Assembly Local Government Committee advances bills on short‑term rentals, street vendors, parks, fees and homelessness

The Assembly Local Government Committee on July 2 heard extended testimony and advanced several bills addressing housing‑market impacts, public‑safety uses of parks, vendor regulation and protections for people providing aid to unhoused Californians.

Lawmakers front‑loaded discussion on a measure to give local governments more access to short‑term rental addresses for tax and enforcement purposes, then took up bills on street vendors, parkland use for emergency services, traffic mitigation fees, employment protections for county public defenders, and a state-level prohibition on penalizing people who provide basic survival services to unhoused people. Committee decisions sent most measures on to the next committee in the house for further review.

SB 346 — short‑term rental transparency Sen. María Durazo told the committee SB 346 would "require short term rental platforms to provide local governments with the location of each listing" so cities and counties can audit transient‑occupancy tax (TOT) remittances and enforce licensing ordinances. Supporters including the League of California Cities and county treasurers said platforms’ refusal to disclose addresses or the use of voluntary collection agreements (VCAs) has left local auditors unable to verify remittances or identify unlicensed listings. Patrick Sullivan, Lake County treasurer‑tax collector, said administrative subpoenas and VCAs have not solved the problem for small jurisdictions.

Opponents including Airbnb, Expedia and Booking Holdings said the bill would upend an existing legal process by forcing platforms to hand over private business records without the narrow, tailored administrative‑subpoena process local city attorneys now use. Pat Joyce of KP Public Affairs (testifying for Airbnb) said the company "support[s] the proposed language that would allow governments to audit short term rental facilitators who collect and remit TOT," but remained opposed to provisions that would require broad disclosure of private…