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Inventory of the California State Senate Housing and Land Use Committee Records
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Title: California State Senate Housing and Land Use Committee records
Dates: 1977-1998
Collection number: See series description
Creator:
Senate Housing and Land Use Committee
Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
Collection Size:
24 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: The Senate Housing and Land Use Committee Records consist of 24 cubic feet of records including records under both committee
names, the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee. The records reflect the
activity of the committee in overseeing legislation and other matters affecting housing issues, community redevelopment, and
land use. The records cover the years 1977-1998, with the bulk from 1983-1998. They are composed of bill files, hearing files,
and correspondence files.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Administrative Information
While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions will be noted in the record series descriptions.
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
[Identification of item], [Name of Committee] Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the
Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
The State Archives received these records in accordance with California Government Code 9080(b) which requires legislative
committees to transfer their records to the State Archives when they are no longer needed by the committee.
The collection was processed by staff of the California State Archives over a period of time and described in a finding aid
in 2005.
The Standing Rules of the Senate created the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in 1983. Initially the seven members
of the new Housing and Urban Affairs Committee considered "Bills related to housing, community development, codes and standards,
fair housing, foreclosure, housing finances, manufactured housing, housing element, and the Subdivision Map Act" (California
Legislature at Sacramento, 1983, p. 95). In 1995 the committee name changed to Senate Housing and Land Use Committee to consider
"Bills relating to housing and land use" (California Legislature at Sacramento, 1995, p. 103).
The committee consisted of seven members with the exception of legislative session 1997-1998, when the number decreased to
five members. Senator Leroy Greene (Dem.) served as the committee's first chair from 1983 to 1992. Senator Tom Campbell (Rep.)
served as committee chair in 1995. Senator Byron D. Sher served as committee chair in 1996. Senator Barbara J, Lee served
as committee chair from 1997 to 1998. In 1999, the Senate changed the scope of the committee to consider "Bills relating to
housing and community development" (California Legislature at Sacramento, 1999-2000, p. 111), and renamed it the Senate Housing
and Community Development Committee.
The Senate Housing and Land Use Committee considered many bills relating to manufactured or mobile homes. This issue generated
a substantial community response from mobile home park owners and residents throughout the state on bills that focused on
occupancy restrictions, fees, sale, and transfer of ownership. The committee played an important role in creating safety guidelines
for mobile homes such as, requiring the installation of vented seismic gas shutoff valves in mobile home parks, requiring
inspection of mobile home parks by the Department of Housing and Community Development or a local enforcement agency every
five years, and extending rental agreement protection to residents. Legislation by the committee extended to both mobile home
owners and mobile home residents.
The committee conducted hearings throughout the state for public input or fact-finding purposes. California's increasing population
created diverse housing issues for the state's residents, as did the potential loss of federally subsidized housing. The hearings
focused on the growing problems of affordable housing, substandard housing, adequate farm worker housing, and homelessness.
In response to the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 and the Northridge Earthquake of 1994, the committee heard testimonies on
disaster preparedness and safety, resulting in legislation to increase California's readiness for future disasters. As California
entered a recession and suffered defense and aerospace cutbacks in the early 1990s, the committee held hearings to remove
obstacles for business, job, and revenue growth.
The Senate Housing and Land Use Committee Records consist of 24 cubic feet of records including records under both committee
names, the Senate Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Senate Housing and Land Use Committee. The records reflect the
activity of the committee in overseeing legislation and other matters affecting housing issues, community redevelopment, and
land use. The records cover the years 1977-1998, with the bulk from 1983-1998. They are comprised of bill files, hearing files,
and correspondence files.
Files dating from 1999-2000 can be located under the committee's current name, Senate Housing and Community Development Committee.
It is anticipated that the Archives will receive further records of the Senate Housing and Community Development Committee.
Researchers should check for recently received, unprocessed records of the committee.
The bill files include information on rental housing, mobile homes and mobile home parks, subdivisions, common interest developments,
low rent housing, farm labor housing, emergency housing, residential hotels, senior citizen housing, housing for homeless
persons, military housing, employee housing, and recreational vehicle parks. Other bill files concern safety issues including
radon detection, seismic safety, noncombustible roofs, asbestos, fire protection, carbon monoxide detectors, safety devices
on automatic garage door openers, un-vented heaters, handicapped access, swimming pool safety, gas burning appliances, and
building codes and standards.
The committee also addressed financial issues concerning mortgage credit certificates, shared appreciation mortgages, sale
or transfer of mobile homes, appropriation of housing funds, reverse annuity mortgages, predevelopment loans, deferred payment
rehabilitation loans, and homes sales. Because of these subjects, the bill files often include letters from such organized
groups as the Western Mobilehome Association, the Golden State Mobilhome Owners League, Inc., California Building Industry
Association, the League of California Cities, the California Association of Realtors, the Regional Council of Rural Counties,
the Rental Housing Association, the Urban Counties Caucus, and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.
The committee conducted hearings, special hearings, and interim hearings on low-income housing, farm labor, earthquake safety,
redevelopment, common interest development, homelessness, and disabled access. Correspondence includes committee letters and
memoranda of committee chairs Leroy Greene and Tom Campbell, committee members, staff, legislative counsel Bion Gregory, and
legislative consultants Krist A. Lane, Teri Bressler, Peter Detwiler, and Howard Yee.
Together, these records reflect the Senate Committee trying to balance the varied and sometimes conflicting demands of California's
citizens for quality housing and responsible land use.
No further accruals are expected.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
California--Legislature--Senate--Committee on Housing and Land Use
California--Legislature--Senate--Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs
Housing--Law and legislation--California
Land use--Law and legislation (Calif.)
Related Materials at the California State Archives
Leroy Greene Papers, 1963-1982
Barbara J. Lee Papers, 1986-1998
Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee Records, 1975-1984
Assembly Urban Development and Housing Committee Records, 1968-1974
Senate Housing and Community Development Committee Records, 1999-2002
Leroy F. Greene, oral history interview conducted by Donald B. Seney, 1999, Center for California Studies, California State
University, Sacramento for the State Oral History Program, California State Archives.
Related Material at Other Repositories
Records for Byron D. Sher, the 1996 Chair of the Committee, may be found in the Byron D. Sher Papers, 1950-2004 at the Department
of Special Collections, Stanford University, 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford, California 94305-6004.