Senate Local Government committee advances housing, permitting and electrification bills; several measures pass on 5–7 member votes

The Senate Committee on Local Government on July 9 considered a package of bills on housing production, permitting timelines, local enforcement tools and local electrification planning and advanced multiple measures to the next committee.

Assemblymember James Ward opened with AB 253, which would allow homeowners and small developers to use licensed third‑party plan check professionals if a local building department cannot complete a plan review within 30 business days. Supporters, including Eduardo Mendoza of California YIMBY and Andrew Slocum, CEO of Green Development Company, said delays in post‑entitlement plan checks can stall construction and raise carrying costs, citing an average permit delay of nine months for fully entitled apartment projects. Opponents — led by the California State Association of Counties and local government groups — said they opposed the bill unless amended, citing liability and oversight concerns. Assemblymember Ward and supporters said local agencies would retain final permit authority and that the bill targets small, less‑complex projects. The committee voted to pass AB 253 as amended to the Committee on Housing (final recorded vote: 6–0).

The committee also considered AB 632 (Assemblymember Hart), which would create an expedited administrative path for counties and cities to collect unpaid fines for certain egregious code violations such as illegal cannabis grows, dangerous housing conditions and fire hazards. Supporters including rural county representatives and code enforcement officers described cases in which violators ignored fines for years and created public‑safety and environmental harms; opponents including legal aid and the ACLU warned the bill could produce liens that lead to foreclosure for low‑income homeowners and urged narrowing amendments. The motion carried to move AB 632 to the Committee on Judiciary (final recorded vote: 5–2).

On energy and buildings, AB 39 (Assemblymember — bill author presented to require jurisdictions of 75,000+ to adopt local electrification and charging plans) won committee passage to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications (final recorded vote: 5–2). Supporters including Calstart and the Building Decarbonization Coalition said local planning is needed to meet projected charging infrastructure needs (the committee heard a statewide figure of roughly 1,000,000 chargers needed by 2030). One senator raised concerns about unfunded mandates and implementation capacity for smaller jurisdictions.

AB 660 (Assemblymember Wilson) moved as amended to the Committee on Housing (final recorded vote: 6–0). That bill would set clearer timelines and limits for post‑entitlement permit reviews, including prohibiting last‑minute field changes that contradict previously approved plans and limiting excessive plan‑check resubmittals, while preserving local authority for health and safety exceptions.

The committee advanced several other housing‑related measures: AB 10 21 (on school district employee workforce housing) passed as amended to the Committee on Housing (final recorded vote: 6–1). Members discussed provisions that preserve district control of sites, waterfall prioritization for occupants (district employees first, then other public employees), and a long holding requirement intended to prevent land speculation.

On downtown recovery and conversions, the committee heard AB 507 (office‑to‑housing adaptive reuse) and AB 1445 (creating a financing tool similar to San Francisco’s pilot to incentivize office‑to‑housing conversions). Committee members and witnesses debated the technical costs and building‑code challenges of conversions, CEQA and local flexibility. Related financing bill AB 1445 and adaptive‑reuse bill AB 507 remain under discussion; the committee recorded votes and placed several items on call as members worked through amendments and local government concerns.

Other items with recorded outcomes: - AB 699 (Assemblymember Stephanie) — would change how detailed financial information for tiered tax and bond measures appears to voters by pointing voters to the voter information guide for fuller financial descriptions; passed to Elections and Constitutional Amendments (final recorded vote: 5–2). Opponents urged simply increasing the ballot‑label word limit instead of directing voters off the ballot label. - AB 782 (Assemblymember Quirk‑Silva) — removes duplicative “double bonding” requirements that local governments sometimes impose on developers; passed (final recorded vote: 7–0). - AB 818 (Assemblymember Avila‑Farias) — streamlines permitting for temporary manufactured housing to allow displaced residents to stay on their property during rebuilding after disasters; passed (final recorded vote: 7–0).

Why this matters: Committee members repeatedly framed the bills as responses to bottlenecks that slow housing and safety work: delayed plan checks and inspections, limited local capacity, barriers to funding and technical obstacles to converting underused offices into housing. Supporters framed proposals as practical fixes to help projects pencil and move to construction faster; opponents warned of risks to local oversight, liability exposure and unintended impacts on low‑income homeowners.

Votes at a glance - AB 39 — Passed as amended to Energy, Utilities & Communications; vote: 5 yes, 2 no. (Primary subject: electrification/EV charging planning.) - AB 253 — Passed as amended to Housing; vote: 6 yes, 0 no. (Primary subject: third‑party plan checks for post‑entitlement reviews.) - AB 632 — Passed to Judiciary; vote: 5 yes, 2 no. (Primary subject: expedited collection of fines for egregious code violations; opponents raised foreclosure risk for low‑income homeowners.) - AB 660 — Passed as amended to Housing; vote: 6 yes, 0 no. (Primary subject: post‑entitlement permitting timelines and limits on resubmittals.) - AB 10 21 — Passed as amended to Housing; vote: 6 yes, 1 no. (Primary subject: workforce housing on school district land; claims about hold periods and occupancy priority were discussed.) - AB 699 — Passed as amended to Elections & Constitutional Amendments; vote: 5 yes, 2 no. (Primary subject: ballot‑label transparency for tiered tax/bond measures.) - AB 782 — Passed to Business, Professions & Economic Development; vote: 7 yes, 0 no. (Primary subject: eliminate duplicate bonding requirements.) - AB 818 — Passed to Housing; vote: 7 yes, 0 no. (Primary subject: temporary manufactured housing permitting after disasters.)

What’s next: Each bill will proceed to the next committee named in the motion or remain on call while authors and stakeholders negotiate amendments. Committee members asked authors to continue working with cities, counties, labor and public‑interest groups to narrow liability, implementation and funding questions.