Page 51 - AAGLA-JULY 2022

The Sacramento Update
THE SACRAMENTO UPDATE
Several Bills Stall During Floor Deadline: Others on to the Second House
By Kate Bell, Kate Bell Strategies
State Budget Update
Governor Newsom unveiled his “May Revision” to the state budget, and in this latest update he has proposed additional funding that would help our membership, including:
withdrawn. Exemptions would have been given for smaller owners (4 or fewer units).
There are a couple of bills that passed the Senate Floor that we had supported and will continue to advocate for as they move onto the Assembly:
• $2.7 Billion for Emergency Rental Assistance.
Governor Newsom is proposing significant state •
funding for qualified, low-income renters who
have requested rental assistance prior to March 31,
2022. no response within 20 days – for “Tier 1” applicants
Senate Bill 847. (Hurtado) “COVID-19 Rent Relief: Grant Program” - Would create a grant program for landlords who received a negative decision or
• $1.4 Billion to Help Californians Pay Past-Due Utility
Bills. As Californians continue to face difficulties • paying utility bills, this proposed funding expands
upon last year’s utility relief program by allocating
$1.2 billion for electricity bills and $200 million for
water bills.
The Democrat state leaders, Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Speaker Anthony Rendon, and the two Chairpersons of the Budget Committees, Senator Nancy Skinner and Assembly Member Phil Ting, have proposed their budget to the Governor, which will be finalized once negotiations with • the Governor have been concluded, and the budget is passed by the Legislature no later than June 15, 2022. That proposed agreement includes $50 million for financing of Accessor Dwelling Units (ADUs).
Legislative Update
We have now passed the deadline for passage in the house of origin where bills proposed by the Assembly required passage on the Assembly Floor and bill proposed by the Senate required passage on the Senate Floor. There were several proposed bills initially of great concern to rental housing providers that are “dead,” and one that was of major concern that is now dead:
• Assembly Bill 2050. (Lee) Restrictions on use of Ellis Act – This bill would have required notification of intent to withdraw a property from rental market, and to identify each person or entity with an ownership interest in the property. The bill would have prohibited an owner (other than a natural person or LLC formed by 4 or fewer natural persons or trusts with natural person beneficiaries) from withdrawing accommodations from rental market for a period of 5-years from purchase or for 10-years from when a previous property was
(e.g., not corporation, non-REIT, and non-LLC).
Senate Bill 897. (Weickowski) “ADU Height Limits” – (Original proposal was to increase height limit from 16 to 25 feet). Now requires that the standards imposed on ADUs be objective and defines “objective standard” as subjective judgment by a public official and is uniformly verifiable. Also, requires a local agency to issue a demolition permit for a detached garage replaced by an ADU at the same time.
Senate Bill 1133. (Archuleta) “Price Gouging: State of Emergency: Specified Housing Exclusion” - The bill would also exclude specified categories of housing from these provisions, including housing that was issued a certificate of occupancy for residential use within the 3 months preceding a proclamation of a state of emergency or declaration of local emergency or within the duration of the proclamation or declaration.
• Senate Bill 1262. (Bradford) Courts’ Indexes - This bill would require 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.
However, there are several “high-priority” bills that we continue to be steadfastly opposed to that will be going on to the next legislative house, which include:
• Assembly Bill 2053. (Lee) Creates the Social Housing Act and would establish the quasi-governmental authority, California Housing Authority, to produce and acquire social housing developments for the purpose of eliminating the gap between housing
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