All Supervisors Now Have the Right to Vote On Rent Control Issues
After years of being denied the opportunity to vote on important issues such as rent control because of a perceived financial conflict of interest, certain San Francisco supervisors will finally get the chance beginning next year. After the California Apartment Association lobbied heavily on our behalf on this issue, AB 1838 (the Leonard Bill) was signed into law by Governor Davis last month.

Over the past two decades, numerous votes on rent control amendments were held that excluded supervisors who owned rental property. The legislation amends financial conflict of interest provisions in state law to utilize a broader definition of terms and thereby allow a public official to participate in governmental decisions in which he or she may have a financial conflict of interest. The intent of the law is to allow local elected and appointed officials to vote on measures even when they have an indirect financial interest. Current law already allows state officials to vote when they have an indirect financial interest.

Supreme Court Denies Stockton Review: Unpaid Tenant Utility Charges Cannot Be Billed by the City to Property Owners.
The California Supreme Court has rejected the City of Stockton's request for review, and has thereby allowed to stand a Third Appellate Court decision that holds tenants responsible for their utility charges. In May, the Appellate Court ruled that the City of Stockton had enacted a utility ordinance that conflicted with state law. That law, which was sponsored by the California Apartment Association, prohibits public utility companies from recovering utility charges from the owner of the property when the charges go unpaid by a tenant.