CAPITOL UPDATE
By Chris Wysocki
So here we go.
The Legislature came back into town this week after a month of recess, and the frenetic race to the finish line is now on as the Senate and Assembly will adjourn for the year by midnight on August 31st.
Over the month of July, WMA has worked on remaining bills affecting the mobilehome park industry.
AB 2002 (Villapudua, D-Stockton) is set for a “Suspense” hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 11th. If this bill is moved, a fund will be created to allow parkowners to fix violations with grants from the State of California to help residents avoid eviction notices.
To keep apprised of the status of AB 2002, please click on the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2002
SB 940 (Laird, D-Santa Cruz) deals with removing rent control exemptions for newly constructed spaces. Over the recess, the bill was substantially amended to provide a 15-year exemption from local rent control measures for newly constructed spaces. WMA remains firmly opposed, and the bill will be eligible for a Floor Vote in the Assembly on Thursday.
To keep apprised of the status and language of SB 940, please click on the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB940
SB 869 (Leyva, D-Chino) deals with manager training. At the end of June, this bill was amended to reduce the number of hours of required training to a minimum of 6 hours and delayed the implementation of the bill until May 1, 2025. WMA still opposes this bill and is currently working with the author and the Legislature to permit third-party associations such as WMA to conduct the training in accordance with HCD guidelines. This bill has moved to the “Suspense” File, and we will know on August 11th whether the bill will head to the full Assembly for a vote later this month.
To keep apprised of the status and language of SB 869, please click on the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB869
Also, WMA’s Legislative Committee officially opposed two bills over the Summer Recess that were recently amended:
SB 1105 (Hueso, D-San Diego) would create a new agency in San Diego County to provide resources for housing through tax increases. Specific tax increases that may be adopted by the agency include, but are not limited to: Parcel taxes, gross receipts business license tax, special tax on real property, and commercial linkage fees. This bill also allows the new agency to issue general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, mortgage revenue bonds, and private activity bonds. As with SB 869, this bill was placed on the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File that will be considered on August 11th.
The language of SB 1105 can be found by clicking on the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1105
SB 1477 (Wieckowski, D-Fremont) deals with wage garnishments and makes it more difficult for individuals to collect on a judgment. While not directly impacting mobilehome parks, the policy of collecting monetary judgments by using debt collectors or collection attorneys has a material impact on parkowners seeking to collect past-due rent from tenants who are behind in their payments.
The language of SB 1477 can be found by clicking on the following link:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1477
Over the next month, many bills will be significantly amended. Thankfully, the voters in 2016 passed Proposition 54 requiring bills to be in print for 72 hours before final action can be taken. This measure allows the public to have at least 3 days to review the legislation being voted upon by the Legislature. While an “inconvenience” to lawmakers, the measure helped increase transparency.
Over the next month, stay tuned for future updates. As always, please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions. My direct line at the office is (916) 288-4026, and my e-mail address is chris@wma.org.
