HOUSING -- RELATED PUBLICATIONS
HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION FORECLOSURE: DOES THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE OFFENSE? -
Recent news reports have highlighted the powers of homeowner associations to
foreclose on individual homeowners for unpaid assessments. While homeowner
associations must have the ability to collect assessments owed them, they do
have a variety of collection tools at their disposal, ranging from small claims
court to judicial foreclosure to non judicial foreclosure. Given that the loss
of one's home and equity is a very high price to pay for missing payments to the
homeowners association, the question is raised: Is foreclosure an appropriate
tool for homeowners associations to use to collect debts? Or should the
association be treated like the majority of other creditors that do not have
immediate access to foreclosure? The purpose of this hearing was to hear from
persons who have lost their homes to foreclosure and engage stakeholders on
possible legislative reforms. (Stock #1252-S; $5.93 - includes tax and s/h)
(2/04)
LAND: HOW TO EFFICIENTLY SUPPLY THE RAW MATERIAL FOR HOUSING - California's
affordable housing crisis is fundamentally a problem of too little housing
supply to meet too much demand. While there are a number of factors that
contribute to California's woeful housing production, academics and builders
from both the for-profit and non-profit sectors often point to one primary
reality: a lack of appropriately zoned land for housing. The purpose of this
hearing was to solicit information on the causes of the broken land supply for
housing and seek possible solutions that would ensure that each community in
California is providing adequately zoned land to accommodate its long-term
housing need. (Stock # 1244-S; $5.12 - includes tax s/h) (1/04)
TAKING THEIR PULSE: HOW THE LAFCOs IMPLEMENTED AB 2838, HERTZBERG 2000 - This
new report by the California Senate Local Government Committee presents the
results of a statewide survey on how Local Agency Formation Commissions are
carrying out the most important statutory reforms in 40 years. This distills 40
findings from the LAFCO's responses to a dozen questions about implementing AB
2838. Just 1/3 of the LAFCOs have adopted voluntary policies for disclosing
campaign contributions and lobbying activities. Less than half of the LAFCOs
have schedules for meeting the 2006 deadline for revising the spheres of
influence for cities and special districts. Over half hiked their fees and over
3/4 have higher budgets after AB 2838. So, how did your LAFCO measure up?
Taking Their Pulse contains 24 pages of tables that compile and compare local
officials' responses. (Stock #1176-S; $3.23 - includes tax s/h) (9/02)
WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT SPECIAL DISTRICTS? A CITIZEN'S GUIDE, THIRD EDITION -
This contains fresh material on the number of districts, recent controversies,
and the debilitation effects of the ERAF property tax shifts. This guide by the
Senate Local Government Committee introduces and explains the special district
form of government. It's a helpful primer for voters, reporters, and public
officials. (Stock #583-S; $3.23 - includes tax s/h) (2/02)
URBAN SPRAWL, PART II: INFLUENCES OF THE "FISCALIZATION OF LAND USE" AND URBAN
GROWTH BOUNDARIES - California policy-makers and think tanks often talk of the
"fiscalization of land use." It's a shorthand way of suggesting that local
planning and zoning decisions are driven by the goal of maximizing the local tax
revenues that land can produce. While it has been assumed this phenomenon
encourages urban sprawl - as "big box stores," auto malls and other high-volume
retailers spring up on once open lands - no one has studied whether the
appropriate data does, indeed, show that fiscal considerations are driving many
local land-use decisions. Prepared by Robert W. Wassmer, Visiting Consultant
for Senate Office of Research. (Stock #1096-S; $3.23 - includes tax, s/h)
(7/01)
URBAN SPRAWL, PART I: DEFINING EXCESSIVE UBRANIZATION IN CALIFORNIA AND OTHER
WESTERN STATES - This paper is intended to offer a better understanding of the
incidence of urban sprawl in California with the goal of helping decision-makers
chart effective policies for dealing with it. The paper offers an economic way
of thinking about urban sprawl, or decentralized growth. It develops a method
for quantifing the degree of sprawl in metropolitan areas, given the available
data. Prepared by Robert W. Wassmer, Visiting Consultant for Senate Office of
