AB 743 (Petrie-Norris) Remote Online Notaries – California is now only one of a handful of states that do not allow remote online notarization in some form (45 states plus the District of Columbia). However, a remote notarization is legally binding in all states, provided it was performed in accordance with the laws of the state where the notary is registered. This means that California is missing out on 1) allowing our notaries to utilize this business tool for their clients since California notaries cannot perform these services; and 2) Californians are being deprived of the traditional consumer protections that come with laws that were enacted in California. C.A.R. is sponsoring AB 743 to allow California notaries to become licensed remote online notaries. AB 743 will bring notarization into the 21^st Century in California in a safe and secure way for Californians to utilize the internet and audio-visual technology to notarize documents for signers remotely.

Status: Scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 18^th

AB 1033 (Ting) ADU Conveyance – Current law does not permit accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to be sold or conveyed separately from the primary residence. AB 1033 seeks to reverse existing law and mandate local jurisdictions to establish an ordinance that allows for the separate conveyance of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) from a primary residence. The bill provides no limitations, guardrails, or protections from predatory sales or lending practices. ADU developers are sponsoring AB 1033 and claim that the bill is aimed at increasing homeownership opportunities. However, the bill is much broader, complicated, and ripe with unintended consequences. AB 1033 permits a broad array of ownership models, which run afoul of land use lending requirements, potentially wreaking havoc with homeowners’ loans and triggering foreclosure actions as it seeks to circumvent state law, which already ministerially authorizes “urban lot splits” for homes that are owner-occupied.

C.A.R. members are being contacted by the ADU developer groups sponsoring AB 1033, asking REALTORS® to lobby against consumer protections in favor of unrestricted door-to-door sales opportunities for ADU developers, similar to how solar leases have been sold. In an effort to keep our members educated on the potential consequences to homeowners and their real property assets, we have prepared a Q&A which explains our concerns with AB 1033. 

Position: Oppose Unless Amended  

Status: Scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee on April 19^th  

SB 395 (Wahab) Statewide Database: Notices of Termination and Rent Increases – This bill requires housing providers to file copies of notices of termination and notices of rent increases with the Secretary of State within ten days of serving the notices on tenants. SB 395 further specifies that failure by a housing provider to file such a notice constitutes an affirmative defense to a cause of action for an unlawful detainer. Lastly, the bill requires the creation of a publicly searchable database that will include the volume of termination of tenancy notices by zip code and the rates of rental increases by address and unit number. C.A.R. opposes SB 395: it imposes onerous requirements on housing providers.

Position: Oppose

Status: Scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 18^th

SB 466 (Wahab) Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing – In 1995, C.A.R. successfully sponsored with others AB 1164, also known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Costa-Hawkins), which creates limits on local rent control ordinances by requiring vacancy de-control/re-control and exempting single-family property and new construction from local rent control. C.A.R. opposes SB 466 which eviscerates Costa-Hawkins in order to place more properties under rent control in jurisdictions with local rent control ordinances.

Position: Oppose

Status: Scheduled to be heard in the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 18^th