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Follow‑up bill to AB 98 seeks implementation fixes for warehouse and truck‑route rules
Summary
AB 735, a follow‑up to AB 98, proposes clarifications and implementation adjustments for rules on warehouse standards, truck routes and local planning; speakers including industry groups and cities described ongoing negotiations and the need for paired legislative fixes.
Assemblymember presented AB 735 as a follow‑up to AB 98 to clarify outstanding implementation issues from last year’s logistics bill. The author said AB 98 aimed to reduce truck impacts on communities and improve sustainability standards for warehousing, but implementation questions remain — including treatment of already‑approved projects, technical rules needed to make AB 98 workable in practice, and how the law applies to small cities and agricultural areas.
Support and ‘‘tweener’’ witnesses: Representatives from the California Business Properties Association, California Business Roundtable, the American Planning Association and the League of California Cities testified that the author has engaged extensively with stakeholders and that AB 735 addresses many but not all concerns. Witnesses called for AB 735 and the Legislature’s companion Senate bill to move together so both technical corrections and policy commitments are implemented in tandem. The League and cities asked for flexibility so jurisdictions without logistics uses would not be forced to adopt new circulation elements and asked for ordinance‑level implementation pathways.
Key implementation concerns: Local governments and planners asked that implementation be achievable without requiring costly general‑plan rewrites in jurisdictions with no expected logistics facilities; planners said an ordinance approach may better meet timing and administrative realities. Several participants also flagged the bill’s proposed enforcement approach by the Attorney General and asked that good‑faith local efforts be protected from punitive processes.
Outcome: The author said he would continue intensive negotiations through the summer recess and return with final language if consensus emerges. The committee passed AB 735 as amended to the Committee on Judiciary, where proponents and local governments will continue technical work.
