California Senate Bill SB944 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 944INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Committee on Transportation and Housing (Senators Beall (Chair), Allen, Bates, Cannella, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva, McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, and Wieckowski) FEBRUARY 3, 2016 An act to amend Section 4270 of, and to amend and renumber Section 4750.10 of, the Civil Code, and to amend Section 12955.9 of the Government Code, relating to housing. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 944, as introduced, Committee on Transportation and Housing. Housing omnibus. (1) The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, among other things, requires that the declaration, as defined, of a common interest development include certain specified information and allows for amendments to the declaration pursuant to either the declaration or the provisions of the act. Under existing law, an amendment to a declaration is generally effective after certain specified requirements are met, except as provided. This bill would clarify that the exception from this requirement includes alternative procedures established in other specified provisions of the act for approving, certifying, or recording an amendment. Existing law also provides that any provision, except for a reasonable restriction, as defined, of a governing document, as defined, of a common interest development is void and unenforceable if it effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts the use of a clothesline or a drying rack, as defined, in an owner's backyard. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to this provision. (2) Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the owner of a housing accommodation is prohibited from discriminating against or harassing any person on the basis of certain personal characteristics, including familial status. The act provides that its provisions relating to discrimination based on familial status do not apply to housing for older persons, defined to include, among others, mobilehome parks that meet the standards for "housing for older persons" contained in the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. This bill would instead require, for this purpose, mobilehome parks to meet the standards for "housing for older persons" contained in the federal Fair Housing Act, as amended by Public Law 104-76. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 4270 of the Civil Code is amended to read: 4270. (a) A declaration may be amended pursuant to the declaration or this act. Except as   where an alternative process for approving, certifying, or recording an amendment is  provided in Section  4225, 4230, 4235, or  4275, an amendment is effective after all of the following requirements have been met: (1) The amendment has been approved by the percentage of members required by the declaration and any other person whose approval is required by the declaration. (2) That fact has been certified in a writing executed and acknowledged by the officer designated in the declaration or by the association for that purpose, or if no one is designated, by the president of the association. (3) The amendment has been recorded in each county in which a portion of the common interest development is located. (b) If the declaration does not specify the percentage of members who must approve an amendment of the declaration, an amendment may be approved by a majority of all members, pursuant to Section 4065. SEC. 2. Section 4750.10 of the Civil Code is amended and renumbered to read:  4750.10.   4753.  (a) For  the  purposes of this section, "clothesline" includes a cord, rope, or wire from which laundered items may be hung to dry or air. A balcony, railing, awning, or other part of a structure or building shall not qualify as a clothesline. (b) For  the  purposes of this section, "drying rack" means an apparatus from which laundered items may be hung to dry or air. A balcony, railing, awning, or other part of a structure or building shall not qualify as a drying rack. (c) Any provision of a governing document, as defined in Section 4150, shall be void and unenforceable if it effectively prohibits or unreasonably restricts an owner's ability to use a clothesline or drying rack in the owner's backyard. (d) (1) This section does not apply to provisions that impose reasonable restrictions on an owner's backyard for the use of a clothesline or drying rack. (2) For purposes of this section, "reasonable restrictions" are restrictions that do not significantly increase the cost of using a clothesline or drying rack. (3) This section applies only to backyards that are designated for the exclusive use of the owner. (e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit an association from establishing and enforcing reasonable rules governing clotheslines or drying racks. SEC. 3. Section 12955.9 of the Government Code is amended to read: 12955.9. (a) The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of familial status shall not apply to housing for older persons. (b) As used in this section, "housing for older persons" means any of the following: (1) Housing provided under any state or federal program that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines is specifically designed and operated to assist elderly persons, as defined in the state or federal program. (2) Housing that meets the standards for senior housing in Sections 51.2, 51.3, and 51.4 of the Civil Code, except to the extent that those standards violate the prohibition of familial status discrimination in the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988  (P.L.   (Public Law  100-430) and implementing regulations. (3) Mobilehome parks that meet the standards for "housing for older persons" as defined in the federal Fair Housing  Amendments Act of 1988   Act, as amended by Public Law 104-76,  and implementing regulations. (c) For purposes of this section, the burden of proof shall be on the owner to prove that the housing qualifies as housing for older persons.