Research. (Stock #1095-S; $3.23 - includes tax, s/h) (7/01)
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MOBILEHOME REGISTRATION AND
TITLING BACKLOG – Despite the progress that has been made by the HCD, as of
August there was still a 9-month backlog of transactions which affect many
people. The September 21st hearing is designed to hear from those who still
have problems in obtaining timely service from the Registration & Titling
Section and to obtain the Department of Housing and Community Development’s
response to these concerns. Based on this testimony, the committee will
determine whether further legislative action in 2000 is necessary to resolve the
backlog. (Stock #1012-S; $3.77 – includes tax, s/h) (9/99)
SB511 ENTERPRISE ZONES: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? – The Senate Committee on
Housing & Community Development held a special hearing on August 4, 1999. The
purpose of this hearing was to learn more about the enterprise zone application
process and what has been done to improve the evaluation of the program. The
Committee wants to know whether the business tax credits create jobs that truly
improve the quality of life in communities or are they creating unfair
competition within California that allows one community to take a good business
from one location to another with no overall benefit to the state. (Stock
#1009-S; $4.31 – includes tax, s/h) (8/99)
THE RIGHT HOME IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT PRICE – California’s regional and
statewide challenges of housing availability, jobs-housing balance, and housing
costs and some options to meet them. In this report, the Senate Office of
Research, using data developed by the Senate Demographics Office, presents both
original research and summaries of other recent studies detailing the nature and
extent of the problems statewide and by region. (Stock #1001-S; $8.35 –
includes tax s/h) (10/99)
PROPERTY TAX ALLOCATION 1999 – California’s property owners pay more than $20
billion in property taxes every year. Where does their money go? Where should
their money go? What is the equitable way to allocate property tax revenues?
The Senate Local Government report summarizes the testimony, reprints the
revised briefing paper, and includes all of the written hand-out materials.
(Stock #997-S; $6.47 – includes tax s/h) (10/99)
MOBILEHOME PARK “DOUBLE RENTING”: PARK BUYOUT AND RENTAL OF HOMES – The purpose
of the April 26th hearing is to address the reasons why park owners are buying
mobilehomes in their parks, what problems have been created for mobilehome
owners by the practice of “double-renting”, and what alternatives exist for the
resolution of these problems. (Stock #993-S; $5.39 – includes tax) (4/99)
LAFCO GOVERNANCE AND NEW CITIES’ REVENUE NEUTRALITY – Local Government Committee
hearing on LAFCO governance issues. Six state legislators learned from the
testimony of LAFCO commissioners and staff, city, county, and special district
officials, incorporation proponents, and representatives of the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the California Highway Patrol.
(Stock #977-S; $4.58 – includes tax s/h) (10/98).
MANUFACTURED HOMES & MOBILEHOME RESALE DISCLOSURE TASK FORCE -- Concerns on the
part of real estate brokers about liability as well as consumer complaints led
to a special hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Mobile and Manufactured
Homes and two pieces of legislation, AB 2221 and SB 1704, both of which
addressed disclosure for mobile and manufactured homes. The proposed draft
legislation included in this report constitutes the product of those meetings
and the recommendations of the Task Force. (Stock #937-S; $7.54 -- includes tax
s/h) (8/97, 10/97 & 12/97)
THE MOBILEHOME PARK ISPECTION PROGRAM -- Mobilehome parks in California
currently undergo a complete health and safety code inspection at least once
every seven years under a program which began in 1991 but sunsets at the end of
1998. The purpose of the November 17, 1997 hearing is to take up where the
previous February 18, 1997 hearing (913-S) left off in considering issues
concerning extension of the Mobilehome Park Inspection Program in one form or
another beyond 1998 and to discuss the provisions of Senate Bill 485, the only
legislation now pending which would extend the program. (Stock #934-S; $4.58 --
includes tax s/h) (11/97)
FOUR POLICY PIECES: ISSUE PAPERS ON HOUSING TOPICS -- During 1997 Senator
