Newsom Signs 15 Housing Bills, Including Measure Inspired By ‘Moms 4 Housing’ Activists – CBS San Francisco

SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) — Tenants, affordable housing groups and local governments will get first crack at buying foreclosed homes under a measure approved Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Senate Bill 1079 by State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) is designed to keep corporations from snapping up homes and letting some fall into disrepair as they did during the Great Recession. The issue drew national attention a year ago when several homeless mothers calling themselves Moms 4 Housing moved into a vacant, corporate-owned house in West Oakland.

Moms 4 Housing protest (CBS)

It was among 15 bills Newsom signed into law as renters and home-buyers again struggle during mass layoffs prompted by the pandemic. The governor said the measures “will directly lead to more affordable opportunities for renters and homeowners.”

The law bars sellers of foreclosed homes from bundling them at auction…