Housing

(1) Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act (the act) , authorizes specified persons, including a person with whom the respondent resides, family members, and first responders, among others, to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria. Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, authorizes a conservator of the person, of the estate, or of the person and the estate to be appointed for a person who is gravely disabled as a result of a mental health disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism. Existing law requires the officer providing the conservatorship investigation, which may include a public guardian or a county mental health program, to investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship and to recommend conservatorship to the court only if no suitable alternatives are available. Existing law requires a conservatorship under these provisions to terminate after one year and specifies procedures if the conservator determines conservatorship is still required. This bill would authorize a conservator to, upon the termination of a conservatorship, request the court refer the conservatee to CARE court, as specified. (2) The act authorizes services and supports to be provided to adults who are currently experiencing a qualifying severe mental illness and who meet other specified criteria, including that the person is not clinically stabilized in ongoing voluntary treatment and is either unlikely to survive safely in the community without ongoing supervision and the person's condition is substantially deteriorating or the person is in need of services and supports to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would likely result in grave disability or serious harm to the person or others. This bill would authorize the court, beginning July 1, 2028, and if it dismisses a CARE petition because a respondent needs a higher level of services, to order the county to develop an exit plan for the respondent. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, by July 1, 2028, to develop, with input from certain stakeholder groups, a CARE Act model exit plan that identifies appropriate services and ongoing monitoring of an individual with a petition dismissed because the individual needed a higher level of services. This bill would update the definition of a petitioner for the purposes of the act. (3) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to develop a mandatory form or forms to use to file a CARE process petition. Existing law requires the petition to be signed under the penalty of perjury and to contain specified information, including the petitioner's relationship to the respondent and either an affidavit of a licensed behavioral health professional stating the licensed behavioral health professional or their designee has examined or made multiple unsuccessful attempts to examine the respondent within 60 days of submission of the petition, or that the respondent was detained for a minimum of 2 intensive treatments pursuant to state law. This bill would extend the 60-day period for examination of the respondent to 120 days. The bill would also authorize a petition to include evidence that the respondent was either detained for a minimum of 2 involuntary holds in the last 120 days or that they were referred to a full service partnership program more than once, but was not enrolled due to inability or unwillingness to engage in the previous 120 days. (4) Existing law authorizes a court to terminate a respondent's participation in the CARE process if the court determines that the respondent is not participating in the CARE process or is not adhering to their CARE plan, as specified. Existing law authorizes the court to order an evaluation under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, as specified, to ensure the respondent's safety. Existing law requires the court to consider the respondent's failure to successfully complete their CARE plan and the reasons for that failure in a subsequent hearing under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, provided that the hearing occurs within 6 months of the termination of the CARE plan, and creates a presumption that the respondent needs additional intervention beyond the supports and services provided by the CARE plan. This bill would prohibit the court from terminating a respondent's participation in the CARE process solely due to a failure of the county or other local government entity to properly engage with the CARE process. (5) Existing law requires CARE Act proceedings to occur in person unless the court, in its discretion, allows a party or witness to appear remotely through the use of remote technology. Existing law authorizes the respondent to be in person for all hearings. This bill would instead authorize all parties and witnesses to appear remotely through the use of remotely technology. The bill would authorize the court with discretion to order a party or witness to appear in person if necessary. This bill would authorize the parties to agree to an alternative method of service for all subsequent reports and notices after the notice of initial appearance. This bill would require, by January 1, 2028, all counties to establish a process for electronic submission of CARE Act documents using a secured portal. By increasing the duties on county behavioral health agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (6) Existing law authorizes a provider of health care or a covered entity, as defined, to disclose to the county behavioral health agency any information, including protected health information, and mental health records excluding psychotherapy notes, in its possession about the respondent that is relevant to the county behavioral health agency's provision, coordination, or management or services or supports. Existing law specifies protections for this information and required procedures when such a disclosure is made. This bill would authorize a county behavioral health agency to disclose to a provider of health care or a covered entity any information, including protected health information, and mental health records, excluding psychotherapy notes, in its possession about the respondent that is relevant to the provider or entity's provision, coordination, or management of services and supports. The bill would also specify protections for this information and required procedures when such a disclosure is made. (7) Existing law