A bill sponsored by Democrats that would have reportedly permitted illegal migrants to apply for taxpayer-funded home loans was reportedly vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday.
The governor’s office announced that Newsom vetoed AB 1840, legislation that aimed to establish eligibility for illegal migrants in a state program that offers taxpayer-funded housing loans to first-time homebuyers.
At present, the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan program, which is an initiative, offers up to 20% of the purchase price of a home as a down payment or closing cost to approved applicants.
On Friday, the Democratic governor said that lawmakers were ultimately attempting to broaden the eligibility of a program with restricted funding.
The program’s taxpayer-funded property loans are interest-free, and borrowers are not obligated to make monthly payments. Consequently, the program is very popular among California residents.
In May 2023, the $300 million program, which provided interest-free loans to approximately 2,300 middle and lower-income homebuyers, initially opened for applications.
However, the funds were exhausted within two weeks.
Since then, California officials have enforced stricter eligibility requirements for the program, requiring that at least one of the applicants be a first-generation property buyer and replacing the first-come-first-serve model with a lottery.
California Democrats overwhelmingly supported the idea of opening the program to illegal migrants when Assemblymember Joaguin Arambula introduced AB 1840 in January, despite the program’s lack of critical funds.
The bill was successfully passed through the state House and Senate, but it also drew the ire of California Republicans, who are a minority in the state capitol.
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