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AP19:049

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2019
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Expands Local Governments’ Authority To Enact Rent Control On Residential Property. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures today.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponents and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponents and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

EXPANDS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS’ AUTHORITY TO ENACT RENT CONTROL ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Amends state law to allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old. Allows rent increases on rent-controlled properties of up to 15 percent over three years from previous tenant’s rent above any increase allowed by local ordinance. Exempts individuals who own no more than two homes from new rent-control policies. In accordance with California law, provides that rent-control policies may not violate landlords’ right to a fair financial return on their property. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potential reduction in state and local revenues of tens of millions of dollars per year in the long term. Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or more. (19-0001.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1862 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 19-0001.

The proponents of the measure, Michael Weinstein, Cynthia Davis, Jesse Brooks, Rene Christian Moya, & Susan Hunter, must collect signatures of 623,212 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2018 general election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than December 23, 2019. The proponents can be reached c/o Fredric D. Woocher, Esq. and Beverly Grossman Palmer, Esq., of Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, at fwoocher@strumwooch.com and bpalmer@strumwooch.com respectively. The address for Strumwasser & Woocher LLP is 10940 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2000, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

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