requires the department to develop, in consultation with specified entities, an annual CARE Act report that includes specified information on CARE Act petitions, including the number of initial appearances, and information compiled from county behavioral health departments and courts. This bill would expand the information on CARE Act petitions to include the number of petitions submitted electronically as well as other specified information. The bill would also expand the data to be compiled from county behavioral health departments and courts to include the number of individuals who were enrolled in a Full Service Partnership program postreferral, among other things. The bill would also require the data collected from county behavioral health departments and courts to be collected for cases involving dismissed respondents, where available. (8) Existing law requires the California Health and Human Services Agency, or a designated department within the agency, to perform specified functions, including engaging an independent, research-based entity to advise on the development of data-driven process and outcome measures to guide the planning, collaboration, reporting, and evaluation of the CARE Act. This bill would require the agency to annually release a list of overperforming counties and shall annually provide written notice identifying areas of concern and opportunities for improvement to underperforming counties. This bill would also establish within the California Health and Human Services Agency the position of a CARE Court Ombudsperson, as specified. (9) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the Mobilehome Residency Law, prescribes various terms and conditions of tenancies in mobilehome parks. The law defines "mobilehome park" for these purposes to mean an area of land where 2 or more mobilehome sites are rented, or held out for rent, to accommodate mobilehomes used for human habitation. The law caps the amount by which management of a qualified mobilehome park may increase the gross rental rate for a tenancy over the course of any 12-month period. The cap is the lower of 5% of the lowest gross rental rate charge for a tenancy at any time during the preceding 12 months or 3% of that amount plus the percentage change in the cost of living. Under that law, a mobilehome park is subject to that cap if it is located within and governed by the jurisdictions of 2 or more incorporated cities. The law repeals these rent cap provisions on January 1, 2030. This bill would additionally make any mobilehome park that is located in the City of Torrance subject to that cap, as specified, and would extend the repeal of these rent cap provisions to January 1, 2036. For a mobilehome park that is located in the City of Torrance, the bill would cap the rent on January 1, 2027, at the amount of rent as of January 5, 2026, plus the maximum permissible increase described above. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Torrance.

Existing law establishes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the direction of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. Existing law makes the department responsible for administering various laws relating to financial institutions, including the Banking Law, the California Credit Union Law (CCUL) , and the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act (CRMLA) , a willful violation of which is punishable as a misdemeanor. The CRMLA requires, as often as the commissioner deems necessary and appropriate, but at least once every 48 months, the commissioner to examine the affairs of each residential mortgage lender and servicer licensee for compliance with the CRMLA. The CRMLA authorizes the commissioner to examine the licensee's officers, directors, employees, or agents under oath regarding the licensee's operations. The CRMLA requires the commissioner to provide a written statement, the disclosure of which is subject to certain restrictions, of the findings of the examination, issue a copy of that statement to each licensee's principals, officers, or directors, and take appropriate steps to ensure correction of any violations of the CRMLA. This bill, the California Fair Lending Examination Act, would require, under the Banking Law and the CCUL, the commissioner to, at least once every 4 years, examine, as prescribed, the books and records of certain entities subject to the commissioner's examination authority under those laws for compliance with any nondiscrimination law applicable to mortgage lending, as specified, and would require the commissioner to provide a written statement of the findings of that examination, issue a copy of that statement to the subject's principals, officers, or directors, and take appropriate steps to ensure correction of any violations of applicable nondiscrimination laws. The bill would prohibit disclosure of that statement to anyone other than the subject entity, law enforcement officials, or other state or federal regulatory agencies for further investigation and enforcement. This bill would, as part of the above-described examination required by the CRMLA, require the commissioner to additionally examine the licensee for compliance with any nondiscrimination law applicable to mortgage lending, as prescribed. This bill would make a violation of an applicable nondiscrimination law a violation of the Banking Law, the CCUL, or the CRMLA, as applicable, and would authorize, under the Banking Law and the CCUL, the commissioner to examine the applicable entity's officers, directors, employees, or agents under oath regarding the entity's operations. By expanding the scope of the crimes of perjury and of violating the CRMLA, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing property tax law, pursuant to constitutional authorization, provides for a "welfare exemption" for property used exclusively for religious, hospital, scientific, or charitable purposes and that is owned or operated by certain types of nonprofit entities, if certain qualifying criteria are met. Existing law also provides, until January 1, 2027, that property is within the welfare exemption if that property is owned by a community land trust, as defined, otherwise qualifying for the welfare exemption, and specified conditions are met, including that the property is being or will be developed or rehabilitated as housing, as specified. Existing law, however, makes community land trusts liable for property tax for the years for which the property was exempt from taxation if the property was not developed or rehabilitated, or if the development or rehabilitation is not in the course of construction, by January 1, 2027, for property acquired before January 1, 2022, or within 5 years of the lien date following acquisition of the property, for property acquired on and after January 1, 2022. This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until January 1, 2032. The bill would make various conforming changes, including with respect to the lien dates for which the exemption applies. