HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-03-10; City Council Legislative Subcommittee; 04; Legislative and Advocacy UpdateMeeting Date: March 10, 2026
To: Legislative Subcommittee
From: Jason Haber, Intergovernmental Affairs Director
Staff Contact: Jason Haber, Intergovernmental Affairs Director
jason.haber@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2958
Subject: Legislative and Advocacy Update
District: All
Recommended Action
Receive updates on federal and state legislative and budget activity and the city’s recent and
ongoing advocacy efforts; discuss and provide feedback to staff, including identifying high-
priority bills, advocacy positions, funding opportunities, and items for future City Council
consideration.
Discussion
Staff and the city’s contract lobbyists – Federal: Carpi & Clay Government Relations / State:
California Public Policy Group – will present updates and overviews of federal and state
legislative and budget activity and the priority legislation and intergovernmental matters being
tracked on behalf of the city (Exhibits 1 through 3).
The Subcommittee is requested to provide feedback to help city staff and the city’s lobbying
consultants focus the city’s advocacy efforts on high-priority bills and to identify bills for future
City Council consideration.
Next Steps
Staff and the city’s contract lobbyists will monitor, evaluate, and engage the Legislative
Subcommittee in a discussion of legislative activity and proposed measures that may impact
city operations and policy priorities throughout the legislative session.
If the Legislative Subcommittee decides to refer any matters to the City Council, staff will work
with the City Manager to place an item on a future City Council agenda for consideration.
Exhibits
1.Carpi & Clay Government Relations – Federal Monthly Update, Feb. 27, 2026
2.California Public Policy Group Legislative Summary: February 2026
3.California Public Policy Group – Priority State Legislation as of March 4, 2026
LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE
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February 27, 2026
City of Carlsbad
Federal Update
www.carpiclay.com
Exhibit 1
Federal Appropriations Update
Earlier this month, Congress passed five of the six remaining Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills. The package included the following bills: Defense; Financial Services–General Government; Labor–HHS–Education; State–Foreign Operations; and Transportation–
HUD. The Homeland Security (HS) appropriations bill was not a part of the package as Congressional Republicans and Democrats could not come to an agreement on language in the bill related to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities. As a result, Congress passed a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) for the HS appropriations bill to allow for more time for negotiations. The short-term CR expired on February 13th, and since
Congress was unable to act on the funding bill, the Department of Homeland Security is
currently in a shutdown. DHS will continue to be shut down until Congress is able to come to an agreement on the bill.
Even though there is still one outstanding FY26 appropriations bill, Congress is also turning
the page to begin work on the FY27 appropriations bills. On February 25, the House
Appropriations Committee provided guidance to House Members on FY27 programmatic, language and Community Project Funding (CPF) requests. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to release its FY27 guidance to Senators.
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY
House Passes Housing Reform Package. On February 9, the House passed the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644)—a broad legislative package aimed at
modernizing federal housing programs, increasing housing supply, and improving oversight and consumer protections—by a 390-9 vote. Originally introduced by French Hill (R-AR), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Mike Flood (R-NE), and Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), the bill consolidates provisions from more than 40 previously introduced measures and would update Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) housing
programs, expand access to workforce and rural housing, streamline environmental review requirements for housing development, support manufactured and affordable housing finance, and strengthen tenant and borrower protections. As the Senate’s ROAD to Housing Act (S. 2651) was ultimately not included in the enacted FY26 National Defense Authorization Act,
lawmakers are expected to explore whether the House and Senate approaches can be aligned
through a standalone vehicle or future legislative package.
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House Passes Voter ID Legislation. On February 11, the House passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (S. 1383), which would require documentary proof of U.S.
citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate presentation of valid photo identification to cast a ballot, by a 218-213 vote. Acceptable proof of citizenship would include a U.S. passport, Real ID-compliant driver’s license indicating citizenship, military ID with supporting birth documentation, or other government-issued photo ID paired with documents such as a birth or naturalization certificate. Mail-in registrants would have to present
documentation in person before registration is finalized. The measure would also require states to provide voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security for citizenship verification. The bill faces significant hurdles in the Senate, where 60 votes would be required to overcome the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated there are currently insufficient votes to change Senate rules to advance the measure.
House Rejects Senate-Passed Aviation Safety Bill. On February 24, the House voted down the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act (ROTOR) Act (S. 2503) after it failed to secure the two-thirds majority required under suspension of the rules. The bipartisan Senate-passed measure, led by Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) and
Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA), would expand the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) cockpit technology and tighten limits on when military aircraft may disable location-sharing systems. Prior to the House vote, the Department of Defense expressed opposition to the bill as drafted, citing operational security concerns and unresolved budget impacts. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-
MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) committed to advancing the Airspace Location
and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act (H.R. 7613), which they contend seeks to address all 50 safety recommendations issued by the National Transportation Safety Board following the January 2025 midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A committee markup of the ALERT Act could occur as soon as the first week of March.
Senate Committee Approves Transportation-Related Nominations. On February 3, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved the following transportation-related nominations:
• John DeLeeuw, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
• Daniel Edwards, to be Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs
• Ryan McCormack, to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy The nominations now move to the full Senate for consideration. Senate EPW Committee Releases Draft TSCA Reform Bill Ahead of Hearing. On
February 26, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito released a discussion draft of the Toxic Substances Control Act Fee Reauthorization and
Improvement Act of 2026. The proposal would reauthorize and revise the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to collect industry fees under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which is set to expire on September 30. The proposal outlines a tiered
review framework, would limit reliance on “hypothetical circumstances” in risk determinations,
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and would seek to clarify how EPA evaluates “unreasonable risk.” It would also require consideration of company-submitted exposure and risk mitigation data, establish an accreditation program for third-party assessors to review applications, and direct EPA to apply
existing safer chemical criteria to new substances. Certain categories of chemicals, including
PFAS, would be excluded from expedited review pathways. The Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on March 4 to examine the draft bill. Bipartisan House Bill Introduced to Direct More Federal Resources to Local and
Regional Transportation Needs. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and Rep. Rob
Bresnahan (R-PA) introduced the Bridges and Safety Infrastructure for Community Success
(BASICS) Act (H.R. 7437) to revise the structure of core federal highway formula programs, increase flexibility for states and local governments, and expand guaranteed funding access for bridge repair and safety projects. The bill would adjust apportionment percentages to shift
funding from the National Highway Performance Program into the Surface Transportation Block
Grant program and the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). It would also increase funding for metropolitan planning and create a dedicated funding stream for regional transportation planning organizations. The legislation would extend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Bridge Formula Program, with 25 percent of funds required to be
suballocated by population to ensure access for local governments. The bill would also require
states to suballocate 25 percent of HSIP funding using a similar structure. Additional provisions intend to protect suballocated funds from transfer, reinforce local and regional project selection authority, establish a new rural transportation planning program with a 100 percent federal cost share, and modernize metropolitan planning eligibility and administrative processes. This bill is
supported by the Local Officials in Transportation Coalition, which includes the National League
of Cities, National Association of Counties, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, National Association of Development Organizations, and National Association of Regional Councils.
Senator Padilla Introduces Bills to Strengthen Water Resilience and Supply. Senator Alex
Padilla (D-CA) has introduced two bills aimed at improving water supply reliability and drought resilience in California and across the West. The Making Our Communities Resilient through
Enhancing Water for Agriculture, Technology, the Environment, and Residences (MORE WATER) Act (S. 3738) would reauthorize expiring Bureau of Reclamation recycling programs
and create a new multi-benefit water conveyance grant program. It would also support habitat restoration for threatened and endangered fish species and authorize grants covering up to 30 percent of canal restoration costs to improve the capacity of major systems such as the California Aqueduct. The Growing Resilient Operations from Water Savings and Municipal-Agricultural Reciprocally-beneficial Transactions (GROW SMART) Act (S. 3737) would
authorize $35 million over seven years for Reclamation to fund voluntary agricultural water-efficiency demonstration projects and partnerships between farmers and municipal, industrial, or commercial entities. The bill intends to support pilot innovative water-saving practices while incorporating risk-management tools, shared storage arrangements, and other mechanisms designed to protect farm viability during drought or market downturns.
Bipartisan House Bill Reintroduced to Exclude Military Housing Allowance from School Meal Eligibility Calculations. Representatives Mike Levin (D-CA) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-
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PA) have reintroduced the Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act (H.R. 7259) to prevent a service member’s Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from being counted as household income when determining eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. Under
current law, BAH is included in income calculations, which can push military families above
eligibility thresholds even though the allowance is intended to cover housing costs. The bill would also direct the Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Defense, to report to Congress on the feasibility and cost of establishing a direct certification process to automatically enroll eligible military-connected children in free or reduced-price meal
programs without requiring a separate application.
CONGRESSIONAL LETTERS
House Democrats Urge GAO Review of Proposed FEMA Workforce Cuts. House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Emergency Management and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Timothy Kennedy (D-NY) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an investigation into
reported plans by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to significantly reduce staffing
at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The lawmakers cited reports that DHS may cut more than 10,000 FEMA employees—approximately half the agency’s workforce—including large numbers of Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) staff, who comprise roughly 40 percent of FEMA personnel. The letter asks GAO to assess
whether the workforce changes comply with federal law, evaluate how staffing reductions
would affect FEMA’s operational readiness, and determine whether DHS conducted risk analyses regarding the agency’s ability to fulfill its disaster response mission. Senators Urge Withdrawal of Proposed 2025 WOTUS Rule. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA)
led 15 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle urging their agencies to abandon their proposed 2025 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule under the Clean Water Act. The senators argue the proposal—intended to implement the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA—goes beyond the Court’s holding by further narrowing federal jurisdiction over
wetlands, tributaries, and intermittent streams. The letter contends the rule is legally
unnecessary, inconsistent with congressional intent, and would shift pollution control and flood mitigation burdens to downstream communities and states. Central Valley Lawmakers Urge Newsom to Reconsider Delta Pumping Limits. On
February 9, Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA), Adam Gray (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA),
and Vince Fong (R-CA) sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to reverse a temporary limit on water pumping in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The lawmakers argue that implementation of the Port Chicago water quality standard could result in the loss of up to 600,000 acre-feet of water this winter for farms and communities served by
the State Water Project and Central Valley Project. The letter also states that changing
environmental conditions and updated scientific understanding have undermined the rule’s original rationale and that current reservoir releases to meet the standard could also reduce cold-water supplies later in the year for salmon protection.
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FEDERAL FUNDING AWARDS
FTA Announces Bus and Bus Facilities Grant Awards. FTA has announced approximately $390 million in Bus and Bus Facilities grants, supporting 34 projects in 19 states and Puerto Rico.
FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS AND PERSONNEL CHANGES
President Trump Delivers State of the Union Address. On February 24, President Trump
delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term, speaking for about one hour
and 48 minutes—the longest in history before a joint session of Congress. The speech outlined his Administration’s record and priorities for the year ahead, including the economy, trade and tariffs, taxes, immigration, health care, energy, elections, AI, and foreign policy.
