---
type: "Bill"
title: "Property and business improvement areas: benefit assessments."
description: "Property and business improvement areas: benefit assessments."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20032004"
identifier: "AB 944"
citation: "California AB 944 (20032004)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Property and business improvement areas: benefit assessments."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Steinberg"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 26
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2003-02-20"
last_action: "2003-10-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/5eea95fc-af52-4120-998a-2fcce2259b8a"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944"
source_hash: "2d7fe272e19a6033ef3b42c99c551ed250f0e0c4afd1b70cf6ffe2397a72dec6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 944 (20032004) — Property and business improvement areas: benefit assessments.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/20/03 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94499INT)
2. **04/07/03 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94498AMD)
3. **04/30/03 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94497AMD)
4. **06/11/03 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94496AMD)
5. **06/25/03 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94495AMD)
6. **09/03/03 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94494AMD)
7. **10/11/03 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94492CHP)
8. **AB944** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944)
9. **09/12/03 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=200320040AB944&version=20030AB94493ENR)

## Votes

- ab 944 matthews assembly third reading — **pass** (pass) · lower
- do pass as amended. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- assembly 3rd reading ab944 steinberg by perata — **pass** (pass) · upper
- senate amendments be concurred in. — **pass** (pass) · lower
- Do pass. — **pass** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Steinberg — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2003-10-11** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 763, Statutes of 2003.
- **2003-10-10** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2003-09-23** Enrolled and to the Governor at 3 p.m.
- **2003-09-12** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. Re-referred to Standing Committee on Local Government pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2. Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Ayes 46. Noes 32. Page 3874.) From committee: With recommendation: That Senate amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 6. Noes 3.) (September 12). Senate amendments concurred in. To enrollment. (Ayes 41. Noes 33. Page 3899.). `committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee, amendment-passage, committee-passage`
- **2003-09-11** Read third time, passed, and to Assembly. (Ayes 22. Noes 15. Page 2493.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2003-09-10** Withdrawn from committee. Ordered placed on third reading file.
- **2003-09-03** Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Standing Committee on Rules. `reading-2, referral-committee, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2003-09-02** From inactive file. To second reading.
- **2003-07-10** To inactive file on motion of Senator Machado.
- **2003-07-03** Read second time. To third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2003-07-02** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 4. Noes 3.). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2003-06-25** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Standing Committee on Local Government. `referral-committee, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2003-06-17** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2003-06-11** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Standing Committee on Local Government. `referral-committee, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2003-05-15** Referred to Standing Committee on Local Government. `referral-committee`
- **2003-05-08** In Senate. Read first time. To Standing Committee on Rules for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2003-05-08** Read third time, passed, and to Senate. (Ayes 47. Noes 22. Page 1539.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2003-05-01** Read second time. To third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2003-04-30** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `reading-2, amendment-passage, reading-1`
- **2003-04-29** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 23). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage`
- **2003-04-23** In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- **2003-04-08** Re-referred to Standing Committee on Local Government. `referral-committee`
- **2003-04-07** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Standing Committee on Local Government Read second time and amended. `referral-committee, amendment-passage, amendment-introduction, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2003-03-13** Referred to Standing Committee on Local Government and Standing Committee on Agriculture. `referral-committee`
- **2003-02-21** From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
- **2003-02-20** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/5eea95fc-af52-4120-998a-2fcce2259b8a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).