The condo bills now sitting on the Governor’s desk

Two weeks ago we wrote up the common interest development bills in the Legislature’s closing pile and deliberately declined to say what happened to them, because the floor action was not yet reflected in the sources we had. That has now resolved. Most of those bills passed, and they are sitting with the Governor.

The relevant date is September 30 — the last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills passed before September 1 and in his possession on or after September 1, per the 2026 Tentative Legislative Calendar compiled by the Assembly Chief Clerk and the Secretary of the Senate. Bills enacted on or before October 2 take effect January 1, 2027, unless the bill itself says otherwise.

The last of the condo bills arrived on September 3.

The reserve bill was the final one delivered

AB 2050 (Caloza) was enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. on September 3, per GovBuddy’s action history. It cleared the Senate 30–3 on August 26 and the Assembly concurred 65–4 the same day, according to LegiScan’s roll calls.

The substance is what we described before: from January 1, 2032, a reserve study would have to identify the minimum annual contribution needed to keep the reserve balance above zero across a 30-year projection, and an association whose projection runs negative would have to move at least 15% of its budget into reserves each year until it does not. CAI-CLAC, which supports the bill, also records a reserve special assessment of 5% of the operating budget, available no more than once every nine years.

2032 is six years out. The number is not. As we noted when the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changes landed, a Full Review will require budgeting 15% of annual income to reserves from January 4, 2027.

The cooling-system bill is the one that changed

AB 1684 (Ward) was the bill CAI-CLAC had listed as “oppose unless amended.” It was amended in the Senate on August 6, then passed 38–0 there and 76–0 on Assembly concurrence, and was presented to the Governor on August 27. Reading the enrolled text rather than the summary is worth the five minutes, because the exceptions are where a high-rise lives.

The core of it adds Civil Code section 4738: any governing-document provision or architectural guideline that prohibits or restricts installing, upgrading, replacing or using a code-compliant cooling system would be void. “Cooling system” is defined broadly — portable and window air-conditioning units, evaporative coolers, fan systems, heat pumps. An association could not charge a fee for the work, require a particular product or contractor, claim a rebate or commission on it, or demand removal of an existing system. Willful violation carries actual damages, a civil penalty to the member of up to $2,000, and the member’s attorney’s fees.

What survived amendment matters just as much. The association keeps two escape hatches: the rule does not apply where the installation would violate federal, state or local law, or where a required permit is not granted. And it may still make an owner responsible for repairing damage to common area caused by the installation, require a licensed contractor for anything needing a building permit, and require disclosure of the system to a prospective buyer.

“Cannot prohibit” is not the same as “cannot regulate.” The permit condition is the sentence a tower board will read first.

Why this reads differently at 20 storeys

For a townhouse association, a window unit is a private matter. In a tower it is the façade, and the façade is common area. Of the 4,870 LA-area condo buildings in our database, 34 are 20 storeys or taller, and 15 of those were completed before 1990. The median year built across the 4,700 buildings with a year on file is 1983.

Those older towers are where this bites. Bunker Hill Tower in Downtown LA is 252 residences over 32 storeys, completed in 1968. Wilshire Regent on the Wilshire Corridor is 208 residences and 23 storeys, from 1963. Century Park East in Century City is 480 residences over 21 storeys, from 1966 — the largest single association in that group.

Buildings of that generation settled their exterior appearance decades ago, and the architectural rules holding it in place are exactly the provisions AB 1684 would void. The same logic runs through SB 908 (Wiener) on replacing windows with California Energy Code compliant windows, presented August 31, and SB 222 (Wiener) on heat pump water heaters and HVAC, presented August 30. CAI-CLAC opposes SB 222, and opposes SB 908 unless amended.

Two are already law

AB 2692 (Irwin), the Los Angeles County bill establishing a process to reinstate expired or terminated declarations, was signed as an urgency statute — CAI-CLAC records the signature on August 24 — so it is in force now rather than on January 1. Richardson | Ober, reporting the signing, sets out the mechanics: reinstatement takes approval by the same percentage the CC&Rs originally required to extend the term, or a majority if the document is silent, and once certified and recorded the declaration is reinstated for the lesser of its original term or 20 years. It sunsets January 1, 2028. Our August post described this bill as still in play; it was not.

AB 1892 (Davies) was signed August 31. Per CAI-CLAC it clarifies who is responsible for restoring interrupted utility service that begins in the common area, and shortens the initial notice period for elections by acclamation from 90 days to 30.

Three others did not get out. CAI-CLAC records AB 1903 (construction defect) as not heard on the Assembly floor, AB 2579 (discipline) as moved to the inactive file, and SB 1007 (annual reports and assessment increases) as pulled from committee by its author.

What to do with this before September 30

If you own in an older tower, the useful question this month is not which bills pass. It is whether your association’s architectural rules currently prohibit through-wall or window cooling equipment — because if they do, those provisions may be unenforceable in a fortnight, and the board’s answer will have to shift from “no” to a permit-and-contractor process it has not written yet.

If you are buying, the documents to ask for have not changed: the architectural guidelines alongside the reserve study, and the budget read properly rather than taken at percent-funded face value.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Bill statuses and CAI-CLAC positions are drawn from CAI-CLAC’s legislative hot-bills page as last updated September 1, 2026; AB 2050’s delivery date from GovBuddy; roll calls and the AB 1684 enrolled text from LegiScan; the September 30 and October 2 dates from the 2026 Tentative Legislative Calendar. We have not stated an outcome for any bill the Governor has not yet acted on. Building counts, years built, storey counts and residence counts are from the Condos of LA database. Confirm anything that affects a decision with your association’s counsel.