20250AB__195398AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-13 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-03-19 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Lowenthal LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Lowenthal

An act to add

Article 9.3 (commencing with

Section 8606) to

Chapter of Division of, and to add

Chapter 2 (commencing with

Section 13996) to

Part 4.7 of Division of, Title of the Government Code, relating to short-term rentals. short-term rentals Short-term rentals: emergencies and special events. Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, establishes the Office of Emergency Services and vests the office with responsibility for the state’s emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or man-made disasters and emergencies, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Office of Tourism within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, and requires the office to establish the California Travel and Tourism Commission for the purpose of increasing the number of persons traveling to and within California. This bill would require both the Office of Emergency Services and the Office of Tourism to establish a public registration system. The bill would require the offices to adopt regulations to administer their respective public registration systems.

The bill would provide that registration authorizes the registered party to immediately commence offering an eligible residential dwelling, as defined, as a short-term rental during a declared state of emergency or a special event period, as applicable. The bill would require the Office of Tourism to define specific special event periods, as provided, and to post that information online at least days prior to the event.

This bill would prohibit a city, county, city and county, or any other political subdivision of the state from maintaining, enforcing, prescribing, or continuing in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision that prohibits an individual or entity that controls an eligible residential dwelling that has been registered from offering that dwelling as a short-term rental during a declared state of emergency or a special event, as applicable.

The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. Existing law, the Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025, authorizes a local agency, defined to mean a city, county, or city and county, to enact an ordinance to require a short-term rental facilitator, as defined, to report, in the form and manner prescribed by the local agency, the physical address of each short-term rental, as defined, during the reporting period.

Existing law defines key terms for its purposes.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.</xhtml:p>"?> MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION

Article 9.3 (commencing with

Section 8606) is added to

Chapter of Division of Title of the Government Code , to read: 9.3. Emergency Registration for Short-Term Rentals 8606. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (

a) Increasing access to short-term rentals during declared states of emergency would ensure the availability of sufficient temporary housing for displaced residents, evacuees, and emergency personnel. (

b) Additional short-term rentals during an emergency promote public health and safety by enabling access to safe, lawful, and habitable lodging alternatives when traditional accommodations are unavailable or at capacity. (

c) Short-term rentals allow housing flexibility for first responders, contractors, and relief workers supporting disaster operations and facilitates their emergency response and recovery efforts. (

d) A state registration program that authorizes additional short-term rentals would advance the public interest through temporary adjustments that are narrowly tailored to address extraordinary and time-limited emergency circumstances. 8606.1. For purposes of this article, the following

definitions apply: (a) “Eligible residential dwelling” means any residential dwelling in the state, except for the following:

(1) Income-restricted affordable housing.

(2) A residential dwelling that was withdrawn from rent or lease in accordance with

Chapter 12.75 (commencing with

Section 7060) of Division of Title 1.

(3) Any building or area that is, or is used as, a retail, restaurant, or banquet space, an event center, a shipping container, an outdoor area including tipis and treehouses, a van or recreational vehicle, a living or sleeping quarter added in a garage, storage area, closet, hall, or utility space without benefit of permit, or a boat or similar watercraft. (b) “Office” means the Office of Emergency Services. 8606.2. (a)

(1) The office shall establish a public registration system.

(2) The office shall adopt regulations to administer the a public registration system. (

b) Notwithstanding any local law, registration pursuant to subdivision (

a) shall authorize the registered party to immediately commence offering an eligible residential dwelling as a short-term rental during a declared state of emergency. 8606.3. (

a) A city, county, city and county, or any other political subdivision of the state shall not maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision that prohibits an individual or entity that controls an eligible residential dwelling that has been registered pursuant to

Section 8606.2 from offering that dwelling as a short-term rental during a declared state of emergency. (

b) Subdivision (

a) shall not be interpreted to supersede laws that are generally applicable to residential dwellings or short-term rentals, including, but not limited to, taxes, noise, and nuisance regulations.

SEC. 2.

Chapter 2 (commencing with

Section 13996) is added to

Part 4.7 of Division of Title of the Government Code , to read: 2. Special Event Registration for Short-Term Rentals 13996. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (

a) Tourism is a key contributor to the California economy, from big cities to farm communities. (

b) Events, from sporting events and music festivals, to culture and culinary, are an increasingly important driver of the tourism economy. (

c) Events that draw thousands of attendees benefit from flexible accommodations supply, including short-term rentals. (

d) Ensuring that California can continue to host events will help maintain robust tourism tax collection, supporting public services statewide. 13996.1. For purposes of this chapter, the following

definitions apply: (a) “Eligible residential dwelling” means any residential dwelling in the state, except for the following:

(1) Income-restricted affordable housing.

(2) A residential dwelling that was withdrawn from rent or lease in accordance with

Chapter 12.75 (commencing with

Section 7060) of Division of Title 1.

