Bill Talk: Recess ends, as does the calm for cities

Apr 8, 2026

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

By Cal Cities Staff

The Legislature reconvened on Monday from Spring Recess. Lawmakers have a little over a month to get their bills out of their first set of policy committee hurdles.

This week’s lineup initially included a rather alarming attempt to get around local short-term rental regulations. However, the author pulled the bill after strong opposition from Cal Cities and others. Lawmakers are also taking action on drunk driving after a series of scathing investigations from CalMatters, and could bring back a popular planning grant program that helped cities meet their housing element deadlines. Cal Cities supports both bills.

On the public safety front: Carolyn Coleman, Cal Cities executive director and CEO, last week sent a letter to key senators urging them to approve a $400 million request from Asm. Stephanie Nguyen and Sen. Catherine Blakespear for Proposition 36 (2024) implementation. The money would go toward probation, accountability, and assessment needs.

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Homelessness reporting bill returns

Cal Cities issued an action alert this week urging cities to submit letters to voice their concerns about SB 866 (Blakespear). The bill would require all but 14 cities to add extensive homelessness reporting requirements to their housing elements. The measure is similar to a bill by Catherine Blakespear from last year, which she parked after opposition from Cal Cities and other homeless and affordable housing advocates.

Currently, funding from the state’s Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention grant program goes directly to California’s 14 largest cities, all 58 counties, and 44 Continuums of Care — leaving the other 469 cities without direct state support. To receive HHAP funding, recipients must submit regional plans that include performance metrics. SB 866 would require cities that do not receive HHAP funding to add these same metrics to their housing elements.

Cal Cities is urging the author to amend SB 866 to include all cities in the existing regional planning processes, which would provide transparency into the metrics that SB 866 includes, but through the same regional process already used by California’s largest cities.

Cal Cities opposes the measure unless amended. The Senate Housing Committee will hear the bill by April 21.

- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate

Short-term rental bill undermines local control and hard-fought reforms

The Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee was scheduled to review a bill seeking to skirt local short-term rental regulations, including prohibitions or limits on the number of locally permitted units. Specifically, AB 1953 (Lowenthal) would allow the state to issue local short-term rental permits during a declared state of emergency or a “special event” such as the World Cup or Olympic Games.

Aside from potential unconstitutional zoning interference, the bill does not provide a framework that ensures local taxes are collected or that rentals cease operating once the declared event ends. Many cities already lack access to basic property-level data, such as addresses, needed to ensure compliance with local ordinances and tax requirements. AB 1953 would undermine recent, successful efforts by Cal Cities to improve data transparency and accountability.

The author pulled the bill from the hearing early on Monday after feedback from a robust coalition of opposition. Cal Cities opposes the measure.

- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate

Drunk driving and victims’ restitution measures set for hearings

Legislators have introduced several bills targeting drunk drivers in response to an ongoing CalMatters investigation that found the state allows drivers with long histories of dangerous driving to remain on the road. Cal Cities is supporting many of those measures.

Among these is SB 907 by Sen. Bob Archuleta, which the Senate Public Safety Committee approved on April 7. This measure would strengthen California’s DUI enforcement and sentencing laws, particularly for repeat offenders. The bill focuses on five core components:

Increasing penalties for drivers with prior DUIs.
Allowing second-degree murder charges for drunk drivers who cause a death after a Watson Warning — a formal warning that driving under the influence can result in a murder charge if someone is killed.
Enhancing hit-and-run punishments.
Adding vehicular manslaughter offenses to the violent felony list.
Permitting full-term consecutive sentencing for multiple violations of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Also on Tuesday, the Assembly Public Safety Committee okayed AB 2297 by Asm. Catherine Stefani. That bill would require courts to order restitution to a victim when a defendant participates in a diversion program. This would help ensure that the continued utilization of diversion is not at the expense of a victim’s right to seek restitution. Cal Cities supports the bill, as victims’ restitution plays a crucial role in healing, financial security, and accountability.

Both bills have city sample letters on Cal Cities’ website.

- Serena Scott, legislative affairs analyst

Impact fee and inspection under the microscope

Both the Senate and Assembly housing committees will meet this week to discuss development impact fees, inspections and permitting for residential housing, and financial support for housing elements.

In the Assembly on Wednesday morning, lawmakers heard AB 1621 (Wilson) and AB 2002 (Solache). AB 1621 would cap the number of times a city can formally review a building permit to no more than two, except for health and safety issues. As drafted, the proposal does not acknowledge regulations not directly related to health and safety that cities must consider and enforce when reviewing project applications, such as air quality or solar energy, or even incomplete applications that may require additional plan checks. Cal Cities and a coalition of local governments oppose the measure unless it is amended to address those concerns.

AB 2002 would establish the Regional Early Action Planning fund, which would help cities and other jurisdictions meet the requirements of the fast-approaching 7th Regional Housing Needs Allocation Cycle. Local agencies could use the funds to complete housing elements, establish trust funds for affordable housing, and meet other planning requirements. Cal Cities is leading a coalition of local governments in support of the measure, as funding for local governments is key to meeting the state’s housing requirements.

Legislators in the Senate approved SB 1117 (Cervantes) this week. The bill would dramatically limit the amount of impact fees cities could collect for accessory dwelling units larger than 750 square feet. For example, if a project applicant proposes a 1,000-square-foot unit, local governments could only charge impact fees for 250 square feet. This would severely limit the funding for essential infrastructure and public services. Local agencies can only charge the amount necessary to provide services and infrastructure; these fees are not used to generate revenue. Cal Cities and a coalition of several local government groups oppose the measure.

- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

Is this the year for a nitrous oxide crackdown?

Legislators are trying to crack down on nitrous oxide, an odorless, colorless chemical that has become a popular and dangerous recreational drug. On April 7, the Assembly Judiciary Committee advanced AB 2076 (Lowenthal). Supported by Cal Cities, this bill would narrow minors' access to nitrous oxide within online marketplaces by adding it to a list of dangerous products that require stricter age verification. A sample letter of support is available online.

On Wednesday, Cal Cities provided lead support testimony on SB 1314 (Menjivar) in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. The Cal Cities-supported measure would, starting January 2027, prohibit smoke shops from opening within 600 feet of a school or daycare center. The measure would also prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide at smoke shops — similar to a Cal Cities-sponsored bill by Sen. Tom Umberg. The bill passed out of the committee and is now headed to the Senate Health Committee.

- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate, and Serena Scott, legislative affairs analyst

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. To see all tracked bills by issue area or priority, visit the Bill Search page.