Bad rent-control idea has been rejected twice before by voters by 60% in 2018 and 2020 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Kabateck, California State Director, john@kabstrat.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org 

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 22, 2024—The California arm of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today announced its opposition to Proposition 33 on the November 5 General Election ballot. 

“Too bad there’s no law against vexatious ballot-initiative filers like there is against vexatious litigants in court cases,” said NFIB California State Director John Kabateck. “Prop. 33 is mainly one man’s third attempt in the past six years to empower cities and counties with greater rent-control abilities, and we hope it fails by the same 60% or greater this year.” 

Proposition 33, the so-called Justice for Renters Act, seeks to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995, which generally prevents cities and counties from limiting the initial rental rate that landlords may charge to new tenants in all types of housing, and, according to the Secretary of State, “it would prohibit the state from limiting the right of cities and counties to maintain, enact, or expand residential rent-control ordinances.” 

When last surveyed, 54% of NFIB-member, small-business owners rent the building(s) (including home-based) their business is operated from and 32% had investments in commercial or residential buildings. 

“Giving local governments unlimited power to set rent controls would create a patchwork of regulations similar to the compliance mess the state has created for itself with its crazy quilt of minimum wage rates,” said Kabateck. “Small businesses thrive when rules and regulations are the same for everyone everywhere. We hope the voters see the Pandora’s box Proposition 33 would create and reject it by at least the same margin it has rejected two previous attempts to toy with the Costa-Hawkins Act.” 

Keep up with the latest on California small-business news at nfib.ua.verbinteractive.com/california or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CA or on Facebook @NFIB.CA.  

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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.  

NFIB California
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Twitter: @NFIB_CA