By San Diego Chapter
The San Diego Chapter held its first local Legislative Day on July 27, 2018. The purpose was to build closer relationships with our elected representatives and their staff in order to expand CAI advocacy efforts on behalf of community associations.
We thank Jasmine Hale at the Channel Islands Chapter for guidance and encouragement for a successful meeting.
Louie Brown Jr., California Legislative Action Committee (CLAC) advocate in Sacramento, also provided orientation and guidance to the Chapter ‘s Legislative Support Committee (LSC) volunteers in a morning session. The volunteers traveled in a van from North County to downtown San Diego. We met with Stephen Hill, District Director for Assemblymember, Todd Gloria, Deanna Spehn, Policy Director for Senate President pro tempore, Toni Atkins, and Robert Knudsen, Senior Field Representative for Assemblymember, Brian Maienschein.
We introduced CAI, the San Diego Chapter, and ourselves, then used data provided by CLAC to review the community association statistics for the 78th, the 39th, and the 77th districts. Notably, we were able to show the legislative staffers the total number of their constituents living in community associations and underscored the importance of considering this demographic prior to determining a position on pending legislation.
Two impactful bills were discussed during our 30 to 45 minute meetings with district office staff. Opposing arguments were made against SB 1265 which, left as-is, would have significantly increased association assessments by requiring unnecessary mailing of elections rules to all owners each election cycle. It would have also virtually eliminated an association’s ability to determine qualifications for service on their Boards of Directors. Supporting arguments were given for AB 2912, CLAC’s financial solvency bill, which will amend the Davis-Stirling Act to better protect an association’s finances. Each meeting ended with a photo of our group with the district office staff.
Success! The staffers we met with all said their legislator favored AB 2912, which foreshadowed this bill being approved by the Legislature. It was signed by Governor Brown and enrolled on August 22, 2018. Unfortunately, these staffers also informed us SB 1265 would be decided solely on party lines in the Legislature resulting in CLAC’s decision to focus its opposition efforts on a Call-to-Action campaign urging Governor Brown to veto the bill.
CLAC advocates on behalf of community associations with the legislative representatives in Sacramento. Our efforts bring the advocacy to the local district offices and staff. This local connection with the district office staff provides another conduit of influence to either support or oppose selected bills with the potential to impact community associations.
Here are three ways you can help:
- Stay informed by going to CAI-CLAC’s website, selecting the Media pull-down menu, and subscribing to the CLAC-TRAC e-mail list.
- Help CLAC fight bad bills by asking your Board to support CLAC’s Buck-A-Door program.
- Be prepared to act when called to action to support or oppose legislation during the legislative session. You can check the Current Campaigns section for more information.
San Diego Chapter Legislative Support Committee members meet with local legislative staff for Assemblymember Brian Maienschein. From left to right: Laura Kwiatkowski, Rob Ward, Lisa Isaacson, Robert Knudsen, Senior Field Representative for Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, Patrick Morrisey, Kieran Purcell, Pam Richardson, Nathan Cornett
San Diego Chapter Legislative Support Committee members meet with local legislative staff for Senate President pro tempore Toni Atkins. From left to right: Laura Kwiatkowski, Patrick Morrisey, Deanna Spehn, Policy Director for Senate President pro tempore Toni Atkins, Rob Ward, Kieran Purcell, Pam Richardson, Nathan Cornett
San Diego Chapter Legislative Support Committee members meet with local legislative staff for Assemblymember Todd Gloria. From Left to Right: Nathan Cornett, Stephen Hill, District Director for Assemblymember Todd Gloria, Patrick Morrisey, Rob Ward, Ken Dillingham, Kieran Purcell, Laura Kwiatkowski, Pam Richardson
San Diego Chapter Legislative Support Committee members meet with local legislative staff for Assemblymember Todd Gloria. From Left to Right: Nathan Cornett, Stephen Hill, District Director for Assemblymember Todd Gloria, Patrick Morrisey, Rob Ward, Ken Dillingham, Kieran Purcell, Laura Kwiatkowski, Pam Richardson