Bill Talk: The ‘calm’ before the bill hearing rush

A weekly update from Cal Cities, sorting through the state bill buzz

By Cal Cities Staff

If things have felt “slow” on the legislative front, don’t worry: Sacramento is heating back up in more ways than one. On Tuesday, state lawmakers announced over a dozen budget trailer bills amending an earlier budget blueprint. A full analysis from Cal Cities will arrive next week once the deal is officially inked, but here’s what you need to know today: There is no new money for homelessness for fiscal year 2025-26.

“Investing no new money this year and only half as much for next year will stop progress in its tracks, said Cal Cities and the California State Association of Counties in a joint statement. More tents will pop up alongside highways, train tracks, and rivers, and more families will struggle.”

The announcement comes as legislators prepare to get their bills through the last round of non-fiscal committee hearings before July 18. Some measures, like housing bill SB 79 (Wiener), will need to survive back-to-back-to-back hearings (you read that right) to make it to a floor vote.

Some are already scheduled for hearings in late June/early July. One of the most effective ways to make your voice heard is to submit a letter through the legislative portal. When doing so, please email a copy to cityletters@cacities.org. Doing so allows us to better track our advocacy efforts and helps ensure Cal Cities better represents the collective interests of California’s diverse cities. 

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Key housing bill gets triple-referred

Lawmakers referred AB 650 (Papan) to the Senate Housing Committee, where it will be heard on July 1. The Cal-Cities sponsored bill would allow cities to begin the housing element review process six months earlier than existing law and provide further clarity in the housing element review process. The Department of Housing and Community Development would need to provide specific text and analysis in its feedback to help cities bring their housing elements in line with state law. Cities should submit a letter of support for the measure, especially if their senator is on the Senate Housing Committee.

SB 79 (Wiener), which scraped out of the Senate by a vote of 21-13, is headed to three Assembly committees: Housing and Community Development, Local Government, and Natural Resources. This measure would force cities to approve by-right tall, dense residential housing near specific transit stops without public engagement, environmental review, or consideration for state-certified housing elements.

Given the tight deadline (July 18), the committees will likely hear SB 79 back-to-back in early July. The first hearing is set for July 2 in the Assembly Housing Committee. Cal Cities strongly encourages members to express opposition to SB 79, especially if their assembly member sits on any of the three committees.

-Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

Short-term rental bill is set for hearing

Legislators sent SB 346 (Durazo) to the Assembly Local Government Committee and Assembly Judiciary Committee. The Local Government Committee will hear the Cal Cities-sponsored bill on July 2. The measure would require short-term rental platforms, at the request of a city, to provide the address of short-term rentals listed for rent on the platform. It also provides cities with audit authority over transient occupancy taxes collected by the platforms.

Cities should submit a letter of support for the measure and contact their assembly member if they serve on either of these two committees.

- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate

Fire hazard zone bill receives hearing date

The Assembly Emergency Management Committee will review SB 629 (Durazo) on June 30. The bill would require cities to designate a very high fire hazard severity zone and adopt local ordinances for each wildfire burn area that meet specific state criteria, as well as establish enforcement programs for fire protection standards. Cal Cities has expressed concerns about the measure, as it could take significant resources to make very high fire hazard designations outside of the current fire hazard mapping process.

Cal Cities is urging the author to adopt changes that would require the State Fire Marshal to make this designation, not cities. Similarly, the state should assess the overall cost before implementing such programs, which fire chiefs anticipate will be high. The bill passed out of the Senate, 29-3. Cities in high-risk areas should submit a letter voicing their concerns.

- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

Metal theft prevention and zero-emission flexibility measures advance

One of Cal Cities’ co-sponsored bills, AB 476 (Gonzalez), is set for a July 7 hearing in the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. The bill would enhance enforcement measures against precious metal theft, such as stolen copper wiring. Metal theft has become a widespread and costly issue, impacting critical infrastructure components such as streetlights, fire hydrants, manhole covers, and electric vehicle charging stations.

The Senate Environmental Quality Committee will review AB 620 (Jackson) and AB 911 (Carrillo, Juan) on July 2. Both bills would make it easier for cities to comply with the Advanced Clean Fleet rule. AB 620 would allow rented vehicles to count towards compliance. AB 911 exempts telecommunications vehicles because it deems them as critical to community infrastructure.

If AB 620 and AB 911 look familiar, you are correct: The Governor vetoed both bills last year. But with the Trump Administration repealing much of the state’s zero-emission mandates, the landscape has dramatically changed in terms of availability and prices for zero-emission vehicles. Cal Cities supports both bills.

- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate

A quick reminder

Bill Talk is a weekly breakdown of the biggest bills, policy committee hearings, and legislative deadlines that city leaders need to know about. To get this list on Monday morning, contact your regional public affairs manager. To access old Bill Talks, visit the archive page. Cal Cities also maintains a live list of all sponsored/hot measures. Lists of all tracked bills are available on individual policy pages.