PR: "If you vote yes: accountability" sections (research/props/prop-1, 38, 40, 2, 3)
Checked 2026-10-28 (read-only; branch not edited). Claims: 34. Verified: 30. Corrected: 2 (plus 1 optional wording fix, row 2). Unsupported: 1. Links fixed: 0 (leginfo SB 417 link failed to load; PR cites Digital Democracy, which works).
| # | Claim (short) | Source checked | Status | Evidence / change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prop 1: HCD funded 66,511 rental units 2019–2025 | HCD funded multifamily projects PDF | Verified | TOTAL row "66,511 14,660 24,947 26,904"; period "1/1/2019 to 12/31/2025" |
| 2 | Prop 1: only 26,904 (40%) finished "by the end of 2025"; 14,660 hadn't started construction | same | Verified (with caveat) | 26,904 Completed; 14,660 "Awarded not yet under Construction". PDF gives no as-of date; "by the end of 2025" is an inference. Suggested: "Of those, 26,904 (40%) are listed as completed, and 14,660 hadn't started construction." |
| 3 | Prop 1: 2018-037 legislative recs (annual monitoring report; parent agency track HCD) "No action taken" as of Jan 2026 | information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/responses/2018-037/all | Verified | Both marked "No Action Taken", current as of January 2026 |
| 4 | Prop 1: "HCD also still hasn't fixed the administrative-cost overspending flagged in that audit" | same | Corrected (soften) | Recs #16 "Partially Implemented", #18/#19 "Pending"; latest responses Oct 2023, no as-of date. Replace with: "The audit's recommendations on HCD's administrative-cost overspending are still listed as only partially implemented or pending." |
| 5 | Prop 1: SB 417 §54088 only requires an annual report | Digital Democracy SB 417 text | Verified | "shall publish in an annual report detailed information regarding the investments" |
| 6 | Prop 1: §54077 lets agencies write rules without usual public rulemaking | same | Verified | "The guidelines are not subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340)" (APA rulemaking chapter) |
| 7 | Prop 1: no cost-per-unit limit in law | same | Verified | No cost-per-unit cap found in text |
| 8 | Prop 1: $7.2B rentals, $600M CalHome, $500M infill, $450M farmworker, $200M tribal, $200M local pilots | same | Verified | §54054(b): MHP $5.1B + supportive $1.15B + portfolio $750M + unrestricted $200M = $7.2B; CalHome $600M; IIG $500M; Serna $450M; tribal $200M; Innovation Fund $200M |
| 9 | Prop 1: $500M CalHFA, $350M UC/CSU, $1.25B veterans | same | Verified | CalHFA $500M; student housing $350M split UC/CSU; veterans $1.25B (§998.753) |
| 10 | Prop 1: independent accountant must review veterans loan program annually while bonds outstanding | same | Verified | §998.759: annual "survey of the financial condition of the Division of Farm and Home Purchases" by accountant while bonds outstanding |
| 11 | Prop 1: $1.15B supportive-housing share | same | Verified | $1,150,000,000, §54054(b)(2) |
| 12 | Prop 1: SB 417 is Ch. 16, Stats. 2026 | same | Verified | "Chapter 16, Statutes of 2026," chaptered June 25, 2026 |
| 13 | Prop 1: link leginfo.legislature.ca.gov | leginfo billTextClient SB417 | Link failed | Fetch failed (client error); Digital Democracy link in PR is fine |
| 14 | Velasquez HCD Director since 2020 | HCD director page | Verified | "In May of 2020, Gustavo Velasquez was appointed Director of HCD" |
| 15 | Moss, Secretary of new CA Housing and Homelessness Agency, since June 2026; HCD under it | HCD newsroom, Jun 30, 2026 | Verified | "incoming secretary of the new California Housing and Homelessness Agency"; article dated June 30, 2026; HCD listed among its departments |
| 16 | Sertich, Executive Director CalHFA | CTCAC agenda 9-1-2026 | Verified | "Tony Sertich, Executive Director of California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)" |
| 17 | CTCAC chaired by Treasurer; other voting members Controller, Finance Director, HCD and CalHFA heads | same | Verified | Voting Members: Ma (Chair, Treasurer), Cohen (Controller), Stephenshaw (Finance), Velasquez (HCD), Sertich (CalHFA); 2 advisory members |
| 18 | Stephenshaw, Director of Finance (Prop 2) | same | Verified | "Joe Stephenshaw, Director of Finance" |
| 19 | Shangri-La ~$115M Homekey contracts, ~500 homes; $27M Thousand Oaks project abandoned | CalMatters Homekey May 2026 | Verified | "about $115 million in contracts for 500 homes"; "$27 million Thousand Oaks hotel project is now abandoned" |
| 20 | Former CFO federally charged with mail fraud Oct 2025; pleaded not guilty | LAist Oct 16 2025; CalMatters | Verified | LAist: Cody Holmes, "formerly chief financial officer", mail fraud charge, Oct 16 2025; CalMatters: "Holmes has pleaded not guilty" |
| 21 | "HCD sued the company" | LAist; CalMatters | Unsupported | Neither source says HCD sued. CalMatters: "In a separate state civil fraud case, prosecutors allege the company 'went behind the state's back and took out undisclosed loans on the Homekey buildings.'" Replace "HCD sued the company." with "The state has also brought a civil fraud case against the company." |
