Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s Housing Bills Signed into Law

For immediate release:

Monday, September 30, 2024

SACRAMENTO - Showing his commitment to support a broad range of bipartisan housing legislation, Governor Newsom signed three bills by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San José), AB 2347, AB 2926, and AB 3122, to combat the state's housing crisis. These bills are part of and in addition to a long-term strategy to produce more housing and complements historic state funding to address our homelessness crisis.

"California continues to tackle our housing crisis and I am thankful Governor Newsom has signed three of my bills that will protect renters, help housing projects move forward, and preserve affordable housing. Together, these bills will help mitigate the housing crisis and keep people in their homes," said Assemblymember Kalra. "I am grateful for the partnership of our sponsors and look forward to making even greater strides next session."

AB 2347 will help tenants actually exercise their rights by extending the timeline to answer a complaint for unlawful detainer actions from five to ten days. Additionally, by setting the timeline for hearings on demurs and motions to strike, AB 2347 will create uniform timeliness in the evictions process. This bill was sponsored by California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and Western Center for Law and Poverty.

AB 2926 helps California protect our limited affordable housing stock by requiring owners who receive a bona fide purchase offer from a preservation buyer to either accept the offer or re-restrict the property as affordable housing. This bill also makes technical changes to the Preservation Notice Law to prevent tenants from being displaced or priced out without notice. This bill was sponsored by California Housing Partnership Corporation and California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

AB 3122 provides flexibility for a developer to better respond to market needs and take advantage of recent changes in the state density bonus law. This flexibility will help housing projects move forward and ensure we are providing the housing our cities and counties need. Post-pandemic, we are experiencing changing market trends leading developers to revise projects and make adjustments. This bill was sponsored by San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association.

Assemblymember Kalra has consistently put forth solutions to help alleviate our housing crisis and encourage compassionate and thoughtful assistance for people experiencing homelessness. In 2019, Assemblymember Kalra authored AB 1745 to extend the authority for the City of San Jose to develop emergency bridge housing communities to help the city's homeless population transition into permanent supportive housing. Assemblymember Kalra secured $2 million in the state budget to extend the City of San Jose's eviction diversion program, which has prevented over 100 households from forced eviction by providing targeted gap assistance to low-income households on the brink of eviction and he has secured additional funding for the city's Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative. Additionally, he authored AB 1469 to allow Valley Water to assist unsheltered people living along streams or other areas near natural water within the district's jurisdiction, to provide solutions or improve outcomes for the unsheltered individuals.

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Assemblymember Ash Kalra represents California's 25th Assembly District, which encompasses the majority of San José, including downtown and open space areas in southeast Santa Clara County. He was first elected in 2016, becoming the first Indian American to serve in the California Legislature in state history, and was re-elected to his fourth term in 2022. Assemblymember Kalra is the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and also serves as a member on the Housing and Community Development, Local Government, and Natural Resources committees.