CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Tom Umberg
Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3240
Sacramento, CA 95814
Subject: AB 223 (Ward) – Change of Gender and Sex Identifier City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Umberg,
The City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes AB 223.
AB 223 will limit access to court records, creating a dangerous precedent of hiding minor’s legal dealings from concerned adults. By limiting access to documents that are already difficult to acquire, this creates a dangerous precedent and complicates the process of involving a community of adults speaking into the life of a minor.
The bill makes it more difficult for concerned adults to be involved in a minor’s life. Please vote “No” on AB 223.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senate Judiciary Committee
Assemblymember Chris Ward
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Tom Umberg
Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3240
Sacramento, CA 95814
Subject: AB 223 (Ward) – Family Law: Gender Identity
City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Honorable Thomas Umberg,
The City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes AB 957. AB 957 will require California courts to consider a parent's affirmation of their child's new gender identity in custody disputes. This bill will interfere with parental vision and personal religious views.
The potential denial of custody rights to a parent is cruel and hurts both the parent and the child by severing the most important relationship in that child’s life – a relationship that is essential to the health and well-being of the child.
Please vote "No" on AB 957.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senate Judiciary Committee
Assemblymember Chris Ward
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Jim Wood
Chair, Assembly Health Committee
1020 N Street, Room 390
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB58 (Wiener) - Controlled Substances: Decriminalization of Certain Hallucinogenic Substances City of Huntington Beach – OPPOSE
Dear Chair Wood,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write to you in respectful OPPOSITION to SB 58 (Wiener), which would make lawful the possession of psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine(DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline for personal use by people 21 years of age or older.
SB58, like its predecessor SB 519 (Wiener, 2021), poses a clear and present danger to public safety. This bill would legalize the use of several addictive and dangerous, illicit drugs. These drugs pose a threat to public safety as they alter the relationship between the user and reality. While under the influence of these drugs, the ability of the user to maintain control of their mental faculties is greatly diminished, placing themselves and those around them at significant risk for physical harm.
Aside from the risks posed to individuals and the public from using these dangerous drugs, this bill further erodes public safety by removing the criminal disincentive from using these drugs. By removing the criminal penalties for possessing and using these dangerous drugs, this bill increases the likelihood of their use and the likelihood that individuals will seek them out in the drug market. Individuals also face further danger from purchasing these substances, which are often adulterated with other more lethal substances. Finally, it is often the most vulnerable populations, and those who have the weakest support systems, that are most susceptible to the increased access and use of drugs. At a time when every jurisdiction should be working together to aid our most vulnerable populations, SB 58 will make it more difficult for them to escape the cycle of hallucinogenic substance use, which frequently occurs in these areas.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach must respectfully OPPOSE SB 58.
Sincerely,
T
ony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Assembly Health Committee
Senator Scott Wiener
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Chris Holden
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 253 (Wiener) — Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Holden,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write to you in respectful OPPOSITION to SB 253 (Wiener), which imposes added costs for business, large and small, to do business in California through additional reporting requirements.
California should continue to implement and build upon existing programs and policies to regulate and monitor in- state emissi ons rather than seek to obtain emissions data throughout the international supply chain, especially seeing how it would have no authority to regulate emissions beyond the California border. Out -of-state or non- California companies would challenge such authority, or simply ignore it.
Although SB 253 identifies a large threshold for applicability, the bill requires companies to track emissions not only for its California sites or products, but also requires emissions tracking of distant upstream and downstream supply chains. Those small and medium-sized businesses are likely under resourced and will struggle to accurately measure their GHG emissions, leaving these companies without the contracts that enable them to grow and employ more workers. This has the ability to create inefficient supply chains that will further add costs to the end-user.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach must respectfully OPPOSE SB 253.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Assembly Appropriations Committee
Senator Scott Wiener
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Chris Holden
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 770 (Wiener/McGuire) - Health Care: Unified Health Care Financing City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Holden,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write to you in respectful OPPOSITION to SB 770 (Wiener/McGuire).
This bill would establish a working group to advise the g overnor in informal conversations with the federal government about waivers to capture federal funds for a unified financing health care system. This bill takes tangible steps on a concrete timeline toward achieving universal healthcare in California. The waivers would redirect all current funding from the federal government used for Medi-Cal and Medicare to finance a government monopoly of medical, behavioral health, pharmaceutical, dental, vision, and long-term care benefits.
This will implement government run medicine, which will dictate which medicines and medical treatments Californians will be allowed to have.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach must respectfully OPPOSE SB 770.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Assembly Appropriations Committee
Senator Scott Wiener
Senator Mike McGuire
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Chris Holden
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: AB 1287 (Alvarez) – Density Bonus Law
City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Holden,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I would like to express our respectful opposition to AB 1287 – Density Bonus Law: Additional Density Bonus and Incentives or Concessions.
Assembly Bill 1287 would require a city or county to grant a housing development an additional density bonus should the project provide 24% of the base density units to lower income households, 15% of the base density units to very -low income households, or 44% of the total units to moderate-income units.
The City’s position on AB1287 derives from our understanding that the bill limits cities’ local policing powers over housing development processes in their own jurisdictions. As an organization, we believe cities have the ability and authority to fashion housing and development policies that best fit the needs of their communities .Ever y city is different, and these unique attributes should be a key consideration when developing policies that will impact local communities. In its current form, the Density Bonus Law already serves as a robust set of rules and incentives for housing developments across the State. By adding new layers of requirements to the Density Bonus Law, AB 1287 would broaden a one- size-fits-all approach to developing housing, limiting cities’ ability to address the specific housing needs of their constituents.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes AB 1287.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Assembly Appropriations Committee
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Catherine Blakespear
1021 O Street, Suite 7340
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 7 -The Homeless Housing Obligation Act
City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Senator Blakespear,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I would like to express our respectful opposition to SB 7, which requires each city and county to provide housing opportunities for homeless individuals within its jurisdiction, based on their most recent point-in-time count.
Specifically, SB 7 would require local governments to plan for and provide housing for homeless individuals within its jurisdiction based on point-in-time (PIT) counts. This obligation is duplicative of existing housing element law, which already requires cities to assess the need for emergency shelter based on the most recent PIT count and assist in developing adequate housing to meet the needs of extremely low-income households. Housing element law also currently requires cities to identify sites and encourage the development of a variety of housing, including supportive housing and transitional housing. Rather than duplicate existing planning efforts, the Legislature should focus on providing funding directly to cities to realize these plans, and spur much needed development.
We agree that funding is needed to support cities in addressing the state’s homelessness crisis.
However, SB 7 lacks critical details about the funding source and the administration of the proposed Housing Obligation Fund. SB 7 does not clearly identify an ongoing source of funding and determination of how those dollars will be allocated. Given the potential of billions of dollars in costs to local governments to implement SB 7, cities that do not receive state funding cannot be expected to fulfill this new obligation.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes SB 7.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Chris Holden
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 555 (Wahab) – Stable Affordable Housing Act of 2023 City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Holden,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write in respectful opposition of SB 555.
If passed, it will contribute to the State’s grasp for housing and ultimately interfering with local control.
SB 555 would require the state to buy thousands of existing homes contending with the private market potentially driving up prices even more. SB 555 would all ow the state to buy single-family homes to convert to social housing instead of focusing solely on building new projects, making it harder for working Californians to achieve homeownership.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes SB 555.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Assembly Appropriations Committee
Senator Aisha Wahab
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Buffy Wicks
Chair, Housing and Community Development Committee
1020 N Street, Room 156
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 584 (Limón) – Laborforce Housing: Short-Term Rental Tax Law City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Wicks,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write in respectful opposition of SB 584, which requires a 15% statewide short-term rental (STR) occupancy tax to be collected and used for labor force housing. SB 584 defines a “short-term rental” as the occupancy of a home, house, a room in a home or house or other lodging that is not a hotel, inn, motel, or bed and breakfast in this state for a period of 30 days or less.
Our communities support equitable and affordable housing creation and balanced short- term rental laws. A 15% tax on short -term rentals is not a balanced approach. It would be devastating for short-term rental owners and managers across the State, the network of small businesses that depend on them, the State’s tourism economy at large and local communities. Short -term rentals provide additional lodging options for leisure and business travel. An additional 15% tax would ultimately harm visitors and the small businesses that rely on them while making this California lodging segment’s pricing uncompetitive with other out-of-state destinations. This tax will discourage visitors from booking these accommodations and the tourism industry and communities across our State will suffer.
This bill would give the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) unilateral authority over the collected funds with no guarantee that the resources will be reinvested in our community. Moreover, this bill creates complex and burdensome obligations by establishing the first-ever statewide assessment on STRs. Finally, SB 584 mandates the use of project labor agreements for all construction and rehabilitation work that would take place, creating a significant hurdle to achieving the housing goals of this bill. With a potential decline in tourism on the horizon, as well as an expected decline in the jobs and services it provides, this will cause an unnecessary financial strain on the city and our community.
