CalRHA Public Policy Update - August 2026

Political Update

The Assembly and Senate Republicans voted to replace their leaders in the state.   Alexandra (Ali) Macedo from Tulare has taken over for Assemblymember Heath Flora.  Senator Roger Niello from Roseville has been voted in as the next Senate Republican Leader and will replace termed-out Brian Jones with the transition to occur in November.  Democratic leadership is stable at this time and focused on the upcoming November election. 
 
Legislative Update

The Legislature took up the Suspense files in the Appropriations Committees on August 13th, which determined the fate of hundreds of bills.   Almost ⅓ of the bills on Suspense were held/died, which is typical compared to prior years.   Below is the outcome of several of those bills.

• AB 649 (Lowenthal) - Construction Related Relief - HELD/DEAD
• AB 748 (Harabedian) - Streamlined Housing Plans - HELD/DEAD
• SB 439 (Becker) - Price Gouging During War - This bill has been amended to more clearly tie wars to an emergency declaration by the President or Governor and limit it to 30 days, with the option for a 30 day extension, if needed.
• SB 1117 (Cervantes) - Lowering  ADU Costs -  Currently, impact fees cannot be charged on ADUs with 750 square feet or less of livable space. For ADUs larger than 750 square feet, fees must be proportional to the main dwelling's size. The bill proposes that fees for ADUs only apply to the area beyond 750 square feet.  CalRHA is supporting SB 1117 which passed Appropriations and is pending on the Assembly Floor.
• SB 1160 (Durazo) - Eviction Data Reporting - SB 1160 was amended coming off Suspense to delay implementation by five years and make the bill contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature.   It would first require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2032, to determine when each county court system can submit the required data; counties able to do so would begin quarterly reporting on January 1, 2033, and all counties would be required to comply by January 1, 2034.
• SB 1296 (Durazo) - Pet Ads -  The bill will require landlords who allow pets to keep a written pet policy, disclose it in specified online and application materials, and refund application fees in certain cases if the policy was not properly disclosed and take effect April 1, 2027.  The bill is pending on the Assembly Floor.
• SB 1371 (Durazo) - Solid Waste Handling: Labor Disputes - CalRHA is opposing SB 1371, along with a large coalition, because it would make trash service disruptions during labor disputes harder to prevent and harder to manage.   SB 1371 is pending on the Assembly Floor.

The Legislature will now conduct Floor Sessions for the final two weeks of the legislative session and then the Governor then has until September 30th to sign or veto legislation.