All Eyes on the May Revise

The Legislature has been very busy this year passing lots of bills and spending lots of money, but that could all change next week. The Governor is expected to release his revised State Budget blueprint on Friday. Hundreds of bills await action after being placed on the so-called Suspense File in the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees.

Several bills of interest to WMA will be decided on when the Appropriations Committees meet next week to decide which bills involving significant expenditures of state money (more than $150,000) will move forward and which ones will be held in committee.

Some of the bills closely watched by WMA include:

Assembly Bill 318 (Addis, D-Morro Bay)

This bill would have initially made the Mobilehome Residency Law Protection Program permanent, but after WMA successfully worked to have the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approve an audit of the program that is expected to be done by the end of this year, the bill was amended to extend the program for three years.  WMA has argued that a three-year extension is still too long, and arguments have been made to shorten the extension to one year to allow the State Auditor to do its job and report its findings to the Legislature in 2024.

To read the contents of Assembly Bill 318, please click on the following link:

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB318

Assembly Bill 319 (Connolly, D-San Rafael)

This bill would require inspectors employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to file Statements of Economic Interest documents with the Secretary of State to disclose investments in properties near mobilehome parks they inspect. The bill also extends the Mobilehome Parks Act (MPA) that is set to expire in 2024 by one year.  WMA is supportive of this measure, and it awaits action by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To read the contents of Assembly Bill 319, please click on the following link:

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB319

Assembly Bill 1093 (Jim Patterson, R-Fresno)

This bill would clarify which taxes are owed to local tax collectors and make it easier to sell mobilehomes in manufactured housing communities across the state that have unresolved tax issues. These tax issues often create barriers to potential buyers of homes in manufactured housing communities, and WMA supports the clarification language contained in this legislation. This measure also awaits action by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To read the contents of Assembly Bill 1093, please click on the following link:

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1093

Assembly Bill 1334 (Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz)

This legislation would allow parkowners who want to build new spaces in their parks to be exempt from local taxes and fees as long as the number is limited to ten percent or less of the total number of spaces currently permitted. This bill will allow for more housing opportunities in manufactured housing communities, but the so-called “lost” revenue that comes from development impact fees is the reason it was placed on the Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

To read the contents of Assembly Bill 1334, please click on the following link:

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1334

Park Tours Continue

This past week, WMA staff, led by our Executive Director Doug Johnson, joined Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento) on a tour of Capital Estates in South Sacramento.  A special thanks goes out to parkowner and former WMA President Allan Alt and his management team for hosting this tour, where Senator Ashby learned about the challenges and successes of manufactured housing communities.  Also, we wish to thank former WMA President Andy Carey and Cassie Breitbarth with Storz Management Company for educating Senator Ashby about how our industry continues to contribute to solving the state’s chronic housing crisis. 

Many more park tours will be scheduled over the coming months, and WMA hopes that parkowners and managers will be available to educate policy makers about the benefits associated with the manufactured housing industry.

Stay Informed and Remain Involved

To keep up to date on bills of interest to WMA members, please visit the WMA website.  We work daily to make sure our members have the most up-to-date information, and you can click on the following link to monitor the status of bills being tracked by the WMA Legislative Team:

wma.org/bills-interest

WMA has had a very successful year so far by defeating or stalling legislation aimed at statewide rent control, providing a first right of refusal to resident groups to purchase mobilehome parks and several other measures that would have adversely impacted our industry. Please keep an eye out for calls to action if any last-minute measures pop up. We depend on our members to write to their state legislators through our VoterVoice platform, and we will keep you up to date on bills that require action by our members.

Membership Dues Renewal Coming Soon

We want to take this opportunity to remind members that WMA will be mailing out our membership dues renewal statements next week. Please be sure to renew your dues to continue maintaining the many benefits your WMA membership affords. 

As always, WMA strives to provide valuable programs and services for its members, and we appreciate your continued support.  

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.