A Southern California lawmaker has resurrected legislation that would impose a costly, statewide rental registration program.

The legislation, which failed to advance in the spring, returned this week when Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-Los Angeles, plugged some of the contents of a previous proposal into another bill — a maneuver known as a “gut and amend.”

Gipson’s legislation is now in AB 889 and awaits a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee.

The new bill, like its predecessor AB 1199, would require limited liability companies and limited partnerships owning single-family or multifamily rental properties to report specific information annually to the Secretary of State’s Office. The state would then make that information available on a searchable public database.

The legislation is unnecessary, would cost the state tens of millions of dollars, and make housing more expensive.