Bills Being Referred to Committees, VoterVoice Ramping Up

The Senate and Assembly Rules Committees have been busy this week referring proposed legislative proposals to various policy committees. Each bill introduced in the Assembly and Senate must go through at least one policy committee before advancing to the full body for a vote, and bills with a fiscal impact must also go through the Appropriations Committee if passed by the policy committee. Many bills are referred to two or more policy committees.

As bills affecting the manufactured housing community industry are scheduled for a hearing in a policy committee, WMA will again call upon our members to utilize our VoterVoice system to encourage legislators serving on key committees to vote in favor or in opposition to several bills.

Once a “campaign” on a bill begins, our members will be emailed instructions on how to weigh in on a specific legislative proposal.

The WMA Legislative Committee recently met and considered nearly 40 proposals that would or could impact mobilehome parks around the state. Many of these proposals are still not complete and are considered “spot bills” with language to be inserted by March 11th. Of the bills discussed, some would be more impactful than others, and the top six identified bills include the following:

1. AB 3200 (Hoover) — This bill would create a pilot program to allow mobilehome parks to transfer their existing water systems and the management and billing for water systems over to the serving water company regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

This legislation has not yet been referred to a specific policy committee, but that will occur next week.  AB 3200 is sponsored by WMA, and it is modeled after legislation that created the conversion program currently underway for natural gas and electric systems in mobilehome parks. 

To read the language of AB 3200, please click here.

2. AB 2778 (Muratsuchi) — This bill would establish statewide rent control for mobilehome parks.  While there is no language in the bill yet, the author has until March 11th to make amendments. If the bill is amended to a point where it is referred to a policy committee, WMA will quickly launch an aggressive campaign through VoterVoice to urge opposition.

To read the language of AB 2778 as it currently stands, please click here.

To avoid confusion, the current law cited in the bill references AB 978, which was signed into law in 2021. The bill dealt with rent control for mobilehome parks located in two incorporated cities in counties with a population between 2.5 million and 3.75 million people. 

AB 978 has been ruled as unconstitutional by the California Superior Court in Orange County, and the State of California has appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal. WMA’s Committee to Save Property Rights (CSPR) is helping to fund the appeal.

3. SB 1108 (Ochoa Bogh) — This bill would extend the amount of time to allow residents to correct a violation cited by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) before a mobilehome park’s Permit to Operate (PTO) is threatened with revocation. SB 1108 is sponsored by WMA and has been referred to the Senate Housing Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.  No hearing date has been set yet. 

To read the language of SB 1108, please click here.

4. SB 1052 (Seyarto) — This bill adopts recommendations made by the State Auditor on the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program (MRLPP). The key elements of the bill include suspending the $10 per space fee that can be collected from residents and would allow HCD to examine the bills submitted by the responsible Legal Services Provider (LSP). This bill has been referred to the Senate Housing Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, but no hearing date has been scheduled.

To read the language of SB 1052, please click here.

5. AB 2539 (Connolly) — This bill would give a so-called “right of first refusal” to residents, resident groups, nonprofit organizations, and local governments when a mobilehome park is listed for sale. Modeled after legislation in Colorado, this bill would delay the amount of time afforded to a mobilehome park when a decision to sell the park is made. 

WMA is in strong opposition to this measure. The bill has not yet been referred to a policy committee, but that decision will occur in the next week. 

To read the language of AB 2539, please click here.

6. AB 2387 (Pellerin) — This bill would encourage new space construction in existing mobilehome parks by exempting up to 10 percent of the permitted spaces currently in the park from local fees and taxes. This would incentivize mobilehome parks to use vacant land in existing communities to build more housing units as California faces a serious housing shortage. 

This is bill almost identical to AB 1334 that was stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee last year, WMA is a strong supporter of efforts to build more housing units in existing mobilehome parks. This bill has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development, but a hearing date has not been announced. 

To read the language of AB 2387, please click here.

Coffee Talk Next Thursday — Legislative Overview

Next Thursday, the monthly WMA Coffee Talk will focus on upcoming legislation.  These coffee talks are a benefit of WMA membership and do not require advanced registration or any additional fees. To learn more about the bills mentioned above and to learn about additional legislative proposals pending this year, please look for a link that will be sent out next week.

The coffee talk will take place from 10:00 to 11:00 am on March 7th. To learn more about this event, please click here.

Next Tuesday is Election Day — Please Cast Your Ballots

The Presidential Primary election is next Tuesday, March 5th.  Ballots were mailed to every voter in California in early February, and you will be asked to vote for candidates for Congress and the State Legislature, where the people who finish either first or second place will advance to the November election, regardless of party affiliation.

All 80 Assembly Districts and 20 of the 40 Senate Districts are up for election, in addition to one statewide bond measure. Regardless of how you vote, remember that participating in elections is important.

To learn about the status of your ballot, where to drop off your ballot by March 5th, or to learn where to get more information, please visit the Secretary of State’s website by clicking here.

As of Wednesday, there have been just over 9 percent of issued ballots returned.  Voters may drop their ballot in the mail. Ballots will be counted if the postmark is on or before March 5th. Democracy depends on voter participation, so please take a few minutes to cast your ballot.

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 if you need additional information.