Revisiting a priority from 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal takes on California’s housing shortage with a plan to curtail local hurdles to residential development. “What we can do is cut the red tape, cut the delays, cut whatever expenses we can afford to do to make housing more affordable,” Brown said, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. As in past years, Brown took a cautious approach to the state’s fiscal blueprint, which comes to $177.1 billion, citing concerns that a future economic downturn would sap state tax revenue.