The Sacramento Report
by Francisco Silva
At the time of this writing, the California Legislature has one more week before its deadline to introduce all new bills. There are a number of early bills to report to you, some of which contain ideas that are not necessarily new. In fact, you have seen them in the recent past.
The first is a measure by Senator Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica). Senate Bill 51 seeks to make permanent the 60-day-termination-notice requirement. Under current law, owners must provide any tenant who has lived at the property for one year or longer a 60-day notice if the owner wishes to terminate the tenancy. This legal obligation is slated for removal on January 1, 2006. In the past, the California Apartment Association (CAA) has opposed such legislation. Last year, CAA members stopped similar legislation that sought to make permanent these 60-day-notice provisions.
Construction and development issues will undoubtedly generate much legislative attention. Specifically, as indicated in Senate Resolution No. 8 by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Walnut Creek), the Legislature plans to place a high priority on “improving access to housing and reducing traffic congestion by promoting affordable housing, infill development, and other policies that allow people to live closer to their workplaces.”
One of the most controversial issues that will be debated again this year is Megan’s Law, and CAA will enter the fray. The inception of California’s sex offender Web site (www.meganslaw.ca.gov) has already prompted the introduction of numerous bills. Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn (D-Santa Clara) introduced AB 113, which seeks to prohibit a sex offender on parole from residing within one mile of any school or day-care center. Under existing law, an inmate who is released on parole for certain sex offenses that involve child victims is prohibited from residing within one-quarter mile of any school for the duration of his or her parole.
AB 35, by Assemblymember Todd Spitzer (R-Santa Ana), would eliminate the classification of sex offenders based on the severity of the offense; and it would require the availability of the home address as well as vehicle and employer information of any sex offender on the Megan’s Law Internet Web site.
AB 217, by Assemblymember Juan Vargas (D-San Diego), would require a sex offender slated to reside at a long-term health care facility and the government
official who is in charge of this released sex offender, to notify the facility in writing of the sex offender’s release to the facility. The bill would also require the facility to notify immediately its full-time employees and its residents, or the responsible parties of its residents, that the person is a registered sex offender and will be residing in the facility.
CAA will also sponsor its own legislation to provide guidance to rental property owners and managers who currently face a difficult situation when a sex offender resides in or applies to live at the property. California’s Megan’s Law restricts the actions of housing providers who gain information from the site.
Members of CAA’s State Government Committee met last month to discuss these bills and a host of others. We will report their recommended positions on all bills to you next month. Stay tuned. For current updates on legislation and background information on Megan’s Law, you can access CAA’s Web site at www.caanet.org.