AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 24, 2024

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2023

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

94

CHAPTER 351

Statutes of 2024

[ Approved by Governor September 22, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State September 22, 2024. ]

Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra)

February 17, 2023

An act to add Section 799.47 to the Civil Code, relating to recreational vehicle parks.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, prescribes various terms and conditions applicable to recreational vehicle park tenancies.

The bill would prohibit a person from requiring an occupant, tenant, or resident, as defined, in a qualified recreational vehicle park to reregister if the purpose of the reregistration requirement is to prevent the occupant, tenant, or resident from gaining or maintaining status as a resident, and would make a person who violates these provisions liable for a civil penalty of $500, as specified. The bill would define “qualified recreational vehicle park” as a recreational vehicle park located within the City of Imperial Beach.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Imperial Beach.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 799.47 is added to the Civil Code, immediately following Section 799.46, to read:

799.47.

(a) A person shall not require an occupant, tenant, or resident in a qualified recreational vehicle park to reregister if the purpose of the reregistration requirement is to prevent the occupant, tenant, or resident from gaining or maintaining status as a resident.

(b) A person who violates subdivision (a) shall be liable for a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500).

(c) In an action brought pursuant to this section, if it is established by a preponderance of the evidence that an occupant, tenant, or resident was required to reregister, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the purpose of that requirement was to prevent the occupant, tenant, or resident from gaining or maintaining status as a resident.

(d) In an action brought pursuant to this section, the court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party.

(e) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Qualified recreational vehicle park” means a recreational vehicle park, as defined in Section 799.30, that is located within the City of Imperial Beach.

(2) Notwithstanding Section 799.31 “resident” means a tenant who has occupied a lot in a park for at least 9 months in a 12-month period.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the of the unique impact of rising rents in recreational vehicle parks in the City of Imperial Beach as compared to neighboring cities.