Assemblymember Matt Haney recently proposed an initiative constitutional amendment (ACA 10) that would create a new California constitutional right “to adequate housing for everyone in California.” The measure would require state and local governments “to respect, protect, and fulfill this right” and to “achieve the full realization of the right, by all appropriate means, including the adoption and amendment of legislative measures, to the maximum of available resources.”

This proposal stems from the battle between local governments and the state over housing production. Supporters of increased affordable housing think ACA 10 will generate increased state power to impose building mandates on local governments. That’s unlikely to happen, because a new constitutional right to adequate housing has dim prospects in the courts.