Legislature Shifts to Budget Discussions

The deadline has now passed for the Senate to pass bills sent to the Assembly and for the Assembly to pass bills sent to the Senate. The Legislature is now focused on addressing how to deal with a budget deficit of at least $31.5 billion; however, most fiscal experts agree the deficit is above $40 billion. 

If lawmakers want to continue being paid, the Legislature must pass a “balanced” budget by June 15^th.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) just released a comprehensive survey of California residents, and the following publication is worth reviewing as it is the most recent analysis of the public’s sentiment since the Governor released his updated budget to the State Legislature. To read the article, click here.

Expectations are that a budget will be passed, but the “Budget Trailer Bill” process will be heavily utilized in the coming months to adopt spending reductions, tax increases and other policies that have a fiscal impact on the state budget. 

As previously reported, so-called trailer bills often inject new policies, and WMA is closely monitoring these budget bills to ensure last minute policy is not adopted that makes it more difficult for owners and managers of manufactured housing communities to continue providing housing options for hundreds of thousands of people across the state.

Policy Committees Gear Up for Debate on Key WMA Bills

Assuming a state budget is adopted on June 15^th, policy committees will resume with the Senate committees hearing Assembly Bills and the Assembly hearing Senate bills. The next deadline for bills to be passed by policy committees is July 14^th. Given that the 4^th of July falls on a Tuesday this year, this means committees have only five weeks to act on bills before the Legislature goes into Summer Recess which will run from July 14^th to August 14^th. September 14^th is the last day for the Assembly and Senate to pass bills to be considered by the Governor for his signature or veto.

While WMA has stopped, or helped stop, bills to enact statewide rent control of spaces in manufactured housing communities and allowing residents to stop or delay the sale of a park, we continue to fight two important legislative measures:

Assembly Bill 318 (Addis, D-Morro Bay)

This bill would extend the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program (MRLPP) for another three years.  Given that WMA led efforts to require the State Auditor to conduct a thorough review of the MRLPP, WMA has recommended a one-year extension of the program to allow the Auditor to complete its audit that should be concluded by the end of 2023. 

WMA continues to work with the author and the Senate Judiciary Committee to amend the bill, and a hearing is expected to occur on June 20^th or 27^th. To read the current contents of Assembly Bill 318, please click here.

Assembly Bill 604 (Lee, D-San Jose)

This bill would extend the provisions of Assembly Bill 1061 that was authored by Assemblymember Lee in 2021 to water companies regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. WMA is strongly opposed to this measure and will continue to lobby against its passage. 

This bill has been referred to both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee.  Whereas Assembly Bill 1061 was never heard in a policy committee with expertise in water issues, at least the bill will be finally debated amongst policymakers and lawmakers with a background in public utilities.  To read the current version of Assembly Bill 604, please click here.

WMA has also supported two important bills that will be heard in the Senate Housing Committee in June or July.

Assembly Bill 319 (Connolly, D-San Rafael)

This bill will require inspectors employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to file statements of economic interest with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to ensure inspectors disclose financial interests in parks or properties near parks they inspect.  This legislation also extends the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA) by one year.  To read the current version of AB 319, please click here:

Assembly Bill 1334 (Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz)

This bill will encourage construction of new spaces in existing manufactured housing communities by exempting up to ten percent of new development from local fees and taxes. 

As attainable housing continues to be a significant challenge in California (see the PPIC poll referenced above), Assembly Bill 1334 will enable parkowners to increase the supply of housing opportunities across the state. This bill will has been referred to the Senate Housing Committee and the Senate Governance and Finance Committee and likely be heard in late June or early July. Please click here to read the text.

2023 WMA CONVENTION AND EXPO SOON APPROACHING

It’s hard to believe, but the 2023 WMA Convention and Expo is soon approaching. This year’s Convention and Expo will be held at the Peppermill in Reno, Nevada from October 23^rd to October 26^th.  Please make sure to save these dates as we have an outstanding program being planned to provide education, relay information and enable networking opportunities for WMA members. To learn more, please click here.

It is an honor to serve WMA, and please feel free to call me on my direct line at 916.288.4026 with any questions.