Proposition 1
Authorizes Bonds for Housing Affordability Programs
What is it?
Prop 1 is an $11.25B bond: $10B to finance subsidized housing and $1.25B for CalVet loans to help veterans buy farms, homes, and mobile homes.
The state repays the bonds from the General Fund over up to 35 years. The CalVet funds are different: veterans' loan payments pay those bonds back, and the General Fund covers any shortfall.
Fund allocations
Half of the $10B housing bond funds go toward the Multifamily Housing Program, totaling $5.1B to build and renovate affordable rentals. The other half will be divided across supportive housing ($1.15B), the CalHome Program ($600M) and Home Purchase Assistance Fund ($500M) to help people buy homes, infrastructure ($500M), and $1B for farmworker, student, and tribal housing, among others.
The Legislature can change these splits later without going back to voters.
Veterans' bonds
The remaining $1.25B for veterans funds the existing CalVet program to help veterans buy farms and homes.
Accountability
The state must publish a yearly report on how it spent the bond money.
Read the full annotated legal text →
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Fiscal impacts
Prop 1 borrows $11.25B, repaid with interest out of the General Fund and via CalVet loan repayments (akin to paying down a mortgage). The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that repaying the $10B housing portion would cost the General Fund $500M to $600M per year for about 25 years, roughly one quarter of one percent of the state budget. Because the state pays interest, the bond costs about 15% more than paying cash up front.
The $1.25B veterans portion is different. Veterans who take out the home loans repay the state, and those payments have always covered what is owed on the bonds, so that piece has historically cost the General Fund nothing.
Why is this on the ballot?
The state constitution requires voters to approve general obligation bonds.
Article XVI of the California Constitution mandates that debt exceeding $300,000 (including state bonds) be submitted to the public for a vote. Bonds must first be approved by a two-thirds majority of both houses of the state Legislature, and then by a simple majority of the voters.
- Placed on ballot by: The California Legislature, via Senate Bill 417. Passed both houses on June 25, 2026, and signed by the Governor the same day.
- Author: Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón