BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1513|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1513
Author: Fox (D)
Amended: 8/21/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/24/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/4/14
AYES: De Le�n, 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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/21/14 clarify that proof that a
person is authorized to occupy a residence includes written
authorization or other evidence showing possession; make the
damages payable to persons improperly ejected from property
consistent with existing provisions in similar circumstances;
and require that law enforcement must give notice that the
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occupant's authorization to be in the residence shall be
determined in a judicial hearing, 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
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
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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.Provides that a property owner, or agent, who files a
declaration that includes false information regarding the
right to possess the property is liable to any person who, as
a result of the declaration, is caused to vacate the property,
for reasonable attorney's fees, special damages not to exceed
$2,000, and all damages resulting from the person having to
vacate the property.
5.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:
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.
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C. Require a person found on the property to produce
written authorization to be on the property or other
evidence demonstrating the person's right to possession.
D. Notify any person who does not produce written
authorization or other evidence that the owner or owner's
agent may seek to obtain a court order, as specified and
that the person will be subject to arrest for trespass if
the person is subsequently found on the property in
violation of that order.
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.
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 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
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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 8/22/14)
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
San Diego County Apartment Association
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Southwest California Legislative Council
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/22/14)
California Public Defenders Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Police Chiefs
Association states,
"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 California Public Defenders
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Association writes, "This bill criminalizes the actions of
homeless people or squatters, equating such actions to those of
someone who intentionally, by use of force or threat of force
takes possession of the real property of another. Many of our
indigent clients are homeless and wind up in abandoned and
vacant properties. The[y] can be criminally prosecuted under
trespass laws for such behavior. To further enhance the
punishment in the same manner as someone who acts by force and
threat of force subjects them to unreasonable punishment for non
like behavior as the class of people the statute currently
covers."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-3, 5/19/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez,
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. P�rez, Skinner, Vacancy
JG:e 8/22/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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