AB 761 (VACANCY DECONTROL)

Legislative Advocate Brian Augusta just provided the following update on the status of AB 761 as it remains pending on the Assembly Floor:

“AB 761 was not taken up on the floor yesterday. The next opportunity for the bill to be taken up is Thursday when the full Assembly is scheduled to meet again on the floor. In Assembly Housing the author pledged to make certain amendments to the bill on the floor. (None of the amendments address concerns raised by GSMOL.) We know that the author had amendments ready to be taken up last week, but did not present them. We need to keep the calls and letters coming.”

“The deadline for all bills is next Friday. It will either be taken up on Thursday or next week, when the floor will meet every day until it clears all of the bills that are pending.”

Brian’s current Legislative Update on our other supported bills is attached above in MSWord 1997, and copy/pasted below.

On a related subject, we are frequently asked when the bills pending on the floor will be called up for a vote. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing this. The bill will be called up when the Author feels they have the 41 majority votes needed to pass. Even if it is scheduled for a given floor session, it could be postponed that day due to the last-minute absence of supporting Assemblymembers or other reasons. The legislative calendar calls for all bills to be out of their house of origin by June 5^th. If it is not called up by then, it dies on the floor or could possible be made a two-year bill.

The reason for the question may relate to our attempt to time the calls, cards and letters to arrive just before a floor vote. We wish this were possible. So, as Brian states above, let’s keep the cards and letters and calls coming in!

As always, please contact us if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns.

AB 481 (Ma) – OPPOSE - Not Heard in Assembly Housing, Two-year bill that may be heard in January

Description: Would provide that a mobilehome that is not owner-occupied would not be subject to local rent controls

AB 566 (Nava) - SUPPORT – Pending on Assembly Floor. Urge your Assemblymember to support.

Description: Would require that the currently-mandated survey of residents of a park for slated for conversion to condominiums demonstrate that a majority of the residents support the conversion. The bill also would state that localities may enact reasonable measures to prevent sham conversions or to preserve affordable housing.

AB 761 (Calderon) - OPPOSE – Pending on Assembly Floor. Urge your Assemblymember to vote no.

Description: Would impose “Costa-Hawkins”-style vacancy de-control restrictions on local mobilehome rent control ordinances. Upon a sale or vacancy of a mobilehome, the space rent would be set by the park, at market rate (i.e., “vacancy decontrol”). The bill would destroy billions of dollars of homeowner equity.

AB 869 (Mendoza) – SPONSOR – Bill will be taken up in January.

Description: Would create a program of certification for, and continuing education of, mobilehome park managers.

AB 1108 (Fuentes) -SUPPORT – Bill is pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Description: Would make various changes to requirements when electric or gas utilities are provided to mobilehome park residents and residential tenants through a master meter: (1) would allow the Public Utilities Commission to order repairs and maintenance of any sub-meters. (2) Would require separate billing for rent and any apportioned gas or electric service. (3) Would limit late fees on utility bills.

SENATE BILLS

SB 23 (Padilla) – SUPPORT – Bill is pending on Senate Floor. Urge your Senator to support.

Description: Would require mobilehome parks to develop, implement, and post an emergency and fire safety plan; would allow cities and counties to adopt more stringent regulations.

SB 804 (Leno) SUPPORT -Bill is pending on Senate Floor. Urge your Senator to support.

Description: Would prohibit a park from requiring a homeowner, who is replacing a mobilehome or manufactured home on a space in the park, to use a specific broker, dealer, or other person as an agent in the purchase or installation of the replacement home.

SB 111 (Correa) SUPPORT – Bill has passed the Senate and will likely be heard in the Assembly in June.

Description: Would reorganize the MRL to clean it up and make it more user-friendly by combining certain related sections and cleaning up other portions of the code.