Democratic legislative leaders ask chief justice to extend eviction and foreclosure bans

Democratic legislative leaders have asked California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to keep in place court emergency rules blocking evictions and foreclosures for a few more weeks.

In a letter sent Wednesday, they urged that the rules, imposed in April, be extended at least until Sept. 5.

Cantil-Sakauye said at a Judicial Council meeting last month the rules could be allowed to lapse as soon as Aug. 14. She said they were put in place in part due to the difficulty the Legislature had in meeting during the early days of the pandemic. But she added that determining the policy "was best left to the legislative and executive branches."

The lawmakers who wrote the letter said they need more time.

"Speeding up the legislative process is nearly impossible, given current precautions" around cleaning and social distancing, they wrote. The letter added the deadline has forced them into an "impossible decision: risk having 2 1/2 weeks of chaos" or be forced to expedite measures keeping the bans in place for now.

Two bills designed to limit evictions, AB 1436 and SB 1410, are scheduled to be by heard committees in mid-August, according to the letter. Both would need to be amended in order to go into effect immediately, and would still need to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"Any attempt to expedite legislation would lead to a sudden reduction in the amount of time stakeholders have for negotiations, in addition to reduced public input," warned the letter signed by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, and three other Democratic Assemblymen, including the chairs of the Judiciary and Housing and Community Development Committees.

-- Malcolm Maclachlan