2,124 Bills Introduced in 2024

The WMA legislative team and our Legislative Committee are busily going through the 2,124 proposed new laws introduced this year. Even if one were to remove all of the “intent” bills introduced, that still leaves 1,450 “substantive” bills that will be heard in policy committees in the Senate and Assembly over the coming months.

While many of the bills would not impact the manufactured housing community industry, WMA has identified well over 100 pieces of legislation that our team will be reviewing. As you may surmise, some are more impactful than others.

On the positive side of the coin, legislation has been introduced that would:

1. Implement changes to the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program (MRLPP) in line with the State Auditor’s recommendations. Click here to read the proposal.

2. Extend the amount of time to have residents correct violations cited by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) before a Permit to Operate (PTO) is threatened with revocation. Click here to read the proposal.

3. Establish a pilot program to allow mobilehome parks in areas served by water utilities under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to transfer their systems to the serving utility and allow the local water company to assume responsibility for billing and maintenance of water systems. Click here to read the proposal.

4. Encourage development of new spaces in existing mobilehome parks by exempting these spaces from local fees and taxes, so long as the number is 10 percent or below the number of existing permitted spaces in a mobilehome park. Click here to read the proposal:

On the negative side of the coin, legislation has been introduced that would:

1. Enact a right of first refusal for resident groups to purchase a mobilehome park listed for sale, giv the residents up to six months to make an offer. This legislation could prevent a parkowner from selling their property in a timely manner if a resident organization exists in the mobilehome park. Click here to read the proposal:

2. Enact some form of statewide rent control for mobilehome parks.  Intent language has been introduced to enact some form of statewide rent control for mobilehome parks, but there is no substantive language yet. The deadline to amend “intent” bills is March 11th.  To read the current content of the statewide rent control proposal, click here.

WMA staff is working with the author of this measure and the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee to remind them about pending litigation involving the constitutionality of Assembly Bill 978 that was ruled unconstitutional by the Superior Court. The State of California has appealed the ruling, and the litigation is still pending.

Many of the proposed bills that could adversely impact mobilehome parkowners are still awaiting final language. Committees will begin meeting in March and April as the deadline for the Senate and Assembly to pass bills with a fiscal impact is April 26th and the deadline for bills without a fiscal impact is May 3rd. 

The so-called “House of Origin” deadline is May 24th, meaning all bills must pass the house in which they were introduced.

Legislative Analyst’s Office Ups Projected Budget Deficit to $73 Billion

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) delivered bad news this week to the Governor and lawmakers as they work to close what previously was thought to be a $58 billion budget deficit. The LAO adjusted its budget deficit estimate to $73 billion – a whopping $15 billion discrepancy!

The revised forecast is due to lower revenue collection, and the LAO further warned that the deficit could grow again prior to the release of the May revision to the state budget. This staggering deficit figure will make it more difficult for lawmakers seeking to spend more money, and there will certainly be calls for raising taxes to keep paying for past spending increases that occurred when the state enjoyed record revenue growth.

To read the LAO report and learn about potential “solutions” to the budget deficit, please click here.

Mark Your Calendars – Coffee Talk on March 7th to Focus on State Legislation

On Thursday, March 7th, WMA’s monthly Coffee Talk program will highlight key pieces of legislation introduced this year.  In addition to discussing the impacts of introduced bills, WMA members will be informed about ways to become more involved with the legislative process through VoterVoice, personal meetings, and park tours.

The Coffee Talk will be held via Zoom on March 7th from 10:00 to 11:00 am.  This event is free to all WMA members and does not require registration.  A link to the Zoom meeting will be sent a few days prior to March 7th, but please take this opportunity to learn about pending legislation that could impact the manufactured housing community industry.

To learn more about the Coffee Talk series, please click here.

It is an honor to serve WMA. Please feel free to reach me directly at chris@wma.org or on my direct line at the office at 916.288.4026 if I may be of assistance or you need additional information.