Sacramento Report

by Debra Carlton

In the midst of continual hearings and press conferences on California’s utility crises, the Legislature has taken time out to review other bills relating to housing. Below is a snapshot of some of the actions that have been taken by the Legislature on the housing bills in which CAA has an interest:

AB 8 (D-Cedillo) – CAA Position: Support – This bill increases loan dollars for owners of commercial and industrial buildings who convert those buildings into rental housing units. The Governor has signed it.

AB 36 (D- Steinberg) – CAA Position: Oppose – This bill requires specified settlement agreements reached between litigants to be made available to the public. As of this writing, the bill has not had a hearing in a policy committee.

AB 178 (R-Cox) – CAA Position: Oppose – As initially introduced, this bill contained objectionable disclosure requirements and made housing substandard if it contained mold. The author has decided not to move this bill this year.

Support – This bill allows a court to award reasonable attorney’s fees and damages to a plaintiff if the court determines that a local agency has disapproved a housing development project for very low-, low-, or moderate-income households without making sufficient findings supported by the evidence. This bill is pending in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

AB 490 (D-Diaz) – CAA Position: Support – This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to make matching grants from the California Housing Trust Fund to local agencies that establish their own trust funds to finance affordable housing. This bill successfully moved out of the Assembly Housing Committee and is pending a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 643 (D-Lowenthal) – CAA Position: Oppose – As initially introduced, this bill would have required rental property owners to participate in government programs like Section 8. The author has decided not to move the bill in its current form.

Oppose – This legislation would reassess corporate property taxes whenever 50 percent of the stock cumulatively changes hands. The bill has not been heard yet in a policy committee.

AB 1112 (D-Goldberg) – CAA Position: Neutral – As initially introduced, this bill required all rental property owners to register with the State Department of Housing and Community Development. At the request of CAA, the author amended the bill to require only those owners of substandard buildings to register their buildings. The bill will remain in effect until January 2004 and will apply only in Los Angeles County.

SB 11 (D-Escutia) – CAA Position: Oppose – Like AB 36, this bill requires specified settlement agreements reached between litigants to be made available to the public. SB 11 has passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is awaiting a vote on the Senate Floor.

Support – This bill increases tax credits for tenants. The bill has not been heard yet in a committee.
SB 73 (D-Dunn) – CAA Position: Support – This bill increases tax credits for the production of low-income housing. The bill has passed its first policy committee and is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 183 (D-Burton) – CAA Position: Watch – This bill requires participating local governments to award security deposit guarantee certificates to qualified households in order to guarantee the payment of damages on a security deposit that is required by a residential rental property owner. This bill is currently being held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the SF Apartment Magazine Debra L. Carlton is the vice president of policy and research for the California Apartment Association and is CAA's chief lobbyist, advocating association policies and positions at the legislative and regulatory levels of government in California.