Committees Continue – Bills Passing and Being Amended

Legislators have been consumed this week with hundreds of bills being heard in committee — amended and voted upon.

WMA provided testimony on six separate bills this week. We opposed three, supported two, and were neutral on another. The list of bills and a description of them can be found below.

Assembly Bill 2539 (Connolly, D-San Rafael)

This bill that would give resident organizations a right of first refusal to purchase a mobilehome park was heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 23, and Dan Rudderow of the Rudderow Law Group provided testimony on WMA’s behalf. In his testimony, Rudderow stressed how the courts have held that giving tenants a right of first refusal in mobilehome park purchases is unconstitutional under Gregory v. City of San Juan Capistrano.

Amendments were suggested by the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on April 11, but the amendments are still not in print. The proposed amendments will not remove WMA opposition.

The hearing was a lengthy one, and the bill ended up passing out of the Judiciary Committee on a 7 – 2 vote, with three legislators not voting. The bill needed seven votes to advance and will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. At that time WMA will make a fiscal argument that the State of California would face significant expense arising from litigation which would certainly be filed challenging the constitutionality of AB 2539.

To read the most recently published language of AB 2539, which does not include the changes discussed in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee, please click here.

To watch a video recording of the hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, please click here; the debate over AB 2539 starts at the 3:54 hour mark.

Assembly Bill 2022 (Addis, D-Morro Bay)

This bill was heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on April 24 and deals with the responsibility of park managers in the event of a declared emergency or disaster such as fires and floods.

The author of the bill, after hearing from opponents, committed to significantly amend the legislation to remove a provision that would have required park managers to certify under penalty of perjury that they would be able and available to facilitate the evacuation of a mobilehome park in an emergency. (That responsibility is normally held by emergency personnel and first responders.)

WMA testified in opposition to AB 2022, even with the proposed conceptual amendments, since the legislation is unnecessary — largely due to the mandatory park manager training that will be operative in 2026. WMA is currently working with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) while they develop rules and regulations to implement a training curriculum that statutorily must include emergency preparedness.

The bill passed out of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on a 7-1 vote. Many of the “AYE” votes were cast trusting the amendments would contain the language to which the author had agreed. The bill will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To read the language of AB 2022 without the proposed amendments, please click here.

Assembly Bill 2399 (Rendon, D-Lakewood)

This bill would amend the MRL and require that a notice about the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program (MRLPP) be added to the list of top ten rights and responsibilities of parkowners and residents under the MRL. 

WMA testified in opposition to AB 2399. In our testimony, we pointed out that despite already being provided a copy of the most common issues generating complaint allegations, over 30 percent of MRLPP complaints filed by residents can be answered by referring to the list already provided under current law.

WMA also testified that the MRLPP is set to sunset on January 1, 2027, and that if information about the MRLPP is included in the list provided to residents, WMA has a few other issues that may be included including resident responsibilities relating to pets, trees, rubbish, and driveways.

The committee passed the bill on a 7 – 1 vote, but the Vice Chair did not cast a vote, citing a concern about adding more information than is required. There is a point when disclosure becomes non-disclosure with additional requirements. (Everyone who has signed a real estate transaction is aware of the pages and pages of disclosures.) AB 2399 will next be considered by the full Assembly.

To read the language of AB 2399, please click here:

Assembly Bill 2247 (Wallis, R-Palm Springs)

This bill is a sunset extension bill that will extend the life of the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA) to January 1, 2030. (Currently, the bill is set to expire on January 1, 2025.) AB 2247 will also require HCD to provide residents with violations about the Manufactured Housing Opportunity and Revitalization (MORE) Program to help them correct violations. The bill requires residents to be informed by HCD on how to apply for loans and grants to pay for necessary repairs. WMA was the primary witness in support of this legislation.

The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee suggested amendments to also extend the Mobilehome Park Maintenance (MPM) and MPA fee statute until 2030; the author accepted the amendments. AB 2247 passed unanimously and will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To read the language of AB 2247 without the amended language, please click here.

Assembly Bill 2291 (Alanis, R-Modesto)

This bill was originally drafted in response to the California State Audit of the MRLPP and would have suspended the annual $10 per lot fee. It also would have required Legal Service Providers (LSPs) to disclose to HCD how funds distributed to LSPs are being spent in dealing with MRLPP complaints.

To read the full State Auditor Report of the MRLPP, click here.

The Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee suggested amending the bill to leave the fee in place and further require that LSPs handling MRLPP complaints have experience in handling complaints, disputes, or matters arising from provisions of the MRL or matters related to general landlord-tenant law. The amendments also require HCD to conduct regular surveys of complainants referred to a LSP to ensure the LSP is communicating with the complainant.

AB 2291 passed on a 9 – 0 vote, and will next be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. To read the language of AB 2291 without the amended language, please click here.

Senate Bill 1190 (Laird, D-Santa Cruz)

Originally, this bill would have required all mobilehome parks to allow rooftop solar systems to be installed by residents without respect to the ability of the park’s electrical system. WMA was opposed to this version of the bill.

The bill was amended to exempt master-metered mobilehome parks, thus only applying to park residents directly served by a local electric utility. The bill was also amended to require a resident’s home to be inspected to ensure it can physically handle the installation of a solar system and be approved.

Because of the amendments, WMA removed its opposition and took a neutral position on the bill, since residents living in mobilehome parks that are master-metered are not served or billed by a mobilehome park, but are instead directly served by the local utility. The legislation passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and will next be considered in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

To read the language of the amended version of SB 1190, please click here.

To view a list of bills being monitored and tracked by WMA and learn about the positions WMA has taken on these legislative measures, please click here.

HCD Public Comment Period on Qualifications for LSPs Handling MRLPP Complaints Now Open

HCD has announced public comment will be considered about proposed emergency regulations involving the awarding of LSP contracts for handling MRLPP complaints. The rulemaking process was triggered with the passage of Assembly Bill 318, which was signed into law on October 11, 2023, requiring HCD to establish criteria for the selection of LSPs.

The public comment period is open until May 23, 2024. To learn how to submit comments on the proposed regulations please visit the WMA website by clicking here.

WMA encourages our members to submit comments as we have received many questions about how LSPs will be selected and what qualifications are required to handle MRLPP complaints.

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.