So far this legislative session, California Democrats in the state Senate have teased a package of bills that will supposedly cut down the expensive cost of living in the Golden State — the tip of the spear in their post-election focus on affordability.
Senate President Mike McGuire, who represents Marin County and the north coast, unveiled those plans Thursday after what he called “months of laser-focused work” with the input of two Bay Area lawmakers, Sen. Josh Becker of Menlo Park and Sen. Aisha Wahab of Fremont, who both chair powerful committees. In the package of three bills, two would make reforms to the bureaucracies surrounding utilities and home-building while aiming to give residents relief from their ever-rising electricity bills and renters’ costs like late fees. The third bill would expand the state’s career development programs.
The three bills are just the latest of a slew of proposals introduced in the state Senate and Assembly since the legislative session kicked off in December. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and control the legislative process. A spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
“Our plan delivers real, lasting solutions to make our state more affordable—from housing, to utility costs, to expanding career opportunities across California,” McGuire said in a statement. “These three impactful bills should be considered an opening salvo; we know there’s much more work to do.”
Adding to the heap of housing-focused bills already introduced by Democratic lawmakers, Wahab is sponsoring Senate Bill 681, which makes tweaks to the bureaucracy around housing production and bans landlords from charging fees on top of rent.
“In recent years, the Legislature has passed over 200 bills intended to create more housing opportunities,” Wahab wrote in supporting materials for the bill, “but more can be done to increase the housing supply and make housing less expensive, particularly for lower-income Californians.”
The bill extends existing law that aimed to streamline home-building. The bill would keep in place legal requirements that force local governments to approve housing projects unless they would cause health and safety issues, while also limiting the amount of hearings that local governments can hold on a development plan — tactics that cities and counties had long used to squash new housing. Those rules will sunset in 2030 unless Wahab’s bill becomes law.
The bulk of Wahab’s bill deals with protections for renters and homeowners. It would prevent landlords from charging fees that aren’t spelled out in a lease agreement, and landlords also wouldn’t be able to charge late payment fees until after a week elapses.
In supporting documents, Wahab said “more can be done to increase the housing supply and make housing less expensive, particularly for lower-income Californians.”
But no advocacy organization officially supports the bill, according to document filings. Debra Carlton, vice president of the California Apartment Association, which represents landlords and property managers, opposes the bill and argues it would force landlords to raise rents.
“These fees charged by landlords are not punitive, instead they illustrate the costs associated with operating rental housing and can give tenants the ability to manage and reduce certain expenses, such as utility and water costs,” Carlton wrote in a letter this month. “Mandating that all fees be folded into rent will not reduce the overall cost of housing.”
Critically, Wahab’s bill would also prevent landlords from charging a fee for a parking space.
Under current law, tenants can decide whether they need to pay an additional $300 or $400 per month for parking, said Matthew Lewis, a spokesperson for the pro-housing advocacy group California YIMBY. He said Wahab’s bill would eliminate that choice and allow landlords and developers to fold the expensive cost of providing parking into rent — whether a tenant wants a parking space or not.
“It requires rent increases,” Lewis said of the bill. “The builder isn’t going to provide the parking for free.”
Becker’s bill, Senate Bill 254, is likely the most influential yet of Democrats’ proposals to bring down the high energy bills plaguing customers of PG&E and other investor-owned utilities in California.
Energy rates in California are on average nearly double the rest of the U.S., according to the nonpartisan state legislative analyst’s office, and more than double rates in neighboring states Oregon, Nevada and Arizona. That’s largely because of destructive wildfires, fire liability insurance and mitigation projects like burying power lines underground that ratepayers fund.
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Becker’s bill would give ratepayers relief by paying for some projects with other sources of funds, expand subsidies for low-income residents and provide all customers with credits to use during summer months when bills are priciest. It would also expand oversight and transparency of rate increases and utilities’ profits.
The bill “is California’s most ambitious effort yet to rein in rising energy costs and put ratepayers first,” Becker said in a statement. “This bill—which will save Californians billions—ensures wildfire mitigation dollars are spent where they have the greatest impact and sharpens scrutiny of utility budgets through stronger laws that will help control excessive profits and rate increases.”
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