Bill Text: CA AB1418 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1418

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Tenancy: local regulations: contact with law enforcement or criminal convictions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 476, Statutes of 2023. [AB1418 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1418-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1418

Introduced by Assembly Member McKinnor

February 17, 2023

An act to add Section 53165.1 to, and to amend the heading of Article 10 (commencing with Section 53165) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of, the Government Code, relating to tenancy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1418, as introduced, McKinnor. Tenancy: local regulations: contact with law enforcement or criminal convictions.

Existing law prohibits a local agency from authorizing or requiring the imposition of a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of law enforcement or emergency assistance being summoned by certain individuals, including a victim of abuse or crime, as specified.

This bill would prohibit a local government from, among other things, imposing a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of contact with a law enforcement agency, as specified. The bill similarly would prohibit a local government from requiring or encouraging a landlord to perform a criminal background check of a tenant or a prospective tenant, or to evict or penalize a tenant because of the tenant’s association with another tenant or household member who has had contact with a law enforcement agency or has a criminal conviction. The bill would preempt inconsistent local rules and regulations and prescribe remedies for violations. The bill would require a local government to repeal, or bring into compliance, an inconsistent local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation within one year of the effective date of the provisions. By imposing new duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The heading of Article 10 (commencing with Section 53165) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code is amended to read:

Article 10. Prohibition on Requiring Landlords to Terminate A Tenancy Penalties Against Tenants and Landlords for Law Enforcement Contact or Emergency Services

SEC. 2.

Section 53165.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:

53165.1.

(a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Law enforcement agency” means a department or agency of the United States, state, local government, or other political subdivision thereof, authorized by law or regulation to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of a violation of criminal or civil law, including, but not limited to, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the State Department of Social Services.

(2) “Local government” has the same definition as that term is defined in Section 82041.

(3) “Penalty” means the following:

(A) An actual or threatened assessment of fees, fines, or penalties.

(B) An actual or threatened eviction, termination of a tenancy, or the actual or threatened failure to renew a tenancy.

(D) An actual or threatened revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal of a certificate of occupancy or a rental certificate, license, or permit.

(E) A designation or threatened closure of a property or designation as a nuisance property or as a perpetrator of criminal activity under local law, or imposition or threatened imposition of a similar designation.

(F) An actual or threatened nuisance action.

(4) “Program” means a voluntary or mandatory initiative operated or endorsed by a local government or a law enforcement agency.

(b) Subject to subdivision (f), a local government shall not promulgate, enforce, or implement an ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation, that does any of the following:

(1) Imposes or threatens to impose a penalty against a resident, owner, tenant, landlord, or other person as a consequence of any of the following:

(A) Contact with a law enforcement agency.

(B) Conduct or arrest that occurs at a property and does not result in a felony conviction based on an adult tenant’s use of the property in compliance with the lease or rental agreement.

(2) Requires or encourages a landlord to do, or imposes a penalty on a landlord for the failure to do, any of the following:

(A) Evict or penalize a tenant because of the tenant’s association with another tenant or household member who has had contact with a law enforcement agency or has a criminal conviction.

(B) Include a provision in a lease or rental agreement that provides a ground for eviction not provided by, or that is in conflict with, state or federal law.

(3) Includes as a nuisance, contact with a law enforcement agency, request for emergency assistance, or an act or omission that does not constitute a nuisance pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 3479) of Division 4 of the Civil Code.

(4) Requires a tenant to obtain a certificate of occupancy as a condition of tenancy.

(5) Establishes, maintains, or promotes a registry of tenants for the purposes of discouraging a landlord from renting to a tenant on the registry or excluding a tenant on the registry from rental housing within the local government’s jurisdiction.

(c) This section preempts a local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation insofar as it is inconsistent with this section, irrespective of the effective date of the ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation. A local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation that is inconsistent with this section shall not serve as a basis of eviction.

(d) If a local government violates this section, a resident, tenant, owner, landlord, or other person may obtain any of the following:

(1) A court order requiring the local government to cease and desist the unlawful practice.

(2) A court order rendering null and void a ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation that violates this section.

(3) Other equitable relief as the court may deem appropriate.

(e) A court may award court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to the plaintiff in an action brought pursuant to subdivision (d) where it is found that a local government has violated this section.

(f) The remedies provided in this section are cumulative and not exclusive of any other remedies provided by law.

(g) (1) Within one year of the effective date of this section, a local government shall repeal, or bring into compliance with this section, any local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation that is inconsistent with this section.

(2) A local ordinance, rule, policy, or regulation that is inconsistent with this section shall be unenforceable within the one-year period, described in paragraph (1), and subject to any remedies provided in this section.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that the need to protect the parties referenced in Section 1 of this bill is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act adding Section 53164 of the Government Code applies to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 4.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.