Supreme Court Allows California to Use New Congressional Map in 2026 Election. On
February 4, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to block California’s newly adopted congressional map, clearing the way for the state to use the lines in upcoming elections while litigation continues in the lower courts. In a one-sentence order, the Court rejected an emergency request in Tangipa v. Newsom to require the state to retain its prior
map for the 2026 election. In January, a three-judge district court panel ruled 2-1 to deny a
preliminary injunction, concluding that partisan considerations predominated. Supreme Court Strikes Down Tariffs Imposed Under IEEPA. On February 20, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that President Trump lacked authority under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs through a
series of executive orders. The decision invalidates both the “trafficking” tariffs targeting China, Canada, and Mexico and the broader “reciprocal” tariffs applied to imports from most countries. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts concluded that IEEPA’s authorization to “regulate” importation does not include the power to impose tariffs and that Congress did not
clearly delegate such economically significant authority. The Court did not address whether
importers must be refunded for duties already collected. Within hours of the ruling, President Trump signed a proclamation invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a 10% ad valorem import duty effective February 24. The Administration stated the action is intended to address current account deficits, stem dollar outflows, and incentivize domestic production.
Certain goods are excluded from the temporary duty, including specified critical minerals,
energy products, pharmaceuticals, select electronics, certain vehicles and aerospace products, informational materials, USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico, goods subject to existing Section 232 measures, and certain CAFTA-DR textiles. In a separate executive order, the President reaffirmed the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value
shipments, which will also be subject to the Section 122 tariff. On February 21, President Trump
announced he would raise the temporary global tariff rate to 15%, the statutory maximum under Section 122, citing the Supreme Court’s decision. The Administration also indicated it may
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pursue additional tariff actions under other statutory authorities, including Section 301 investigations by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
CEQ Launches “CE Works” Pilot to Streamline NEPA Reviews. The Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced a “CE Works” pilot program, a digital platform designed to streamline categorical exclusion (CE) determinations under the National
Environmental Policy Act. Developed with the General Services Administration, the tool creates a standardized digital workflow for agencies to apply, review, and document CEs, with the goal
of accelerating federal permitting for infrastructure and energy projects. The pilot will begin with
the Bureau of Land Management’s Moab Field Office, with broader rollout anticipated. DOT Publishes Research to Support Establishing a National Strategy for Transportation Digital Infrastructure RFI. On February 4, the Department of Transportation published a
request for information (RFI) seeking public and stakeholder input on the research and development activities needed to modernize the nation's transportation system through the application of digital infrastructure at scale. Responses will inform a coordinated national strategy for the development and deployment of Transportation Digital Infrastructure. This strategy will serve as the framework for the next generation of the transportation system across
all modes (highway, rail, air, maritime, transit, pipeline) supporting multimodal operations, safety, asset management, and the accelerated deployment of new and emerging technologies. Comments are due by March 6, 2026. DOT Solicits ITSPAC Nominations. DOT is soliciting nominations for membership to serve
on the Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Advisory Committee (ITSPAC), which is intended to provide information, advice, and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation on matters relating to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program needs, objectives, plans, approaches, contents, and progress. The Committee shall report to the Secretary through the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, and shall
comprise no more than 25 members, representing a balance between metropolitan and rural interests. Nominations are due by March 16. EPA Finalizes Rescission of Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding and Vehicle GHG Standards. On February 12, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule rescinding
the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act and repealing all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty on-highway vehicles and engines. The 2009 finding had served as the legal prerequisite for regulating GHG emissions from new motor vehicles and engines. With its rescission, EPA states it no longer has statutory authority to prescribe GHG standards for these sources.
Accordingly, the final rule removes all existing and future regulatory requirements related to the measurement, control, and reporting of GHG emissions for highway vehicles and engines, including prior model years. EPA has stated that the rule affects only greenhouse gas standards and does not alter existing regulations governing traditional criteria air pollutants.
FHWA Proposes Modification of Buy America Waiver Requirements for EV Chargers. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking comments on a proposal to modify its February 2023 Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle (EV) Chargers.
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FHWA is proposing to modify the waiver to increase the cost threshold of components manufactured in the United States for EV chargers used in Federal-aid highway projects from 55 percent to up to 100 percent of the cost of all components. Following review and
consideration of comments, FHWA will determine whether it should continue, modify, or
discontinue the waiver. Comments are due by March 16. GAO Publishes Report on How Drones Will Communicate with and Avoid Other Aircraft. On February 4, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report finding that
while FAA has made progress enabling more advanced drone operations, current technologies primarily allow drones to detect other aircraft rather than communicate directly with them. Existing tools such as ADS-B, cameras, radar, and acoustic sensors have limitations, particularly when other aircraft are not broadcasting their location. GAO notes that Congress has directed FAA to develop an integrated plan for safely incorporating drones into the national
airspace system by 2027. The report makes one recommendation, urging FAA to define and begin implementing concrete steps to support reliable communication and coordination between drones and other aircraft. GAO Publishes Report on Accessing Airports with Available Public Transit Options.
GAO has published a report titled “Accessing Airports: Available Public Transit Options and
Efforts to Promote Their Use.” The report finds that nearly all 51 large, medium, and small commercial airports reviewed have some form of public transit access. Most large-hub airports have rail service, while smaller airports generally rely on bus connections. It shows that actual use of public transit by passengers and airport employees varies widely and is influenced by
factors like cost, travel time, convenience, and familiarity with services. The report highlights
that many airports have begun implementing transportation demand management (TDM) strategies—such as improved signage, incentives, and partnerships with transit agencies—to promote greater transit use, and that a small number have set goals and plan to assess the effects of these strategies. While the report does not prescribe one-size-fits-all solutions, it
underscores the need for continued coordination, investment, and better data collection and
assessment to help airports and federal partners understand and improve transit access and usage. HUD Proposes Rule Requiring Citizenship or Eligible Status Verification for All
Residents in Assisted Housing. On February 20, the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) issued a proposed rule that would require verification of U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status for every individual residing in HUD-assisted housing. The proposal would amend existing regulations under Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to eliminate current prorated assistance for “mixed status”
households and instead require all household members to meet eligibility requirements in order for the household to receive assistance. Under the proposed rule, Public Housing Authorities and owners of HUD-assisted properties would be required to verify immigration status for all residents through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and deny or terminate assistance for households that do not meet the revised criteria, subject to
applicable notice and procedural protections. Comments are due by April 21.
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Treasury Proposes New Data Collection System for Federal Aid Programs. On February 4, the Department of the Treasury proposed creating a new government-wide data system to collect and store detailed information tied to Treasury-administered financial assistance
programs, including State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, Capital Projects Fund, Emergency
Rental Assistance, Homeowner Assistance Fund, and small business credit programs. Treasury states the system would be used for compliance oversight, fraud prevention, audits, and research. The proposal would allow Treasury to collect and maintain personal and financial information related to program beneficiaries, subrecipients, contractors, and associated
individuals. Comments are due by March 6, 2026.
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Date: March 3, 2026
To: Jason Haber, Intergovernmental Affairs Director
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
City of Carlsbad
From: Sharon Gonsalves
Managing Director
California Public Policy Group
Re: CPPG Legislative Summary: February 2026
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Bill Introductions
February 21 was the deadline to introduce bills in the second year of the 2025-26 Legislative Session,
with a total of 1,918 measures introduced to date. This reflects a 23% decrease from 2025 and marks
the lowest number of bill introductions in the past 20 years. Of the 1,918 measures, 1,789 are policy
bills, as opposed to resolutions, intended to change existing law—an average of just under 15 per
legislator.
Approximately one-third of the measures are “spot bills,” meaning they do not yet contain
substantive language and their full intent is still unknown. As a result, hundreds of proposals are
currently in placeholder form. The deadlines to add substantive language to spot bills are March 16
in the Assembly and March 25 in the Senate. After those dates, we will have a much clearer
understanding of what the 2026 legislative landscape will look like. Spot bills typically amend the
relevant code section once substantive language is added.
It is also important to keep in mind the 30-day “in print” rule, which requires bills to remain
unchanged for 30 days after introduction. Most bills introduced this year will therefore be eligible for
action beginning in early April. At that point, the legislative process will begin to accelerate and move
quickly. Policy committee hearings are already underway and will continue to ramp up throughout
March.
BILLS OF INTEREST
E-Bikes
•AB 1942 (Bauer-Kahan) Electric bicycles: registration and special license plates.
o This bill would require class 2 and class 3 electric bicycles to be registered with the
Department of Motor Vehicles and to display a special license plate issued by the
Department. The bill would make a person operating a class 2 or class 3 electric
bicycle in violation of these requirements guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine.
•AB 2284 (Dixon) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
o This bill would require, on or before June 1, 2027, the California Highway Patrol, in
partnership with biking nonprofit groups, to compile a list of electric bicycles and
electric bicycle products that do not comply with statutory and regulatory
requirements for the labeling or advertising of electric bicycles or electric bicycle
Exhibit 2
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products. The bill would require the California Highway Patrol to make the list
available on its internet website and to update the list and internet website, when
necessary.
• AB 2346 (Wilson) Vehicles: electric bicycles and speed limits.
o This bill would require all class 1 and class 2 electric bicycles manufactured, sold, or
offered for sale on or after January 1, 2029, to be equipped with a speedometer. The
bill would also require all electric bicycles manufactured, sold, or offered for sale on
or after January 1, 2029, to be equipped with an integrated front lamp and a rear lamp.
• AB 2595 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
o This bill would, until January 1, 2031, establish a pilot program in the County of San
Mateo authorizing a city within the County—or the County in unincorporated areas—
to adopt an ordinance or resolution prohibiting a person under 12 years of age from
operating a Class 1 or Class 2 electric bicycle.
• SB 1167 (Blakespear) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
o This bill would prohibit motor-driven cycles and mopeds from being advertised, sold,
or labeled as electric bicycles. The bill would also redefine “motor-driven cycle” to
include motorcycles with an internal combustion engine under 150cc or an electric
motor under 3,750 watts producing 5 brake horsepower or less.
Housing
• AB 2433 (Alvarez) Housing development: affordable homes bonus.
o This bill would require a city or county to grant an affordable homes bonus, along with
related incentives, concessions, and waivers or reductions in development
standards, to eligible housing developments that meet specified criteria, including
providing a required percentage of units for very low-income, lower-income, or senior
housing. The bill would also revise base density calculations to allow applicants to
use a site’s full residential floor area ratio to determine base density, include any
resulting increase in floor area ratio within the definition of a density bonus, and
rename the “Density Bonus Law” as the “Affordable Homes Bonus Program.”
• SB 908 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development.
o This bill is currently a spot bill, meaning it contains no substantive language.
However, this will be the SB 79 (Wiener, 2025) expansion bill. We are expecting
substantive language to be added within the next few weeks.
• SB 1036 (Grayson) Mitigation Fee Act.
o This bill would any fee established, increased, or imposed under the Mitigation Fee
Act to be based on the net impact on the need for the public facility being funded by
the fee, and would be done by accounting for whether the development project is
removing or replacing an existing use or a previous use that existed at the time the
fee was established, where the removed or replaced use also caused the need for
the public facility that will be funded by the fee. The bill would require a local agency
to provide a fee credit or otherwise reduce the fee in an amount proportionate to the
impact caused by the use that is being removed or replaced.
• SB 1117 (Cervantes) Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units.
o This bill would require an impact fee for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to be
based only on the area in excess of 750 square feet of interior livable space.
