Attorney General Lets Down 14 Million Tenants: Refuses to Include “Rent Control” in Title of Prop 98

Tenants Together, a new statewide organization for renters’ rights in California, filed suit to force the Attorney General to change the ballot title to explicitly reference rent control. Tenants Together was joined by California Alliance for Retired Americans in the lawsuit.

In response to the lawsuit, the Attorney General acknowledged that rent control is a primary provision in Prop. 98, stating: “The Attorney General agrees with petitioners that the prohibition on rent control is one of the chief points and purposes of Proposition 98”.

The case was heard in Sacramento County Superior Court on Friday. Judge Timothy Frawley agreed that rent control is a key component of Prop. 98, but refused to force the AG to include the phrase “rent control” in the title. Judge Frawley commented at the hearing that if he had been tasked with writing the title, he might have written it differently, an obvious critique of the AG’s choice to omit the phrase “rent control” from the title. However, the judge ultimately concluded that the choice of whether to include “rent control” in the title was within the Attorney General’s discretion.

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