Lawmaker Seeks Saving Accounts For First-Time California Homebuyers
SACRAMENTO (KCBS) – A new proposal in Sacramento could provide a boost for first-time home buyers in California, as a lawmaker pushes for home ownership savings accounts.
The bill would allow first-time home buyers to deposit up to $10,000 a year in a special savings account that would be exempt from the state income tax.
Southern California Assemblyman Marc Steinorth (R-Rancho Cucamonga) wrote the proposal.
"AB1736 creates a tool that is absolutely necessary for prospective homeowners to be able to save money towards the down payment of their first-time home," Steinorth told KCBS.
San Jose State professor emeritus and KCBS political analyst Larry Gerston said the bill could cost the state up to 360 million dollars in its first year.
"The governor has been pretty touchy about this stuff in terms of where he wants surplus money to go. First of all education, then the rainy day fund," Gerson said. "So the question remains, would the governor be willing to sign off on something for this relatively small amount of people?"
The bill still has to make it past the revenue committee before it comes up for a vote in the full Assembly.