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Gov Ops
• SB 1159 (Cabaldon) Artificial intelligence: transparency and governance.
o This bill would specify that, for purposes of the California Public Records Act, the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the Political Reform Act of
1974, the Administrative Procedure Act, and CEQA, “person,” “interested person,”
“participant,” “member of the public,” and any other similar terms under each act
referring to those who may engage with governmental agencies, do not include
artificial intelligence systems, autonomous agents, robots, or other nonhuman
entities, whether physical or digital.
• SB 1187 (Durazo) Open meetings: majority.
o This bill is currently a spot bill, meaning it contains no substantive language.
However, this is the vehicle that will be used for the SB 707 (Durazo, 2025) follow up
legislation that the author had promised last year.
• AB 2033 (Papan) Local Agency Public Construction Act: job order contracting.
o This bill authorize a city council to award individual annual job order contracts, not
to exceed $500,000 for routine maintenance.
Miscellaneous
• AB 1708 (Solache) Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: round 7.
o This bill would require a continuum of care receiving HHAP round 7 funding to
allocate funds to a city with a population under 300,000.
• AB 1777 (Garcia) Air pollution: indirect sources.
o This bill would authorize the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to adopt
regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from indirect sources of pollution.
• AB 1421 (Wilson) Vehicles: Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee.
o This bill would require the California Transportation Commission to consolidate and
prepare research and recommendations related to a road user charge or a mileage-
based fee system.
• AB 2267 (Garcia) State bridges and overpasses: suicide prevention.
o This bill would require Caltrans to develop and maintain a set of preapproved suicide
prevention safety-barrier designs that local governments may use to install suicide
prevention barriers.
ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS UPDATE
On February 18, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of a new California Public
Utilities Commission president, John Reynolds. Governor Newsom stated his agenda was to “lower
utility bills, ensure wildfire safety spending delivers real value, and hold utilities accountable for safe,
reliable, and affordable service.”
ACTIVE POSITIONED BILLS
• AB 2179 (Patel) Workplace violence: restraining orders.
o Location: Assembly Print
o Position: Sponsor
• AB 1909 (Davies) Department of Motor Vehicles.
o Location: Assembly Print
o Position: Sponsor
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• AB 35 (Alvarez) Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean
Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and
selection criteria.
o Location: Senate Rules
o Position: Support
• AB 1557 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
o Location: Assembly Transportation
o Position: Support
• AB 1569 (Davies) Pupil safety: electric bicycle parking: safety program.
o Location: Assembly Education
o Position: Support
• AB 1614 (Dixon) Vehicles: bicycles.
o Location: Assembly Transportation
o Position: Support
• SB 677 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development.
o Location: Assembly Desk
o Position: Oppose
• SB 722 (Wahab) Transit-oriented housing development: excluded parcels and sites.
o Location: Assembly Desk
o Position: Support
LOOKING FORWARD
• March 25: Spring Recess begins upon adjournment
• April 6: Legislature reconvenes from Spring Recess
• Mid-May: Governor releases the May revision of the state budget
• May 29: Last day for the Legislature to pass bills out of their house of origin
• June 15: Legislature must pass the primary budget bill
• June 30: Governor must sign the primary budget bill
• July 2: Summer Recess begins upon adjournment
• August 3: Legislature reconvenes from Summer Recess
• August 31: Last day for the Legislature to pass bills; end of the session
• September 30: Last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills
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City of Carlsbad Priority Legislation as of March 5, 2026
Coastal
AB 1536 (Addis) Offshore oil. (Introduced 01/05/2026)
Existing law requires the Governor, or the Governor’s designee, to coordinate activities concerning
the transport and refining of offshore oil. Existing law further requires the Governor, or the
Governor’s designee, to work with state and local agencies, and the public, to facilitate the
transport and refining of offshore oil in a manner that will promote the greatest public health and
environmental and economic benefits to the people of the state. This bill would provide that it is
the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation pertaining to the legal authority of
entities relating to offshore oil permitting and regulation. The bill would further provide that it is the
intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would establish or uphold existing
local and state protections for communities impacted by the transportation and procurement of
offshore oil. (Based on 01/05/2026 text)
Location: 01/05/2026 - Assembly Print
Emergency Response and Disaster Preparedness
AB 442 (Hadwick) Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973: working forest management
plans: harvest area. (Amended 04/21/2025)
Under the Z’berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973, the Legislature finds and declares the policy
of the state to encourage prudent and responsible forest management of nonindustrial
timberlands by approving working forest management plans in advance. Existing law requires the
harvest area of a working forest management plan to be contained within a single hydrological
area, as defined. This bill would delete the requirement that the harvest area of a working forest
management plan be contained within a single hydrological area. (Based on 04/21/2025 text)
Location: 01/29/2026 - Senate Rules
Exhibit 3
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AB 1866 (Rogers) California Disaster Assistance Act: minimum damages thresholds.
(Introduced 02/11/2026)
Existing law, the California Disaster Assistance Act, requires the Director of Emergency Services to
provide financial assistance to local agencies for their personnel costs, equipment costs, and the
cost of supplies and materials used during disaster response activities, incurred as a result of a
state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor, subject to specified criteria. This bill would require
the director, in administering those provisions, to prioritize local agencies that are not eligible for
federal funding due to the agency’s inability to meet minimum damage thresholds under federal
law, as specified. (Based on 02/11/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Emergency Management
AB 2101 (Gipson) Human trafficking: notice and training: disaster sites. (Introduced
02/18/2026)
Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments, including, among others,
airports, intercity passenger rail or light rail stations, bus stations, and truck stops, to post a notice,
as developed by the Department of Justice, that contains information relating to slavery and human
trafficking, including information regarding specified nonprofit organizations that a person can call
for services or support in the elimination of slavery and human trafficking. This bill would
additionally require designated disaster sites and designated mitigation sites, as those terms are
defined, to post the above-described notice. This bill contains other related provisions and other
existing laws. (Based on 02/18/2026 text)
Location: 02/18/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2385 (Petrie-Norris) Local reconstruction agencies. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
The Community Redevelopment Law established redevelopment agencies in each community and
granted specified powers to those redevelopment agencies for the purpose of promoting
redevelopment in blighted areas. Existing law dissolved those community redevelopment agencies
in 2012. Other existing law, the Disaster Recovery Reconstruction Act of 1986, authorizes each city,
county, or other local subdivision, as provided, to prepare, prior to a disaster, plans and ordinances
facilitating the expeditious and orderly recovery and reconstruction of the area in case of a
disaster. Existing law authorizes those plans and ordinances to include the authority and proposed
organization for establishment of a local reconstruction authority with powers parallel to those of a
community redevelopment agency, except as specified. This bill would refer to those plans as a
disaster recovery plan and would require a city or county that adopts a disaster recovery plan to
ensure that its general plan is consistent with, and references, the disaster recovery plan. The bill
would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, in consultation with other specified
state and local entities, to assess the recovery and rebuilding needs of jurisdictions across the
state and prepare guidance on disaster recovery plans, including model ordinance language, as
provided. This bill would authorize a city, county, or other local subdivision of the state to adopt an
ordinance prior to a disaster, which could be invoked as soon as possible after a disaster, that
would establish a local reconstruction agency, rather than a reconstruction authority, to
coordinate disaster recovery efforts in the areas impacted by the disaster. The bill would authorize
the ordinance to grant the reconstruction agency specified powers, similar to those previously
authorized for a community redevelopment agency, including, among other powers, to sue and be
sued, to make and execute contracts, to issue or sell bonds, and to accept financial assistance
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from any public or private source. The bill would also authorize a reconstruction agency to accept,
through a dedication by the city, county, or other taxing entity, incremental tax revenues derived
from local sales and use taxes or from transactions and use taxes, as provided. (Based
on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
Energy and Utilities
SB 222 (Wiener) Residential heat pump systems: water heaters and HVAC: installations.
(Amended 01/15/2026)
Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission
and prescribes the authorities, duties, and responsibilities of the commission pertaining to energy
matters. Existing law requires the commission, on or before January 1, 2019, in consultation with
the Contractors State License Board, local building officials, and other stakeholders, to approve a
plan that promotes compliance with specified regulations relating to building energy efficiency
standards in the installation of central air-conditioning and heat pumps, as specified. Existing law
authorizes the commission to adopt regulations to increase compliance with permitting and
inspection requirements for central air-conditioning and heat pumps, and associated sales and
installations, consistent with the above-described plan. The bill would require a city, county, or city
and county, beginning July 1, 2027, to adopt and offer asynchronous inspections for installations of
residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC systems, as defined, that do not require a
licensed contractor and building inspector to be simultaneously present during the inspection. The
bill would authorize a building inspector to contact the licensed contractor who performed the
installation by telephone call or real-time video conferencing during their inspection, and, if the
building inspector determines during an asynchronous inspection that there is an issue with an
installation of the heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC system and that the licensed
contractor who performed the installation must be present to perform tests or cure the installation,
to require the licensed contractor who performed the installation to schedule an additional
inspection in which the building inspector and the licensed contractor who performed the
installation are required to be simultaneously present during the additional inspection. The bill
would specify that these provisions do not require a local entity described above to discontinue
offering inspections for the installation of a residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC
system where in a building inspector and licensed contractor who performed the installation are
simultaneously present. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based
on 01/15/2026 text)
Location: 01/26/2026 - Assembly Desk
Environment and Climate
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AB 35 (Alvarez) Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air
Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program guidelines and selection
criteria. (Amended 01/14/2026)
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption,
publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The Safe Drinking Water,
Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (act), approved by the
voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the
issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation
Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire
and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based
climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands,
park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Existing law authorizes certain
regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act to be adopted as emergency
regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. Existing law requires
the emergency regulations to be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and requires the
emergency regulations to remain in effect until repealed or amended by the adopting state agency.
This bill, notwithstanding the above, would exempt the adoption of regulations needed to
effectuate or implement programs of the act from the requirements of the Administrative
Procedure Act, as provided. The bill would require a state entity that receives funding to administer
a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Act exemption to do
certain things, including develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines and to submit
those guidelines to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, except as provided. The bill
would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to post an electronic form of the
guidelines submitted by a state entity and the subsequent verifications on the Natural Resources
Agency’s internet website. The bill would authorize the use of certain previously developed
program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes, as provided. This bill contains other
related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 01/14/2026 text)
Location: 01/27/2026 - Senate Rules
Position: Support
Notes1:
1/14/26: DA tagged as support. 1/15/26: SG sent draft support letter to the City for review. 1/26/26:
EN received final Word draft of letter, finalized, and sent back to the City for their records. 1/26/26:
DA submitted letter to portal and delegation.
AB 1536 (Addis) Offshore oil. (Introduced 01/05/2026)
Existing law requires the Governor, or the Governor’s designee, to coordinate activities concerning
the transport and refining of offshore oil. Existing law further requires the Governor, or the
Governor’s designee, to work with state and local agencies, and the public, to facilitate the
transport and refining of offshore oil in a manner that will promote the greatest public health and
environmental and economic benefits to the people of the state. This bill would provide that it is
the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation pertaining to the legal authority of
entities relating to offshore oil permitting and regulation. The bill would further provide that it is the
intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation that would establish or uphold existing
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local and state protections for communities impacted by the transportation and procurement of
offshore oil. (Based on 01/05/2026 text)
Location: 01/05/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 1777 (Garcia) Air pollution: indirect sources. (Introduced 02/09/2026)
Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the
primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control districts
and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution
from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law authorizes air districts to adopt and
implement regulations to reduce or mitigate emissions from indirect sources of air pollution.
