Legislative Guides

AB 978 makes California's recycled materials mandate for local agency street and highway projects permanent and ties it dynamically to current Caltrans standard…

SB 9 requires California cities to ministerially approve duplexes in single-family zones and to allow residential parcels to be split into two — stripping citie…

SB 4 requires California cities to ministerially approve 100% affordable housing on land owned by religious institutions and nonprofit colleges — regardless of …

SB 684 is among the least-understood California housing bills of the 2023 session. It requires ministerial approval for up to 10 residential units on infill par…

SB 1037 dramatically increased the financial consequences for cities that unlawfully deny qualifying housing projects. Penalties now reach $50,000 per unit for …

AB 2011 opens California's commercial corridors to residential development, creating two parallel housing pathways: a fully ministerial route for 100% affordabl…

SB 35 (2017) and SB 423 (2023) both create ministerial approval pathways for qualifying multifamily housing in California — but they differ in critical ways on …

Categorical exemptions are the most common mechanism California agencies use to avoid full CEQA review — but misapplying them, or missing the 5-day Notice of Ex…

AB 1033 allows California cities to opt in to a program permitting ADUs to be sold separately from the primary residence as condominiums — the first time Califo…

California's 2025 wildfire legislative package rewrites the permitting rules your building department must follow — effective January 1, 2026. AB 818 creates a …

SB 423 is the most significant expansion of California's ministerial housing approval law since SB 35 was enacted in 2017. It extends by-right multifamily appro…

SB 707 is the most comprehensive overhaul of California's Ralph M. Brown Act in decades, permanently incorporating teleconferencing, hybrid access, and language…

SB 79 is the most significant state preemption of local zoning authority for transit-adjacent areas in California history. Cities in eight counties will face ho…

AB 130 and SB 131 took effect immediately as budget trailer bills, streamlining CEQA review for infill housing and reforming litigation procedures. Missed deadl…