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)