Store Research
Assembly Bill 1189 (Brown – 1970)
Chapter 1317, Statutes of 1970 - AB 1189
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Assembly Bill 1189 was a single-section bill that enacted now former Civil Code section 1951 only. (See Exhibit #1e) Assembly member Willie Brown introduced Assembly Bill 1189 on March 12, 1970. (See Exhibit #1a)
The Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary considered the policy issues raised by the bill. (See Exhibits #3 and #4) Two amendments were made to Assembly Bill 1189 during legislative consideration. (See Exhibits #1b, #1c, and #2) Subsequent to legislative approval, Governor Earl Warren signed the enrolled version of the bill on September 8, 1970, and it was recorded by the Secretary of State on September 17, 1970 as Chapter 1317 of the Statutes of 1970. (See Exhibits #1d, #1e, and #2)
Neither the committees hearing this bill, nor its author have left very much in the way of documentation surviving on its consideration. Looking for background, we located an “end-of-session” report prepared by the Assembly Committee on Urban Affairs and Housing which indicated that Assembly Bill 1189 was part of a “series of bills” that proposed “a number of changes in law relating to tenant-landlord relationships.” (See Exhibit #7, page 7) This same Report summarized Assembly Bill 1189 as adding “section 1951 to the Civil Code regulating payments and security deposits.” (See Exhibit #7, page 8)
The Assembly Committee on Judiciary analysis of the bill more specifically described Assembly Bill 1189 as follows:
Would make it a misdemeanor for a landlord to withhold a rental or cleaning deposits, or portions thereof, which are not “reasonably necessary to remedy tenant defaults in the payment of rent, to repair damages to premises caused by the tenant, or to clean such premises upon termination of the tenancy.”
(See Exhibit #3)