Introduced in March of this year, Assemblymember Bonnie Lowenthal’s ACR 32–which brings larger statewide recognition towards garages that have been illegally converted into living spaces–has been sponsored by the City of Long Beach as well as signed into law by Governor Brown.

The resolution, dubbed the Aviles Law, is named after three sisters who died in a fire inside an illegally converted garage on December 14, 2007 and stems from similarly named efforts in the City of Long Beach in the years since the incident.

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At the time of the tragedy, Lowenthal was still on city council and as Vice Mayor, she led the City’s effort to beef up locating, identifying and issuing the $1,000 fine for having illegal units such as the one the Avileses were living in. Among her successful efforts were creating a stricter City ordinance which requires land owners to pay the moving costs for families displaced after their illegal units were discovered as well as dispensing free smoke detectors.

In April 2011, Long Beach renamed the City’s code relating to illegal garage conversions the “Aviles Law.” It was Lowenthal’s success in Long Beach that inspired her to author, along with Assemblymember Anthony Rendon, Senator Ricardo Lara, and Senator Roderick Wright, ACR 32.

“The tragedy of the Aviles sisters occurred in Long Beach, but it could have happened anywhere where there is an illegally converted garage,” Lowenthal said in a statement. “As a policy maker and as a mother, it was important to me to author this resolution and bring statewide attention to a growing public safety problem.”