(3) Any building or area that is, or is used as, a retail, restaurant, or banquet space, an event center, a shipping container, an outdoor area including tipis and treehouses, a van or recreational vehicle, a living or sleeping quarter added in a garage, storage area, closet, hall, or utility space without benefit of permit, or a boat or similar watercraft. (b) “Office” means the Office of Tourism, also popularly referred to as the Division of Tourism, within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. 13996.2. (a)

(1) The office shall establish a public registration system.

(2) The office shall adopt regulations to administer the public registration system. (

b) Notwithstanding any local law, registration pursuant to subdivision (

a) shall authorize the registered party to immediately commence offering an eligible residential dwelling as a short-term rental during a special event period, as described in subdivision (c). (

c) A special event period commences seven days prior to, and ends five days after, the following events:

(1) Olympic Games.

(2) Any other special event that the office determines, in its discretion, would benefit from additional transient lodging capacity. (

d) Specific special event periods for the events listed in subdivision (

c) shall be defined by the office and posted online at least days prior to the commencement of the event period. 13996.3. (

a) A city, county, city and county, or any other political subdivision of the state shall not maintain, enforce, prescribe, or continue in effect any law, rule, regulation, requirement, standard, or other provision that prohibits an individual or entity that controls an eligible residential dwelling that has been registered pursuant to

Section 13996.2 from offering that dwelling as a short-term rental during the special event period. (

b) Subdivision (

a) shall not be interpreted to supersede laws that are generally applicable to residential dwellings or short-term rentals, including, but not limited to, taxes, noise, and nuisance regulations.

SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that to ensure the availability of sufficient temporary housing during declared states of emergency and special events, the prohibition on short-term rental caps as specified in this act is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in

Section of

Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore,

Section and of this act adding

Article 9.3 (commencing with

Section 8606) to

Chapter of Division of Title of the Government Code, and

Chapter 2 (commencing with

Section 13996) to

Part 4.7 of Division of Title of the Government Code applies to all cities, including charter cities. <caml:Num>SECTION 1.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:GOV:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'5.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'1.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'PART'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'1.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'4.6.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'50991.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION" xlink:type="locator">Section of the <caml:DocName>Government Code</caml:DocName> is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_5826108B-2D63-4EB9-9E9E-B184D7DAA6D6"><caml:Num>50991.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_35922136-61EF-41DD-B7AE-54F4DBB5FAB1"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>For the purposes of this chapter, all of the following

definitions shall apply:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Hotel” means a commercially operated hotel, motel, bed and breakfast inn, or similar transient lodging establishment, when all or part of the transient occupancy is or would be subject to tax under

Section of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

For purposes of this chapter, a “hotel” shall not include a short-term rental facilitator as defined in subdivision (g).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Marketplace” means a physical or electronic place, including, but not limited to, a store, booth, internet website, catalog, television or radio broadcast, or a dedicated sales software application, where a marketplace seller facilitates the occupancy of a short-term rental for delivery in this state regardless of whether the short-term rental, marketplace seller, or marketplace has a physical presence in this state.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(d)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Ordinance” refers to an ordinance of a local agency imposing a transient occupancy tax.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(e)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Purchaser” means a person who is required to pay the transient occupancy tax and who uses a short-term rental facilitator to facilitate the occupation of a short-term rental within the jurisdiction of the local agency imposing the transient occupancy tax.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(f)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Short-term rental” means the occupancy of a home, house, a room in a home or house, a campsite, or other lodging that is not a hotel in this state for a period of consecutive days or less and under any other circumstances specified by the local agency in its ordinance that is facilitated by a short-term rental facilitator.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(g)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Short-term rental facilitator” means a person or entity that facilitates for consideration, regardless of whether it is deducted as fees from the transaction, the occupancy of a short-term rental that is not owned by the person facilitating the rental, through a marketplace operated by the person or a related person or entity, and that does both of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Directly or indirectly, through one or more related persons, engages in any of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Transmits or otherwise communicates the offer or acceptance between the purchaser and the operator.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Owns or operates the infrastructure, electronic or physical, or technology that brings purchasers and operators together.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(C)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Provides a virtual currency that purchasers are allowed or required to use to facilitate the occupancy of a short-term rental from the operator.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(D)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Software development or research and development activities related to any of the activities described in paragraph (2), if such activities are directly related to facilitating short-term rentals.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Directly or indirectly, through one or more related persons, engages in any of the following activities with respect to facilitating short-term rentals:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Payment processing services.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Listing homes, houses, or rooms in homes or houses, campsites, or other lodgings that are not a hotel or motel, and that are not owned by that person or a related person, for rental on a short-term basis.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(C)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Setting prices.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(D)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Branding short-term rentals as those of the short-term rental facilitator.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(E)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Taking orders or reservations.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(h)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>“Transient Occupancy Tax” means a tax imposed by a local agency on the privilege of occupying a short-term rental as specified and defined by the local agency in its ordinance.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection>"?>