Governors Briefs: California to Expand Farmworker Housing and Governors Appointments

Gov. Newsom Signs Laws to Expand Farmworker Housing, Cut Red Tape

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Newsom expanded California’s housing efforts for farmworkers, signing two bills: AB 2240 (Arambula) and AB 3035 (Pellerin). These measures improve access to affordable housing for agricultural workers and make it easier to build farmworker housing.

What the bills do

Expand housing for farmworkers

• AB 2240 (Arambula) helps create more stable housing for migrant farmworkers by maximizing the Department of Housing & Community Development’s or HCD Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program or Serna Program, which supports the development of both multifamily and single-family housing restricted to farmworkers. The bill would authorize HCD to prioritize residents currently residing in seasonal Office of Migrant Services or OMS housing for more permanent and stable housing through the Serna program.
• AB 2240 also creates new opportunities to build permanent and stable affordable farmworker housing by identifying and prioritizing the use of state-owned excess land near OMS centers for farmworker housing.
• AB 2240 requires HCD to assess the feasibility of converting temporary Office of Migrant Services housing into year-round, permanent housing, ensuring a strategic approach to meeting long-term housing needs.

Remove regulatory barriers

• AB 3035 (Pellerin) cuts through regulatory red tape by streamlining the approval process for farmworker housing in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, speeding up development to meet the urgent demand for more housing.
• By raising the housing unit cap from 36 to 150 in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, AB 3035 will enable larger developments in areas with access to essential services, addressing issues of overcrowding and inadequate living conditions.

Protect the health and safety of workers 

• SB 1105 (Padilla) allows agricultural employees who work outside to use their accrued paid sick leave to avoid smoke, heat, or flooding conditions created by a local or state emergency.

Details on the farmworker housing grant program

• The Joe Serna Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program or Serna is administered by HCD and supports the development of both multifamily and single-family housing restricted to farmworkers.

• Between the years of 1978 and 2018, approximately $271.5 million was awarded, which funded the 138 Serna multi-family projects in HCD’s existing portfolio.

• Over the past 5 years, HCD has awarded more than $300 million in Serna funds for the development of 56 new projects for farmworkers with approximately 3,577 housing units. Additionally, in the 2023 funding round, HCD awarded $110M for 10 new Serna projects that include 618 additional housing units. These 4,195 homes will serve many tens of thousands of Californians during the 55-year affordability period.

Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments

SACRAMENTO  —  Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sept. 20 and 24 respectively, announced the following appointments:

Sandra Sims, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy Governing Board. Sims has been a Human Resources business partner and personnel manager for the University of California, Los Angeles since 2023. She was a Human Resources manager for Long Beach City College from 2021 to 2023. Sims was a freelancer reporter and writer with various news publications from 2016 to 2021. She was a principal analyst and Policy Human Resources analyst for the Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources from 2007 to 2016. Sims was a Civil Service advocate for the Department of Children and Family Services at the Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources from 2006 to 2007. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Sims earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sims is a Democrat. 

Katherine “Katie” Butler, of Los Angeles, has been appointed director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. Butler has served as deputy director of the Hazardous Waste Management Program at the Department of Toxic Substances Control since 2023. She served as senior health deputy in the Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn from 2021 to 2023. She was a program supervisor at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health from 2015 to 2021. Butler was a senior health scientist at McDaniel Lambert Inc. from 2008 to 2014. Butler earned a Master of Public Health degree in Environmental Epidemiology from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Notre Dame. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $211,239. Butler is registered without party preference.