Sacramento Report
by Monica Williamson
The deadline for introducing new legislation has come and gone. Nearly 3,000 bills were introduced by lawmakers, and many are intended to impact the rental housing industry. Here’s a look at those bills.
CAA-Sponsored Legislation
CAA will sponsor three bills this year and actively lobby for many more. Each of the sponsored bills has been introduced at the request of members and leaders within the association.
First is AB 481 by Assembly Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman Van Tran. This bill seeks to blunt the effect of eviction delay tactics. As many CAA members have reported, unscrupulous tenant attorneys successfully delay evictions through a multitude of legal maneuvers. These tactics include asking for a jury trial and/or claiming that the unit is substandard, thereby justifying the failure to pay rent. CAA has collected data on the problems occurring in the Bay Area and other communities around the state, and will present this information to the Legislature. CAA’s intent is to force those defendants who challenge an eviction to demonstrate the availability of the rent money.
The second CAA-sponsored bill is AB 1197 (Agahazarian). This bill seeks to resolve the continuing dilemma that has emerged since online publication of the state’s Megan’s Law database. Existing law gives landlords a conflicting directive; they must protect tenants from a known risk, but they are effectively prohibited from using the Megan’s Law database in order to make housing decisions. As introduced, AB 1197 is a spot bill (placeholder) that states the intent of the Legislature to address the needs of property owners and tenants for safe rental housing in a manner consistent with the goals and purposes of the sex offender registration requirement and state law on civil rights.
The third CAA-sponsored bill is AB 1173 (Keene). The intent of this legislation is to codify a consistent market practice, authorizing property owners who own buildings with one water master meter to charge tenants separately for water service as determined by a prescribed allocation formula.
Legislation Identified by CAA
AB 410 (Adams) would increase the amount of abandoned property that may be recovered or disposed of by the landlord from $300 to $500. Current law requires a property owner to go through an extensive notice requirement, storage and/or public “auction” process if the abandoned property is valued at more than $300.
SB 592 (Cogdill) would authorize an owner of real property who discovers a methamphetamine lab operated by a tenant at their property to recover cleanup costs from the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
SB 706 (Runner) would expand an existing pilot program (currently in place in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and San Diego), which allows city attorneys to file an eviction against any person who engages in drug-related activity on rental premises. Senator George Runner intends to extend the pilot project to the City of Palmdale.
AB 737 (Keene) would allow a corporation to utilize the small claims court if the dollar amount is under $7,500. Current law allows a “natural person” to file an action where the dollar amount is $7,500 or less. State law currently authorizes corporations to utilize the small claims process only if the claim is valued at $5,000 or less.
SB 794 (Maldonado) would provide an income tax credit equal to 5% of the cost of eligible environmental building expenses. Eligible costs would include fuel cells or photovoltaic modules to provide electrical power, a chiller in a cooling system that uses non-ozone depleting refrigerant that meets or exceeds energy efficiency standards, and fixtures certified by the EPA as being environmentally sound or energy efficient.
SB 698 (Torlakson) would require an entity that exercises the power of eminent domain to provide the property owner with an informational pamphlet outlining the process of eminent domain and the property owner’s rights.
AB 1239 (Garrick) would protect owners from a tax increase based upon a revaluation of their property if they install any fire sprinkler system.
AB 723 and AB 1096 (DeVore) would exempt newly constructed farmworker housing, affordable housing and in-fill developments from the extensive reporting requirements found under the California Environmental Quality Control Act.
AB 872 (Davis) would exempt urban infill affordable housing developments of less than 300 units from extensive reporting requirements found under the California Environmental Quality Control Act.
AB 1493 (Saldana) would allocate $20,000,000 from the recent voter approved Proposition 1C funds to bolster local housing trust-fund programs.
SB 505 (Hollingsworth) expresses the intent of the Legislature to define “high-risk sex offender.”
SB 626 (Harman) declares the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to require every sex offender to provide proof of their current address to local law enforcement.
SB 482 (Yee) would allow a tenant to purchase a surety bond in lieu of posting a security deposit with the landlord. CAA will work to ensure that the surety bond is simply an option for tenants and not a mandate for property owners.
SB 464 (Kuehl) would require a residential property owner who seeks to remove rental property from the market to have owned that property for five years. It also mandates a one-year notice required from the owner to the residents in the building if anyone on the property is a senior or disabled. Current law requires the one-year notice only from the owner to those tenants who are seniors or disabled.
SB 376 (Migden) would allow an unfair competition action to be brought by a city attorney for a city and county (i.e., San Francisco) with a population in excess of 500,000 without the consent of the district attorney. The bill would also allow a city attorney of any size city to proceed with an action with the consent of the district attorney and recover a civil penalty. Under existing law, a city attorney for a city or city and county with a population in excess of 750,000 may proceed only if the district attorney has consented to the action.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. Monica Williamson is CAA’s vice president of public affairs. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.