Commentary: California has passed more than 100 housing laws since 2016. Are any of them working?

A slew of ambitious housing legislation has emerged recently in states as varied as Maine, Utah and Washington. Many of the proposals aim to loosen zoning restrictions with the goal of addressing housing shortages. Perhaps not surprisingly, California is mentioned in many of the resulting conversations and debates, and not in a positive light.

Policymakers and advocates elsewhere have invoked the Golden State as a warning: We must pass pro-housing policies to avoid