Modesto Bee: Will stronger rent control spread across California? Here’s what you need to know.

California voters are set to vote this November on an initiative that would allow California cities and counties to adopt stronger rent control laws, which limit how much landlords are allowed to raise rents each year. The Secretary of State’s office reported last week that initiative backers have enough valid signatures to qualify it for the Nov. 6 ballot. Christina Livingston, a tenants’ rights activist and one of three main proponents behind the initiative, said the coalition collected nearly 600,000 signatures in total, while 365,880 valid signatures were needed to qualify. “They were so easy to collect because the severity of the housing crisis is broad,” Livingston said. “Low-income people and working class communities are experiencing it, not just in coastal cities but in the Central Valley — everywhere in California.”