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Election officials will determine by mid-October whether tenant activists collected enough valid voter signatures to place a rent control initiative before Sacramento city voters in 2020.
Beginning in March, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and the Service Employees International Union used paid signature gatherers, volunteers, and their own staff to circulate a petition to place rent control before city voters.
Although they missed the deadline to place the initiative on this November’s ballot, they kept collecting signatures in hopes of qualifying their measure for the next general election, now a year and a half away.
In a study released this week, a UC Berkeley economist warns that repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act would worsen the state’s housing shortage.
The paper, authored by Kenneth T. Rosen and available here, focuses on the potential impacts of Proposition 10, a Nov. 6 ballot measure that would overturn 1995’s Costa-Hawkins Act.
Without Costa-Hawkins, California cities and counties could once again adopt extreme forms of rent control, including the imposition of rent caps on new apartments and single-family homes. Such moves would create a major disincentive for the development of much needed housing.
“The last thing California needs is… Read More
Affordable housing advocates have joined a growing list of opponents to a measure that would overturn the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
The California Council for Affordable Housing and the California Housing Consortium are now part of a growing list of opponents to Proposition 10, the ballot measure going before voters in November that would repeal Costa-Hawkins and return extreme forms of rent control to California.
If voters approve Prop 10 and overturn Costa-Hawkins, cities will be authorized to apply rent control to single-family homes and new multifamily housing. They’ll also be able to make rent caps permanent, even after changes… Read More
Tagged: Costa-HawkinsElections
After a petition to put rent control on the November ballot in Santa Rosa failed to qualify last week, several elected officials are ready to discuss passing their own ordinance at City Hall.
The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 7, is scheduled to discuss the possible adoption of a city-drafted rent control ordinance. The California Apartment Association is calling on members to attend the meeting and voice their opposition.
“Your voice is needed to tell the City Council to focus on real solutions to rebuild Santa Rosa and stop wasting time on policies that are proven to fail,”… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsRent Control North Bay
A petition to put rent control on the November ballot in Santa Rosa has failed to qualify.
On Friday, the Santa Rosa city clerk announced that the petition fell short of the required number of valid signatures needed to place the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot.
To qualify the initiative, tenant advocates needed to submit 8,985 valid voter signatures. City officials, however, could confirm the validity of only 7,895, leading the city clerk to deem the petition insufficient.
“Clearly this is exciting news and a victory in our ongoing efforts to keep rent control out of Santa Rosa,” said… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsRent Control North Bay
California’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has said that Proposition 10 — the ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act — could cost local governments up to “tens of millions of dollars per year” in new costs and that the state could lose up to “hundreds of millions of dollars per year” in revenues.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office shared those findings in an analysis of Proposition 10 included in an Official Voter Information Guide published this week by the California Secretary of State’s Office.
Of those costs, the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board writes, “That’s the sobering bill… Read More
Tagged: Costa-HawkinsElectionsNews
The Civil Justice Association of California this week announced its opposition to Proposition 10, the ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and bring extreme forms of rent control back to California.
“Prop 10 contains a hidden loophole requiring taxpayers to pay the initiative supporters’ legal bills for participating in certain lawsuits, even if they lose and even if their position is frivolous,” Caitlin Colman, vice president of government affairs for CJAC, said in a news release from the No On Prop 10 campaign. “This blank check benefits lawyers and puts taxpayers on the hook for limitless… Read More
Tagged: Costa-HawkinsElections
Although a rent control measure could be headed for the Nov. 6 ballot in Santa Rosa, a movement on the City Council is afoot to explore a rent control ordinance at City Hall as well.
On Tuesday, the council was scheduled to discuss a potential rent control ordinance, spurring members of the California Apartment Association to attend the meeting to voice their opposition.
The mayor ultimately pulled the item from the agenda, and it is unclear whether the council will revisit it.
Talk of a possible rent control ordinance from the City Council comes as election officials count and verify… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsNewsRent Control North Bay
Rent control proponents announced this week that they have suspended their signature-gathering campaign in Long Beach.
Housing Long Beach, the group that was collecting signatures, initially attempted to qualify its rent control measure for the Nov. 6 ballot, but it missed its June 1 deadline to submit more than the 27,000 signatures required to qualify.
The group then set its sights on submitting the signatures by the next deadline, July 30, in hopes of qualifying the measure for the March 2020 election. Although cutoff to submit signatures is still a couple weeks away, Housing Long Beach has pulled the plug… Read More
Time has run out for signature gatherers to qualify a rent control initiative for the November 2018 ballot in the city of Sacramento.
However, the Housing 4 Sacramento coalition, which includes the Alliance for Californians for Community Engagement and Service Employees International Union, continues to collect signatures with hopes of meeting the Sept. 4 deadline to qualify the charter amendment for the next general election, which comes in 2020.
“We suspect they just were unable to collect the required number of signatures by the deadline,” said CAA Senior Vice President Jim Lofgren. “Now let’s hope we can shift our focus… Read More