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The state’s 2013 legislative session ends Friday with several CAA-supported bills already signed by the governor, on deck for last-minute passage by lawmakers or set aside for legislative consideration in 2014.
Some of these California Apartment Association-supported bills and where they stand:
Signed by Gov. Jerry Brown
SB 196 (R-Cannella) – Gas Rates Disclosure – Apartment Buildings – SB 196 allows an apartment owner who has gas or electric submeters beyond the master meter to post a website address where the tenants can access the utility corporation’s rates. Current law requires the property owner to post a copy of the… Read More
Tagged: Advocacy
Although untidy, the used mattresses strewn in front of the Capitol earlier this month sent a rather neat message: It’s time to put a tired old eyesore to bed.
The California Apartment Association, lawmakers and other stakeholders spoke in support of Senate Bill 254, which targets abandoned mattresses left in vacated apartments, dumped on the side of the road or other places that beds don’t belong.
SB 254, now on the governor’s desk, would create a nonprofit mattress-recycling organization to make sure discarded mattresses are collected, dismantled and recycled for new products.
Debra Carlton, senior vice president of public affairs… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyLegislation
If your rental property has a master meter for power and gas, you’ve probably posted those lengthy utility rate schedules for your tenants to review.
A bill on the governor’s desk would allow for a more convenient alternative.
Senate Bill 196 by Anthony Canella, R-Ceres, would allow a landlord to post an Internet address where tenants can obtain a utility company’s rate schedule, instead of the current requirement that the rate schedule, in its entirety, be posted in a conspicuous place.
Posting an Internet address takes up less space, time and money than posting the prevailing rate as published by… Read More
Tagged: LegislationUtility Rates
A bill signed by Gov. Brown this week gives survivors of human trafficking the right to terminate residential leases to protect themselves against their abusers.
The law also strengthens existing protections for survivors of domestic violence who are forced to vacate a rental property for their personal safety.
Authored by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, SB 612 allows a tenant to precipitate the move-out process by providing the landlord with a written report, prepared by a medical provider, declaring that abuse occurred.
This increases protections for victims of crimes including domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, elder or dependent abuse, and… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacySafety Domestic Violence
Over the past week, the California Apartment Association has negotiated more positive amendments into Sen. Lois Wolk’s bill on water sub-meters, resolving one of the rental housing industry’s biggest concerns: penalties.
Under new changes to SB 750, all penalty provisions have been removed. Those terms would have imposed attorneys’ fees and penalties against landlords and their billing agents if they failed to follow the provisions of Wolk’s sub-meter legislation, even if minor missteps were made.
In addition, the author has agreed to extend the sub-meter installation requirement for an additional year – to 2016. Moreover, the parties have agreed to… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyUtility Rates
Senate Bill 750 — sponsored by tenant and environmental lobbies to mandate sub-meters in new construction and establish consumer protections in affected properties — remains pending in an Assembly committee.
As originally drafted, SB 750 by Sen. Lois Wolk prohibited RUBS, banned administrative fees for water sub-meters and required that, as of Jan. 1, 2014, all new multifamily construction units would be sub-metered.
The California Apartment Association and the Utility Conservation Coalition, an alliance of utility billing companies, have been diligently working to address the negative aspects of the bill and to create a “win-win” situation for owners, residents, and… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyLegislationUtility Rates
The California State Legislature is finishing up its summer recess and will return in August to wrap up the first year of the 2013-14 Legislative sessions.
To date, 2013 has been one of the most challenging Legislative sessions for the apartment industry in a decade. The California Apartment Association has actively lobbied on 75 bills to make certain that the industry is protected from over-reaching legislative proposals.
Three measures in particular would have had far-reaching economic impacts on the industry but were successfully stopped or amended by CAA.
Senate Bill 750 – Water sub-metering and RUBS
The issue of ratio-utility… Read More
The California Apartment Association wishes to thank the lawmakers who voted down a bill that would have unfairly penalized landlords who make honest calculations regarding security deposits.
Thanks also go out to the rental-housing professionals who took part in CAA’s letter-writing campaign to defeat the bill.
On May 29, Senator Mark Leno’s SB 603 received 18 no votes, 13 yes votes, and 8 abstentions. The bill needed 21 yes votes to pass.
The no votes came from the following senators: Joel Anderson, R-San Diego; Tom Berryhill, R-Twain Harte; Ron Calderon, D-Montebello; Anthony Cannella, R-Ceres; Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana; Bill Emmerson,… Read More
A bill that would have unfairly penalized landlords who make honest mistakes regarding security deposits has died on the Senate floor, thanks largely to opposition from the California Apartment Association.
Late Wednesday, Sen. Mark Leno’s SB 603 received 18 no votes, 13 yes votes and eight abstentions. Prior to the roll call, Sen. Roderick Wright, D. Los Angeles, spoke against the legislation, reflecting many of CAA’s reasons for opposition.
Although the bill had undergone substantial amendments, SB 603 remained bad for the rental housing industry. The original, more problematic version would have required that landlords pay interest on security deposits,… Read More
Tagged: Security Deposits
A bill that would have unfairly penalized landlords who make honest mistakes regarding security deposits has died on the Senate floor, thanks largely to opposition from the California Apartment Association.
Late Wednesday, Sen. Mark Leno’s SB 603 received 18 no votes, 13 yes votes and eight abstentions. Prior to the roll call, Sen. Roderick Wright, D. Los Angeles, spoke against the legislation, reflecting many of CAA’s reasons for opposition.
Although the bill had undergone substantial amendments, SB 603 remained bad for the rental housing industry. The original, more problematic version would have required that landlords pay interest on security deposits,… Read More
Tagged: Legislation