The vote on reconsideration was 18-15 with 21 votes needed to advance to the Assembly. State Senator Lena Gonzalez (D, LB-southeast LA County) voted "yes." State Senator Tom Umberg (D, SE LB-west OC) was among six state Senators not voting.

SB 50 was stopped mainly by opposition from Los Angeles area Democrats including State Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg (D, LA-SFV), Senator Anthony Portantino (D, Glendale-Burbank), Senator Maria Durazo (D, LA) and Senator Holly Mitchell (D, southern LA). [Senator Mitchell is also a currently running for an L.A.County Supervisor seat.]

In contrast, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia (who doesn't set city policy but has taken positions on pending state legislation) and LB's City Council (which does set policy) failed to take a position on SB 50 as amended in early January 2020 by its author, state Senator Scott Wiener (D, SF). In May 2019, the Council voted 8-0 (Gonzaklez absent) to oppose SB 50 as originally introduced unless amended (then took no position after it was amended.)

The Jan 30 vote came on "reconsideration." effectively another attempt to advance the bill to the Assembly after it failed a day earlier (Jan. 29) likewise on an 18-15 vote. (Detailed LBREPORT.com coverage of Jan. 29 state Senate proeedings here.)

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Following the bruising debate 9which divided Democrats and some Republicans), state Senate President pro tem Toni Atkins (D, SD) said that despite the outcome on SB 50, a "housing production bill" will pass later this year.

Senator Atkins said the status quo cannot stand; she doesn't know the next step yet, but asked Senators to join her and Governor Gavin Newsom to "come together, bring ideas and solutions" and "collaborate and compromise" on a housing production bill.

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During more than two hours of Jan. 29 state Senate floor debate yesterday, LBREPORT.com heard no state Senators -- Democrat or Republican -- explicitly support single family home ownership (for decades considered the "American dream") and local zoning that protected such neighborhoods...although such zoning was criticized by Senator Wiener and some SB 50 proponents as contributing to CA's housing shortage.

Opposition (on Jan. 29) focused mainly on lack of guarantees for affordable housing, protection for current residents against gentrification. Other opponents said SB 50 sought to impose Sacramento standards on cities that were already seeking to increasing housing production and without consideration of local zoning matters best decided locally.

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Supporters said CA faces a housing crisis years in the making that couldn't be solved without overriding some aspects of locally enacted zoning that currently prevents multi-unit buildings in single family home zones. In early January 2020, Senator Wiener made amendments to SB 50 allowing cities two years to devise locally enacted plans to deliver Sacramento mandated housing levels. IF they failed to do so on Sacramento approved terms; SB 50 would override local zoning to allow multi-story multi-unit housing buildings and erase local parking requirements for the buildings' residents near bus and rail transit stops in areas SB 50 described as "jobs rich" with good schools (mainly media income or above.)

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