Nearly 800 bills made it into law this year. These are the biggest ones for cities

By Cal Cities Staff

In the final weeks of the legislative year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed six of the eight bills sponsored by Cal Cities that landed on his desk. 

This includes a high-profile measure that makes it easier for cities to enforce short-term rental ordinances and receive the correct amount of transient occupancy taxes, as well as a set of recovery housing oversight bills. He also approved measures that rework a problematic warehouse bill from last year, provide funding for housing, and improve wildfire preparedness. 

In decidedly less good news: The Governor vetoed a Cal Cities measure that would have made it easier for cities to navigate the housing element process. The bill received zero no votes throughout the session. He also approved a bill that dramatically overhauls the state’s open meeting law, creating significant operational, fiscal, and legal challenges in the process.

Newsom also signed a measure that gives transit agencies unprecedented land use authority on land they own or have an easement — which squeaked through with the bare number of votes. Cal Cities fought hard to significantly narrow the bill, which underwent over a dozen rounds of changes.

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Revenue and Taxation

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Cal Cities-sponsored SB 346 (Durazo), which will provide cities with new tools to enforce local ordinances against illegal short-term rentals and ensure cities receive the correct amount of transient occupancy taxes. The bill passed through the Legislature with zero no votes.

The Governor also signed AB 330 (Rogers), extending the sunset date on the Local Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Surcharge Collection Act to 2031. This act authorizes local agencies to apply utility user taxes to prepaid wireless services. Currently, 102 cities and 2 counties use the act to help fund emergency services.

Unfortunately, Newsom vetoed AB 265 (Caloza), which would have created a grant program for small businesses impacted by states of emergency proclaimed by the Governor. In his veto statement, he referenced legislation he signed to provide disaster relief in the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires.

- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate

Housing, Community, and Economic Development

The Governor acted against the interests of many cities on two of the biggest housing bills this year by signing SB 79 (Wiener) and vetoing AB 650 (Papan).

SB 79 will give transit agencies land use authority on land they own or have an easement — without any requirement to align development standards with local housing and zoning requirements. In his signing message, the Governor claimed that SB 79 “strengthens local control” by allowing cities to craft alternative plans tailored to their communities. This is misleading: Transit agencies, not cities, will determine height, density, and development standards, stripping local governments of meaningful discretion over land use decisions.

AB 650, sponsored by Cal Cities, would have improved coordination between local governments, regional agencies, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development in the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process. This measure was designed to address the inefficiency and disconnect cities experience under the current process. AB 650 received zero “no” votes as it made its way through the legislative process, making Newsom’s veto even more disappointing.

- Waleed Hojeij, legislative affairs and policy analyst

Community Services

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed all the Cal Cities-sponsored community services bills that made it to his desk. This includes two recovery housing oversight measures: AB 424 (Davies) and AB 492 (Valencia).

AB 424 requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to notify individuals when their complaint has been received, when the investigation concludes, and the outcome of the investigation. AB 492 requires DHCS to notify a city if the department approves a new license in its jurisdiction. This marks the second consecutive year that the Governor has signed Cal Cities–sponsored legislation by Asm. Davies and Valencia on this critical issue, following years of legislative inaction.

The Governor also signed Cal Cities' co-sponsored SB 456 (Ashby). The measure provides a narrow exemption from state contractor license requirements for muralists working on public and private art projects. These requirements have created unnecessary barriers to working on public art projects and exposed city employees and artists to fines. This measure will allow muralists to continue their work, beautify public spaces, and bring communities together.

- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate

Environmental Quality

Cal Cities’ hard-fought advocacy on environmental issues paid off in the end this year. The most high-profile win is a deal authorizing the Cap-and-Invest Program: SB 840 (Limón) and AB 1207 (Irwin). Cal Cities, along with key partners in the Climate Safe Infrastructure Coalition, championed and secured continued funding for affordable housing and wildfire preparedness efforts. The Legislature will have $1 billion each year to distribute as ‘discretionary’ funding. Cal Cities will fight to ensure this funding supports cities in future budget negotiations. 