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to apply those requirements to the above-described exemption and would set forth specified information relating to those requirements. In that regard, the bill would require the assessor to provide the State Board of Equalization with certain information and would require the assessor to retain that information, as specified. By imposing additional duties on local tax officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each planning agency to prepare and the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that contains specified mandatory elements, including an environmental justice element, or related goals, policies, and objectives integrated in other elements, that identifies disadvantaged communities, as defined, within the area covered by the general plan of the city, county, or city and county, if the city, county, or city and county has a disadvantaged community, as specified. The law requires a city, county, or city and county subject to these provisions to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the adoption of the next revision of two or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018. This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to meaningfully involve disadvantaged communities in the development, adoption, and implementation of the environmental justice element, or the related goals, policies, and objectives integrated in other elements, using methods that are designed to effectively involve disadvantaged communities based on local conditions and circumstances, as specified. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county subject to these provisions to adopt or review the environmental justice element, or the environmental justice goals, policies, and objectives in other elements, upon the earliest of the adoption or next revision of two or more elements concurrently on or after January 1, 2018, or June 30, 2031, except as specified. By increasing the duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires each electrical corporation, not later than February 28, 2021, to file an advice letter for, and requires the commission, not later than June 30, 2021, to approve, a new tariff or rule that authorizes each electrical corporation to design and deploy all electrical distribution infrastructure on the utility side of the customer's meter for all customers installing separately metered infrastructure to support charging stations, other than those in single-family residences. Existing law requires the commission to establish strategies and quantifiable metrics to maximize the use of feasible and cost-effective electric vehicle grid integration, as defined, by January 1, 2030, as specified. This bill would require the commission, on or before March 1, 2027, to establish targets for each electrical corporation to install electric vehicle charging stations at multifamily housing properties. The bill would require the commission to ensure the targets reduce costs for all ratepayers, and to require electrical corporations to make annual progress reports and to provide to the commission corresponding maps that identify the proposed multifamily housing properties within its service territory where use will be highest based on distribution system planning and experience with electric vehicle charging station infrastructure. The bill would require the commission, in establishing the targets, to determine whether to impose certain requirements on an electrical corporation, including a requirement that an electrical corporation recover all costs, to the extent not covered by nonratepayer funding, for deploying the electric vehicle charging stations, including the costs for administration and implementation, as operations and maintenance costs rather than as capital costs. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of the bill would be a part of the act and therefore a violation of the bill's requirements, or a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements, would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code. Existing law, the California Factory-Built Housing Law, generally regulates the design, manufacture, and installation of factory-built housing, as defined and specified. That law specifically and entirely reserves to local jurisdictions certain local requirements, including local use zone requirements, snow load requirements, and wind pressure requirements. That law provides that any person who violates any of those provisions and other specified law is guilty of a misdemeanor, as specified. This bill also would prohibit a city, county, city and county, or district from imposing or enforcing local building standards applicable to a factory-built housing structure, as defined, that exceed or differ from the applicable mandatory standards contained in the California Building Standards Code. The bill would authorize a city or county to make changes or modifications in the requirements contained in the provisions published in the California Building Standards Code that are reasonably necessary to maintain minimum health and safety because of local climatic, geological, or topographical conditions, subject to the city or county making a specified finding. