BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1513|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1513
Author: Fox (D)
Amended: 8/6/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/24/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/4/14
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-3, 5/19/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Residential property: possession by declaration
SOURCE : California Association of Realtors
DIGEST : This bill enacts a three-year pilot project until
January 1, 2018, in the Cities of Palmdale and Lancaster in Los
Angeles County, and the City of Ukiah in the County of
Mendocino, to facilitate enforcement of criminal trespassing
laws, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides that every person other than a public officer or
employee acting within the course and scope of his/her
CONTINUED
AB 1513
Page
2
employment in performance of a duty imposed by law, who enters
or remains in any noncommercial dwelling house, apartment, or
other residential place without consent of the owner, his/her
agent, or the person in lawful possession thereof, is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
2.Provides that a former owner of a foreclosed property who
holds over and remains in the property after it has been sold
through foreclosure may be removed after a three-day notice to
quit has been served.
3.Requires a tenant or subtenant in possession of a rental
housing unit under a month-to-month lease or periodic tenancy
at the time the property is sold in foreclosure to be given 90
days' written notice to quit before the tenant or subtenant
may be removed from the property, as prescribed.
4.Provides that, in an action for unlawful detainer resulting
from a foreclosure sale of a rental housing unit, a tenant may
file a prejudgment claim of right of possession at any time
before judgment or to object to enforcement of a judgment for
possession whether or not the tenant was served with the claim
of right to possession.
This bill:
1.Authorizes the owner of vacant real property, or his/her
agent, to register vacant property with the local law
enforcement agency using a specified form.
2.Requires the registration to be signed under penalty of
perjury and state that the property is vacant and is not
authorized to be occupied by any person.
3.Requires the registration to include contact information for
the owner and a statement that either local law enforcement or
a licensed private security services company has been retained
to comply with the inspection and reporting provisions of this
section, together with a copy of any agreement or contract to
perform those services.
4.Requires the owner or owner's agent to immediately notify the
law enforcement agency where the property is registered and
terminate the registration in the following circumstances:
CONTINUED
AB 1513
Page
3
A. Issuance of a written authorization to a person to
occupy the property.
B. Upon the sale of the vacant property.
1.Requires the local law enforcement agency or licensed private
security services company to inspect the vacant property not
less than once every three days and immediately notify the law
enforcement agency with which the property is registered if
any unauthorized person is found on the property.
2.Requires the local city council or board of supervisors to
establish fees for registering a vacant property with the
local law enforcement agency and for the conduct of
inspections by the law enforcement agency, including all
activities conducted by the law enforcement agency.
3.Requires the law enforcement agency where the property is
registered to respond as soon as practicable and do the
following:
A. Verify the property was inspected within the last three
days and found to be vacant.
B. Ascertain the identity of any person found on the
property.
C. Require a person found on the property to produce
written authorization to be on the property.
D. Notify any person who does not produce written
authorization that he or she has 48 hours to obtain written
authorization from the owner or owner's agent, or will be
subject to arrest for trespass if the person is
subsequently found on the property without that
authorization.
E. Verify with the owner or owner's agent that the property
is vacant.
1.Authorizes the owner or owner's agent to file an action for a
temporary restraining order (TRO) and injunctive relief
against any person who is found on the vacant property not
less than 48 hours after than person has been notified.
CONTINUED
AB 1513
Page
4
2.Provides that a person subject to a TRO or an injunction is
subject to arrest and imprisonment for trespass.
3.Provides that the court may order a hearing on a TRO within
three days following service, as specified.
4.Provides that the provisions of this bill apply only to one-
to four-unit residences in the Cities of Palmdale and
Lancaster in the County of Los Angeles and the City of Ukiah
in the County of Mendocino.
5.Provides that these provisions shall remain in effect until
January 1, 2018, unless a later enacted statute deletes or
extends that date.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs, offset to a degree
by fine revenue for misdemeanor violations of the provisions
of this bill.
Ongoing non-reimbursable local law enforcement agency costs to
process registrations, conduct inspections, and perform other
duties upon notification of trespassing on a property, to be
offset by the authority to establish fees for all activities.
Likely minor one-time state-reimbursable costs (General Fund)
for pilot project cities to set up the program and
registration system.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/6/14)
California Association of REALTORS (source)
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
California Mortgage Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Cities of Eureka and Fairfield
Contra Costa Association of REALTORS
Counties of Humboldt and Lake
Orange County Association of Realtors
CONTINUED
AB 1513
Page
5
San Diego County Apartment Association
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Southwest California Legislative Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/6/14)
California Public Defenders Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Western Center on Law and Poverty
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Police Chiefs
Association argues:
Currently in California it can take 30-60 days - sometimes even
longer - to evict a squatter. This is because unlawful detainer
procedures are geared towards situations in which a tenant is
evicted for failure to pay rent or for an alleged violation of a
rental agreement. In the context of these cases, the 30-60-day
timeframe is a reasonable one. There are currently no statutes,
however, to assist with removing squatters from vacant
properties. These situations often involve potential public
safety issues, and most assuredly undermine the quality of life
in the adjacent neighborhood. This bill will rectify that
situation and provide the needed tools to respond to what has
been a steadily increasing problem.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Western Center on Law and
Poverty writes, "Our overriding concern remains properly
distinguishing tenants from trespassers, even though the tenants
remain lawfully in place under local, state and/or Federal law.
The type of actors who invented robo-signing are not likely to
be deterred from abusing the process proposed by this bill
simply because it requires a declaration signed under penalty of
perjury."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-3, 5/19/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
CONTINUED
AB 1513
Page
6
Muratsuchi, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
Atkins
NOES: Ammiano, Stone, Ting
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chesbro, Donnelly, Lowenthal, Mansoor,
Nazarian, Nestande, John A. Pérez, Skinner, Vacancy
JG:e 8/6/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED