GOVERNOR NEWSOM UNVEILS PROPOSED STATE BUDGET

With a projected $45.7 billion surplus, the governor unveiled his proposed budget to the State Legislature this week. Key priorities advanced by the Governor include $2.7 billion for COVID emergency response to increase testing and hospital staffing and $750 million to help communities and regions affected by drought and fire. The Governor also indicated support for $2 Billion to build more housing. He signaled support of a controversial plan to have California be the first in the nation to offer universal healthcare coverage. The costs of this healthcare program are still being evaluated, but the fiscal impact will be substantial. For a thorough explanation, please visit:

 https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3927

HCD RECEIVES $62,000,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR RENT RELIEF PROGRAM

In a recent press release, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) announced that it had received an additional $62 million in funds from the U.S. Treasury to continue administering statewide rent relief. HCD noted that the program has already distributed over $1.7 billion and assisted more than 145,000 during the pandemic. For additional information regarding the state’s housing rent relief program, Housing Is Key, please visit:

https://housing.ca.gov/.

Please click here to view the HCD press release: https://hcd.ca.gov/about/newsroom/docs/treasuryallocationrelease.pdf

ASSEMBLYMEMBER LORENA GONZALEZ RESIGNS FROM STATE ASSEMBLY

Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (Democrat, San Diego) recently announced her resignation from the legislature to pursue her new role as the new Chief Executive of the California Labor Federation. Speaker Anthony Rendon appointed Assemblymember Chris Holden (Democrat, Pasadena) to succeed Gonzalez as Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Gonzalez has been a staunch ally of organized labor while in the Assembly, and her new role as the Chief Executive of the California Labor Federation will begin later this year.

SENATOR CONNIE LEYVA WILL NOT SEEK REELECTION

It is also worth mentioning that Senator Connie Leyva (Democrat, Chino), Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Manufactured Home Communities, announced that she would not seek reelection in 2022. Senator Leyva has authored numerous mobilehome-related measures during her time in office, including SB 64, which was held last year and would have prevented the issuance of 7-day notices.

The redrawn legislative boundaries have caused a ripple effect and prompted some incumbents not to seek reelection. Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (Democrat, Long Beach) recently announced plans not to run. Still, others are eyeing a statewide office or a congressional seat, such as Republican Assemblymember Kevin Kiley, who recently announced his candidacy for the 3^rd congressional district.        

WMA LAUNCHES MEMBERSHIP SURVEY

WMA wants to hear from you! A survey was emailed to the membership on Monday, and we would kindly ask that you take a moment to respond. The survey results will help staff best determine the role WMA should play in California’s political process and prioritize the overall goals for the manufactured housing industry in the future.

The survey can also be found on WMA’s website by clicking here: https://www.wma.org/legislative-alert?vvsrc=%2fSurveys%2f7466%2fRespond

DON’T MISS 2022 UPDATE OF NEW LAWS WEBINAR 

It’s not too late to register for the Update of New Laws webinar, held from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on January 19, 2022. New laws to be covered include AB 1061 (Lee) that deals with water billing; AB 861 (Bennett) that deals with subleasing; and AB 978 (Quirk-Silva) that deals with rent control, to name a few. This webinar will be very educational and may answer many questions that have arisen on these bills and other new laws that were passed in 2021.

Online registration can be found here: www.wma.org/promoted-event/2022-update-new-laws-webinar

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