Bill Text: CA SB971 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 971 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: Housing: household pets.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-02 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 241, Statutes of 2022. [SB971 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB971-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 10, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 971

Introduced by Senator Newman

February 10, 2022

~~An act to amend Sections 12206, 17058, and 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.~~ An act to amend Section 50466 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to housing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 971, as amended, Newman. ~~Income and insurance taxes: credits: low-income housing: household pets.~~ Housing: household pets.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to require each housing development, as defined, that is financed on or after January 1, 2018, pursuant to the Zenovich-Moscone-Chacon Housing and Home Finance Act, to authorize a resident of the housing development to own or otherwise maintain one or more common household pets, as defined, within the resident’s dwelling unit, subject to applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty.
Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program pursuant to which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit, and farmworker housing.
This bill would require any housing development that is financed on or after January 1, 2023, pursuant to the act or by any moneys administered or otherwise provided by the department, or that is the basis for the receipt, on or after January 1, 2023, of any low-income housing tax credit, as described, to authorize a resident of the housing development to own or otherwise maintain one or more common household pets, as defined, within the resident’s dwelling unit, subject to applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty and other reasonable conditions, as defined. The bill would, among other things, prohibit the imposition of a monthly fee for the ownership or maintenance of a common household pet in these housing developments.
Existing law establishes a low-income housing tax credit program pursuant to which the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) provides procedures and requirements for the allocation, in modified conformity with federal law, of state insurance, personal income, and corporation tax credit amounts to qualified low-income housing projects that have been allocated, or qualify for, a federal low-income housing tax credit, and farmworker housing.
For allocations for the 2021 calendar year and thereafter, existing law requires CTCAC and the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC) to develop and prescribe regulations, rules, or guidelines necessary to implement a new allocation methodology that is aimed at increasing production and containing costs and that includes a scoring system that maximizes the efficient use of public subsidy and benefit created through the private activity bond and low-income housing tax credit programs. Existing law requires the factors for determining the efficient use of public subsidy and benefit to include, among other factors, the proximity to amenities, jobs, and public transportation.
This bill would, for allocation for the 2022 calendar year and thereafter, require CTCAC and CDLAC to revise the scoring system to maximize the compassionate and efficient use of public subsidy and benefit created through the private activity bond and low-income housing tax credit programs. In addition to those factors under existing law, the bill would require the scoring system to include a project’s policy that allows the resident of the housing development to keep one or more common household pets, as defined, in the resident’s dwelling unit. The bill would require the scoring system to provide point value to a project that imposes reasonable conditions, including, but not limited to, limitations on the number of animals in a unit based on the unit’s size and prohibitions on potentially dangerous or vicious dogs, as specified. Under the bill, a reasonable condition does not include a prohibition on a breed of common household pets or a limitation on the weight of the common household pet. The bill would also require the scoring system to provide additional point value to a project that does not impose a monthly fee associated with the keeping of one or more common household pets in a unit. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
~~This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.~~

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

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

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Each year tens of thousands of pets enter California animal shelters, and one of the most frequently cited reasons for relinquishment is a housing, moving, or landlord issue. Often, rehoming is the last option for a family, which has detrimental impacts on the physical and emotional wellbeing of the pet and the family.

(b) A majority of Americans consider their pets to be family members and nearly three-fourths of renters have pets, but many people have trouble finding housing because often properties advertised as “pet-friendly” include high fees and restrictions such as breed, weight, and number limits that create barriers for pet-owning tenants.

(c) Extensive restrictions on pet keeping disproportionately impact low-income households, limiting how they can define their families. Those restrictions force some families to choose between relinquishing a beloved pet and moving into or staying in a home. Due to those restrictions, there is a severe need for properties that welcome cats and dogs as pets at a reasonable cost.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this legislation to encourage housing developers, owners, and operators to increase pet-inclusive affordable housing in California.

~~(e)Housing developers typically use funds from multiple sources, and the state low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) is the single largest source of funding for affordable housing.~~
(f)Therefore, amending the system for scoring LIHTC applications to be pet inclusive will benefit California taxpayers in their responsibility to support California’s homeless animals in shelters, California’s pet-owning tenants living in subsidized housing, and California’s companion animals.

SEC. 2.

Section 50466 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

50466.

(a) (1) The department shall require each housing development that is financed on or after January 1, 2018, pursuant to this division, to authorize a resident of the housing development to own or otherwise maintain one or more common household pets within the resident’s dwelling unit, subject to applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty.

(2) (A) (i) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department shall require each housing development that is financed on or after January 1, 2023, pursuant to this division or by any moneys administered or otherwise provided by the department to authorize a resident of the housing development to own or otherwise maintain one or more common household pets within the resident’s dwelling unit, subject to applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty, and subject to other reasonable conditions.
(ii) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any housing development that is the basis for the receipt, on or after January 1, 2023, of any low-income housing tax credit under Section 12206, 17058, or 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall authorize a resident of the housing development to own or otherwise maintain one or more common household pets within the resident’s dwelling unit, subject to applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty, and subject to other reasonable conditions.
(B) This paragraph shall not be construed to interfere with the ability to charge a refundable deposit pursuant to Section 1950.5 of the Civil Code. However, a monthly fee for the ownership or maintenance of common household pets, as authorized by this paragraph, in the housing development shall not be imposed.
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, “reasonable conditions” include, but are not limited to, limitations on the number of animals in a unit based on the unit’s size and prohibitions on potentially dangerous or vicious dogs, as determined pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 31601) of Division 14 of the Food and Agricultural Code. A “reasonable condition” does not include a prohibition on a breed of common household pets or a limitation on the weight of the common household pet.

(b) For purposes of this section, “common household pet” means a domesticated animal, such as a dog or cat, that is commonly kept in the home for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes.

(c) This section shall not limit or otherwise affect eligibility for, or be included as a matter during the compliance period of, any credit under Section 12206, 17058, or 23610.5 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
~~(c)Nothing in this section shall~~

This section shall not be construed to limit or otherwise affect applicable state laws and local government ordinances related to public health, animal control, and animal anticruelty, or other statutes or laws that require reasonable accommodations to be made for an individual with a disability who maintains an animal to provide assistance, service, or support.