Asm. Alex Lee

(1) Existing law, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act, establishes the Bay Area Housing Finance Agency to raise, administer, and allocate funding for affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay area, as defined, and provide technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. Existing law requires the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority and executive board of the Association of Bay Area Governments to form an advisory committee composed of 9 representatives with knowledge and experience in the areas of affordable housing finance and development, tenant protection, and housing preservation. This bill would require the authority and executive board to form an advisory committee composed of at least 9 and no more than 11 representatives with knowledge and expertise in the areas of affordable housing finance, construction workforce, and development, tenant protection, and housing preservation. The act provides the authority with various powers, including the power to place a measure on the ballot to raise revenue and allocate funds throughout the San Francisco Bay area, apply for and receive grants or loans from public and private entities, incur and issue bonds and other indebtedness, and otherwise incur liabilities or obligations. The act authorizes the authority to allocate and deploy financing to cities, counties, other public agencies within the San Francisco Bay area and private affordable housing developers to finance affordable housing development, as specified. This bill would specify that the authority is limited to placing only one measure on the ballot per election. The bill would also authorize the authority to deploy financing to nonprofit corporations to finance affordable housing development, as specified. Existing law authorizes a city or county, or an agency created pursuant to a joint powers agreement, to issue revenue bonds to defray the costs of acquiring home mortgages or making loans to lending institutions in order to enable them to make home mortgages, and the costs of studies and surveys, insurance premiums, underwriting fees, legal, accounting and marketing services incurred in connection with the issuance and sale of bonds, as specified. This bill would authorize the authority to issue mortgage revenue bonds, pursuant to provisions described above; acquire, hold, develop, operate, and dispose of real property; and create one or more California limited liability companies of which the authority is the sole member. (2) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. This bill would exempt from CEQA any actions taken by the authority to raise, administer, or allocate funding for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, or new affordable housing production or to provide technical assistance consistent with the authority's purpose. (3) Existing law authorizes the executive board of the authority to impose a commercial linkage fee, as defined, in an amount not to exceed ten dollars ($10) per square foot, within the San Francisco Bay area, as specified. Existing law requires the expenditures of proceeds from a commercial linkage fee be limited to affordable housing production, preservation, and tenant protection programs. This bill would authorize the expenditures of proceeds from a commercial linkage fee to include the authority's related administrative costs. (4) The act defines "authority revenues" to include, without limitation, revenues generated by any special tax, fee, or charge imposed by the authority, other than ad valorem property taxes. Existing law, the Revenue Bond Law of 1941, requires a local agency to annually publish a summary statement showing, among other things, the amount of gross revenues from revenue bonds. This bill would revise and recast the definition of "authority revenue" to also include loan repayments, investment income, or income derived from the ownership or operation of real property. The bill would provide for prioritization of spending of authority revenues. The bill would require the authority to publish the above-described summary statement not more than 9 months after the close of each fiscal year. (5) Existing law requires the authority to distribute regional housing revenue, as defined, in the form of a grant, loan, or other financing tool in a manner that achieves certain minimum shares over 5-year periods. In this regard, existing law requires 5% of those regional housing revenues for tenant protection programs for low- and moderate-income households, which includes, among other things, preeviction and eviction legal services and providing emergency rental assistance for lower income households. This bill would include homelessness prevention services, as specified, as an eligible expense under tenant protection programs for low- and moderate-income households. (6) Existing law requires the authority to distribute funds received through the authorized funding measures according to specified provisions, which in part require each county to adopt a county expenditure plan applicable to county housing revenue. Existing law requires, in order for the expenditure plan to be deemed complete, the expenditure plan to specify, among other things, a description of any specific project or program proposed to receive funding. This bill would additionally require the plan to demonstrate that the county has consulted with each city in the county, excluding cities that receive a direct allocation. (7) Existing law requires, if the authority proposes a measure that will generate revenues and that requires voter approval, the board of supervisors of the relevant county or counties to call a special election on the measure. Existing law requires each county included in the measure to use the exact ballot question, impartial analysis, and summary of the expenditure plan provided by the authority. Existing law requires these materials to include, among other things, an estimate of the number of affordable housing units to be built or preserved by household income category served, and a description of any specific projects planned to be funded. This bill would instead require each county included in the measure to use the election materials provided by the authority, including the exact ballot question, impartial analysis, and full text of the ballot measure for inclusion in the voter information pamphlet. The bill would make conforming changes. By changing the duties of local officials with respect to elections procedures for revenue measures on behalf of the authority, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) 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 prohibits an owner of residential real property from, over the course of any 12-month period, increasing the gross rental rate for a dwelling or a unit more than 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for that dwelling or unit at any time during the 12 months before the effective date of the increase, as prescribed. This bill would require the owner of qualifying residential property, as defined, that provides parking with the qualifying residential property to unbundle parking from the price of rent, as specified. The bill would define "unbundled parking" as the practice of selling or leasing parking spaces separate from the lease of the residential use. The bill would define "qualifying residential property" as any dwelling or unit that is intended for human habitation that (1) is issued a certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 2025, (2) consists of 16 or more residential units, and (3) is located within the County of Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta, or Ventura. The bill would provide a tenant of a qualifying residential property with a right of first refusal to parking spaces built for their unit, as specified. The bill would prohibit a tenant's failure to pay the parking fee of a separately leased parking agreement from forming the basis of any unlawful detainer action against the tenant. The bill would authorize a property owner, if a tenant fails to pay by the 45th day following the date payment is owed for a separately leased parking space, to revoke that tenant's right to lease that parking spot. The bill would exempt certain properties from these provisions, including residential properties with individual garages that are functionally a part of the property and housing developments where 100% of the units, exclusive of any manager's unit or units, are restricted as affordable housing for persons and families of low or moderate income. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Shasta, and Ventura.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to give priority with respect to funding under the Multifamily Housing Program to projects that prioritize adaptive reuse in existing developed areas served with public infrastructure, as specified. Existing law, the Housing Accountability Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project, as defined for purposes of the act, for very low, low-, or moderate-income households or an emergency shelter unless the local agency makes specified written findings based on a preponderance of the evidence in the record. That act states that it shall not be construed to prohibit a local agency from requiring a housing development project to comply with objective, quantifiable, written development standards, conditions, and policies appropriate to, and consistent with, meeting the jurisdiction's share of the regional housing need, except as provided. That act further provides that a housing development project or emergency shelter shall be deemed consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision if there is substantial evidence that would allow a reasonable person to conclude that the housing development project or emergency shelter is consistent, compliant, or in conformity. Under this bill, a housing development that is, among other requirements, an extremely affordable adaptive reuse project on an infill parcel that is not located on or adjoined to a site where more than 13 of the square footage on the site is dedicated to industrial use, as specified, would be an allowable use. The bill would authorize a local agency to impose objective design review standards, except as specified. The bill would authorize a local agency to deny the project if it is proposed to be located on a site or adjoined to any site where any of the square footage on the site is dedicated to industrial use and the local agency makes written findings that approving the development would have an adverse effect on public health and safety. The bill would provide that for purposes of the Housing Accountability Act, a proposed housing development project is consistent, compliant, and in conformity with an applicable plan, program, policy, ordinance, standard, requirement, or other similar provision if the housing development project is consistent with the standards specified in these provisions. The bill would require a local agency to determine whether the proposed development meets those standards within specified timeframes. The bill would define an "extremely affordable adaptive reuse project" for these purposes to mean a multifamily housing development project that involves retrofitting and repurposing of a residential or commercial building that currently allows temporary dwelling or occupancy, and that meets specified affordability requirements, including that 100% of the units be dedicated to lower income households, 50% of which shall be dedicated to very low income households, as specified. Because the bill would require local officials to provide a higher level of service, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a local source of funding that can be used for the development of affordable housing to include adaptive reuse as an eligible project and prohibit an agency with control of a local source of funding from prohibiting or excluding a development proposal that uses an adaptive reuse model for an affordable housing project development solely on the basis that the proposal is for an adaptive reuse project. The bill would include findings that 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, 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 regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, and prohibits a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to 2 months' rent, in the case of unfurnished residential property, and an amount equal to 3 months' rent, in the case of furnished residential property, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2024, instead prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to one month's rent, regardless of whether the residential property is unfurnished or furnished, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. The bill, unless the prospective tenant is a service member, as defined, would prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of 2 months' rent, in addition to any rent for the first month, if the landlord (1) is a natural person or a limited liability corporation in which all members are natural persons and (2) owns no more than 2 residential rental properties that collectively include no more than 4 dwelling units offered for rent.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Act creates the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and authorizes the district to provide for the conservation and management of flood, storm, and recycled waters, and other waters, for beneficial uses and to enhance natural resources in connection with carrying out the purposes of the district. Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. Existing law defines "surplus land" to generally mean land owned in fee simple by a local agency for which the local agency's governing body takes formal action in a public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and not necessary for the agency's use. Existing law defines "agency's use" to include land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agency's governing board, or is disposed of to support agency work or operations. Existing law excludes from "agency's use" commercial or industrial uses or activities, or property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue, unless the local agency is a district, except as specified, and the agency's governing body takes specified actions in a public meeting. This bill would additionally authorize the district to take certain actions in order to assist unsheltered people living along streams, in riparian corridors, or otherwise within the district's jurisdiction, in consultation with a city or the County of Santa Clara to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals. The bill would require, if the district elects to use the above-described authority, the district to provide a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2029, and a subsequent report on or before July 1, 2034, containing specified information, including, among other things, the district's actions taken to assist unsheltered people. The bill would provide that the use of land by the district for these specified actions constitutes "agency's use" for purposes of the prescribed requirements related to the disposal of surplus land by a local agency, and would make this provision operative only if SB 747 of the 2023–24 Regular Session is enacted as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.

