Bill Talk: The weather (and legislative session) heats back up

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

By Cal Cities Staff 

There are four weeks left until lawmakers break for summer recess, effectively wrapping up this year’s policy committee hearings. These next few weeks will be both busy and critical to Cal Cities’ success in advancing its sponsored bills. Bills that advance to the floor for a full vote almost always pass.

Also around the corner is the “final” budget, due June 15. State lawmakers often use the ensuing parade of budget trailer bills as vehicles for major policy changes, which take effect immediately, often with little or no opportunity for debate. If the past years are anything to judge by, there will be at least one last-minute play through a trailer bill (or two, or three).

- Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

165 cities would bear the brunt of SB 866's data mandate

Cal Cities is urging cities to call their assembly members and submit letters opposing SB 866 (Blakespear) to the Assembly Housing Committee via the Legislative portal. The committee will review the bill before July 2.

Cal Cities remains strongly opposed to SB 866. The measure requires select cities to collect extensive homelessness data in their housing element. The author committed to new amendments to pass the bill off the Senate floor. The changes would exempt cities with populations under 50,000 from the data collection requirement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently released Homeless Housing Assistance Program (HHAP) trailer bill further exacerbates the inequity at the heart of SB 866. The budget trailer bill details how the next round of HHAP will be implemented. The proposal exempts the largest cities, counties, and Continuums of Care — which receive millions of dollars in HHAP funding and represent more than 70% of California’s unhoused population — from the same extensive data collection mandate required for cities between 50,00 to 300,000 in SB 866. 

The original intent of including homelessness-related data collection as a requirement to receive HHAP funding was to ensure accountability for jurisdictions that receive direct state funding for homelessness. However, SB 866 applies the data collection outlined in the Governor’s trailer bill to smaller cities that do not receive HHAP funding. Between SB 866 and the HHAP trailer bill, only a random assortment of 165 cities with populations between 50,000 and 300,000 would need to collect extensive homelessness data.

- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate

Senate bill seeks to cap impact fees for ADUs

Cal Cities and a coalition of several local government groups remain opposed to SB 1117 (Cervantes). The bill dramatically limits the amount of impact fees cities can collect for accessory dwelling units larger than 750 square feet. For example, if a project applicant proposes a 1,000-square-foot unit, cities could only charge impact fees for 250 square feet. This example would result in a $52 million annual reduction in fees — money that cities must legally use to provide essential infrastructure and public services required for new housing. The Assembly Housing Committee approved the bill on June 10.

- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

Proposed plan check cap provides challenges to local government review

The Senate Local Government Committee passed AB 1621 (Wilson) on June 10. The bill reduces the number of times cities can review building permits to two. The author recently amended the bill to clarify that cities can determine noncompliance with a plan check but removed clear language that allowed them to request additional drafts for health and safety reasons.

However, the measure still allows developers to bypass critical local and state environmental and safety regulations. This would put cities in a tough and challenging spot, as they try to enforce state-adopted codes and standards required by law. Cal Cities and a coalition of local governments oppose the measure unless it is amended to address those concerns.

- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate, and Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Anti-ICE bill exposes cities to new legal risks

Cal Cities is opposing SB 747 (Wiener), which passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 9. The bill allows individuals to file civil claims against federal officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in state and federal courts and is likely unconstitutional. The bill also applies to any state and local government employee, which would increase city workloads and clog up an already congested judicial system.

Cal Cities’ main concerns are the bill’s practical and unintended consequences on cities, including increased litigation, the costs to defend these cases regardless of their merit, and the confusion and chaos this would have on the court system. A city sample letter is available on Cal Cities’ website.

- Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate

Bill maximizes safety for survivors filing emergency restraining orders

On June 9, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that makes it safer for victims of domestic violence to file emergency restraining orders. These orders are designed for urgent situations where waiting for a hearing could cause harm to the person filing the order. AB 1657 (Rogers) prohibits courts from requiring that notice be provided to the opposing party before filing an order. This would help ensure survivors can seek protection without fear of escalation while a judge considers whether to grant the order. Cal Cities supports the bill; a city sample letter is available on Cal Cities’ website.  

- Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate, and Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Further changes needed to housing application bill

Asm. Matt Haney made several changes to AB 1294, bringing it in line with existing law. However, those amendments fail to address Cal Cities’ main concern. The bill proposes a standard, statewide application for new housing construction, while also hampering cities’ ability to ensure housing projects meet the needs of their residents.

Cal Cities has an opposed unless amended position and is urging the author to ensure cities can collect the necessary information they need to understand and mitigate the impacts of a proposed residential development on the community during the project application process, which is narrowly limited in the proposal. The Senate Local Government Committee passed the measure on June 10.

- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

HVAC and water bill usurps local permitting

A bill framed as a “permit streamlining” measure, SB 222 (Wiener), significantly limits local discretion over residential HVAC and water heating replacement permits by requiring streamlined, ministerial approval for qualifying projects. From a city perspective, the bill continues the trend of preempting local permitting authority, substituting a one-size-fits-all state mandate for local review, and reducing cities' ability to recover costs. The Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development will hear the measure on June 10.

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