After a year of negotiations, Cal Cities also won much-needed changes to a problematic warehouse bill from last year in the form of SB 415 (Reyes). The bill addresses Cal Cities’ major concerns, which were largely focused on helping cities comply with the mandated circulation planning and potential enforcement by the Attorney General .  

Gov. Gavin Newsom also signed AB 996 (Pellerin), a Cal Cities-sponsored bill that will help coastal and bay cities create mandated sea level rise plans by 2034. However, a co-sponsored bill that would have helped fund local efforts to remove forever chemicals from water supplies, SB 454 (McNerney), was vetoed. The Governor cited concerns over administrative costs and the need for an ongoing source of funding.

- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 476 (González, Mark), a bill sponsored by Cal Cities that seeks to reduce metal theft among public infrastructure. Cities across the state have been plagued by prolific vandals who strip metal from local government property (streetlights, electric vehicle chargers, and fire hydrants are among the usual targets). AB 476 will enhance reporting requirements for recyclers and junk dealers, as well as increase fines for violations.

Despite Cal Cities advancing AB 620 (Jackson) to his desk, the Governor vetoed the measure. The bill would have allowed cities to rent zero-emission vehicles, rather than buy them, when complying with the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation.

In more bad news, Newsom signed AB 538 (Berman), which will require cities to obtain certified payroll records from a contractor and make them available when requested. Local agencies do not maintain such records, and the bill does not give cities enforcement powers to seek them out. Cal Cities opposed this measure, as it is yet another solution to a problem that did not exist — and another unfunded mandate.  

- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations 

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 707 (Durazo), AB 339 (Ortega), and SB 827 (Gonzalez) into law — three measures that Cal Cities opposed.

SB 707 makes extensive changes to the Brown Act. Although the bill incorporates language from Cal Cities’ sponsored legislation, it also creates significant operational, fiscal, and legal challenges for cities. Among other provisions, SB 707 adds new remote public comment, translation, and outreach requirements, creates new exemptions from certain teleconferencing rules, and extends several sunsetting Brown Act laws.

Many of the bill’s mandates apply unevenly across cities and will generate substantial new costs for audiovisual equipment, translation services, and staff time — all without reimbursement. Notably, the state itself remains exempt from many of the same requirements it is imposing on local governments.

AB 339 requires cities to provide unions at least 45 days’ written notice before contracting services within job classifications represented by a recognized employee organization. The bill’s unclear and impractical language will likely slow public service delivery, increase costs, and expose cities to new legal risks.

SB 827 revises ethics training laws and requires certain local agency officials to complete at least two hours of fiscal and financial training every two years. While the bill aims to strengthen governance practices, it notably excludes state lawmakers from similar standards.

Cal Cities remains concerned about the operational and fiscal impacts of these new laws and will work to ensure cities receive clear implementation guidance and flexibility moving forward.

- Johnnie Piña, legislative advocate

Public Safety

The Governor signed AB 992 (Irwin), which makes important changes to the modern policing degree and delays implementation until 2031. Also signed was SB 701 (Wahab), a bill that prohibits the use of signal jammers for criminal activity and increases penalties for infractions.

On the issue of cannabis, the Governor signed AB 8 (Aguiar-Curry), a bill supported by Cal Cities. The measure establishes a lower total THC concentration for hemp products, requires testing, and taxes the selling of such products. Beginning in 2028, vendors from outside of California are prohibited from selling hemp products unless they have a California license.

The Governor also signed two wildfire mitigation and fire insurance measures supported by Cal Cities. AB 1 (Connolly) will require the Department of Insurance to include wildfire mitigation in the Catastrophe Modeling regulations. AB 888 (Calderon) will provide funding for home hardening and roof hardening to local governments.

Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed two measures that would have provided additional assistance for home hardening: SB 326 (Becker) and SB 616 (Rubio). The former would have provided grant funding to local agencies to hire more fire inspectors, and the latter would have established a home hardening commission within the Department of Insurance.

- Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate

Want to know more about how these bills could impact your city? Sign up for Cal Cities’ final legislative briefing of the year, scheduled for Dec. 1.