BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 337|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 337
          Author:   Kehoe (D)
          Amended:  8/30/11
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  3-2, 4/5/11
          AYES:  Evans, Corbett, Leno
          NOES:  Harman, Blakeslee

           SENATE FLOOR  :  23-15, 6/2/11
          AYES:  Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De León, 
            DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, 
            Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, 
            Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton, 
            Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, 
            Strickland, Walters, Wright, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Vargas

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  65-11, 9/1/11 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Tenancy:  political signs

           SOURCE  :     American Civil Liberties Union


           DIGEST  :    This bill prohibits a landlord from prohibiting 
          a tenant from posting or displaying political signs 
          relating to an election or legislative vote, the 
          initiative, referendum, or recall process, or issues before 
          a public body for a vote, except under certain 
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          circumstances.  This bill requires a tenant to comply with 
          the time period established by the local ordinance for the 
          posting and removal of political signs or, in the absence 
          of those provisions, by reasonable time limits, as 
          specified, established by the landlord.

           Assembly Amendments  (1) recast the bill and add clarifying 
          language, 
          (2) reduce the size of the sign from nine square feet to 
          six square feet, 
          (3) add provisions as to when a landlord may prohibit the 
          posting of signs, (4) delete an unintended reference to a 
          date in the provision permitting a change in an existing 
          lease to conform to the provisions of this bill, (5) 
          specify that if the political signs posted by the tenant 
          violate any local ordinance, then the tenant shall be 
          solely responsible for the violation, and (6) specify that 
          any change in the terms of an existing tenancy that are 
          made to conform to the provisions of the bill shall not be 
          deemed a diminution of housing services and that those 
          changed terms may be enforced, as specified.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 5/25/11 provide that "political 
          signs" include signs relating to an election or legislative 
          vote, as specified, and express the intent of the 
          Legislature that the enactment of this bill shall not 
          diminish or affect other forms of noncommercial expression 
          by a tenant.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law regulates the terms and 
          conditions of residential tenancies.  Existing law 
          prohibits the governing documents of a common interest 
          development from prohibiting the posting or displaying of 
          noncommercial signs, posters, flags, or banners on or in an 
          owner's separate interest, except as specified.

          This bill provides that a landlord shall not prohibit a 
          tenant from posting or displaying political signs relating 
          to any of the following:

           An election or legislative vote, including an election of 
            a candidate to public office.

           The initiative, referendum, or recall process.

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           Issues that are before a public commission, public board, 
            or elected local body for a vote.

          This bill provides that political signs may be posted or 
          displayed in the window or on the door of the premises 
          leased by the tenant in a multifamily dwelling, or from the 
          yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the 
          premises leased by a tenant of a single-family dwelling.

          This bill provides that a landlord may prohibit a tenant 
          from posting or displaying political signs in the following 
          circumstances:

           The political sign is more than six square feet in size.
           The posting or displaying would violate a local, state, 
            or federal law.
           The posting or displaying would violate a lawful 
            provision in a common interest development governing a 
            document that satisfies the criteria of Civil Code 
            Section 1353.6.

          This bill provides that a tenant shall post and remove 
          political signs in compliance with the time limits set by 
          the ordinance for the jurisdiction where the premises are 
          located.  A tenant shall be solely responsible for any 
          violation of a local ordinance.  If no local ordinance 
          exists or if the local ordinance does not include a time 
          limit for posting and removing political signs on private 
          property, the landlord may establish a reasonable time 
          period for the posting and removal of political signs.  A 
          reasonable time period for this purpose shall begin at 
          least 90 days prior to the date of the election or vote to 
          which the sign relates and end at least 15 days following 
          the date of the election or vote.

          This bill provides that notwithstanding any other provision 
          of law, any changes in the terms of a tenancy that are made 
          to implement the provisions of this section and are noticed 
          pursuant to Section 827 shall not be deemed to cause a 
          diminution in housing services, any may be enforced in 
          accordance with Section 1161 of the Code of Civil 
          Procedure.


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          It is the intent of the legislature that the enactment of 
          this bill shall not affect in any way other forms of 
          noncommercial expression by a tenant when that expression 
          is not associated with political signs.

          This bill provides that it is the intent of the Legislature 
          that the enactment of this bill shall not affect in any way 
          other forms of noncommercial expression by a tenant when 
          that expression is not associated with political signs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  9/1/11)

          American Civil Liberties Union (source)
          California Congress of Seniors
          California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
          TenantsTogether.org
          Western Center on Law and Poverty

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

            "The ability to freely express one-self ? is denied to 
            nearly 40% of all Californians.  Tenants have no 
            guaranteed right to expression on the very property they 
            call home, simply because they are not the legal owner of 
            where they live.

            "While tenants have many rights provided to them under 
            the law, several forms of expression are not protected.  
            These forms include flying a flag or banner, posting 
            non-commercial signs or even displaying signs that are 
            political in nature.

            "Should people lose their right to freedom of expression 
            simply because they rent their property?  The answer is 
            no.  Any discrimination that prevents freedom of 
            expression, based on whether or not you own property is a 
            denial of rights that belong to all people ? SB 337 
            grants tenants the right to post and display signs, flags 
            or other noncommercial signs as a form of expression that 
            may be displayed where they live."


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          The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the bill's 
          sponsor, states that they have "successfully argued in 
          court that current California law as expressed in Civil 
          Code Section 1942.5(c) renders unlawful lease restrictions 
          that bar tenants from posting political signs on their 
          leased premises.  The legislative history of Section 
          1945.5(c), made it clear that the Legislature intended that 
          displaying political signs in windows was covered by the 
          statutory protection of a tenant's exercise of 'any right 
          under the law'.  SB 337 would provide the specific 
          statutory protection to post these signs."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR :  65-11, 9/1/11
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, 
            Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, 
            Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, 
            Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, 
            Gordon, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, 
            Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Norby, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel 
            Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. 
            Pérez
          NOES:  Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Harkey, 
            Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Silva, Valadao
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bonilla, Davis, Gorell, Knight


          RJG:mw  9/1/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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