Existing law requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations relating to vehicular emissions
standards, as specified, that will achieve the ambient air quality standards required by federal law
in conjunction with other measures adopted by the state board, air districts, and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. This bill would authorize the state board, if necessary to carry
out that duty to achieve those ambient air quality standards, to adopt regulations to reduce or
mitigate emissions from indirect sources of pollution. This bill contains other related provisions
and other existing laws. (Based on 02/09/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Natural Resources
SB 982 (Wiener) Climate disasters: civil actions. (Introduced 02/04/2026)
Existing law gives a person the right of protection from bodily harm and the right to possess and use
property. If a person suffers bodily harm or a loss of their property because of the unlawful act or
omission of another, existing law authorizes them to recover compensation from the person at
fault, which is known as damages. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to bring various civil
actions due to damage or loss. This bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action
against a party responsible for climate-attributable damage to recover losses suffered by the
California FAIR Plan Association, funds borrowed from the California Infrastructure and Economic
Development Bank, or costs to insurance policyholders arising from a past climate disaster. The
bill would make responsible parties strictly liable for any relief granted. The bill would create the
Attorney General Climate Disaster Fund into which the monetary relief recovered by the Attorney
General, excluding restitution, would be deposited, and would set forth specified uses for the
account upon appropriation by the Legislature. (Based on 02/04/2026 text)
Location: 02/11/2026 - Senate Judiciary
Governmental Operations
AB 1383 (McKinnor) Public employees’ retirement benefits: safety members. (Amended
01/22/2026)
The Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) establishes the Public Employees’ Retirement
System (PERS) to provide a defined benefit to members of the system based on final
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compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. Existing law
creates the Public Employees’ Retirement Fund, which is continuously appropriated for purposes
of PERS, including depositing employer and employee contributions. Under the California
Constitution, assets of a public pension or retirement system are trust funds. The California Public
Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) establishes a variety of requirements and
restrictions on public employers offering defined benefit pension plans. In this regard, PEPRA
restricts the amount of compensation that may be applied for purposes of calculating a defined
pension benefit for a new member, as defined, by restricting it to specified percentages of the
contribution and benefit base under a specified federal law with respect to old age, survivors, and
disability insurance benefits. Existing law, the Teachers’ Retirement Law, establishes the State
Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State
Teachers’ Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on
final compensation, creditable service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. This
bill, on and after January 1, 2027, would require a retirement system subject to PEPRA to adjust
pensionable compensation limits to be consistent with specified percentages of the contribution
and benefit base under the specified federal law with respect to old age, survivors, and disability
insurance benefits. The bill would require a new member of STRS to be subject to specified limits of
the Teachers’ Retirement Law. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing
laws. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/29/2026 - Senate Rules
AB 1439 (Garcia) Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards.
(Amended 01/22/2026)
The California Constitution grants the retirement board of a public employee retirement system
plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of moneys and administration of the
retirement fund and system. These provisions qualify this grant of powers by reserving to the
Legislature the authority to prohibit investments if it is in the public interest and the prohibition
satisfies standards of fiduciary care and loyalty required of a retirement board. Existing law
prohibits the boards of the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers’
Retirement System (STRS) from making certain new investments or renewing existing investments
of public employee retirement funds, including in a thermal coal company, as defined. Existing law
provides that a board is not required to take any action regarding those investments unless the
board determines in good faith that the action is consistent with the board’s fiduciary
responsibilities established in the California Constitution. This bill would state that its purpose is to
require the boards of PERS and STRS to contract with the University of California Labor Centers to
conduct an independent study to determine the impacts on public employee retirement funds of
prohibiting the board of a public pension or retirement system, as defined, from investing in
development projects in California that do not provide labor standards protections for workers. The
bill would require the study and a report of its findings to be completed and provided to the
Legislature and the Department of Finance by January 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would provide
that a board is not required to take action pursuant to this provision unless it determines in good
faith that the action is consistent with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities established in the
California Constitution. This bill contains other existing laws. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/29/2026 - Senate Rules
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AB 1564 (Ahrens) Employer-employee relations: confidential communications. (Amended
02/25/2026)
Existing law that governs the labor relations of public employees and employers, including, among
others, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the Ralph C. Dills Act, provisions relating to public schools,
and provisions relating to higher education prohibits employers from taking certain actions relating
to employee organization, including imposing or threatening to impose reprisals on employees,
discriminating or threatening to discriminate against employees, or otherwise interfering with,
restraining, or coercing employees because of their exercise of their guaranteed rights. Those
provisions of existing law further prohibit denying to employee organizations the rights guaranteed
to them by existing law. This bill would prohibit a public employer from questioning a public
employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an exclusive representative
regarding communications made in confidence between an employee and an employee
representative in connection with representation relating to any matter within the scope of the
recognized employee organization’s representation. The bill would also prohibit a public employer
from compelling a public employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an
exclusive representative to disclose those confidential communications to a third party. The bill
would not apply to a criminal investigation or when a public safety officer is under investigation and
certain circumstances exist. (Based on 02/25/2026 text)
Calendar: 03/18/26 A-PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT 9 a.m. - State Capitol, Room
444 MCKINNOR, TINA, Chair
Location: 02/26/2026 - Assembly Public Employment And Retirement
AB 1680 (Calderon) California FAIR Plan Association. (Introduced 02/02/2026)
The California FAIR Plan Association is a joint reinsurance association in which all insurers
licensed to write basic property insurance participate to administer a program for the equitable
apportionment of basic property insurance for persons who are unable to obtain that coverage
through normal channels. Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to approve the
association’s plan of operation and authorizes the commissioner to examine the association’s
books, records, files, papers, and documents that relate to its operation. Existing law authorizes
the commissioner to impose civil penalties for various violations of the Insurance Code. This bill
would require the association to comply with the recommendations of a report of examination or
other operational report and would subject the association to civil penalties for violating statutes
relative to the association, including if it fails to adopt the recommendations within a timeframe
agreed upon by the commissioner or a person designated by the commissioner. The bill would set
the civil penalty amounts for violations of provisions relative to the association as not to exceed
$10,000 for each act in violation or not to exceed $20,000 if the act was willful, and would require
the commissioner to impose those penalties, as specified. The bill would also authorize the
commissioner to require the association to both adjust the policy limits available under programs
underwritten by the association and make additional coverage offerings available under programs
underwritten by the association. (Based on 02/02/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Insurance
AB 1753 (Stefani) Protective orders: firearms and ammunition. (Introduced 02/09/2026)
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Existing law establishes procedures by which a person may petition the court for certain protective
or restraining orders, including civil harassment restraining orders, domestic violence restraining
orders, elder or dependent adult abuse restraining orders, gun violence restraining orders,
postsecondary school restraining orders, and workplace violence restraining orders, to enjoin a
restrained person from taking specified actions. Before a hearing on the issuance or denial of a
domestic violence restraining order or gun violence restraining order, existing law requires the
court to ensure that a search has been conducted to determine, among other things, if the subject
of the proposed order owns or possesses a firearm as reflected in the Department of Justice
Automated Firearms System. If after the search, the court finds that the subject of the proposed
order owns or possesses a firearm, existing law requires the court to make a written record as to
whether the subject has relinquished the firearm and provided proof of the required storage, sale,
or relinquishment of the firearm. Upon a court’s issuance of such a protective order, existing law
requires the restrained person to relinquish any firearm and ammunition in that person’s
immediate possession or control, according to specified procedures. Existing law prescribes
procedures by which the restrained person must certify compliance with the court, and for the
court to determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether the person has a firearm in
violation of the order. This bill would make clarifying and conforming changes to the procedures
relating to the protective or restraining orders described above by explicitly requiring the restrained
person to relinquish, in addition to any firearm, any ammunition in that person’s immediate
possession or control. The bill would additionally apply the prehearing firearm search and
recordkeeping requirements described above to civil harassment restraining orders, workplace
violence restraining orders, postsecondary school restraining orders, and elder or dependent adult
abuse restraining orders. The bill would require courts to permit a party, support person, or witness
to appear remotely at a hearing for a postsecondary educational institution or workplace violence
restraining order at no cost. This bill would also require courts to develop rules and instructions for
such remote appearances and to post them on its website. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/09/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Public Safety
AB 2033 (Papan) Local Agency Public Construction Act: job order contracting. (Introduced
02/17/2026)
Existing law, the Local Agency Public Construction Act, sets forth procedures that a local agency is
required to follow when procuring certain services or work. Existing law authorizes certain local
agencies to engage in job order contracting, as prescribed. This bill would authorize the city council
to award individual annual job order contracts, not to exceed $500,000, as specified, for repair,
remodeling, or other repetitive work to be done according to unit prices. The bill would prohibit,
among other things, annual contracts from being awarded for any new construction. The bill would
require the contracts to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder and be based on plans and
specifications for typical work. (Based on 02/17/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Local Government
AB 2179 (Patel) Workplace violence: restraining orders. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
Existing law authorizes any employer or authorized bargaining representative, as specified, whose
employee has suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence that can reasonably be
construed to be carried out or to have been carried out at the workplace, to seek a temporary
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restraining order and an order after hearing on behalf of the employee and other employees at the
workplace, as described. This bill would, beginning on July 1, 2027, allow any party or witness to a
petition for a restraining order to appear remotely at a hearing and would prohibit any fee for
appearing remotely. The bill would require the court of each county to develop rules and
instructions for such remote appearances and post them on its website. The bill would also,
commencing on July 1, 2027, require courts to allow filings related to such protective orders to be
submitted electronically, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes. (Based
on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 02/19/2026 - Assembly Print
Position: Sponsor
Notes1:
2/19/26: Bill introduced; EN tagged as sponsor. 2/24/26: EN sent draft sponsor letter to City for
review. EN received final letter and sent to delegation and author's office. Bill not yet referred to a
committee.
SB 1005 (Caballero) Local agency: payment: rounding amount. (Introduced 02/09/2026)
Existing law requires a public agency to accept specified methods of payment for designated
obligations. This bill would authorize a local agency to round the amount of any payment made
wholly or partly in cash to the local agency, or any refund or other amount tendered wholly or partly
in cash by the local agency, to the nearest $0.05. The bill would apply to a local agency only if the
governing body of the local agency adopts, by majority vote, a resolution to make its provisions
applicable to the local agency. The bill would define terms for its purposes. (Based
on 02/09/2026 text)
Calendar: 03/18/26 S-LOCAL GOVERNMENT 9:30 a.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 2200 DURAZO,
MARÍA ELENA, Chair
Location: 02/18/2026 - Senate Local Government
SB 1187 (Durazo) Open meetings: majority. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a
legislative body, as defined, of a local agency be open and public and that all persons be permitted
to attend and participate. Existing law defines “meetings” for these purposes to mean any
congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and location, as
specified, to hear, discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item that is within the subject matter
jurisdiction of the legislative body. This bill would define “majority” for purposes of the act to mean
the number of members of the legislative body equaling more than half of the total number of seats
on the legislative body. The bill would specify that if a seat on the legislative body is vacant, that
seat is to still be counted as a seat on the legislative body. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 03/04/2026 - Senate Local Government
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Health and Human Services
SB 490 (Umberg) Alcohol and drug programs. (Amended 01/05/2026)
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of adult alcohol or other drug recovery or
treatment facilities by the State Department of Public Health and prohibits the operation of one of
those facilities without a current valid license. Existing law requires the department, if a facility is
alleged to be in violation of that prohibition, to conduct a site visit to investigate the allegation.
