The Los Angeles City Council on May 16 came out in support of an Assembly bill that would give City Attorney Mike Feuer the power to continue evicting rental property tenants who illegally sell or possess firearms or ammunition.
The legislation, Assembly Bill 2310 (AB 2310), was introduced by Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas of Culver City and would re-instate a pilot program that “inadvertently” ended on Dec. 31, according to the resolution approved without discussion by the council.
The program was created in 2007 as an attempt to “combat criminal street gangs and gun violence by authorizing city attorneys and prosecutors” in certain cities, including Los Angeles, “to bring eviction proceedings against a tenant for illegal weapons possession when a landlord was unwilling or unable to act, typically out of fear or retaliation,” according to a report by the council’s chief legislative analyst’s office.
Landlords are allowed under state law to evict “a tenant found to permit, maintain or commit a nuisance or who uses their rental unit for an unlawful purpose,” the report said.
Records from 2011 show the Los Angeles city attorney made use of the program 19 times to “send notices of intent to evict to landlords and tenants,” the City’s Chief Legislative Analyst said.
AB 2310 was sponsored by the city attorney’s office and would renew a program that “was successful in Los Angeles,” according to the resolution authored by Council President Herb Wesson.
The bill passed out of the Assembly last month and is now being considered in the state Senate. It calls for the program to be renewed until Jan. 2019 and would allow city attorneys in Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Long Beach to step in to evict tenants who violate laws regulating the sale and possession of guns and ammunition.
The original program — which was extended once after expiring in 2010 — also applied to the city attorneys of San Diego and Oakland.
