California Legislature took aim at speeding up home building. Some wanted more
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Legislators passed several bills to boost housing production this year.
- But funding is still seen as an issue for more affordable housing.
- Advocates were unhappy a proposed $10 billion housing bond was not put on a future ballot.
By the time California legislators finished their work for the year on Saturday, they had provided a clear statement for how they want to reduce the explosive costs to buy or rent a home in the state and the staggering number of people living on the streets.
They were eager to make it easier to get housing projects ready to be built.
The Legislature passed bills that lessen the power of a major state environmental law, speed up permit reviews and inspections and take some control away from cities to shape housing developments near public transportation stops.
“The crisis has metastasized to such a level that it’s finally forcing politicians to say ‘Ok, actually we need to take on some sacred cows, have some tough conversations, and take some tough votes,’” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, who introduced a bill this year to create an exemption in the California Environmental Quality Act, known as CEQA, for many housing projects.
Yet advocates for more affordable housing were left unsatisfied. The Legislature did extend the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas auction system, which generates money that is used to fund affordable housing, along with other programs. But legislators declined for the second year in a row to put a housing bond in front of voters across the state to create even more money.
“We’re willing to be patient, but we’re now two years in,” said Ray Pearl, executive director for the California Housing Consortium, a non-profit that advocates for creating lower income housing and is a main supporter of the bond. “And candidly we’re on the last legs of that patience. Because the urgency is acute.”
Attack on multiple fronts
Wicks was part of a group of legislators that introduced a series of bills this year they hoped would help speed up home building.
Policies she and state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, put forward to expand CEQA exemptions were celebrated by Gov. Gavin Newsom and included in the state budget, which was approved in June.
Other bills called for less high-profile changes.
Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, went after delays in residential building permit reviews.
Assembly Bill 253 would allow people applying for residential building permits to hire a third-party inspector if the government agency they are applying to needs more than 30 business days to check plans.
“We hope that it will both satisfy tens of thousands of homeowners out there that are trying to get their projects faster through a local government,” Ward said, “as well clear the deck a little bit so the local government can focus on building mid-sized or larger projects a little bit faster because their backload has been reduced.”
That bill passed Friday. So did Assembly Bill 1007, which was introduced by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park. It would cut the time that certain water boards, utility providers and other public agencies have to approve or deny housing developments when they are not the lead agency to 45 days, from 90. The bill does provide an exemption for the California Coastal Commission, a powerful agency that oversees land use on the state’s coast.
Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, introduced a measure that would require city and county building departments to inspect homes within 10 business days of receiving notice that permitted work was completed. If a community didn’t meet the timeline in Assembly Bill 1308, it could face a fine under the state Housing Accountability Act.
The bill passed Wednesday.
“The longer these approvals and inspections and building takes, the more expensive things get,” Hoover said.
Newsom has until Oct. 13 to sign or veto the recently-passed measures.
In a speech before the Assembly left the Capitol on Saturday afternoon, Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said voters demanded bold actions and he and his colleagues responded.
“While our work is not finished fixing California’s broken housing system,” he said, “this year certainly marked a turning point in California’s housing story.”
Unfinished business
Chione Lucina Muñoz Flegal, executive director for Housing California, a group that is pushing for more affordable housing to address homelessness and the high cost of living in the state, acknowledges the importance of making changes to permitting, zoning and other areas proposed during the year.
But, she added, developers are still struggling to obtain funding to build housing for lower-income housing.
“We continue to be concerned that the conversation around housing is often not being as attentive as we believe it needs to be on low-income households and folks who are really struggling to make ends meet.”
Her organization is also a main backer of the housing bond. It seeks to generate $10 billion to support home building and rehabilitation, down payment assistance, development subsidies and other efforts.
Wicks introduced a bill to place it on a statewide ballot next year. During a May press conference, Newsom said the state needed to support a bond to address housing affordability and infrastructure issues. The following month, Wicks’ bill passed the Assembly. Then, it stalled for months in the Senate.
A spokesperson for Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Santa Rosa, did not respond to an emailed question about why the bill did not pass. California’s role in the nationwide fight over gerrymandering ahead of the 2026 midterm election became a main topic on the mind of legislators during the summer and likely didn’t help its chances.
Wicks said she is “cautiously optimistic” the bond will be placed on the November 2026 ballot by the Legislature next year.
Pearl, from the California Housing Consortium, said he was “deeply disappointed on their lack of action.” Proponents want many months to fundraise and campaign before the bond goes before voters.
He remains hopeful that the Legislature will eventually support the effort.
“I believe when push comes to shove they will do the right thing.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM with the headline "California Legislature took aim at speeding up home building. Some wanted more."
