The Governor Acts: Final Outcomes on Proposed Bills and Ballot Initiative

This article is contributed by Kate Bell, Kate Bell Strategies

Legislative Update: Bills Signed by Governor

September 30, 2022 was the final date for Governor Newsom to act on all legislation passed during the legislative session.  Overall, the Governor signed about 85% of the bills that reached his desk. Below, please find the Governor’s actions on “key” bills passed that the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles had either opposed or supported:

• Assembly Bill 916. (Salas) Apartment Association of Greater L.A. sponsored bill, which will remove impediments to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) construction of bedroom additions.
• Assembly Bill 1694. (Santiago) – Apartment Association of Greater L.A. supported bill, which allows for adaptive reuse for multifamily eligible for Department of Housing and Community Development affordable multifamily housing loan program.
• Assembly Bill 1738. (Boerner-Horvath) Require mandatory installation of low power level 2 or higher electric vehicle chargers in multifamily developments. This requirement only applies to retrofits, additions, and alterations of existing parking facilities when a building permit is required and other significant construction, retrofits, or repair is taking place. The Apartment Association of Greater L.A. had opposed this bill.
• Assembly Bill 2011. (Wicks) This bill creates the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, which makes certain housing developments that meet specified affordability and site criteria and development standards a use by right within a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use. This bill was supported by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Assembly Bill 2139. (Gallagher) Bill allows use of template floor plan for rebuilding a structure destroyed by fire or other causes, and was supported by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Assembly Bill 2234. (Rivas and Grayson) Allows developers to enforce upon local jurisdictions the right to build very low, low, or moderate-income households.
• Assembly Bill 2503. (Garcia) Requires a study by December 31, 2024, to potentially establish consistent terminology across the California codes to describe the parties to an agreement, lease, or other contract for the rental of residential real property, including potentially suggesting replacement terms for “landlord” and “tenant.” This bill was supported by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Assembly Bill 2559. (Ward) Provides housing providers with the option to accept reusable tenant screening reports from applicants, and was opposed by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Assembly Bill 2668. (Grayson) This bill prohibits a local government from determining that a development, including an application for a modification, is in conflict with the objective planning standards on the basis that application materials are not included, if the application contains sufficient information that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the development is consistent with the objective planning standards. This bill was supported by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Senate Bill 679. (Kamlager-Dove) This bill establishes the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency for the purpose of increasing the supply of affordable housing in Los Angeles County by providing for significantly enhanced funding and assistance for renter protections, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. The Apartment Association of Greater L.A. strongly opposed this bill and had requested the Governor’s veto, which unfortunately was not given.
• Senate Bill 897. (Weickowski) This bill provides for increased height limits for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to 18-feet and in some cases up to 25-feet. The Apartment Association of Greater L.A. strongly supported this bill.
• Senate Bill 989. (Hertzberg) This bill would requires payment of property taxes for a property to be deferred, without penalty or interest, if property owner has claimed property tax relief when the county assessor has not completed its determination of the property’s eligibility for relief, and the person requests deferment of receiving the first tax bill for the property. This bill was supported by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Senate Bill 1017. (Eggman) This bill prohibits a landlord from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based on an act of abuse or violence of tenant, immediate family member, or member of tenant household. The bill does, however, allow a landlord to terminate or refuse to renew a tenancy if the tenant voluntarily permits to the presence of the perpetrator of abuse or violence.  The bill also sets forth specific requirements for unlawful detainer proceedings, and makes a landlord or agent liable to the tenant for actual damages and, except as specified, a statutory damages of not less than $100 and more than $5,000 in a civil action for violation of the bill’s provisions. This bill was opposed by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Senate Bill 1157. (Hertzberg) This bill eliminates the option of using the greater of 52.5 gallons per capita daily and the greater of 50 gallons per capita daily, as applicable, and lowers the standard recommended by the department and the board as the standard for indoor residential water use. This bill was opposed by the Apartment Association of Greater L.A.
• Senate Bill 1477. (Wieckowski) This bill establishes the maximum amount of disposable earnings of a judgment debtor that is subject to levy at the lesser of: (i) 25% of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for a given week exceed 65 times the state minimum hourly wage ($975 per week at $15.00 per hour), or (ii) 50% of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 40 times the state minimum hourly wage ($600 per week at $15.00 per hour) in effect at the time the earnings are payable. . The bill also increases the multipliers used to determine the maximum amount of earnings subject to levy for any pay period other than a weekly pay period. The Apartment Association of Greater L.A. strongly opposed this bill and had requested the Governor’s veto, which unfortunately was not given.
• Senate Constitutional Amendment 2. (Allen and Wiener) This amendment repeals Article 34 of the California Constitution, which requires development, construction, or acquisition of publicly funded low-rent housing projects to be approved by a majority of voters in a city or county.

The Governor’s Vetoes

Additionally, the Governor vetoed several bills supported or opposed by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles.  These included the following:

• Assembly Bill 1687. (Seyarto) Would have allowed the Governor the right to suspend a statute or regulation only during a state of emergency or state of war emergency in connection with the specific conditions of emergency proclaimed by the Governor or state of war emergency. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles had supported this bill. In his veto, the Governor stated:

“To the Members of the California State Assembly:  I am returning Assembly Bill 1687 without my signature. This bill provides that the Governor, during a state of emergency or state of war emergency, may only suspend a statute or regulation that is in connection with the specific conditions of the proclaimed emergency. At best, this bill is redundant and therefore unnecessary. The Emergency Services Act already requires any suspension of laws or regulations issued by the Governor during times of emergency or war be directly related to the mitigation of the declared emergency. By imposing duplicative obligations, this bill compromises the state's ability to swiftly respond to the needs of residents in times of crisis. Additional redundant layers of justification, as required by this bill, would only invite frivolous lawsuits. This could delay or derail state emergency response and recovery efforts, negatively impacting the most vulnerable California residents and potentially costing lives. For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.”

