The Echo Legislation Tracker: 2023–2024 California Legislative Session

With a new legislative session comes new bills to watch. A description of bills Echo will be tracking follows:

AB-572; Haney – Imposition of Assessment

SUBJECT: Regular assessment increases limited to 5% of preceding year for deed-restricted affordable housing units.

STATUS: Introduced February 8, 2023.

POSITION: This may be difficult for associations to keep track of but makes sense for affordable housing. These units already pay less in county taxes, so it follows that assessments are less as well. Echo position: Oppose.

AB-648; Valencia – Virtual or Teleconference Board Meetings

SUBJECT: Virtual and teleconference board meetings.

STATUS: February 9, 2023, first time read.

POSITION: With the state of emergency coming to an end, so does the ability to conduct board meetings completely by teleconference or virtually. This bill seeks to do away with the physical location requirements for a teleconference or virtual meeting that existed pre-pandemic. If signed into law, the convenience and accessibility of virtual and teleconference board meetings will be allowed permanently. Echo position: Support.

SB-71; Umberg – Classification Changes to the Courts Impact Association Collections

SUBJECT: Mostly changes to court filing classifications. The limits for small claims increased to $25,000 and the limits for limited courts increased to $100,000.

STATUS: January 9, 2023 – Introduced and read for the first time.

POSITION: The most relevant change in this proposed bill is to CCP §86(6) where it specifies that association assessment lien foreclosure actions may be filed in Superior Court under a limited classification so long as the lien is less than $100,000. This limit has increased from $25,000, and that matters because the rules in limited court are more relaxed and initial filing fees are less than in unlimited cases. Pursuant to California Rules of Court, Rule 3.714(b), the goal of limited cases is to have 90 percent of cases disposed within 12 months, whereas for unlimited cases, the goal identified for 12 months is only 75 percent. In that regard, an unlimited filing may allow associations to get to judgment faster. Discovery is also capped in cases classified as limited, so these cases may also be more cost-effective (See CCP §§ 94, subd. (a), 2030.010, 2031.010 and 2033.010.). Echo position: Oppose.

AB-1458; Ta – Election Changes

SUBJECT: Adjournment of membership meeting dates shall be no less than 5 and no more than 30 days after adjourned proceedings. Quorum reduces to persons present in person, by proxy, or by ballot at the adjourned meeting date.

STATUS: Introduced February 17, 2023.

POSITION: This bill creates efficiency for elections. By statute, there would be a way to open ballots after at least one attempt to meet quorum. Echo position: Support with Amendment.

Other Legislation Being Tracked

AB-478: Wildfire Insurance - Watch

SB-505: Spot bill for HOA inclusion in FAIR - Support

AB-591: Credit Cards for EV Stations - Neutral

AB-288: Deed Transfer on Death - Watch

AB-925: Removal of Vehicles from Private Driveways - Review

Maria Kao, Esq. has served as litigation and transactional counsel since 2009. She has represented community associations of all sizes and has dealt with a broad spectrum of real estate and land use issues including review and interpretation of governing documents (e.g., voting, maintenance and repair, and insurance), contract review and vendor negotiations, disciplinary proceedings, and litigation. Ms. Kao is currently a partner with the firm of Briscoe, Ivester & Bazel, LLP.