AB 889 (GIPSON) REPORTING REQUIREMENT BILL FAILS PASSAGE, HELD IN POLICY COMMITTEE   

AB 889 (Gipson) failed to gather the votes needed to pass the Senate Judiciary Committee late yesterday. While the bill was granted reconsideration, the Senate Judiciary Committee will not meet again this year. Therefore, AB 889 is effectively dead for the 2021 legislative session.

As amended, AB 889 requires corporate landlords to report owners to the Secretary of State.  

Parkowners are already required to provide this information, if requested by a resident, under Civil Code Section 798.28. WMA had reached out to Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s staff and requested an amendment that would have addressed our concerns by excluding parkowners from the bill’s disclosure requirements.

The author was unwilling to accept the amendment; therefore, WMA registered its formal opposition and joined the California Apartment Association (CAA), rental housing groups, and other coalition members testifying against AB 889.    

AB 978 (QUIRK-SILVA) ADVANCES TO GOVERNOR’S DESK

AB 978 (Quirk-Silva), the rent control bill, passed the Senate Floor last Thursday by a vote of 27-6, with seven members not voting. On Monday, the Assembly concurred with amendments taken in the Senate by a vote of 51-19 with nine members not voting. The bill is now enrolled to the Governor.

WMA formally requested a veto of AB 978, which prohibits mobilehome parks located in two or more incorporated cities from increasing rent more than three percent plus inflation, up to a maximum cap of five percent, annually. It also extends a rent increase of five percent, up to a maximum of ten percent in other areas of the state.

SUBLEASING, WATER SUBMETER BILLS AWAIT ACTION ON SENATE FLOOR

WMA continues to urge legislators to reject AB 861 (Bennett) and AB 1061 (Lee) when they are brought up for consideration on the Senate Floor. AB 861 (Bennett) allows residents to sublease their units, while AB 1061 restricts park management from charging a ready-to-serve charge for sub-metered water.  

To view AB 861, please click here:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB861

To view AB 1061, please click here:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1061

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT DOG MEASURES PASSES POLICY COMMITTEE

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed AB 468 (Friedman) yesterday and referred the bill to the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

WMA testified in support of the consumer protection bill, which requires sellers of emotional support dogs to notify consumers that emotional support dogs do not have the same rights as service dogs and sets forth civil penalties for sellers who violate this notice requirement.  

According to the author, “AB 468 will help curtail the misrepresentation of buying and selling emotional support dogs and their identifying equipment as having equal access rights as trained service dogs, creating a safer public space for all - especially people with disabilities who rely on task trained service dogs for independence.”

RECALL ELECTION SET FOR SEPTEMBER 14

Over the next several weeks, a lot of media attention will be paid to the upcoming election on September 14, asking voters whether Governor Newsom should be recalled. 

There will only be two questions on this ballot: (1) Shall the Governor be recalled; and (2) If the Governor is recalled by those casting ballots, who shall replace him? 

At this time, 64 candidates have filed paperwork to run, but the deadline to file is July 16, and that number may increase.  For historical context, the 2003 recall campaign against Governor Gray Davis that installed Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor had 163 candidates on the ballot.

If Question #1 receives below 50%, Question #2 is irrelevant.  If Question #1 receives above 50%, the candidate with the most votes (even if that candidate receives below 50% of the vote) will become Governor upon certification of the election.  As a side note, Governor Schwarzenegger received 48.6% of the vote in 2003.

LEGISLATORS READY FOR MONTH-LONG SUMMER RECESS

Both legislative houses will adjourn this Friday, July 16, for a month-long summer recess. They will reconvene on Monday, August 16 and will have until September 10 to pass bills to the Governor. WMA will, therefore, resume its Capitol Updates upon the Legislature’s return.

Chris Wysocki is WMA’s State Legislative Advocate. He can be reached at chris@wma.org.