We’re Halfway Through the Legislative Process

We’re Halfway Through the Legislative Process

By Kate Bell, Kate Bell Strategies

Legislative Update

We are now halfway through this year’s legislative process as the deadline to “pass out” proposed bills from their house of origin and onto the next house was on June 2^nd.  So far, the legislative advocacy team at the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles scored several “wins” in opposing harmful bills that were held in the Appropriations Committees and on the Senate Floor.  Fortunately, proposed Senate Bill 395 (Wahab), which would have required housing providers to report all evictions to a new, statewide eviction reporting database was held on the Senate Suspense file and did not move forward.  Additionally, Senate Bill 594 (Durazo), which would have required corporations to disclose the names, and business or residence addresses of beneficial owners, was also held on the Suspense File in the Senate.

More recently on the Senate Floor, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and statewide affiliates were able to “hold” Senate Bill 466 (Wahab), which would have repealed major protections afforded to the state’s rental housing providers under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Act of 1995 and could have expanded strict, local rent regulations.   Senate Bill 466 stalled in the Senate after garnering only 15 votes in favor, falling 6 votes short of the 21 needed for approval.  This was a huge victory for the rental housing industry. 

However, unfortunately, the Senate passed Senate Bill 567 (Durazo), which the Association is opposing. Senate Bill 567 originally started out as a proposal to reduced allowable rent “caps” under state law’s Assembly Bill 1482 from CPI+5% (or 10%, whichever is less) to CPI or 5%, whichever is less. Following extensive lobbying efforts in opposition to Senate Bill 567, the author made substantial amendments to the proposal and modified the bill to include stronger “just cause” eviction protections for renters.  Senate Bill 567 passed with the bare minimum of 21 votes.  Accordingly, the Association will continue advocacy efforts against Senate Bill 567 as it moves onto the State Assembly.

Additional priority legislation that the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles continues to address, includes:

• Assembly Bill 12 (Haney, D-San Francisco). This bill would prohibit a housing provider from receiving a security deposit in an amount of greater than one month’s rent, regardless of whether the residential property is unfurnished or furnished. Assembly Bill 12 passed the Assembly and as of the date this article was written, was pending a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Association is strongly opposed to this bill.

• Assembly Bill 309 (Lee, D-Milpitas). This an “intent” bill that makes findings and would state the intent of the Legislature is to further the Social Housing Act to address the shortage of affordable homes by developing housing for people of all income levels and prioritizing low-income households.  Assembly Bill 309 passed the State Assembly and as of the date this article was written, was pending a hearing in Senate Housing Committee and then the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. The Association is strongly opposed to this bill.

• Assembly Bill 1317 (Carillo, D – Los Angeles). This bill would require, among other things, an owner of any 16 or more unit residential rental housing built on or after January 1, 2025, that provides parking with a residential unit to unbundle parking from the price of rent (“unbundled parking” is the selling or leasing parking spaces separate from the lease of the residential use).  The Association has had productive conversations with the author’s office who is considering amendments.  Assembly Bill 1317 passed the State Assembly and as of the date this article was written, it was pending referral by Senate Rules Committee. The Association is strongly opposed to this bill.

• Assembly Bill 1505 (Rodriguez, D-Los Angeles). This bill is another “intent” bill that would state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate $250,000,000 for Seismic Retrofitting of soft story multifamily housing. The bill passed the State Senate and as of the date this article was written, it was referral to the Assembly by the Senate Rules Committee. The Association is supportive of this proposed bill.

• Senate Bill 267 (Eggman, D-Stockton).  This bill would prohibit the use of a person’s credit history as part of the application process for a rental housing without offering applicants the option of providing alternative evidence of financial responsibility and ability to pay in instances in which there is a government rent subsidy and would require that housing providers consider the alternative evidence in lieu of the person’s credit history.  Senate Bill 267 passed the State Senate and as of the date this article was written was pending committee referral in the Assembly. The Association is strongly opposed to this bill.

• Senate Bill 569 (Glazer, D-Orinda). This bill would require that the Franchise Tax Board recompute the renters’ tax credit by annual adjusting for inflation.  The bill passed the State Senate and as of the date this article was written was pending in the Assembly. The Association is strongly supporting this bill.

As always, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles will keep members informed and up to date as these priority bills make their way through the Legislature.  The Association will send out “Calls to Action” when and as we are at a pivotal juncture and your involvement could help determine the outcome. Be sure you are receiving the Association’s important updates by electronic mail.

What’s Next: Remainder of Legislative Calendar

The remainder of this year’s legislative calendar for the current session is as follows:

• June 15^th: Deadline for Legislature to pass budget bill
• July 14^th: Last day for policy committees to meet and summer recess begins
• August 14^th: Legislature reconvenes from Summer recess
• September 1^st: Last day for fiscal committee to pass bills to the floor
• September 8^th: Last day to amend bills on the floor
• September 14^th: Last day for bills to pass the floor in the second house
• October 14^th: Last day for Governor to sign or veto bills

Kate Bell, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kate Bell Strategies is a former 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.