Barbara Lee’s Housing and Land Use Committee held four special hearings that
put legislators in touch with housing policy experts: analysts, advisors, and
advocates. The Committee’s newest publication reprints the issue papers that
the staff wrote to prepare legislators for those sessions. This collection of
staff papers on housing topics set the issues’ historical context and pose
provocative policy questions about: Land Use & The New Year’s Floods; Building
Affordable Housing: Jobs, Economy & Neighborhoods; The Ripple Effect? Welfare
Reform & Affordable Housing; Homeless Shelters to Housing Solutions. (Stock
#930-S; $3.77 -- includes tax, s/h) (12/97)
BURGLAR BARS: COMMON SENSE & COMMUNITY SAFETY -- The Senate Housing and Land
Use Committee held a special hearing to review efforts to promote public
education about the dangers of illegal burglar bars. Legislators learned from
community activists, professional firefighters, and property owners. The
summary report describes the results of the oversight hearing, including the 10
findings and 15 recommendations. (Stock #926-S; $4.58 -- includes tax, s/h)
(10/97)
TIMELY, ACCURATE, AND RELIABLE: THE REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES’ AFFORDABLE HOUSING REPORTS -- What do redevelopment
agencies do with their Low and Moderate Income Housing Funds? How can state
legislators and their constituents find out how many housing units
redevelopment agencies really produce? (Stock #917-S; $3.50 -- includes tax,
s/h) (7/97)
IMPLEMENTING AB 1335: DO LAFCOs NEED A NUDGE TO REORGANIZE SPECIAL DISTRICTS? -
- Former Assemblyman and AB 1335 author Mike Gotch began the hearing by
outlining his specific goals: To broaden LAFCO membership to include
special district representatives; To better integrate land use planning by
requiring special districts to give up their “latent powers” in order to be
represented on LAFCO; To place responsibility for district consolidations and
dissolutions with the most impartial body -- LAFCO. This staff summary of the
informational hearing reports who spoke and summarizes their views. (Stock
#906-S; $3.77 -- includes tax, s/h) (1/97)
COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENT ISSUES AFTER ‘NAHRSTEDT’ -- This summary report
contains the Senate Housing Committee Staff’s explanation of what happened at
the hearing, reprints the briefing paper that the staff wrote for the Committee,
& reproduces the witnesses’ written materials. (Stock #889-S; $4.85 -- includes
tax, s/h) (11/96)
END OR MEANS? REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES’ HOUSING PROGRAMS -- This summary report
contains the Senate Housing Committee staff’s explanation of what happened at
the hearing, reprints the briefing paper that the staff wrote for the Committee,
& reproduces the witnesses’ written materials. (Stock #888-S; $10.78 --
includes tax, s/h) (11/96)
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION: PLANNING & REGULATING FOR SEISMIC HAZARDS -- A major
earthquake is inevitable in the San Francisco Bay Area. New studies show that
tens of thousands of residences will be uninhabitable, hundreds of thousands of
residents will be suddenly homeless, and thousands will seek public shelter.
On 10/16/96 the Housing & Land Use Committee held a special hearing to review
public and private efforts to regulate and plan for seismic hazards.
Legislators learned from safety experts, planners, building officials, and
government researchers. The summary report describes the results of that
hearing. (Stock #882-S; $5.93 -- includes tax, s/h)(10/96)
MOBILE AND MANUFACTURED HOME SALES: DISCLOSURE TO BUYERS -- A transcript and
report of the Senate Select Committee on Mobile and Manufactured Homes' hearing
on April 9, 1996. The primary subject of this hearing is whether all
mobilehomes, including those located in parks, should be subject to disclosure
on resale, and how disclosure can be made meaningful to buyers or consumers
without making it overly burdensome or complicated for the seller. Participants
in testimony include dealers, brokers, consumers, homeowners and government
representatives. (stock #858-S; $4.31 -- includes tax, s/h) (4/96)
REDEVELOPMENT AND BLIGHT -- The summary report from the joint interim
hearing of the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee and the Senate Select
Committee on Redevelopment which discussed the following questions: How have
local officials and property owners used the statutory definition of blight?
Has the 1993 statutory definition created by AB 1290 lived up to its promises?
