Thursday, 28 March 2024

Feinstein joins coalition in support of McGuire’s vacation rental legislation

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – United States Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined a broad coalition of public safety officials, housing advocates, senior organizations, business organizations and California cities and counties this week in support of State Sen. Mike McGuire’s online vacation rental legislation, SB 593.

McGuire’s bill, co-authored by state Sen. Mark Leno, has been approved by both the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee as well as the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

This simple legislation continues to gain momentum in its effort to provide California communities the resources they need to thrive by reinforcing local laws already on the books.

“I am grateful for Sen. Feinstein’s hard work and support on this critical issue. The senator has seen first-hand the struggle San Francisco and other communities have had simply trying to enforce the laws that are already on the books in 431 cities and 56 California counties. This bill is simple – it doesn’t add new taxes or take away anyone’s privacy – all it does is make online vacation rental businesses follow local laws, just like the rest of us,” McGuire said.

In her letter of support for SB 593, Senator Feinstein wrote: “I support local governments’ ability to pass and enforce ordinances on short term rentals, particularly those negotiated through online reservation systems. The unrestricted rise of online hosting companies for short-term stays in private homes has made it more difficult to track and regulate these properties. Many cities and counties have expressed concern about protecting the residential nature of neighborhoods and collecting transient occupancy taxes.”

SB 593 – the Thriving Communities and Sharing Economy Act – will empower local control by providing the basic data required to gather desperately needed funding for parks, road improvements, fire and police services, and promote safe neighborhoods.

The bill requires online vacation rental businesses to provide municipalities the same information that 431 cities and 56 counties currently require via their local tourist tax laws: home business address, number of room nights stayed by the tourist and the room rate.

“We have seen, in many cities, management companies buying up hundreds of apartments or condos in what was a traditional neighborhood and renting them out as lodging units, leading to significant conflict due to congested streets, lack of parking and full time residents having to deal with a new hotel popping up in their neighborhood – not to mention the loss of affordable housing units for working families and seniors,” McGuire said.

After passing two committees in the Senate, SB 593 is headed to the Senate floor for a vote.

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