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The top Democrat in California's State Assembly visited Chinatown on Wednesday to unveil a plan to boost affordable housing in the state.

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins is proposing a new $75 fee on many real estate transactions, with the proceeds dedicated to financing the development of more apartments for low- and moderate-income Californians.

It's part of a broader package Atkins is pushing that would boost the state's low-income housing tax credit by $300 million, set up guidelines for allocating new federal housing money expected to start flowing next year, and use a portion of funds from Proposition 47 to develop housing programs for recently released prisoners.

All told, the package would establish more than a half-billion dollars in new housing funds.

"Housing instability is affecting more people than ever before, including young people and families," Atkins said. "To make inroads against California's housing issues, the Assembly is taking a comprehensive approach to increasing the amount of affordable housing in our state."

Some of these ideas have been tried before as California has searched for permanent funding sources to replace dried-up bond funds and now-shut-down redevelopment agencies.

The transaction fee -- which Atkins' office projects would raise "a few hundred million" dollars -- was proposed in a Senate bill last year but stalled amid opposition from trade groups such as the California Assn. of Realtors, which worried it could further drive up the cost of housing.

Those concerns may still exist. Alex Creel, chief lobbyist at the Realtors group, said he's been meeting with Atkins' office about the plan but had yet to see detailed legislation. Any new funds for a statewide concern like affordable housing, he said, should be shared broadly across as many Californians as possible.

"To place the entire burden on real estate recordings, we don't think is fair and equitable," he said.

Southern California routinely ranks among the least-affordable housing markets in the country, and a study last year by a group of nonprofit housing developers estimated that Los Angeles Countyneeds 500,000 more apartments that are affordable to low-income renters.

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State Assembly speaker pushes plan to fund more affordable housing

Rep. Sander Levin, a Michigan Democrat, explains in an interview why hes insisting currency-manipulation language be included in a Pacific trade deal

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) Rep. Sander Levin says he respects Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, but on one particular issue, shes wrong.

We need to face up to this basic issue, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, says about including currency obligations in trade deals specifically, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim nations are now trying to agree to the final terms of that trade partnership.

Currency impacts jobs, Levin told MarketWatch in an interview. Currency should not be the tool of one country against another.

Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, spoke with MarketWatch on Thursday about Yellens opposition to currency-manipulation language in trade agreements; the status of talks on both trade promotion authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership; and why he believes Congress needs leverage over the contents of trade deals. Trade promotion authority, or fast track, would let the president negotiate trade deals Congress could not amend.

Here is a condensed and edited Q&A between Levin and MarketWatch:

MarketWatch: There have been reports negotiators are getting close to a deal on trade promotion authority. What do you know about the status of a TPA deal and also, how much work remains on the Trans-Pacific Partnership?

Levin: I dont know the status; you hear different stories every day. I think the key is whats being negotiated in TPP. Thats the real issue. It would cover 40% of the GDP of the world and include, now, Japan. It would include new economies with whom weve never negotiated a trade agreement. And there are issues that have never really been seriously considered in multilateral agreements for example, state-owned enterprises. And also, while there have been through our efforts basic labor and environmental provisions the May 10 standard that essentially was written by some House Democrats while that is now in the negotiation mix, how it would be implemented is also critical.

This is an important negotiation and its really vital to get it right. Negotiations can go both ways in trade; it isnt automatic that trade is a plus. It can be a plus if its shaped the correct way; it can be a minus if it isnt. So I think the appropriate focus at this point needs to be on the contents of TPP, where it is, where its short, and where it can be made better and involving in a meaningful way Congress as a partner.

MarketWatch: Looking back at past trade deals, critics say NAFTA, for example, allowed American jobs to be shipped overseas. So how do you make the case that deals like the TPP would be good for the middle class?

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Capitol Report: U.S. must face up and include currency in trade deal, Levin says

February 25, 2015 Updated Feb 25, 2015 at 5:40 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (21ALIVE) --- A Democrat who filed to run for Fort Wayne city clerk gets his name tossed off the May Primary ballot.

It serves as a reminder that you don't go anywhere in local politics if you don't learn to play by the system's rules and regulations.

There are candidates who lose on Election Day, and others who never make it to Election Day.

The latter applies to Brian Thornton, who will not be a choice available to voters in the clerk's race.

Thornton made arguments Wednesday before the Allen County Election Board, seeking to have a challenge to his candidacy thrown out.

But the election board wasn't buying, instead pulling his name from the Democratic ticket in May.

Results from a check of local voting records were presented to the board, and were a big reason why Thornton got tossed.

For Thornton to have qualified to run, he needed to have voted in the Democratic Primary in the last election.

If he didnt meet that standard, he had to demonstrate he was in good standing with the party's leadership.

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City Clerk Candidate Stripped Of Right To Run In May Primary

A New York state senator Velmanette Montgomery, a black Democrat walked back comments she made about the eating habits of white people versus those of minority races, saying she misspoke and could have been a bit more articulate.

Ms. Montgomery, who represents Clinton Hill, was criticizing the closing of a Brooklyn grocery store to The Brooklyn Paper when she said white people dont eat the way we do. When asked about the comments, and whether they were racist, Ms. Montgomery said she had been unfortunately very inarticulate, the New York Daily Newsreported.

She also said to the newspaper that she really meant to convey an economic point: that groceries in neighborhoods populated by senior-age adults and lower-income families dont need specialty shops like Trader Joes and Whole Foods.

It wasnt meant to be a racial phrase, she said, explaining how she was shocked by $5 tomatoes at Trader Joes, the New York Daily News reported. You cant feed a family in a store like that.

She went on, the newspaper said: There are some communities where Trader Joes is the hottest thing in town but not for this particular community. We need a supermarket that continues to be affordable, that is of sufficient size and variety, that serves the whole community.

The grocery at issue is the Key Food and is reportedly being shuttered to make way for a housing facility that could eventually include a new food shop, the New York Daily News reported.

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Velmanette Montgomery, black Democrat: 'White people don't eat the way we do'

February 12, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi discussed an Islamic State AUMF, a Department of Homeland Security funding bill and Voting Rights Act legislation at her weekly news conference on Feb. 12....

By: Roll Call

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February 12, 2015 House Democrat Leadership Press Conference - Video