Legislative Update

By Jennifer Wada, Esq.

The Legislature reconvened on January 3rd and the deadline to introduce legislation was February 18th. Hundreds of new bills were introduced, and they join an already existing number of bills still alive from 2021. As of the writing of this article, CACM is still going through all newly introduced bills to assess impact on the community management industry.

As we enter the first round of policy committee hearings, we can anticipate that there will be many iterations of the proposals as the year progresses. Many bills were introduced in “spot” form, meaning their substantive content is yet to be included. In this article are some bills that CACM has flagged so far.

AB-1410 (Rodriguez – declared emergencies: protected uses)

CACM successfully stalled this bill last year, but the author is pushing it again this year. Referred to as the “kitchen sink” bill, AB-1410 originally included a host of problematic provisions ranging from prohibiting associations from enforcing any violation during a state of emergency to allowing personal agriculture in front yards.

CACM vigorously opposed the original approach and while it remains opposed, negotiations have improved the bill. Here are some highlights:

1. Originally, the bill barred associations from prohibiting personal agriculture in front yards. This entire section has been eliminated.

2. Originally, the bill prohibited any courtesy notice or enforcement action during a state of emergency. Amendment snow allow courtesy notices and only prohibit enforcement if the nature of the emergency makes compliance “unsafe or impossible” for the homeowner to prevent or fix the violation.

3. Originally, the bill prohibited all rental restrictions. Amendments now clarify that these provisions only apply to owner-occupied units with a roommate (a.k.a. “lodgers”). In other words, an association cannot prohibit owners from having lodgers.

The amendments clarify that an owner or a resident renting or leasing a portion of the owner-occupied separate interest may violate association bylaws and operating rules that govern conduct in common areas, including, but not limited to, parking restrictions, guest access to common facilities, and voting eligibility requirements.

Lastly, amendments sought to clarify that the current law on short term rentals is not impacted by the bill, but we believe more tweaks to the language will be necessary to ensure this.

4. Originally, the bill prohibited governing documents from barring speech “critical of the association.” The amendments now amend section 4515 of the Civil Code regarding the list of things governing documents cannot prohibit to include the use of social media or other online resources to discuss association matters even if the discussions are critical of the association or its governance.

5. Originally, the bill required directors and employees of associations to take a DRE-approved course in ethics and harassment prevention. The amendments remove the requirement that the course be DRE-approved and require the director or employee to certify that they have taken such a course.

CACM has expressed concern that this will further impair an association’s ability to get candidates to run for the board. More negotiations and modifications are needed.

AB-1410 is now awaiting policy hearings on the Senate side. We will be working with the author and committees on further improvements to the bill.

AB-1754 (Chen – Debt Collection Licensing Act)

This makes further revisions to the definition of a collection agency to additionally include a business entity that acts as a broker, forwarder, intermediary, or middlemen that sends or refers repossession assignments or repossession orders to repossession agencies or repossession agents in California.

Note: There are other bills related to the Debt Collection Licensing Act that are still in spot form.

AB-1755 (Levine – Homeowners Insurance: home hardening)

This would require an admitted insurer licensed to issue homeowners’ insurance policies to issue a policy to a homeowner who has hardened their home against fire, regardless of the home’s location, on or after July 1, 2025.

The bill would also create a Wildfire Protection Grant Program, under which the department would be required to award grants of up to $10,000 each to help homeowners pay for costs associated with wildfire mitigation improvements.

Note: There are bills related to homeowners’ insurance in wildfire areas still in spot form.

AB-2650 (Arambula – Swimming Pool Safety)

This would apply the inspection and approval of drowning prevention safety devices by a local building code official to instances where real property with a swimming pool or spa is transferred. Existing law only applies this requirement to new construction or remodels.

The bill also specifies that the requirements are not met by an exit alarm and a self closing, self-latching device used on the same door or on 2 separate doors that provide access to the swimming pool or spa. The bill also makes other definitional changes in the Swimming Pool Safety Act.

AB-2830 (Bloom – CIDs)

This is a spot bill in the Davis-Stirling Act. The author indicates this is a placeholder bill only and he has no intention of this moving forward as a CID bill.

SB-1292 (Stern – Accessory Dwelling Units)

This would authorize an ADU applicant to submit a request to the local agency for an alternative rear and side yard setback requirement if the local agency’s setback requirements make the building of the ADU infeasible.

The bill would prohibit any rear and side yard setback requirements established from being greater than those in effect as of January 1, 2020. SB-1292 also specifies that if the local agency did not have an ADU ordinance as of January 1, 2020, the applicable rear and side yard setback requirement is 4 feet.

What’s Next?

CACM continues to review all introduced bills and monitor amendments to assess impacts on the community management industry. We are at the beginning of the legislative session, so stay tuned for more to come!

Jennifer Wada, Esq.

Jennifer Wada, Esq., is an attorney, CACM’s legislative advocate and principal of Wada Government Relations in Sacramento.