2025 Legislative Strategy

The last ten years have been monumental when it comes to legislation addressing California’s housing crisis. From game-changers like Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 35 (2017), which exempts projects from CEQA in cities that aren’t meeting their state-mandated housing goals, to Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ AB 2011 (2022), which allows for by-right approvals of housing in commercial corridors, we’ve made big strides when it comes to making it easier to approve and build new housing. 

But housing production is still not where we need it to be – it’s still too expensive to build, and projects are subject to unnecessary delays and bureaucracy. That’s why HAC is working with our pro-housing champions at the State Legislature on a full suite of bills to continue addressing California’s housing shortage by making it simpler and more affordable to build housing that our state so badly needs. 

2025 promises to be a banner year, with HAC sponsoring legislation to reform CEQA, fees, and permitting, address delays, streamline and strengthen existing housing laws, and make it more financially feasible to build missing middle housing. Each of the six bills we’re sponsoring this legislative session targets a critical roadblock in California’s housing pipeline that is currently preventing much-needed housing from getting built. As we face a lot of economic uncertainty, these bills will continue to simplify the home-building process and make development more feasible.

Here’s what we’re working on and why it matters: 

Streamlining housing approvals

The first barrier we’re tackling is one that almost every housing project in California faces: delay. Even when a project complies with local zoning and planning rules, it can still be held up for months or even years by overlapping bureaucracies, unclear timelines, and litigation threats.

Two bills in our package directly address this challenge.

SB 607, authored by housing champion Senator Scott Wiener and cosponsored by Prosperity California, Bay Area Council, and Rural County Representatives of California, is a major reform of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) – often called “the law that swallowed California.” CEQA was designed to protect our environment, but over time, it has too often been weaponized to block housing that’s already been planned for and approved. SB 607 restores. We cannot overstate how helpful we expect this legislation to be in combating CEQA abuse. 

We’re also co-sponsoring SB 677, another Wiener bill, with California YIMBY. SB 677 strengthens two of California’s most important streamlining laws, SB 9 and SB 423. Too often, these laws are undermined at the local level or implemented inconsistently. SB 677 closes loopholes, limits local restrictions like onerous owner-occupancy rules, and increases enforcement so that these laws work as intended—making housing production more predictable and efficient.

Another important bill is AB 1026, authored by Assemblymember Wilson. It focuses on a less visible but incredibly common problem: delays in permitting and approval timelines. Even after a project gets approved, it can sit idle for months waiting on water, power, or sewer hookups. AB 1026 standardizes timelines and ensures fees are collected when service is delivered (not before), helping ensure that approved homes can actually get built.

Reducing unnecessary costs through fee reform

Another persistent barrier to housing development in California is the high cost. Construction and labor costs are high in our state, but home builders are also subjected to countless additional fees. If we want to unlock more land for housing – especially in urban, transit-rich areas – we have to address the financial roadblocks that keep sites undeveloped.

SB 328, authored by Senator Tim Grayson and co-sponsored with SPUR, takes aim at a major source of these costs: the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Generation and Handling Fee. These fees can be prohibitively expensive for projects seeking to clean up and redevelop contaminated land. SB 328 reforms this system by capping the fees for qualifying housing projects, making it more financially feasible to turn underutilized sites into new homes and parks. For affordable and nonprofit housing, especially, this can be the difference between a project moving forward or being shelved indefinitely.

AB 610, authored by Assemblymember David Alvarez and co-sponsored by the California Building Industry Association and SPUR, will also bring transparency and accountability when it comes to hidden housing fees. AB 610 ensures that once a city’s Housing Element is certified by the state, they can’t turn around and pass new fees or restrictions that weren’t disclosed in their original plan or create a new historic designation to block housing.

The bill holds cities accountable by requiring transparency about new housing constraints and prohibiting the implementation of hidden barriers unless cities have fulfilled their prior commitments. It’s a crucial step toward making sure state housing laws have teeth – and that local governments can’t quietly undermine them. 

Building more homes for working people and families

Our housing legislation often focuses on either market rate housing or subsidized affordable units. But "missing middle" housing – for moderate-income residents like teachers, nurses, and firefighters – frequently falls through the cracks. They earn too much to qualify for affordable housing, but not enough to afford market rate housing near their jobs.

Senate Bill 336, authored by Senator Wiener and co-sponsored by Mayor of San Francisco Daniel Lurie, addresses this exact issue. The bill expands the state’s welfare property tax exemption to include moderate-income housing – specifically, homes for those earning up to 120% of the area median income. By removing property tax burdens from these types of developments, SB 336 makes it more financially viable to build and operate housing for working Californians who are at risk of displacement.

Why this matters

At HAC, we believe the housing crisis isn’t inevitable. We believe that it’s fixable, because it’s a problem created by policy choices, and it can be solved by better ones. Our 2025 legislative strategy reflects this strategy: each bill in our package addresses a real, tangible problem that adds cost, delay, or uncertainty to housing production in California.

Together, these bills form a coordinated roadmap toward a more functional, equitable, transparent housing ecosystem where projects are built faster, costs are more predictable, and cities are held accountable for delivering on their housing commitments.

We’re proud to work with a broad coalition of partners to move these bills forward—but we can’t do it alone. In the months ahead, we’ll be rallying support, sharing updates, and asking for your help to make these policies law.

If you believe California should be a place where everyone can afford a home, we encourage you to stay engaged with HAC. Let us know what you’re seeing on the ground – what are the impediments that make it harder for you to build housing? Everything we do is influenced by what we hear from our members (in fact, many of our legislative ideas come directly from our members), and your voice matters. 

Onwards to a productive 2025 legislative session!