| 22 | All Star Lodge foreclosed after two years; no affordability restriction recorded; new owner could threaten big rent increases | CalMatters Homekey | Verified | Opened late 2022, bank foreclosed about two years later; no restriction recorded; new owner said it would raise rents fourfold. (ABC7 not fetched) |
| 23 | Homekey $3.8B awarded since 2020 | same | Verified | "more than $3.8 billion to local governments" |
| 24 | ~1 in 5 promised homes unfinished end of 2024 | same | Verified | about 3,000 homes, "roughly 1 in 5 promised by the program," unfinished as of end of last year |
| 25 | At least 10 awards (~500 units) canceled or clawed back | same | Verified | 500 publicized units later canceled/never materialized; at least 10 cases withdrawn, returned or clawed back |
| 26 | "No state agency has analyzed the results." | same | Corrected | Source: "No state agency has publicly analyzed the program in detail"; a 2024 state audit reviewed eight Homekey projects. Replace with: "No state agency has publicly analyzed the program in detail." |
| 27 | Prop 38: institute exempt from Public Records Act, open-meetings laws, Political Reform Act; ~$4.2B | CalMatters Oct 20 2026 | Verified | exempts nonprofit from "state public meetings laws, political reform laws, and the public records act"; half of $8.4B, about $4.2B |
| 28 | Prop 38: CDPH picks the institute / final award decision | same | Verified | "ultimate decision" belongs to CDPH |
| 29 | Prop 38: CIII had 3 employees Sept 2026; four senior UCLA officials on board incl. Mazziotta; Regent Cohen at November meeting; senior state officials approve each release | same | Verified | Three hires reported to regents Sept 16; "Four senior UCLA officials"; Mazziotta CEO UCLA Health; Cohen to press issue in November; "Senior state officials must approve each request" |
| 30 | Prop 38: Pan CDPH director since Feb 2025 | CDPH director page | Verified | "Director and State Public Health Officer"; "assumed on February 1, 2025" |
| 31 | Prop 38: Controller chairs six-member CFAOC over stem-cell agency | SCO CFAOC page | Verified | "chaired by the Controller", "a six-member board", reviews CIRM financial practices |
| 32 | Prop 40: §16355(f) DOF report + supplanting certification; uses; up to $22.5B/yr; FTB administers/audits; no State Auditor/oversight board | GrowSF Prop 40 legal text | Verified | 16355(f) annual report incl. certification funds "are not being used to supplant or replace state funding"; 16355(b)(1) uses match; 16355(c) "up to $22.5 billion each fiscal year"; FTB "shall examine all returns"; no auditor/board provision found. Fund name "2026 Billionaire Tax Reserve Fund" correct |
| 33 | Prop 2: Governor declares budget emergency after disaster or insufficient resources for highest spending of last 3 years (adj.); majority vote; first-year cap half | Voter guide 2014 analysis | Verified | "highest level of the past three years" adjusted for population and cost of living; "majority vote of the Legislature"; "no more than half of the money in the BSA" in first year |
| 34 | Prop 3: EPA rules (open session; no admin salaries/costs; web posting; audit verification) per Art. XIII §36 | Berkeley USD Resolution 14-047 | Verified | "in open session of a public meeting"; "shall not be used for salaries or benefits for administrators or any other administrative cost"; "publish on its Internet website an accounting"; audit "shall ascertain and verify" |
Not checked (lower risk): Prop 40 FTB membership via LAO 2013 handout (known correct: Controller, BOE chair, Finance Director); Prop 38 grant council / NAM criticism / 10% revenue and 20% discount (LAO, Capitol Weekly); ABC7, State Auditor 2020-108 and 2025-601, AB 505 status, whistleblower number, FAC CPRA deadlines, RAND figures, Prop 3 PPIC figures.
Corrections sent to the page editor (exact replacements, prop-1.md)
- "By the end of 2025, only 26,904 (40%) were finished, and 14,660 hadn't started construction." -> "Of those, only 26,904 (40%) are listed as completed, and 14,660 hadn't started construction." (PDF has no as-of date; optional)
- "HCD sued the company." -> "The state has also brought a civil fraud case against the company."
- "No state agency has analyzed the results." -> "No state agency has publicly analyzed the program in detail."
- "HCD also still hasn't fixed the administrative-cost overspending flagged in that audit." -> "The audit's recommendations on HCD's administrative-cost overspending are still listed as only partially implemented or pending."
Follow-up 2026-10-28: "HCD separately sued the company" ABC7 → Corrected. The Real Deal (Jan 8, 2024): "State Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the suit in L.A. Superior Court", alleging breach of contract and fraud. HCD issued a statement but was not the filer. Wording sent: "The state, through Attorney General Bonta, sued the company in Jan 2024..."