Bill Commons

CA SB 1155

in committee

Nonpayment of rent: federal employees: government shutdown.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 1155 pass?

Not yet. CA SB 1155 is in committee and has not come to a final vote. Latest recorded action (2026-05-14): May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

What is CA SB 1155 about?

Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies. Existing law provides that a tenant is guilty of unlawful detainer if the tenant continues to possess the property without permission of the landlord after the tenant defaults on rent, among other reasons. This bill would prohibit a landlord from evicting for nonpayment of rent or nonrent fees, as defined, or charging or collecting late fees to, a tenant who is employed by the federal government or a federal contractor and whose income is materially affected by a government shutdown for the duration of, and 30 days following, a government shutdown. The bill would additionally require a court to stay any pending eviction action against the tenant during that time, as provided. The bill would require the tenant to provide specified documentation to a landlord or court, as applicable. The bill would require the deferred rent to be due and payable within 30 days of the date the tenant receives their first full paycheck containing retroactive backpay, as provided. This bill would impose civil penalties not to exceed $2,000 for any person who knowingly violates its provisions and would permit the tenant to raise a violation of its provisions as an affirmative defense in any action for unlawful detainer. The bill would specify that this affirmative defense does not apply to any unlawful detainer action other than an action based on the nonpayment of rent or nonrent fees. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or modify forms as needed to implement these provisions. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

Who sponsors CA SB 1155?

Smallwood-Cuevas is the primary sponsor of CA SB 1155, joined by 1 cosponsor.

Description

Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies. Existing law provides that a tenant is guilty of unlawful detainer if the tenant continues to possess the property without permission of the landlord after the tenant defaults on rent, among other reasons. This bill would prohibit a landlord from evicting for nonpayment of rent or nonrent fees, as defined, or charging or collecting late fees to, a tenant who is employed by the federal government or a federal contractor and whose income is materially affected by a government shutdown for the duration of, and 30 days following, a government shutdown. The bill would additionally require a court to stay any pending eviction action against the tenant during that time, as provided. The bill would require the tenant to provide specified documentation to a landlord or court, as applicable. The bill would require the deferred rent to be due and payable within 30 days of the date the tenant receives their first full paycheck containing retroactive backpay, as provided. This bill would impose civil penalties not to exceed $2,000 for any person who knowingly violates its provisions and would permit the tenant to raise a violation of its provisions as an affirmative defense in any action for unlawful detainer. The bill would specify that this affirmative defense does not apply to any unlawful detainer action other than an action based on the nonpayment of rent or nonrent fees. The bill would require the Judicial Council to adopt or modify forms as needed to implement these provisions. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

Introduced
2026-02-18
Latest action
2026-05-14 — May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Smallwood-Cuevasauthor
  • Wahabcoauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-05-14

    May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  2. 2026-05-12

    Set for hearing May 14.

  3. 2026-05-11

    May 11 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  4. 2026-05-05

    Set for hearing May 11.

  5. 2026-05-04

    May 4 hearing postponed by committee.

  6. 2026-04-24

    Set for hearing May 4.

  7. 2026-04-22

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 2. Page 3978.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  8. 2026-04-13

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  9. 2026-04-07

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  10. 2026-03-27

    Set for hearing April 21.

  11. 2026-02-26

    Referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR.

    referral-committee

  12. 2026-02-19

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 21.

  13. 2026-02-18

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction,reading-1,referral-committee

Versions

  • 02/18/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-18Compare
  • 04/07/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-04-07Compare
  • 04/13/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-04-13Compare
  • SB1155Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-04-21 · pass · 10-2

    Member-level votes (13)
    • Reyes: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Niello: no
    • Valladares: no
    • Stern: other

  • Placed on suspense file

    2026-05-11 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Wahab: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1155

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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