• Senate Bill 1262. (Bradford) This bill would have required publicly accessible electronic indexes of defendants in criminal cases to permit searches and filtering of results based on a defendant’s driver’s license number or date of birth, or both. Signing of this bill into law would have made tenant screening practices for criminal backgrounds much more accurate. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles had supported this bill.  In his veto message, the Governor stated:

“To the Members of the California State Senate:  I am returning Senate Bill 1262 without my signature. This bill would change superior court rules to allow publicly accessible electronic court criminal indexes to be searched with a subject's driver's license number or date of birth. This bill would override a 2021 appellate court decision and current court rules that strike a fair balance between public access to court records, public safety, and an individual's constitutional right to privacy. While this bill may provide for a more convenient process for companies conducting commercial background checks, it would also allow any member of the public to easily access individuals' sensitive personal information online. For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.”

• Senate Bill 1482. (Allen) This bill would have required the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to research and develop, and would authorize it to adopt mandatory building standards for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces in multifamily dwellings. This bill would have also required that each dwelling unit with access to a parking space have at least one parking space served by a dedicated branch circuit terminating in a receptacle or an electric vehicle charging station and include specified signage for those electric vehicle parking. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles had strongly opposed this bill, and the Governor had fortunately vetoed it.  In his veto message, the Governor stated:

“To the Members of the California State Senate:  I am returning Senate Bill 1482 without my signature. This bill requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to research, develop, and consider proposing for adoption mandatory building standards for the installation of electric charging infrastructure for parking spaces in new, multifamily dwellings. I agree with the author's intent to increase access to EV charging technology for Californians living in multifamily housing, which is necessary to increase the number of zero emission vehicles on the road. However, I believe this issue is best addressed administratively in order to balance our charging objectives with our efforts to expand affordable housing. The Department of Housing and Community Development is already working with numerous stakeholders and state agencies in a deliberative public process to aggressively expand mandatory EV charging requirements in new housing developments. This approach allows for other important considerations, such as the cost of affordable housing and feasibility of implementation. For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.”

Throughout the 2022 legislative session, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles successfully opposed dozens of proposed, problematic bills that never even made it to the Governor’s desk.  Those bills ranged in issue from a statewide rent registry to Ellis Act restrictions to a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (T.O.P.A.) allowing tenants and other government designated entities a right of first refusal to purchase multifamily properties made for sale. 

Although much success was had during what had been a good defensive year holding bills that would have been detrimental to the rental housing industry, we do anticipate many of those same bills being reintroduced in 2023.

Ballot Initiatives

Provided below is a summary of ballot measures appearing on the November ballot.  For more information about these initiatives, please visit the website of the Secretary of State at www.sos.ca.gov.

• Proposition 1 - Constitutional Right to Reproductive Freedom. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.
  • Amends the California Constitution to expressly include an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including the right to choose to have an abortion and the right to choose or refuse contraceptives. The amendment does not narrow or limit existing rights to privacy and equal protection.
• Proposition 26 - Allows In-Person Roulette, Dice Games, Sports Wagering on Tribal Lands. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.  
  • Allows in-person roulette, dice games, sports wagering on tribal lands. Additionally, the initiative allows sports wagering at certain horse racing tracks and private lawsuits to enforce certain gambling laws. Directs revenues to the state’s General Fund, problem gambling programs, enforcement.
• Proposition 27 - Allows Online and Mobile Sports Wagering Outside Tribal Lands. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
  • Allows Indian tribes and affiliated businesses to operate online/mobile sports wagering outside tribal lands. Directs revenues to regulatory costs, homelessness programs, nonparticipating tribes.
• Proposition 28 - Provides Additional Funding for Arts and Music Education in Public Schools Initiative and Statute.
  • Provides additional funding from the state General Fund for arts and music education in all K–12 public schools, including charter schools. 
• Proposition 29 - Requires On-Site Licensed Medical Professional at Kidney Dialysis Clinics and Establishes Other State Requirements Initiative and Statute.
  • Requires a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant on site during treatment. Requires clinics to disclose physicians’ ownership interests, report infection data.
• Proposition 30 - Provides Funding for Programs to Reduce Air Pollution and Prevent Wildfires by Increasing Tax on Personal Income Over $2 Million Initiative and Statute.
  • Allocates tax revenues to zero-emission vehicle purchase incentives, vehicle charging stations, and wildfire prevention. 
• Proposition 31 - Referendum on 2020 Law That Would Prohibit the Retail Sale of Certain Flavored Tobacco Products Initiative.
  • A “yes” vote approves and “no” vote rejects a 2020 law prohibiting the retail sale. 

Kate Bell, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kate Bell Strategies was most recently a Partner of Capitol Advocacy, which is ranked among California’s top lobbying firms. Ms. Bell’s firm specializes in lobbying, strategic planning, coalition building, budget advocacy, procurement, and political involvement.  Kate Bell Strategies and Capitol Advocacy represent the interests of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles through its affiliation with the California Rental Housing Association.  Both firms are based in Sacramento.  For more information, please visit www.katebellstrategies.com.