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Sen. Mark Leno has halted his pursuit of state legislation that would undermine a landlord’s right to leave the rental housing industry.
Leno, D-San Francisco, has given up on Senate Bill 1439 after its rejection in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee last week. The bill took aim at the Ellis Act, a landmark 1985 law that bars local governments from making property owners stay in the apartment business.
Leno told the San Francisco Chronicle on Tuesday that he’ll probably try to resurrect the bill in 2015.
“I’m very committed to this,” he said in the article.
The Housing… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyEllis ActLegislation
A CAA-opposed bill that would allow school districts to impose different parcel tax rates on different types of property heads to its first Assembly committee next week.
If SB 1021 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, becomes law, school districts would be able to levy one parcel tax rate on single-family homes while charging other rates on apartments and commercial properties.
This split-roll tax bill, which goes before the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee on Wednesday, June 25, would let school districts to set parcel tax rates within a district based on characteristics such as parcel size, improvements to the parcel,… Read More
Tagged: LegislationTaxes
Despite recent amendments, Sen. Mark Leno’s anti-Ellis Act bill remains an attack on landlords’ property rights as it heads to its first Assembly committee Wednesday, June 18. *
Leno promised changes to SB 1439 on May 29 in a last-minute push to resuscitate the legislation, which failed the previous day on the Senate floor. The bill is now scheduled to be heard Wednesday by the Housing and Community Development Committee.
The California Apartment Association vehemently opposes the amended bill, which still would force many rental property owners in San Francisco to wait at least five years before removing their units… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyEllis ActLegislation
The California Apartment Association has helped remove the sticker shock from a bill intended to bring more electric-vehicle charging stations to multi-family parking lots.
When AB 2565 was first introduced by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, it would have required that rental property owners with more than 50 parking spaces dedicate at least 1 percent of the spots to electric vehicles — and pay to install the equipment. The cost is roughly $6,500 to $15,000 per station.
Following negotiations between all interested parties, however, the bill would now require that tenants both request and pay for charging stations – and related… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyLegislation
CAA has changed its position on a bill that encourages gardening on rental properties after the author weeded out some problematic elements of the legislation.
Originally, AB 2561 by Assemblyman Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, would have forced landlords to allow tenants to participate in gardening in portable containers in private areas of rentals.
This included balconies, where potted plants can drip water onto units and patios below, causing a nuisance to neighbors. CAA members worried about possible water damage and pests.
Following extensive negotiations, however, the assemblyman agreed to all of the California Apartment Association’s requested changes, prompting CAA this week… Read More
Tagged: Legislation
As the halfway point of 2014 approaches, the California Apartment Association has accomplished much in the legislative arena, yet much work lies ahead.
Friday was a milestone of sorts in the Legislative calendar, marking the deadline for bills to pass out of their house of origin.
In other words, as of midnight May 30, Senate bills had to pass the Senate, and Assembly bills had to pass the Assembly. Bills that survived now go to the opposite house. Those that didn’t are dead.
Below, you’ll find the status of some key bills for the rental housing industry. Let’s start with… Read More
Tagged: LegislationLegislature
The California Apartment Association is continuing its fight against an anti-Ellis Act bill that Senate Democratic leadership resuscitated May 29 after it sank on the Senate floor.
Sen. Mark Leno’s SB 1439 certainly appeared dead Wednesday, May 28, when it received just 18 of the 21 votes needed to reach the Assembly. On Thursday, however, the bill made an astounding comeback amid vigorous political CPR.
In its weekly newsletter, the Civil Justice Association of California dubbed the legislation a “zombie” bill for its surprising resurrection.
“A last-ditch effort by the author offering vague amendments and ‘considerations’ with considerable arm-twisting by… Read More
A bill that threatened to strip landlords of their right to leave the rental housing business failed on the Senate floor Wednesday, May 28, thanks largely to fierce opposition by the California Apartment Association.
SB 1439 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, garnered 18 yes votes but needed 21 to advance from the Senate to the Assembly. While Leno can ask for a new vote through Friday, his chances of resuscitating the bill are meager.
To defeat Leno’s bill, CAA lobbied heavily at the Capitol, launched an educational website for the public and spearheaded a letter-writing campaign that prompted hundreds… Read More
A bill that would close a change-of-ownership “loophole” in California’s Proposition 13 has undergone significant business-friendly amendments, helping it gain momentum in the Assembly.
At the insistence of the California Apartment Association and other groups, Assembly Bill 2372 no longer contains wording that could prompt a flood of unnecessary reassessments.
In the revised version of AB 2372, authored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, reassessments would follow the sale of commercial property whenever 90 percent of the property is sold over any three-year period.
CAA strongly opposed the first version of the bill, which would… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyLegislationTaxes
As expected, a bill that would hinder a landlord’s right to take rental units off the market in San Francisco advanced from the Judiciary Committee this week. It next goes to the Senate floor.
SB 1439 by state Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would undermine the Ellis Act, a 1985 law that bars local governments from making landlords stay in the rental housing business.
The Ellis Act especially protects owners of rental properties in rent controlled cities, where landlords can find themselves operating at a loss.
On Monday, Leno’s bill passed the Judiciary Committee by a 5 to 2 vote… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyEllis ActLegislation