Existing law requires, if the department’s employee or agent finds evidence that the facility is
providing services without a license, the employee or agent to take specified actions, including,
among others, submitting the findings of the investigation to the department and issuing a written
notice to the facility that includes the date by which the facility is required to cease providing
services. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State
Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive
health care services, through fee-for-service or managed care delivery systems. The Medi-Cal
program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law
establishes the Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program (Drug Medi-Cal) and authorizes the department
to enter into a Drug Medi-Cal contract with each county for the provision of alcohol and drug use
services within the county service area. This bill would require the department, if it determines it
has jurisdiction over the allegation, to initiate that investigation within 10 days of receiving the
allegation and, except as specified, complete the investigation within 60 days of initiating the
investigation. The bill would require the department, if it receives a complaint that does not fall
under its jurisdiction, to notify the complainant that it does not investigate that type of complaint.
The bill would require the employee or agent to provide the notice described above within 10 days
of the employee or agency submitting their findings to the department and to conduct a followup
site visit to determine whether the facility has ceased providing services as required. The bill would
authorize, in counties that elect to administer the Drug Medi-Cal organized delivery system and
that provide optional recovery housing services, the county behavioral health agency to request
approval from the department to conduct a site visit of a recovery residence that is alleged to be
operating without a license. The bill would permit the department to approve that request in certain
circumstances, including that the department has sufficient evidence to substantiate the
allegation. (Based on 01/05/2026 text)
Location: 01/26/2026 - Assembly Desk
Notes1:
Cal Cities sponsored.
Homelessness
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AB 1708 (Solache) Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: round 7.
(Introduced 02/04/2026)
Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program for
the purpose of providing jurisdictions with grant funds to support regional coordination and expand
or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified.
Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care,
cities, counties, and tribes in 6 rounds, with rounds 1 to 5, inclusive, administered by the
Interagency Council on Homelessness and round 6 administered by the Department of Housing
and Community Development, as provided. Existing law establishes round 7 of the program and
states the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that specifies the parameters, as
specified. Existing law, effective July 1, 2026, appropriates $500,000,000, as specified, provided
that these funds be disbursed in accordance with specified requirements, including that funds
from this appropriation be disbursed to a city, county, tribe, or continuum of care for round 7 of the
program after a declaration by the director of the department, in consultation with the Director of
Finance, that the department has substantially completed its initial disbursement of round 6 funds
to the city, county, tribe, or continuum of care and that the city, county, tribe, or continuum of care
has obligated at least 50% of its total round 6 award. Existing law requires the department, during
the 2025–26 fiscal year, to prepare to administer round 7 of the program with the goal that initial
round 7 disbursements will be available to grantees meeting the statutory provisions for
disbursement beginning September 1, 2026, as specified. This bill would require a continuum of
care receiving funding pursuant to round 7, as described above, to allocate funds to a smaller
jurisdiction, defined as a city with a population under 300,000. The bill would require a smaller
jurisdiction, in order to be eligible for funding, to, among other things, adopt a resolution, as
specified, have a compliant housing element, and have adopted a local encampment policy, as
described. The bill would require a continuum of care to accept applications for funding in
accordance with specified procedures. (Based on 02/04/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Housing And Community Development
Notes1:
Cal Cities sponsored.
Housing and Land Use
AB 748 (Harabedian) Single-family and multifamily housing units: preapproved plans.
(Amended 01/05/2026)
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, provides for the adoption and administration of zoning
laws, ordinances, rules and regulations by counties and cities and the implementation of those
general plans as may be in effect in those counties or cities. In that regard, existing law requires
each local agency, by January 1, 2025, to develop a program for the preapproval of accessory
dwelling unit plans. This bill would require each local agency, as defined, to develop a program for
the preapproval of single-family and multifamily residential housing plans, whereby the local
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agency accepts single-family and multifamily plan submissions for preapproval and approves or
denies the preapproval applications, as specified. The bill would require a large jurisdiction, as
defined, to develop this program by July 1, 2027, and a small jurisdiction, as defined, to develop a
program by January 1, 2029. The bill would require the local agency to post preapproved single-
family or multifamily residential housing plans and the contact information of the applicant on the
local agency’s internet website. This bill would require a local agency to either approve or deny
ministerially an application for a single-family or multifamily residential housing unit within 30 days
if the lot meets certain conditions and the application utilizes specified plans that have been
preapproved by the local agency or that are identical to a plan used in an application approved by
the local agency. The bill would prohibit the preapproval program from applying to single-family or
multifamily residential housing plans intended for use in certain communities and developments,
as specified. This bill contains other existing laws. (Based on 01/05/2026 text)
Location: 01/27/2026 - Senate Rules
AB 1895 (Hadwick) Surplus Land Act: exemptions: land unsuitable for housing. (Introduced
02/12/2026)
Existing law requires land to be declared either surplus land or exempt surplus land, as supported
by written findings, before a local agency may take any action to dispose of it consistent with an
agency’s policies or procedures. Existing law establishes procedures for the disposal of surplus
land, including requiring certain information to be provided to the Department of Housing and
Community Development. These procedures do not apply to the disposal of exempt surplus land.
Existing law establishes various categories of exempt surplus land, including surplus land that is a
former street, right-of-way, or easement, and is conveyed to an owner of an adjacent property. This
bill would broaden the definition of exempt surplus land to include land that is unsuitable for
housing development due to the presence of one or more specified characteristics, including land
with slope instability that increases risk of mudslides, landslides, subsidence, liquefaction, and
other seismic hazards. (Based on 02/12/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Local Government
AB 1903 (Wicks) Construction defects. (Introduced 02/12/2026)
Existing law specifies the rights and requirements of a homeowner to bring an action for
construction defects, including applicable standards for home construction, the statute of
limitations, the burden of proof, the damages recoverable, a detailed prelitigation procedure, and
the obligations of the builder and homeowner. Existing law requires a builder, for fit and finish
items, to provide a home buyer with a minimum one-year express written limited warranty covering
the fit and finish of specified building components. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to
the provision requiring a builder to provide a warranty for specified building components. (Based
on 02/12/2026 text)
Location: 02/12/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2051 (Wicks) Public resources: Coastal Resilience Permitting Working Group. (Introduced
02/18/2026)
Existing law establishes the Natural Resources Agency and vests the agency with jurisdiction over
various public resources. Existing law establishes the California Environmental Protection Agency
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and sets out its mission for programs, policies, and standards. Under existing law, various state
entities, including the California Coastal Commission, the California Environmental Protection
Agency, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife have responsibilities with respect to coastal
permitting and development. This bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency,
in consultation with the Secretary for Environmental Protection, to convene a Coastal Resilience
Permitting Working Group for the purpose of developing a Coastal Resilience Permitting Roadmap
for coastal resilience projects proposed in specified areas. The bill would require the Coastal
Resilience Permitting Working Group to consist of representatives from federal, state, and local
agencies, including, among others, the California Coastal Commission, the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The bill would, on or
before January 1, 2028, require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to submit the
Coastal Resilience Permitting Roadmap to the Governor and the relevant fiscal and policy
committees of the Legislature. The bill would require, on or before April 1, 2027, the California
Coastal Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, in
collaboration with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Regional Water Quality
Boards with jurisdiction over the coast and the San Francisco Bay, to convene a Coastal Resilience
Permit Advisory Group to support the deliberations of the Coastal Resilience Permitting Working
Group. (Based on 02/18/2026 text)
Location: 02/18/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2296 (Papan) Land use. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
Existing law, the Permit Streamlining Act (act), imposes requirements on a public agency’s review
and approval of development projects, as specified, to ensure clear understanding of the specific
requirements in connection with that approval and to expedite decisions on those projects. That
act excludes from its provisions activities of the State Energy Resources Development and
Conservation Commission and administrative appeals within, or to, a state or local agency. This
bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that exclusion. (Based on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 02/19/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2373 (Dixon) The California Coastal Act: local coastal program: sea level rise plan:
neighborhood-scale adaptation approach. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
The California Coastal Act of 1976 generally requires each local government lying in whole or in
part within the coastal zone to prepare a local coastal program for that portion of the coastal zone
within its jurisdiction. The act requires a land use plan of a proposed local coastal program to be
submitted to the California Coastal Commission for certification. Existing law requires local
governments lying in whole or in part within the coastal zone to, on or before January 1, 2034,
develop a sea level rise plan with specified required content as part of a local coastal program that
is subject to approval by the California Coastal Commission. This bill would authorize local
governments lying, in whole or in part, within the coastal zone to include a neighborhood-scale
adaptation approach, as defined, when including land use policies and implementation measures
in their local coastal program or sea level rise plan. The bill would authorize the neighborhood-
scale adaptation approach to include, but not be limited to, the identification of areas and assets
that are subject to the approach, as specified, and policies that reflect the shared planning
features and specific preferred adaptation strategies for different areas or development types
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based on the geophysical and land use characteristics intended to minimize, mitigate, or avoid
coastal impacts. (Based on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 02/19/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2419 (Quirk-Silva) Probation officers: body-worn cameras: County of Los Angeles.
(Introduced 02/20/2026)
Existing law subjects a minor between 12 and 17 years of age, who violates any federal, state, or
local law or ordinance, and a minor under 12 years of age who is alleged to have committed
specified serious offenses, to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to
be a ward of the court. Existing law assigns various responsibilities relating to these individuals to
the probation officer, including, among others, the responsibility to supervise minors placed on
probation. This bill would require the County of Los Angeles to implement a body-worn camera
program for the County of Los Angeles Probation Department (probation department). The bill
would require the county, the probation department, and affected employee organizations to
develop the body-worn camera policy and a plan for implementing the body-worn camera program
by no later than June 1, 2027. The bill would require the body-worn camera program to be
implemented beginning on January 1, 2028. The bill would specify the minimum requirements for
the policy, including the best practices for officer review of recorded body-worn camera data.