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption in favor of a determination that facilitates the use of factory-built housing and allows a project to qualify as a factory-built housing structure. This bill would define certain key terms for purposes of the California Factory-Built Housing Law. In this regard, the bill would define "building assembly" to mean assembled construction materials, components, subsystems, subassemblies or other systems designed for use in, or as part of, factory-built housing, and "factory-built housing structure" as a residential building where at least 23 of the new or converted square footage is designated for residential use and in which at least 30% of the residential use portion of the building is built using factory-built housing. The bill would recast the definition of "factory-built housing" to mean, among other things, a residential building, dwelling unit, building component, building assembly, or building system that is manufactured in a specified manner. The bill would make other conforming changes to definitions in the California Factory-Built Housing Law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, and the Vehicle Code. By adding to the duties of local officials, and expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that certain changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2028, and before January 1, 2033, in an amount equal to 40% of the amount paid or incurred, not to exceed $25,000, during the taxable year for repairs that are required as a condition of closing the sale of real property to a purchaser utilizing a first-time homebuyer assistance program, as specified. The bill would prohibit a taxpayer from claiming more than one credit for a taxable year or more than one taxpayer from claiming the credit with respect to a property for a taxable year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure, as defined, to include tax credits, to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax credit will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include findings and reporting requirements in compliance with this requirement. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 sets forth various standards relating to manufactured homes, mobilehomes, special purpose commercial coaches, and commercial coaches, including, but not limited to, construction and alteration of those homes. Existing law, including the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 and the Uniform Commercial Code–Secured Transactions, defines the term "manufactured home" for various purposes to mean a structure that, among other things, is transportable in one or more sections, is 8 body feet or more in width, or 40 body feet or more in length, in the traveling mode, or, when erected on site, is 320 or more square feet, and is built on a permanent chassis. This bill would modify that definition to mean a structure that was constructed on or after June 15, 1976, with or without a foundation system, and has the same meaning as defined in specified federal law. Existing law, pursuant to the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, authorizes the Department of Housing and Community Development to assume responsibility for the enforcement of manufactured home and mobilehome construction and safety standards relating to any issue with respect to which a federal standard has been established. Existing law also authorizes the department to adopt regulations to ensure acceptance by the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development of California's plan for the administration and enforcement of federal manufactured home and mobilehome safety and construction standards. Existing law makes any person who knowingly violates any provision of the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 or any rule or regulation issued pursuant to that act, except as specified, guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would require the department, by July 1, 2027, to review, revise, and adopt regulations to permit the construction, installation, sale, and occupancy of a manufactured home built without a permanent chassis in parity with those applicable to a manufactured home built with a permanent chassis. The bill would exempt those regulations from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The bill would also require the department to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2027, on the status of the above-described regulations. This bill would require the department, by July 1, 2029, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the statutory and administrative changes necessary to regulate, finance, title, tax, and protect homeowners in divided-tenure and leasehold homeownership arrangements, as specified, and to contract with appropriate outside parties who shall consult with certain entities, including county assessors and recorders, in preparing that report. By imposing additional duties on local officials, and by expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

The California Constitution establishes the Judicial Council, and requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules for court administration, practice, and procedure, and to undertake certain responsibilities with regard to court facilities. Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies. Existing law, after a tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied a residential real property for 12 months, prohibits the owner of the residential real property from terminating the tenancy without just cause and requires that just cause to be stated in the written notice to terminate tenancy. Under existing law, a tenant is guilty of unlawful detainer if the tenant continues to possess the property without permission of the landlord after the tenant defaults on rent, among other reasons. This bill would, by July 1, 2032, require the Judicial Council to assess the timeline by which each county court system has the ability to submit specified data points regarding unlawful detainer cases to the Judicial Council utilizing an automated data collection system. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2033, require each county court system identified by the Judicial Council as able to report to the Judicial Council utilizing the automated data collection system to submit the specified data points to the Judicial Council on a quarterly basis, aggregated by ZIP Code. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2034, all county court systems to report the identified data points to the Judicial Council utilizing the automated data collection system on a quarterly basis, aggregated by ZIP Code of the premises that is the subject of the action. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2034, and annually thereafter, the Judicial Council to format the information received pursuant to the provisions above in an electronic spreadsheet, as specified, and to publicly post the spreadsheet on its internet website. The bill would make implementation of its provisions contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature, as specified.