Existing law, added by the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1991, creates the Department of Pesticide Regulation and authorizes the Director of Pesticide Regulation, among other things, to adopt regulations for the issuance and renewal of licenses and certificates for pest control operations. Existing law requires the director, on or after January 1, 2025, to adopt regulations for the issuance and renewal of licenses and certificates for pest control operations for a 3-year period. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2026, to establish and convene a Department of Pesticide Regulation Environmental Justice Advisory Committee, as provided, that would provide prioritized recommendations to the department on ways to integrate environmental justice considerations into department programs, policies, decisionmaking, and activities, and on how the department can improve its engagement with communities with the most significant exposure to pesticides. The bill would require the advisory committee to hold, at a minimum, 2 public meetings annually and to post, as needed, its recommendations on the department's internet website. The bill would also require the department to post, as needed, on its internet website an update on its efforts to incorporate the advisory committee's recommendations.

Existing law prohibits a person from operating a motor vehicle, or stopping, parking, or leaving a vehicle standing, on a portion of the highway designated for the exclusive use of public transit buses, subject to specified exceptions. Existing law also requires a public transit agency, with the agreement of the agency with jurisdiction over the highway, to place and maintain signs and traffic control devices indicating that a portion of a highway is designated for the exclusive use of public transit buses, as specified. This bill would instead make these provisions applicable to transit-only traffic lanes. The bill would define transit-only traffic lanes as any designated transit-only lane on which use is restricted to mass transit vehicles, or other designated vehicles including taxis and vanpools, during posted times. The bill would instead require the agency with jurisdiction over the highway or a public transit agency to place and maintain signs and traffic control devices indicating that a portion of highway is designated as a transit-only traffic lane and require a public transit agency placing and maintaining these signs and traffic control devices to do so with the agreement of the agency with jurisdiction over the highway.

Existing law prohibits the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle in certain places and under certain conditions, including within an intersection, on a sidewalk or crosswalk, or in front of a fire station. Existing law additionally authorizes local jurisdictions to, by ordinance, restrict parking in certain areas, at certain times, and for certain reasons, and to establish metered parking. This bill would prohibit the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle within 20 feet of the vehicle approach side of any unmarked or marked crosswalk or 15 feet of any crosswalk where a curb extension is present, as specified. The bill would, prior to January 1, 2025, authorize jurisdictions to only issue a warning for a violation, and would prohibit them from issuing a citation for a violation, unless the violation occurs in an area marked using paint or a sign. By restricting parking in certain areas, 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, 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 establishes procedures for authors to submit arguments for and against local ballot measures, and rebuttals to those arguments, in accordance with deadlines set by local elections officials. Existing law requires elections officials to select arguments from those submitted for publication in the voter information guide. This bill would establish a lead county, as defined, for the purposes of district or school district elections when the boundaries of the district or school district encompass more than one county. The bill would require authors of arguments for or against district or school district measures, and related rebuttal arguments, to submit the arguments to the elections official of the lead county. The bill would require the elections official of the lead county to work with the other counties within the district bounds to establish deadlines for receipt of the arguments. The bill would require the elections official of the lead county to select the arguments for publication in the county voter information guide, and to transmit copies of the selected arguments to elections officials in the other counties within the district or school district, as specified. The bill would require an elections official who receives arguments selected by the lead county to include the arguments in their county voter information guide. Existing law permits an elections official to post a form on their internet website for a candidate to use to submit the candidate's statement for the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. If the elections official posts the form, existing law requires the elections official to accept that form by electronic submission if it is submitted in accordance with certain timeframes and procedures for the preparation of the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. Existing law requires a candidate running in a multicounty district to provide to each county a hardcopy of the candidate statement form from the candidate's county of residence and payment of the requisite fee. This bill would require elections officials to post and accept electronic submission of a form for candidates to submit a candidate statement for the voter information portion of the county voter information guide. The bill would authorize a candidate running in a multicounty district to submit to each county an electronic copy of the form from the candidate's county of residence, and would require the candidate to transmit hardcopies of the candidate statement form, any accompanying form, and payment of the requisite fee to each county by overnight mail within 72 hours of filing the statement electronically. By increasing the duties of local elections officials, 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, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to maintain canteens at its facilities, as specified. Existing law requires the sale prices of the articles offered for sale to be fixed by the Director of Corrections at the amounts that will, as far as possible, render each canteen self-supporting. This bill would instead require the department to maintain a canteen at its active facilities, as specified. The bill would, until January 1, 2028, prohibit the sale prices of the articles offered for sale from exceeding a 35% markup above the price of the articles paid to the vendors. The bill would, commencing on January 1, 2028, require the sale amounts of the articles to be offered for sale to be fixed by the secretary at amounts that will render each canteen self-supporting.