Because this bill would create new duties for the County of Los Angeles and the County of Los
Angeles Probation Department, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill
would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the
County of Los Angeles. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based
on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2433 (Alvarez) Housing development: affordable homes bonus. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
Existing law, commonly referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to grant a
density bonus, other incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of development
standards, as specified, to an applicant for a housing development when the applicant seeks a
density bonus for the housing development, as specified, if the applicant agrees to construct,
among other things, a specified percentage of units for very low income, lower income, or senior
citizen housing, and meets other requirements. This bill would, instead, require a city or county to
grant an affordable homes bonus, other incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of
development standards, as specified, to an applicant for a housing development when the
applicant submits an application for a housing development that a city, county, or city and county
determines meets specified criteria, including, among others, the housing development includes
specified percentage of units for very low income, lower income, or senior citizen housing. The bill
would name the provisions commonly referred to as the “Density Bonus Law” as the “Affordable
Homes Bonus Program” and make conforming changes related to the name change. This bill
contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2466 (Fong) Strong Workforce Program: work-based learning opportunities: regional
consortia. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
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Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board
of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public
postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes the Strong Workforce Program to
provide funding to career technical education regional consortia made up of community college
districts and local educational agencies, as specified. Existing law authorizes a community college
district to use the funds apportioned directly to the community college district to provide direct
support to students, employers, or both, for paid work-based learning to increase employability
and employment, as provided. Existing law requires the chancellor’s office to revise, no later than
June 30, 2026, policies, regulations, and guidance necessary to provide students, employers, or
both, with paid work-based learning opportunities, as provided. This bill would additionally
authorize funds apportioned directly to regional consortia to be used to provide direct support to
students, employers, or both, for paid work-based learning to increase employability and
employment, as specified, and would make conforming changes. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2601 (Lee) Planning and zoning: housing development: streamlined approval and
subdivisions. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
Under the Planning and Zoning Law, the legislative body of a city or county may adopt ordinances
that, among other things, regulate the use of buildings, structures, and land, as provided. The
Subdivision Map Act vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of
subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local
agency’s processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final,
and parcel maps. This bill would require that an application for a proposed housing development
containing no more than 2 residential units within a single-family residential zone, as described
above, be eligible for concurrent processing with an application for a parcel map for an urban lot
split, as provided. The bill would authorize a local agency to condition issuance of building permits,
grading permits, or certificates of occupancy for a proposed housing development upon the
applicant first obtaining approval and recording a parcel map for eligible parcels pursuant to the
above-described urban lot split provisions. The bill would allow the primary dwellings in an urban
lot split under these provisions to be developed or converted to condominiums upon request of the
applicant, as specified, or, if the housing development includes an existing unit, allow the
applicant to request a condominium conversion for that unit pursuant to state and local law. The
bill would specify that a “parcel map” for purposes of these provisions means a parcel map
prepared in accordance with specified provisions of the Subdivision Map Act and may include a
condominium plan if proposed by the subdivider, as specified. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2748 (Quirk-Silva) Building standards: affordable housing developments: electric vehicle
charging. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
Existing law, the State Housing Law, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards
for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires the building department of every city
or county to enforce within its jurisdiction all the provisions published in the California Building
Standards Code and the provisions of the State Housing Law, as provided. Existing law makes any
violation of the State Housing Law a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by
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imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or by both. This bill would exempt a new or existing
affordable housing development, as defined, for which a permit application is submitted between
January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2035, from the requirements for installation of low power Level
2 or higher electric vehicle charging receptacles in the 2025 California Green Building Standards
Code, as provided. The bill would, instead, require those affordable housing developments for
which a permit application is submitted between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2035, to
comply with the applicable requirements for installation of low power Level 2 or higher electric
vehicle charging receptacles in the 2022 edition of the California Building Standards Code. The bill
would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037. By adding to the duties of local officials, and by
expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (Based
on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
SB 417 (Cabaldon) The Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026. (Amended 01/22/2026)
Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for, among other things, emergency
housing, multifamily housing, farmworker housing, home ownership for very low and low-income
households, and downpayment assistance for first-time home buyers. Existing law also authorizes
the issuance of bonds in specified amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law
and requires that proceeds from the sale of these bonds be used to finance various existing
housing programs, capital outlay related to infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes
infill development, and housing-related parks. This bill would enact the Affordable Housing Bond
Act of 2026, which, if adopted, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of
$10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law. Proceeds from the sale of
these bonds would be used to finance programs to fund affordable rental housing and home
ownership programs, including, among others, the Multifamily Housing Program, the CalHome
Program, and the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program. This bill would provide for
submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election, in
accordance with specified law. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an
urgency statute. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/27/2026 - Assembly Desk
SB 677 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development. (Amended 01/08/2026)
Existing law requires that a housing development project, as defined, within a specified distance of
a transit-oriented development (TOD) stop, as defined, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented
housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the
development complies with certain applicable requirements, as provided. Among these
requirements, existing law establishes requirements concerning height limits, density, and
residential floor area ratio in accordance with a development’s proximity to specified tiers of TOD
stops, as provided, and requires a development to meet specified labor standards that require that
a specified affidavit be signed under penalty of perjury, under specified circumstances. Existing law
specifies that a development proposed pursuant to these provisions is eligible for streamlined,
ministerial approval, as provided. Existing law defines, among other terms, the term “high-
frequency commuter rail” for purposes of these provisions to mean a commuter rail service
operating a total of at least 48 trains per day across both directions, not including temporary
service changes of less than one month or unplanned disruptions, and not meeting the standard
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for very high frequency commuter rail, at any point in the past three years. Existing law also defines
the term “Tier 2 transit-oriented development stop” for these purposes to mean a TOD stop within
an urban transit county, as defined, excluding a Tier 1 transit-oriented development stop, as
defined, served by light rail transit, by high-frequency commuter rail, or by bus service meeting
specified standards. This bill would revise the definition of “high-frequency commuter rail” to
instead mean a public commuter or intercity rail station with a total of at least 48 passenger trains
on average per weekday across all directions, not including temporary service changes of less than
one month or unplanned disruptions, and not meeting the standard for very high frequency
commuter rail, at any point in the past three years. By increasing the duties of local officials, and by
expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill
contains other existing laws. (Based on 01/08/2026 text)
Location: 01/26/2026 - Assembly Desk
Position: Oppose
Notes1:
1/13/26: EN tagged as oppose. 1/14/26: KR testified in opposition in Senate Local Government
Committee. 1/15/26: SG sent draft oppose letter to the City for review. 1/26/26: EN received final
Word draft of letter, finalized, and sent back to the City for their records. 1/26/26: DA submitted
letter to portal and delegation.
SB 722 (Wahab) Transit-oriented housing development: excluded parcels and sites. (Amended
01/15/2026)
Existing law requires that a housing development project, as defined, within a specified distance of
a transit-oriented development stop, as defined, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing
development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the
development complies with certain, applicable requirements, as provided. Among these
requirements, existing law prohibits a proposed development under these provisions from being
located on sites where the development would require demolition of housing, or that was
previously used for housing, that is subject to rent or price controls, as provided. This bill would
additionally prohibit the development from being located on an existing parcel of land or site
governed under the Mobilehome Residency Law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law,
the Mobilehome Parks Act, or the Special Occupancy Parks Act. This bill would declare that it is to
take effect immediately as an urgency statute. (Based on 01/15/2026 text)
Location: 01/26/2026 - Assembly Desk
Position: Support
Notes1:
1/14/26: DA tagged as support. 1/15/26: SG sent draft support letter to the City for review. 1/26/26:
EN received final Word draft of letter, finalized, and sent back to the City for their records. 1/26/26:
DA submitted letter to portal and delegation.
SB 908 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development. (Introduced
01/22/2026)
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Existing law generally regulates the development of transit-oriented housing developments near
transit-oriented development stops. Existing law defines various terms for these purposes. Existing
law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to oversee compliance with
those provisions, authorizes a local government to enact an ordinance to make its zoning code
consistent with those provisions, as specified, and requires each metropolitan planning
organization to create a map of transit-oriented development stops and zones within its region by
tier, as specified. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation
that would make technical and clarifying changes to those laws governing transit-oriented
development, and to add a select set of San Francisco Bay area ferry terminals to the scope of
those provisions. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/22/2026 - Senate Rules
SB 1016 (Blakespear) Transitional housing bond. (Introduced 02/10/2026)
Under existing law, there are programs providing assistance for, among other things, emergency
housing, multifamily housing, farmworker housing, home ownership, and downpayment
assistance for first-time home buyers. Existing law also authorizes the issuance of bonds in
specified amounts pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law and requires that proceeds
from the sale of these bonds be used to finance various existing housing programs, capital outlay
related to infill development, brownfield cleanup that promotes infill development, and housing-
related parks. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to submit to the
voters an act authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds for the development of
transitional housing. (Based on 02/10/2026 text)
Location: 02/10/2026 - Senate Rules
SB 1036 (Grayson) Mitigation Fee Act. (Introduced 02/11/2026)
Existing law, the Mitigation Fee Act, imposes various requirements with respect to the
establishment, increase, or imposition of a fee by a local agency as a condition of approval of a
development project, including requiring the local agency to identify the use to which the fee is to
be put and determine how there is a reasonable relationship between the fee’s use and the type of
development project on which the fee is imposed. Existing law also requires a local agency, upon
receipt of a fee subject to these provisions, to deposit, invest, account for, and expend the fees as
specified. This bill would additionally require any fee established, increased, or imposed to be
based on the net impact on the need for the public facility being funded by the fee and account for
whether the development project is removing or replacing an existing use or a previous use that
existed at the time the fee was established, as specified. The bill would require, in this
redevelopment scenario, the local agency to provide a fee credit or otherwise reduce the fee in an
amount proportionate to the impact caused by the use that is being removed or replaced. (Based
on 02/11/2026 text)
Location: 02/18/2026 - Senate Local Government
SB 1117 (Cervantes) Accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units.
