Read about the bills which C.A.R. has an active position on that will be heard in committee in the coming week: 

C.A.R.SPONSORED BILLS

SCA 2 (Allen & Wiener) Public Housing Projects – Enacted by voters in 1950, Article 34 of the California Constitution requires that any development comprised of “low-rent” dwellings, financed in whole or in part by federal, state, or local government be approved by a vote of the people in the jurisdiction where the project is located. Article 34 does not just apply to “public housing”, but also affects mixed income developments which often contain units partially “subsidized” by local government. The article adds significant costs to the production of affordable housing as developers have to comply with its provisions for a ballot measure or to pursue alternative means of housing production which can avoid the Article’s provisions. C.A.R. is a co-sponsor of SCA 2 which seeks to repeal Article 34 in its entirety.

Status: Assembly Desk

AB 2166 (Mayes) Increased Federal Funding for Ownership Housing – HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is a block grant provided by the federal government directly to large cities, towns, or counties and to states. All HOME funds must be used for affordable housing (80% AMI) and must be matched by state or local resources or private contributions in an amount equal to at least 25 cents for every dollar of HOME funds. Deed restricted “affordable” rental housing receives the bulk of all state and federal funding. Under current state programs, which allocate federal funds, homeownership housing programs receive at most 10% of federal funds from one program and zero funding from most programs. C.A.R. is sponsoring this bill to prioritize 30% of federal HOME funds to facilitate the construction and purchase of owner-occupied housing and directs at least 10% of program funds to be prioritized for down payment assistance.

Status: Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee

AB 2170 (Grayson) Codification of GSE “First Look” Program –AB 2170 will prohibit bulk sales of REO properties if the loan was held by Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs). AB 2170 will also: (a) Enact in California law provisions similar to existing federal guidelines which provide owner-occupants and public entities with an opportunity to purchase GSE backed REO properties for 30 days (e.g. federal “First Look” program); (b) Require mortgage servicers managing GSE REO sales to provide written acknowledgment to the potential owner-occupant purchaser and public entities of all offers during that 30 day period; and (c) Require mortgage servicers to respond to “First Look” offers on GSE REO parcels prior to accepting offers from investor purchasers.

Status: Assembly Judiciary Committee

AB 2245 (Ramos) The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act Extension Bill – In 2021, C.A.R. sponsored legislation that enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) in California. The UPHPA works to dramatically increase fairness when properties owned by heirs are sought to be partitioned in court by establishing due process mechanisms that did not previously exist in the law. In 2022, C.A.R. is sponsoring legislation that would require all tenancies in common to be partitioned in a similar manner to the UPHPA. As with the UPHPA, the law would require the property to be marketed by a real estate broker as opposed to a court ordered sale at auction as well as other safeguards currently enshrined in the UPHPA.

Status: Assembly Judiciary Committee

SUPPORT

AB 1642 (Salas) CEQA Exemption: Wells – This bill would provide a CEQA exemption for a well project that is part of a water system or has been designated by the State Water Resources Control Board as high or medium risk in the state board’s drinking water assessment and that is designed to mitigate or prevent a failure of the well that would leave residents without an adequate supply of safe drinking water. C.A.R. supports AB 1642 because it will help impacted communities gain access to clean and safe drinking water, sooner. Public health and access to clean water should not be held back by CEQA.This bill passed out of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on March 21st and is now pending a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee

AB 2668 (Grayson) Planning and zoning: housing: streamlined, ministerial approval – Existing law authorizes a development proponent to request a modification to a development that has been approved under the streamlined, ministerial approval process if the request is submitted before the issuance of the final building permit required for construction of the development. AB 2668 would prohibit a local government from determining that a development, or a development’s application for a modification, conflicts with the objective planning standards if the application contains sufficient information to allow a reasonable person to conclude that the project is consistent with the objective planning standards. C.A.R. supports AB 2668 because it seeks to assure that developments are not disapproved as the result of an administrative issue.  This bill passed out of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on March 23rd and is now pending a hearing in the Assembly Local Government Committee.

SB 1393 (Archuleta) Energy: appliances: local requirements – This bill would require a city or county to submit to receive approval from the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission before the city or county could require that a gas appliance be replaced with an electric appliance upon the alteration or retrofit of a residential or nonresidential building. C.A.R. supports this bill because it will require local governments consider important factors, such as cost and technological feasibility, before requiring residential and commercial property owners to switch out their gas appliances with electric appliances. By ensuring that such considerations guide the decision-making process at the local level, SB 1393 will ensure that California can meet its building decarbonization goals in a pragmatic and cost-effective manner. This bill will be heard in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee on March 28th . 

Stay tuned for updates over the next several months about these bills and other legislation. If you have a question, contact realtor@realtorparty.com.

For more info, read the C.A.R. Legislative Program.  See also a complete list of C.A.R.-sponsored bills.