The Governor had until Sunday, October 10, to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature.
C.A.R. had a very successful legislative year, with many sponsored and key supported bills being signed by the Governor. Listed below are all the sponsored bills that were signed into law.
Sponsored Bills Signed Into Law
AB 44 (Petrie-Norris) Business Dealings: Use of Prior Surname – Currently, a real estate licensee cannot transact business using a former legal name (including a “maiden” name). C.A.R. sponsored this legislation to ensure that a real estate licensee may continue to use their former surname to conduct business so long as both names are filed with the Department of Real Estate. This measure will ensure that REALTORS® can continue to benefit from their name brand, recognition, and community status despite a legal name change.
This was a non-controversial bill which was rolled over into AB 830 (Flora), an “omnibus” bill which contained non-controversial bills from various areas. It was signed into law September 28, 2021 (Chapter 376, Statutes of 2021)
AB 491 (Ward and Gonzalez) Eliminates Discrimination in Mixed-Income Multifamily Housing –Current law allows for the construction of a mixed-income multifamily structure in which the occupants of the affordable units do not have the same access to the common entrances, common areas, and common amenities as the occupants of the market-rate units. AB 491 prohibits this discriminatory housing practice.
This bill enjoyed bipartisan support and no significant opposition. It was signed into law on September 28, 2021 (Chapter 345, Statutes of 2021)
AB 633 (Calderon) Implementation: Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act – C.A.R sponsored this legislation which adds California to the list of states that utilize the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) which addresses situations in which a property owner does not leave a will or trust and there are multiple heirs. Real estate speculators have gotten creative in such situations. By acquiring a small share in the decedent’s property, speculators can file a legal action and force a property’s sale. Investors can then purchase the parcel below its fair market value – depleting a family’s inherited wealth in the process. This measure seeks to preserve family wealth by providing a series of simple due process protections to ensure all parties receive their fair share of the inherited proceeds and ensure the best value for the inherited property is obtained. This includes a preference for sales on the open market rather than court sales of real property.
The measure enjoyed bipartisan support and did not receive any “No” votes in the legislature. It was signed into law on July 23, 2021 (Chapter 119, Statutes of 2021)
AB 571 (Mayes) Density Bonus: Fee Reduction to Construct Below Market-Rate Units – Fees and costs associated with the construction of affordable units are often passed along to buyers in the form of higher home prices or can increase the amount of subsidy needed to build affordable housing units. C.A.R. sponsored AB 571, which prohibits local governments from assessing affordable housing fees on the deed-restricted affordable units contained within a density bonus application. This fee only serves to increase costs to construct deed restricted affordable housing, making it less likely that developers maximize the affordable unit set-aside within their density bonus application.
The bill was signed into law on September 28, 2021 (Chapter 346, Statutes of 2021)
SB 263 (S. Rubio) Implicit Bias Training for Real Estate Licensees – This law requires bias training for real estate licensees as part of their DRE license renewal requirements and for applicants for a real estate license. It also makes the current mandated fair housing training more robust and relevant.
SB 263 was signed into law on September 28, 2021 (Chapter 361, Statutes of 2021) but will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
SB 392 (Archuleta) Mandating HOA’s Email Communications – Under existing law, an HOA must deliver documents to its members through mail, fax, or electronic delivery and may choose to deliver documents to homeowners via email. While property owners must already annually provide an HOA with their updated contact information, state law does not require HOA’s to transmit information to homeowners via email. SB 392 will: 1) require HOA’s to communicate with homeowners via email, if that is the homeowner’s preferred method for communication, 2) make it clear that property owners, not the HOA, get to define their 2 preferred communication methods, and 3) permit general notices to be placed on an association’s website.
This bill was signed into law October 7, 2021 (Chapter 640, Statutes of 2021).