BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 319|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 319
Author: Campos (D)
Amended: 6/24/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Jackson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 1/17/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Local agencies: domestic violence
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits a local agency from requiring a
landlord to terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based
upon an act against a tenant or a tenant's household member that
constitutes domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human
trafficking, or abuse of an elder or dependent adult, and
prohibits a local agency from requiring a landlord to terminate
a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the number of
calls made by a person to the emergency telephone system
relating to these acts.
ANALYSIS : Existing state and federal law prohibits
discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of gender
and other specified characteristics.
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Existing law:
1. Defines the rights and duties of landlords and tenants,
including presumptions regarding the terms of the hiring, the
lawful means of terminating a lease or rental agreements, and
the remedies available to the respective parties in the event
of a breach of a lease or rental agreement.
2. Provides that if a tenant or lessee of real property breaches
the lease and abandons the property before the end of the
term, the landlord may deem the lease terminated and seek
damages, or continue to perform under the lease and seek rent
as it becomes due.
3. Allows a tenant to terminate his/her tenancy if the tenant,
or a household member, was the victim of domestic violence,
sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or dependent
adult or elder abuse. The notice to terminate a tenancy must
be in writing, with one of the following attached: (1) copy
of a temporary restraining order, protective order, or
emergency protective order, as specified; (2) copy of a
written report by a peace officer, as specified; or (3)
documentation from a qualified third party based on
information received by that third party while acting in
his/her professional capacity.
4. Requires the notice to terminate tenancy to be given within
180 days of the date that any order was issued, or within 180
days of the date that any written report was made, or the
time period otherwise required for termination of tenancy.
5. Prohibits a landlord from terminating a tenancy or failing to
renew a tenancy based upon an act or acts against a tenant or
a tenant's household member that constitute domestic
violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or
elder or dependent adult abuse if these acts have been
documented by a temporary restraining order, emergency
protective order, or a copy of a written report by a peace
officer within the past 180 days.
This bill:
1. Provides that a local agency shall not require a landlord to
terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon an
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act or acts against a tenant or a tenant's household member
that constitute domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking,
human trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult,
provided the act or acts have been documented and the
tenant's aggressor is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit
as the tenant or household member.
2. Provides that a local agency shall not require a landlord to
terminate a tenancy or fail to renew a tenancy based upon the
number of calls made by any person to the emergency telephone
system relating to the tenant or a member of the tenant's
household being a victim of an act or acts that constitute
domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human
trafficking, or abuse of an elder or a dependent adult,
provided the act or acts have been documented and the
tenant's aggressor is not a tenant of the same dwelling unit
as the tenant or household member.
3. Defines the term "tenant" to mean tenant, subtenant, lessee,
or sublessee.
4. Specifies that all local agencies are subject to the
prohibitions of this bill.
Background
Victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking,
elder and dependent adult abuse, and stalking face numerous
challenges when seeking to regain control of their lives.
Depending on the situation, a victim may need to change his/her
telephone number, participate in the Safe at Home Program
through the Secretary of State, or even move to create a safe
environment for themselves and their family. Victims who rent
their homes face additional challenges when attempting to leave
a dangerous environment if they are a party to a long-term
lease. Absent a voluntary release from their landlord, victims
who are forced to relocate in order to find safety previously
could have been subject to liability for breaching their leases.
In response to concerns regarding the inability of victims to
terminate leases without liability, AB 2052 (Lieu, Chapter 440,
Statutes of 2008) authorized a tenant to terminate his/her lease
within 60 days of the issuance of a temporary restraining order,
emergency protective order, or written report by a peace officer
alleging that the tenant, or household member, is a victim of
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domestic violence or stalking. Subsequently, AB 588 (Perez,
Chapter 76, Statutes of 2011) increased this time from 60 to 180
days. SB 1403 (Yee, Chapter 516, Statutes of 2012) further
extended these protections to victims of elder or dependent
adult abuse and included protective orders among the appropriate
supporting documentation allowed when victims seek to terminate
leases prematurely.
The Legislature has also recognized that victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and dependent
adult abuse, and stalking face additional hurdles in retaining
rental housing not borne by the larger pool of California
renters. Some landlords may be reluctant to renew a victim's
lease or may seek to terminate a lease out of a concern that a
victim's presence could jeopardize the safety of other tenants,
or that a victim's need to seek police intervention and
protection may disturb other tenants' quiet enjoyment of the
property, potentially making it harder for these victims to
retain stable rental housing. In response to this concern, SB
782 (Yee, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2010) prohibited landlords
from terminating or failing to renew a tenancy based upon a
documented act or acts against a tenant or a tenant's household
member that is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or
stalking, under specified circumstances. SB 1403 (Yee, Chapter
516, Statutes of 2012) extended this protection to victims of
elder or dependent adult physical abuse, and SB 612 (Leno,
Chapter 130, Statutes of 2013) extended this protection to
victims of human trafficking.
Despite these protections, some victims may still face eviction
from their rental housing because of acts related to domestic
violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, elder and dependent
adult abuse, and stalking. Some California jurisdictions have
reportedly adopted Crime Free Housing ordinances which enable
local agencies to compel landlords to evict tenants who engage
in certain nuisance activities, including placing repeated calls
for help to emergency services. In other jurisdictions, this
has forced victims to choose between calling the police in an
emergency or face eviction. According to the New York Times:
Over the last 25 years, in a trend still growing, hundreds
of cities and towns across the country have adopted
nuisance property or "crime-free housing" ordinances.
Putting responsibility on landlords to weed out drug
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dealers and disruptive tenants, the laws aim to save
neighborhoods from blight as well as ease burdens on the
police.
But the laws are sometimes forcing victims, especially
women facing domestic violence, to choose between calling
the police and holding on to their homes, according to
legal aid groups and experts on housing and the poor.
(Eckholm, Victims' Dilemma: 911 Calls Can Bring Eviction
(Aug. 16, 2013)
(as of May 23, 2014).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/14)
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
City of Los Angeles
Coalition of California Welfare Rights Organizations, Inc.
Housing California
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Housing Law Project
Western Center on Law and Poverty
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
Many local governments have adopted so called nuisance
ordinances or crime-free policies as a means of
controlling problem residents engaged in drug activity,
violent crime, etc. In addition, these ordinances
sometimes limit 911 calls from certain residences and
establish a means for law enforcement and/or landlords to
evict such tenants.
While these ordinances can serve very legitimate needs,
sometimes they extend too far. Domestic violence is
considered a violent crime and hence victims can be
subject to the penalty provisions of these ordinances.
The provisions limiting 911 calls can force victims and
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survivors of crimes such as domestic violence, stalking,
etc. from choosing between their safety (i.e. reporting
crimes) or their home (i.e. facing possible eviction).
AB 319 provides victims of domestic violence, sexual
assault, stalking, human trafficking, and elder abuse with
safeguards that reporting threats will not lead to
eviction.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 1/17/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Conway, Cooley, Hall, Logue, Nazarian, Pan,
V. Manuel P�rez
AL:d 6/24/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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