Commentary The new housing bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law—after the recall, of course—are being touted nationally as a way to ease California’s housing affordability crisis. Vox called it “a step toward addressing the housing crisis.” It’s the opposite. It will make the housing crisis worse by increasing costs. I covered the bills in detail in The Epoch Times back in July. Basically, the three bills are supposed to make it easier for people to expand housing, such as doubling the number of houses on a lot. Something sure needs to be done in a state where the median price of a home is $800,000—even more in coastal areas. But the real meanings are 1: They substitute local control of zoning for state control. 2. They cast uncertainty on the market. A study (pdf) by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley summarized its view of the …