Should state agencies review local officials' determinations of the existence of
blight? Are further statutory reforms needed in 1996? The committee's report
summarizes the testimony, includes the background policy paper, reprints the key
statutes regarding blight and reproduces all of the hand-out materials that the
legislators received from witnesses and correspondents. (stock #831-S; $20.74 -
- includes tax, s/h) (11/95)
EARTHQUAKE SAFETY AND BUILDING CODES -- The summary report from the interim
hearing by the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee on the issue of
earthquake safety and building codes. Testimony includes engineers, architects,
building officials and property owners. This report contains the committee
staff's explanation of what happened at the hearing, reprints the briefing paper
that the staff wrote for the committee and reproduces the witnesses' written
materials and the letters that the committee received after the hearing. (stock
#829-S; $7.81 -- includes tax, s/h) (11/95)
EARTHQUAKE INSURANCE ISSUES -- Provides transcript of the Joint Hearing of the
Senate Judiciary and the Senate Insurance Committees on Earthquake Insurance
Issues regarding two earthquake insurance bills enacted into law in October
1995, AB 13 (McDonald) and AB 1366 (Knowles). This hearing began the process of
discussing the issues raised by these bills and it continues the discussion on
how California public policy should be developed to address residential
earthquake insurance problems. (stock #833-S; $8.35 -- includes tax, s/h)
(10/95)
FARMWORKER HOUSING -- Reports the results of the oversight hearing of the Senate
Committee on Housing and Land Use Committee. This summary report contains the
committee staff's explanation of what happened at the hearing, reprints the
briefing paper that the staff wrote for the committee and reproduces the written
materials that the witnesses submitted. (stock #824-S; $8.08 -- includes tax,
s/h) (10/95)
DEVELOPER FEES -- A summary report from the interim hearing of the Senate
Committee on Housing and Land Use. This hearing was held to learn more about
fees and exactions that local governments charge for development projects.
(stock #830-S; $7.27 -- includes tax, s/h) (9/95)
BEYOND BRICKS AND MORTAR (VOL. II): ISSUES FACING SENIOR HOUSING
IN CALIFORNIA -- This report was prepared by the Senate Office of Research and
is the second-phase report required by SCR 21 (Mello) of 1991. It provides a
more detailed profile of senior housing residents and facilities as well as a
detailed examination of the gaps between social, health and support needs of
residents and the types of services provided by senior housing facilities. It
also provides SOR's overall recommendations on how the state can assist the
aging in place of senior housing residents, while at the same time ensuring that
they can continue to safely reside in these facilities. (stock #818-S;
$11.04 -- includes tax, s/h) (9/95)
REPRINT OF SB 5: INSURANCE COMMISSIONER QUACKENBUSH'S PROPOSED "CALIFORNIA
EARTHQUAKE AUTHORITY" -- A transcript of the Joint Hearing of the Senate
Insurance and Judiciary Committees and the Assembly Insurance Committee on the
subject of eathquake insurance, specifically the proposal of Insurance
Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush to create a "California Earthquake
Authority," as the solution to the residential property insurance problems
facing California. (stock #832-S; $11.31 -- includes tax, s/h) (8/95)
A LEGISLATIVE REVIEW OF HOMELESS PROGRAMS -- A summary report from the Special
Hearing of the Senate Committee on Housing and Land Use to learn more about
federal, state and local homeless programs and the problems of program
administration. This report contains the committee staff's explanations of what
happened at the hearing, reprints the background paper that the staff worte for
the committee and reproduces the written materials that the witnesses and others
submitted. (stock #827-S; $6.73 -- includes tax, s/h) (8/95)
CALIFORNIA RANKINGS: COMPARING CALIFORNIA TO OTHER STATES IN
THE NATION -- A report prepared by the Senate Office of Research which includes
charts displaying California's ranking as compared to the other 49 states in the
following issue areas: Employment, Economy and Demographics; State and Local
Finance; Education; Health; Housing; Criminal Justice; Environment, Energy,
Transporation and the Arts; Elections. (stock #806-S; $10.24 -- includes tax,
s/h) (7/95)
PUTTING PREMIUM DOLLARS TO WORK: FOSTERING COMMUNITY INVESTING BY THE INSURANCE
INDUSTRY -- A report prepared by the Senate Office of Research which reviews the
history and performance of the federal Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which
requires the banking industry to invest a share of its capital in low-income
communities. The report reviews changes in the financial services industry
since passage of the CRA in 1977, and addresses whether the insurance industry
should be actively encouraged to pursue similar investments. (stock #807-S;
$4.31 -- includes tax, s/h) (7/95)
HOUSING ELEMENT LAW -- A summary report from the Special Hearing of the
Senate Housing and Land Use Committee on the housing element law to learn more
about the problems facing local governments and developers of affordable housing
project. (stock #820-S; $6.73 -- includes tax, s/h) (3/95)