(Introduced 02/17/2026)
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, among other things, provides for the creation by
ordinance, or by ministerial approval if the local agency has not adopted an ordinance, of an
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accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in accordance with specified standards and conditions. Existing law
requires fees charged for the construction of ADUs to be determined in accordance with specified
provisions of the Mitigation Fee Act. Existing law prohibits a local agency, special district, or water
corporation from imposing any impact fee upon the development of an ADU that has 750 square
feet of interior livable space or less, and requires any impact fees charged for an ADU that has
more than 750 square feet of interior livable space to be charged proportionately in relation to the
square footage of the primary dwelling unit. This bill would additionally require the charge to be
based only on the area in excess of 750 square feet of interior livable space. By changing the duties
of local agencies with regard to calculating fees for ADUs, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter
of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including
charter cities. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based
on 02/17/2026 text)
Location: 02/26/2026 - Senate Housing
POU-Energy
AB 2289 (Boerner) Public utilities: telecommunications. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission, which consists of 5
members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The California Constitution
authorizes the commission to establish its own procedures and authorizes a commissioner as
designated by the commission to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to
commission approval. This bill would require the Governor, in appointing members of the
commission, to ensure a diverse composition of commissioners by considering factors that
contribute to diversity, as provided. The bill would recodify as a statutory provision the
commission’s authority to establish its own procedures and the authority of a commissioner to
hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to the commission approval. The bill would
specify that the recodification only becomes operative if ACA 9 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is
approved by the voters, becomes operative, and repeals the corresponding provision in the
California Constitution. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based
on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 02/19/2026 - Assembly Print
Public Safety and EMS
AB 762 (Irwin) Disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device: prohibition. (Amended
01/26/2026)
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Existing law regulates the manufacture, sale, and disposal of various single-use products,
including single-use foodware accessories and condiments and single-use carryout bags. Existing
law prohibits a store from, among other things, providing, distributing, or selling a carryout bag at
the point of sale, except as specified. Existing law defines terms for these purposes. This bill would
prohibit, beginning January 1, 2027, a person from importing or manufacturing for sale in this state
a new or refurbished disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device, and, beginning
January 1, 2028, a person from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a new or refurbished
disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device in this state. The bill would define a
“disposable, battery-embedded vapor inhalation device” to mean a vaporization device that
contains nicotine but not cannabis or a cannabis product, as defined, and that is not designed or
intended to be reused, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing
laws. (Based on 01/26/2026 text)
Location: 01/29/2026 - Senate Rules
AB 1667 (Boerner) Serious felonies: furnishing fentanyl to a minor. (Introduced 01/29/2026)
Existing law, as added by the Victims’ Bill of Rights, approved as Proposition 8 at the June 8, 1982,
statewide primary election, and as amended by the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention
Act of 1998, approved as Proposition 21 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, among
other things, defines a serious felony. Existing law prohibits plea bargaining in a case in which a
serious felony is charged and imposes a 5-year enhancement for conviction of a serious felony if
the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony. This bill would include furnishing
fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to a minor within the definition of a serious felony. By expanding the
scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill
contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 01/29/2026 text)
Calendar: 03/10/26 A-PUBLIC SAFETY 9 a.m. - State Capitol, Room 126 SCHULTZ, NICK, Chair
Location: 02/17/2026 - Assembly Public Safety
AB 1941 (González, Mark) Organized metal theft. (Introduced 02/13/2026)
Existing law makes a person who is a dealer in or collector of junk, metals, or secondhand
materials, or their agent, employee, or representative, who buys or receives any wire, cable,
copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron, or brass that the person knows or reasonably should know is
used by or belongs to specified entities, including a railroad, certain utility companies, or a public
entity engaged in furnishing public utility service, without using due diligence to ascertain that the
person selling or delivering that material has a legal right to do so, guilty of criminally receiving that
property and, in addition to imprisonment, makes that act punishable by a fine of not more than
$5,000. This bill would prohibit organized metal theft, described as acting in concert with one or
more persons to steal metal materials from one or more of specified materials and items, acting in
concert with 2 or more persons to receive, purchase, or possess those metal materials knowing or
believing it to have been stolen, acting as an agent of another to steal those metal materials as part
of an organized plan to commit theft, or recruiting, coordinating, organizing, supervising, directing,
managing, or financing another to undertake acts of theft of metal. The bill would make a violation
of organized metal theft punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony. The bill would make
related findings and declarations and state the intent of the Legislature. By creating new crimes,
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the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions
and other existing laws. (Based on 02/13/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Public Safety
AB 2097 (Boerner) Crimes: strangulation. (Introduced 02/18/2026)
Under existing law, a person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition
upon specified persons, including, among others, the offender’s spouse or former spouse, is guilty
of a crime, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or in a county jail for
not more than one year, or by a fine of up to $6,000. This bill would additionally make it a crime for a
person to knowingly impede the normal breathing or bloodflow of one of those persons by applying
pressure on the throat, neck, or chest of the person, or by obstructing the nose or mouth of the
person. The bill would make this crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4
years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to $6,000. By creating a new
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related
provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/18/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Public Safety
AB 2453 (Rodriguez, Michelle) Vehicles: recreational off-highway vehicles. (Introduced
02/20/2026)
Existing law regulates the operation of recreational off-highway vehicles on lands, other than a
highway, that are open and accessible to the public. Existing law, among other things, prohibits a
person from operating a recreational off-highway vehicle on lands with a passenger, unless the
passenger, while seated upright with their back against the seatback, can grasp the occupant
handhold with the seatbelt and shoulder belt or safety harness properly fastened. This bill would
exempt from these requirements peace officers or first responders operating a recreational off-
highway vehicle in the course of their duties. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
SB 758 (Umberg) Public health: nitrous oxide. (Amended 01/22/2026)
Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, requires a retailer, as
defined, to hold a license from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to engage
in the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. This
bill would expand those provisions to prohibit a retailer from selling nitrous oxide in any retail
location, subject to certain exceptions. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and
other existing laws. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/27/2026 - Assembly Desk
Transportation and Public Works
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AB 1421 (Wilson) Vehicles: Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee. (Amended
01/05/2026)
Existing law requires the Chair of the California Transportation Commission to create a Road Usage
Charge Technical Advisory Committee in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation to guide
the development and evaluation of a pilot program assessing the potential for mileage-based
revenue collection as an alternative to the gas tax system. Existing law additionally requires the
Transportation Agency, in consultation with the commission, to implement the pilot program, as
specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027. This bill would require the
commission, in consultation with the Transportation Agency, to consolidate and prepare research
and recommendations related to a road user charge or a mileage-based fee system. The bill would
require the commission to submit a report, as specified, on the research and recommendations
described above to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by no later than
January 1, 2027. The bill would require the commission to consult with appropriate state agencies
and other stakeholders, as specified, in preparing the research and recommendations and report
described above. (Based on 01/05/2026 text)
Location: 01/29/2026 - Senate Rules
AB 1557 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles. (Introduced 01/08/2026)
Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an
electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime.
This bill would clarify that an electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and
an electric motor that is not capable of exceeding 750 watts of peak power. (Based
on 01/08/2026 text)
Location: 02/02/2026 - Assembly Transportation
Position: Support
Notes1:
2/10/26: EN tagged as support. 2/13/26: EN sent draft support letter to the City for review. 2/24/26:
EN followed up on draft letter. 02/27/26: DA submitted letter to portal and delegation.
AB 1569 (Davies) Pupil safety: electric bicycle parking: safety program. (Introduced
01/12/2026)
Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district having jurisdiction over
elementary, intermediate, junior high, or high school to provide time and facilities to local law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the school of the district for bicycle, scooter, electric
bicycle, motorized bicycle, or motorized scooter safety instruction. Existing law prohibits a person
from driving or parking a vehicle or animal upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or grounds
of specific public entities, including a public school or an educational institution exempted, in
whole or in part, from taxation, except with the permission of, and subject to any condition or
regulation that may be imposed by, the governing body of the specified public entity. Existing law
authorizes a public agency to adopt rules or regulations to restrict, or specify the conditions for, the
use of bicycles, motorized bicycles, electric bicycles, skateboards, electrically motorized boards,
and roller skates on public property under the jurisdiction of that agency. This bill would require
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each school that allows pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to park a class 1,
2, or 3 electric bicycle, as defined, on campus during regular school hours to require pupils to
complete the electric bicycle safety and training program developed by the Department of the
California Highway Patrol, as provided, or a related safety course, as specified, as a condition for
parking on campus. The bill would also require a pupil to submit proof of completion of the above-
described course to their school before parking their class 1, 2, or 3 electric bicycle on the school
campus during school hours. The bill would exempt schools that adopted a policy related to
electric bicycle safety, on or before January 1, 2027, from the above-described
requirements. (Based on 01/12/2026 text)
Calendar: 03/18/26 A-EDUCATION 1:30 p.m. - State Capitol, Room 126 PATEL, DARSHANA,
Chair
Location: 02/09/2026 - Assembly Education
Position: Support
Notes1:
2/10/26: EN tagged as support. 2/13/26: EN sent draft support letter to the City for review. 2/24/26:
EN followed up on draft letter. 02/27/26: DA submitted letter to portal and delegation.
AB 1614 (Dixon) Vehicles: bicycles. (Introduced 01/21/2026)
Existing law, the California Bicycle Transportation Act, establishes 4 classifications of facilities,
referred to as bikeways, that provide primarily for, and promote, bicycle travel. Existing law requires
a person operating a bicycle, which includes an electric bicycle, upon a highway to ride the bicycle
upon or astride a permanent and regular seat unless the bicycle was designed by the manufacturer
to be ridden without a seat. Existing law requires a person riding as a passenger on a bicycle upon a
highway to be upon or astride a seat attached to the bicycle, as specified. A violation of these
provisions in punishable as an infraction. This bill would make those provisions applicable to the
operation of a bicycle upon a Class I bikeway. By expanding an existing infraction, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other
existing laws. (Based on 01/21/2026 text)
Location: 02/02/2026 - Assembly Transportation
Position: Support
Notes1:
2/10/26: EN tagged as support. 2/13/26: EN sent draft support letter to the City for review. 2/24/26:
EN followed up on draft letter. 02/27/26: DA submitted letter to portal and delegation.
AB 1740 (Zbur) Coastal resources: coastal development permits: urban multimodal
communities: bicycle facilities. (Introduced 02/05/2026)
The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires, among other things, anyone wishing to perform or
undertake any development in the coastal zone, except as specified, in addition to obtaining any
other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency,
to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission or a local
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government, as provided. The act provides that a coastal development permit is not required for
specified types of development in specified areas, as provided. This bill would authorize a city to
designate itself as an urban multimodal community if the city has (1) at least one high-quality
transit corridor or transit priority area in the city, (2) adopted plans that include targets to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and fatal and severe injury crashes, and (3) Class I, Class II, or Class IV
bicycle facilities, as defined. If a city meets the criteria to designate itself as an urban multimodal
community, the bill would require documentation be submitted to the Office of Land Use and
Climate Innovation for review and would require the documentation to be posted on the city’s
internet website. The bill would provide that a coastal development permit is not required for
certain activities and types of development within an urban multimodal community, as specified.
This bill would also provide that a coastal development permit is not required for the installation of
Class I, Class II, or Class IV bicycle facilities, as defined, within the right-of-way of a state highway
if the project does not eliminate existing public coastal accessways. (Based on 02/05/2026 text)
Location: 02/23/2026 - Assembly Natural Resources
AB 1909 (Davies) Department of Motor Vehicles. (Introduced 02/12/2026)
Existing law requires all civil process in actions brought against the Director of Motor Vehicles and
the Department of Motor Vehicles and all subpoenas for the production of department records to
be served upon the director or the director’s appointed representatives at the department’s
headquarters. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision. (Based
on 02/12/2026 text)
Location: 02/12/2026 - Assembly Print
Position: Sponsor
Notes1:
2/13/26: Bill introduced as spot; EN tagged as sponsor.
