CalRHA Public Policy Update - July 2026
State Budget Deal
California’s balanced $351.7 billion state budget for 2026-27, which was signed by Governor Newsom at the end of June, allocates approximately $1.7 billion to address housing and homelessness issues. Key initiatives include $900 million designated for local homelessness programs, $500 million for low-income tax credits, and the advancement of an $11.25 billion statewide affordable housing bond scheduled for the November ballot.
The budget also included extension of sales tax to software and digital downloads, beginning January 1, 2027. Specifically, the law extends sales and use taxes on “tangible personal property” as defined in law to include digital products, except as provided, prewritten computer software transferred on tangible storage media, transferred electronically, or accessed remotely. The bill also appropriates $750,000 from the General Fund to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for the purposes of administering the changes to the sales and use tax to include pre-written software and their first meeting of interested parties is on July 21st.
Legislative Update
The Legislature is now on summer recess until August 3rd. Prior to their recess, several bills stalled in policy committee, including SB 880 (Wahab) Corporate Ownership, which CalRHA was actively opposing. SB 880 would have impacted commercial ownership and sales of rental properties and included a provision requiring sales to be offered to tenants first. Fortunately, that bill failed in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Another bill CalRHA was opposing was AB 2062 (Patterson) - Security Surveillance failed in the Senate Privacy committee. AB 2062 would have prohibited consumer’s security surveillance system from being utilized unless the company first obtains the consumer’s express consent and the consent of all adult residents of a residential rental property, or is required to do so by a court or arbitrator order. Finally, AB 2350 (McKinnor) - Consumer Loans, failed in Senate Banking. CalRHA was opposing AB 2350 because it would have barred consumer loans for a residential rental agreement (including rent-split loans).
Updates on other key bills are included below:
● AB 649 (Lowenthal) - Construction Related Relief - AB 649, which was a two-year bill, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in June and is set for a hearing in Senate Appropriations on August 3rd. The bill provides a process for a business to avoid liability for construction-related accessibility claims, as specified. The bill changes the statutes that allow for defendant businesses to obtain attorney’s fees when a suit is brought against them for construction-related accessibility claims.
● AB 748 (Harabedian) - Streamlined Housing Plans - CalRHA supports AB 748, which would The bill mandates that local agencies must establish preapproval programs for residential housing plans. AB 748 is set for a hearing in Senate Appropriations on August 3rd.
● SB 439 (Becker) - Price Gouging During War - This bill was gutted and amended in June to expand California’s emergency price-gouging law to include certain wartime conditions, allowing it to apply to essential consumer goods or services when the Attorney General finds a sufficient connection between the war and price increases. CalRHA is actively opposing SB 439, which is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
● 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 is pending in Assembly Appropriations.
● SB 1160 (Durazo) - Eviction Data Reporting - SB 1160 was amended in June to now require the Judicial Council to assess county court readiness for reporting unlawful detainer case data and, beginning in 2028 and 2029, mandates statewide quarterly reporting through JBSIS by ZIP Code. By July 1, 2027, the Judicial Council must determine when each county court system can submit specified unlawful detainer data. Counties identified as ready must begin quarterly reporting by January 1, 2028, and all counties must do so by January 1, 2029; the Judicial Council must then publish the data annually in an electronic spreadsheet on its website. SB 1160 is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
● SB 1296 (Durazo) - Pet Ads - CalRHA worked with the author’s office on amendments to SB 1296. The bill would now 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 in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The Legislature will reconvene from Summer Recess on August 3, 2026 and work on bills in the fiscal/Appropriations Committees, where they need to pass before August 14th. Legislation will then need to pass the Floor and be sent to the Governor by August 31st. The Governor then has until September 30th to sign or veto legislation.