallejo, in Solano County; Cotati, Rohnert Park, and Sonoma in Sonoma County; Davis, West Sacramento, Winters, and Woodland in Yolo County; as well as Isleton in Sacramento County.