REALTORS® Rally in Sacramento

05/17/2022

When more than 2,200 California REALTORS® arrived in Sacramento, the State Capitol took notice.

On April 27, the California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) held its annual 2022 Legislative Day in person for the first time since 2019, inviting California’s elected leaders to listen to what we, as REALTORS®, know needs to be done to help homeownership and address the housing crisis.

We are the REALTOR® Party of California, a group not governed by political parties or preference but united in advocating for policies that protect private property rights, build more homes, create strong fair housing practices, stop unfair taxes on real property and create more access to homeownership opportunities. Legislative Day was an opportunity to unite and convene on our core priorities.

Legislative Day was an opportunity to hear from, and share our concerns and priorities with, the leaders of our state who are creating policies that will govern our daily lives. This year Governor Gavin Newson, California State Senate Majority Leader Emeritus Bob Hertzberg and Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher addressed the assembled REALTORS®. Our members met with their local elected officials and we were effective in sharing our priorities.

There was no doubt by the end of the day that the REALTOR® Party is a strong and unified voice for housing and property rights.

It you missed this year's events, check out highlights video.

C.A.R. Legislative Day Wins

C.A.R.’ Legislative Day advocacy was successful in both of its designated “hot issues.”  C.A.R. defeated a bill that would have severely exacerbated the housing crisis in California, and it was able to advance a proposal to include more dollars in the proposed state budget for down payment assistance and construction of new affordable homes.

This year C.A.R. had two hot issues. The first priority was to prevent AB 2710 (Kalra), known as the Right to First Offer bill, from moving forward in the Assembly. The bill proposed preventing rental property owners of all residential multifamily, single-family, condo homes currently occupied by a renter from selling the property without first starting a tedious process to give specified non-profits and other buyers a first chance to purchase the property.  The requirements could take months or up to a year to complete before the property could be sold freely. The bill was pulled from consideration by the Author before the end of Leg Day week.

The second priority for Leg Day participants was advocating for the Senate to allocate more money for home ownership housing in the budget.  On Friday of Leg Day week, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and Senate Budget & Fiscal Committee Chair Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) announced the second phase of the Senate’s “Putting Wealth to Work” budget proposal that would allocate $1.5 billion for California first-time homeowners and the construction of affordable owner-occupied homes.

Topping of the successful week, we defeated proposed statewide rental registry bill AB 2469 (Wicks), which was a hot issue from our earlier virtual legislative day.  If passed, AB 2469 would have burdened housing providers with onerous regulations and costs by mandating the collection, management, and submission of data about their renters and business to the California Department of Housing and Community Development every year. Providers who do comply would face the consequences of weakening their ability to evict even tenants who were committing crimes or damaging property.

These high priority legislative successes were due in no small part to the collective voice of the more than 2,000 REALTORS® who attended Legislative Day 2022.  By participating in events and meeting with legislators, we raised our collective voice and put housing first. Thank you to everyone who attended Leg Day!  We look forward to seeing you again next year.