Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis and Assemblymember Medina Advocate for Housing Measures in Budget

 

Image of the California State seal and text: Eleni Kounalakis Lieutenant Governor

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2022

Contact: 
Press@ltg.ca.gov
916-445-8994

SACRAMENTO – Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Assemblymember Jose Medina (D-Riverside), the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, issued the following statements following the passage of the 2022-2023 State Budget and their successful collaboration on student housing policy:

“During my visits to colleges across the state, I met with countless students who shared with me their experiences being housing insecure. Our students deserve to be able to focus on their education, not worried about where they are going to sleep at night,” said Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis. “Collecting and reporting this data is a critical first step towards understanding the need for housing across our state’s system of public higher education. AB 1764’s inclusion in the 2022-2023 State Budget will help California build a lasting, comprehensive student housing policy and ensure all California students have access to housing.”

“I am thrilled that our legislation, AB 1764, that collects and shares critical data on student housing insecurity across state entities, has been taken up in the budget,” said Assemblymember Medina. “Throughout this session, I have collaborated with key stakeholders and worked with the Lieutenant Governor to create real policy that solves the housing crisis for our most vulnerable populations. As California invests unprecedented fnds in housing projects on and around college campuses, I am confident that our data collection policy will lead to real solutions.”

Despite significant investments in student housing through the 2021 and 2022 State Budget, several barriers to delivering student housing to California students remain, including a lack of data on housing insecurity. Together, Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis and Assemblymember Medina worked to improve data sharing across the colleges, the legislature, and Administration through their legislation, AB 1764. This legislation requires the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and the University of California to collect data on student housing insecurity at each of their respective campuses’ basic needs centers. This report pays special attention to student parents, LGBTQIA, and other underserved groups.

After a historic budget year, this policy has been incorporated to the Higher Education Budget Trailer Bill, SB 183. Effective immediately, this critical legislation will improve coordination across state entities and strengthen our state’s understanding of barriers to student housing

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Eleni Kounalakis is the 50th lieutenant governor of California and the first woman elected to the position. From 2010 to 2013, Kounalakis served as President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary. In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom designated Kounalakis as his Representative for International Affairs and Trade Development, and as Chair of the corresponding Interagency Committee that oversees the state’s trade, investment and international relations. Kounalakis is also alternating Chair of the three-member State Lands Commission, and a voting member of the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University Board of Trustees, and the California Community Colleges Board of Governors.