Vacation rentals provide an important option for traveling families who may not otherwise be able to afford comparable accommodations or have differing needs for lodging draft
Fax 714.536.5233 Page 2 of 2 Office: 714.536.5575
accommodations. By imposing this unfairly steep tax, SB 584 puts this important lodging option out of reach for many travelers, disproportionately affecting lower-income travelers and homeowners who use their home to augment their income or plan for retirement.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes SB 584.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senate Committee on Housing and Community Development Senator Monique Limón
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Aisha Wahab
Chair, Senate Public Safety Committee
1020 N Street, Room 545
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 50 (Bradford) – Vehicles: Enforcement
City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Chair Wahab,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I would like to express our respectful opposition for Senate Bill 50, which prohibits peace officers from initiating a traffic stop for specified low -level infractions unless a separate, independent basis for a stop exists, or if more than one low -level infraction is observed.
SB 50 states that a violation of these provisions is not grounds for a defendant to move for return of property or to suppress evidence and authorizes local authorities to enforce traffic violations through the use of non-sworn government employees. This provision in SB 50 jeopardizes public safety, undermines the rule of law, and reduces accountability for low-level infractions. We want to keep our community safe, and the provisions in SB 50 add barriers to that goal.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes SB 50.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senate Committee on Public Safety
Senator Steven Bradford
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Caroline Menjivar
Chair, Senate Public Safety Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 6720
Sacramento, California 95814
Subject: SB 838 (Menjivar) – Victim Compensation: Use of Force by a Law Enforcement Officer City of Huntington Beach – OPPOSE
Dear Senator Menjivar,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I would like to express our respectful opposition for SB 838. The victim compensation program was created in 1965, the first such program in the country. The program provides compensation for victims of violent crime, and it reimburses eligible victims for many crime-related expenses, such as counseling and medical fees. Funding for the CalVCB comes from restitution fines and penalty assessments paid by criminal offenders, as well as federal matching funds.
SB838 would prohibit the California Victims Compensation Board (CalVCB) from denying funds based on the victim's involvement in a crime, the victim's failure to cooperate, or the contents of a police report, or the lack thereof. CalVCB may deny funds only if the victim is convicted of a violent felony that resulted in death or serious bodily injury. The restitution fund is limited and should be reserved for victims of crime.
Persons who are unlawfully injured or killed by police should be entitled to compensation. However, this bill allows persons who are lawfully injured or killed while engaging in serious and dangerous crimes to demand compensation unless they fall into one of two very limited exceptions.
The Restitution Fund is the source of CalVCB reimbursements. It operated under a structural deficiency for a number of years. Although revenue has remained consistent, expenditures have outpaced revenues since FY 2015- 16. By expanding the criteria for CalVCB reimbursement claims, which are paid out of the continuously appropriated Restitution Fund, this bill would appropriate moneys from the General Fund.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes SB 838.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senate Committee on Public Safety
Senator Steven Bradford
Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
2000 MAIN STREET, HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA 92648-2702
TONY STRICKLAND
MAYOR
Fax 714.536.5233 Office: 714.536.5553
July 19, 2023
The Honorable Isaac Bryan
Assembly Majority Leader
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0055
Subject: Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4: Eligibility to Vote City of Huntington Beach - OPPOSE
Dear Assemblymember Bryan,
On behalf of the City of Huntington Beach, I write to you in respectful OPPOSITION to ACA 4, which would repeal a constitutional requirement for the Legislature to provide for the disqualification of electors while serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony, subject to the approval of the voters.
In opposition to this measure, convicted individuals must necessarily lose many freedoms and civil rights that law-abiding citizens can enjoy like the rights of speech or expression, movement, parental privilege, even personal liberties and recreation. Until quite recently, one of the freedoms lost almost everywhere has been the right to vote.
When a person voluntarily breaks the social contract and hurts someone or takes another’s property, societies worldwide have seen the logic in removing their right to participate in the activity of choosing society's governors and governing policies . Voting is a privilege and not an absolute right of citizenship. Losing the right to vote, as an incarcerated felon, is part of paying debt to society. This is not an issue of disenfranchisement because each felon is treated equally, in losing their right to vote, while incarcerated. Upon serving their sentence, felons equally can have their rights restored.
For these reasons, the City of Huntington Beach respectfully opposes Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4.
Sincerely,
Tony Strickland
Mayor
Cc: Senator Dave Min
Senator Janet Nguyen
Assemblymember Diane Dixon
Assemblymember Tri Ta
draft