The 2023 legislative session in Sacramento was a landmark moment for pro-housing advocates. From reforming CEQA to addressing the post-entitlement process, California legislators passed a number of significant housing bills that will undoubtedly help accelerate housing production across our state.
HAC is proud to be at the center of these efforts, as three of our sponsored bills — Assembly Bill 281, Assembly Bill 1114, and Assembly Bill 1485 — passed the legislature and was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Below is a brief summary of the housing bills HAC sponsored and endorsed. For a more in-depth summary and analysis, click on the hyperlinked bills.
HAC-sponsored Bills signed into law:
Assembly Bill 281 (Grayson): Expands the permitting timelines created by Assembly Bill 2234 (Rivas) to Special Districts.
Assembly Bill 1114 (Haney): Clarifies that post-entitlement building permits shall be ministerially approved.
Assembly Bill 1485 (Haney): Allows the Attorney General to weigh in on housing court cases without a judge’s permission.
HAC-endorsed bills signed into law:
Assembly Bill 434 (Grayson): Clarifies details in Housing Element law.
Assembly Bill 835 (Lee): Single-stair study bill.
Assembly Bill 1287 (Alvarez): Update to the State Density Bonus Law
Assembly Bill 1307 (Wicks): Clarifies that UC students are not pollution per CEQA, inspired by the case at UC Berkeley.
Assembly Bill 1633 (Ting): Helps prevent bogus CEQA lawsuits, inspired by the 469 Stevenson saga.
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1: Lowers the voter threshold for bonds from two-thirds to 55%.
Senate Bill 4 (Wiener): Allows faith institutions to ministerially build subsidized affordable housing on their land.
Senate Bill 410 (Becker): Updates the way utility companies can charge for power, should help with cash flow and lack of resources of utility companies.
Senate Bill 423 (Wiener): Requires cities that are failing to meet their RHNA goals to ministerially approve code-compliant housing projects.
Senate Bill 593 (Wiener): Replaces housing lost in SF during redevelopment and attempts to repay residents who lost their homes.
Our success in Sacramento, wouldn’t be possible without the lobbyist team at Brownstein. Their policy expertise and political acumen are critical in helping us achieve our state-level housing goals.
With pro-housing momentum building across our state, we look forward to 2024, as we continue to advocate for legislation that will lead to a more affordable, equitable, and sustainable California.
Want to learn more about a bill? Visit the state’s website search the bill by number. You can also find more information about the high priority 2023-2024 bills HAC is paying to attention here.