AB 1942 (Bauer-Kahan) Electric bicycles: registration and special license plates. (Introduced
02/13/2026)
Existing law prohibits a person from driving, moving, or leaving standing upon a highway, or in an
offstreet public parking facility, any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole or pipe dolly, or logging
dolly, unless it is registered and the appropriate fees have been paid, except as specified. Existing
law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon registering a vehicle, to issue to the owner
license plates that identify the vehicles for which they are issued for the period of their validity, as
specified. Existing law also requires a motorized bicycle to display a special license plate issued by
the department. Existing law authorizes a city or county to adopt a bicycle licensing ordinance or
resolution, authorizes the licensing agency, by ordinance or resolution, to adopt rules and
regulations for the collection of license fees, as specified, and sets the fee for each new bicycle
license and registration certificate at a sum of no more than $4 per year. Existing law defines an
electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than
750 watts, and classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions. This bill would
require class 2 electric bicycles and class 3 electric bicycles to be registered with the department
and to display a special license plate issued by the department. The bill would require the
department to adopt regulations to implement these requirements, and would make a person
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operating a class 2 or class 3 electric bicycle in violation of these requirements guilty of an
infraction punishable by specified fines. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-
mandated local program. The bill would create the Electric Bicycle Registration Fund in the State
Treasury, require all moneys received by the department pursuant to these provisions to be
deposited in the fund, and require all moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to the department for the administration of these provisions. The bill would also
appropriate an unspecified sum of moneys from the General Fund to the Electric Bicycle
Registration Fund as a loan for purposes of administering these provisions, as specified. This bill
contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/13/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Transportation
AB 2284 (Dixon) Vehicles: electric bicycles. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
Under existing law, the Department of the California Highway Patrol is responsible for enforcement
of all laws regulating the operation of vehicles and use of the highways, as specified. Existing law
requires the department to develop, on or before September 1, 2023, statewide safety and training
programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles, as defined, including,
but not limited to, general electric bicycle riding safety, emergency maneuver skills, rules of the
road, and laws pertaining to electric bicycles. This bill would require, on or before June 1, 2027, the
department, in partnership with biking nonprofit groups, to compile a list of electric bicycles and
electric bicycle products that do not comply with statutory and regulatory requirements for the
labeling or advertising of electric bicycles or electric bicycle products. The bill would require the
department to make the list available on its internet website and to update the list and internet
website, when necessary. (Based on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 02/19/2026 - Assembly Print
AB 2595 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
Existing law defines an electric bicycle and classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different
restrictions. Under existing law, a “class 1 electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with a motor that
provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and ceases to provide assistance when the
bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Under existing law, a “class 2 electric bicycle” is a
bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and is not
capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Under
existing law, a “class 3 electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with a speedometer and a motor that
provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and that ceases to provide assistance when
the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 miles per hour. Existing law prohibits a person under 16 years
of age from operating a class 3 electric bicycle. This bill, the San Mateo Electric Bicycle Safety Pilot
Program, would, until January 1, 2031, authorize a local authority within the County of San Mateo,
or the County of San Mateo in unincorporated areas, to adopt an ordinance or resolution that
would prohibit a person under 12 years of age from operating a class 1 or 2 electric bicycle. For the
first 60 days following the adoption of an ordinance or resolution for this purpose, the bill would
make a violation of the ordinance or resolution punishable by a warning notice. After 60 days, the
bill would make a violation of the ordinance or resolution punishable by a fine of $25, except as
specified. This bill would make a parent or legal guardian with control or custody of an
unemancipated minor who violates the ordinance or resolution jointly and severally liable with the
minor for the amount of the fine imposed. The bill would, if an ordinance or resolution is adopted,
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require the county to, by January 1, 2030, submit a report to the Legislature that includes, among
other things, the total number of traffic stops initiated for a violation of the ordinance or resolution,
the results of those traffic stops, and the actions taken by a peace officer during a traffic stop, as
specified. The bill would require a local authority or county to administer a public information
campaign for at least 30 calendar days prior to the enactment of the ordinance or resolution, as
specified. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
SB 555 (Caballero) Workers’ compensation: average annual earnings. (Amended 01/22/2026)
Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative
Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries
sustained in the course of employment. Existing law provides for temporary disability, permanent
total disability, or permanent partial disability benefits, among other benefits, for an injured
employee and requires the computation of an injured employee’s average annual earnings and
average weekly earnings for purposes of determining those disability benefits. Existing law
requires, for computing average annual earnings for purposes of permanent partial disability
indemnity, that average weekly earnings be taken at various amounts, including between $240 and
$435 for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2014, except as specified. This bill would require,
for computing average annual earnings for purposes of permanent partial disability indemnity, that
average weekly earnings be taken at between $____ and $____ for injuries occurring on or after
January 1, 2027. (Based on 01/22/2026 text)
Location: 01/27/2026 - Assembly Desk
SB 909 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Public works. (Introduced 01/26/2026)
Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem
wages be paid to workers employed on public works and imposes misdemeanor penalties for a
willful violation of this requirement. Existing law defines “public works” for the purposes of
regulating public contracts as, among other things, construction, alteration, demolition,
installation, or repair work done under contract and paid for, in whole or in part, out of public funds.
Existing law generally requires a contractor or subcontractor to be registered with the Department
of Industrial Relations to be qualified to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, or engage in the
performance of any public work contract. Existing law requires a contractor or subcontractor to
meet specific conditions to qualify for this registration, including that a contractor or subcontractor
pay an initial application fee and an annual renewal fee set by the Director of Industrial Relations.
Existing law authorizes the department to establish and adjust annual registration and renewal fees
up to $800 by publishing the fees on the department’s internet website. This bill would exempt the
establishment and adjustment of those fees from the Administrative Procedure Act and would
remove the $800 fee limit. The bill would instead require the director to annually adjust registration
and renewal fees, as specified, and would no longer require the director to publish the fees on the
department’s internet website. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing
laws. (Based on 01/26/2026 text)
Location: 02/11/2026 - Senate Labor, Public Employment And Retirement
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SB 922 (Laird) Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways. (Introduced
01/28/2026)
Existing law prohibits a local agency from imposing a tax, permit fee, or other charge for the
privilege of using its streets or highways, other than a permit fee for an extralegal load unless the
local agency had imposed the fee prior to June 1, 1989. This bill would expressly limit this
prohibition to charges based on weight. The bill would also explicitly state that a fee, charge, or
surcharge imposed by or for a local agency to recover the cost of street maintenance and repair
and other costs associated with the use of its streets, roads, or highways to provide public services
or public works is not a tax, permit fee, or other charge that is prohibited by the provision above.
The bill would provide that nothing in the Vehicle Code prohibits a local agency from imposing or
collecting this fee, charge, or surcharge. The bill would delete obsolete references and make other
technical changes. (Based on 01/28/2026 text)
Calendar: 03/18/26 S-LOCAL GOVERNMENT 9:30 a.m. - 1021 O Street, Room 2200 DURAZO,
MARÍA ELENA, Chair
Location: 02/11/2026 - Senate Local Government
Notes1:
Cal Cities sponsored bill.
SB 956 (Choi) Vehicles: electric bicycles. (Introduced 02/02/2026)
Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an
electric motor of less than 750 watts, and classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different
restrictions, as specified. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to draft legislation
relating to electric bicycles. (Based on 02/02/2026 text)
Location: 02/02/2026 - Senate Rules
SB 1136 (Blakespear) Intercity rail and commuter rail: special events service plans.
(Introduced 02/17/2026)
Existing law requires revenues attributable to a certain portion of the sales tax on diesel fuel to be
continuously appropriated to the Transportation Agency under a program commonly known as the
State Rail Assistance Program for allocation to public agencies responsible for state-supported
intercity rail services, and public agencies responsible for commuter rail services, to be used for
operations and capital improvements. This bill would require, as a condition of receiving funding
under the program, a public agency responsible for commuter rail services that has a transfer
connection station between 2 or more commuter rail services to adopt a special events service
plan for each event that meets specified requirements. The bill would require the special events
service plan to include schedules to access the event without requiring a transfer, ticket
interoperability, and all other technical, equipment, and infrastructure requirements. This bill
contains other related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/17/2026 text)
Location: 02/26/2026 - Senate Transportation
SB 1167 (Blakespear) Vehicles: electric bicycles. (Introduced 02/18/2026)
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Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an
electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. Existing law classifies electric bicycles into
3 classes with different restrictions for various purposes, and requires, among other things, a class
3 electric bicycle to be equipped with a speedometer. Existing law prohibits certain vehicles that do
not meet the definition of an electric bicycle from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or labeled
as an electric bicycle, as specified. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would amend
the type of vehicles that are prohibited from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or labeled as
electric bicycles, including, among others, motor-driven cycles and mopeds. The bill would
additionally make a violation of this provision a misleading statement for purposes of false
advertising provisions of the Business and Professions Code. By creating new crimes related to the
advertisement, sale, offer, and labeling of electric bicycles, and by expanding the application of an
existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other
related provisions and other existing laws. (Based on 02/18/2026 text)
Location: 02/26/2026 - Senate Transportation
SB 1324 (Blakespear) Passenger and freight rail: LOSSAN Rail Corridor. (Introduced
02/20/2026)
Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation in the Transportation Agency. Existing
law authorizes the department subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into
an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for
administering state-funded intercity rail service in certain rail corridors, including the LOSSAN Rail
Corridor. Existing law defines the LOSSAN Rail Corridor as the intercity passenger rail corridor
between San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo. Pursuant to this authority, the department
entered into an interagency transfer agreement with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency to
administer intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. This bill would state the
intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation related to the management and
performance of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Senate Rules
Water and Wastewater
AB 2180 (Ward) Local government: Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act: proportional
cost of service. (Introduced 02/19/2026)
The California Constitution specifies various requirements with respect to the levying of
assessments and property-related fees and charges by a local agency. As part of those
requirements, the California Constitution mandates that such fees or charges that are extended,
imposed, or increased satisfy certain requirements, including, but not limited to, that the amount
of the fee or charge imposed upon any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership not
exceed the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel. Existing law, known as the
Proposition 218 Omnibus Implementation Act (act), prescribes specific procedures and
parameters for local jurisdictions to comply with these requirements and, among other things,
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authorizes an agency providing water, wastewater, sewer, or refuse collection services to adopt a
schedule of fees or charges authorizing automatic adjustments that pass through increases in
wholesale charges for water, sewage treatment, or wastewater treatment or adjustments for
inflation under certain circumstances. This bill would authorize a local government to demonstrate
the proportional cost of the service attributable to the parcel by any method that reasonably
allocates the ascertainable cost of providing service to all parcels, if substantiated as provided.
The bill would, however, provide that for water or sewer service fee or charge impositions, a local
government is not required to provide an exact measure of the cost of the service at each parcel
and may instead impose uniform or tiered fees or charges to parcel or customer classes that are
defined based on common characteristics indicative of likely water or sewer use. The bill would
provide that the proportional cost of service within each tier of water service may be substantiated
by using any reasonable basis for allocating costs attributed to the tier, as described. (Based
on 02/19/2026 text)
Location: 03/02/2026 - Assembly Local Government
SB 1313 (McNerney) Public water systems: grants and loans: perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and
imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various duties and responsibilities for the
regulation and control of drinking water in the state. This bill would authorize the state board to
fund projects, upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature, through grants or loans to public
water systems to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water or source
water. The bill would prescribe sources from which those funds may originate and permissible
activities for those projects. The bill would authorize the state board to implement the bill through a
policy handbook or workplan exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative
Procedure Act. This bill contains other existing laws. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 03/04/2026 - Senate Environmental Quality
Wildfire
AB 2517 (Calderon) Fire safety: fire hazard severity zones. (Introduced 02/20/2026)
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state that are not state
responsibility areas, commonly known as local responsibility areas, as moderate, high, and very
high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of
fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to
periodically review and make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones
within local responsibility areas. Under existing law, this review is required to coincide with review
of state responsibility area lands every 5 years and, when possible, fall within the timeframes for
each county’s general plan update. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance,
moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of
receiving the recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes a local agency
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to, at its discretion, include areas within its jurisdiction not identified as very high fire hazard
severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as very high fire hazard severity zones and areas not
identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as moderate
and high fire hazard severity zones. Under existing law, a local agency is required to transmit a copy
of an adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of
adoption. Existing law provides that changes made by a local agency to the recommendations
made by the State Fire Marshal are final. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, no fewer
than 180 days before finalizing the designation of local responsibility areas as moderate, high, and
very high fire hazard severity zones, post specified information on its public internet website,
conduct regional public workshops to receive oral public comments and consider those
comments, host a 30-day public comment period to receive written comments from interested
stakeholders and respond to all written comments by local agencies within 30 days of the end of
the public comment period, and coordinate with other state agencies to help educate the public
during the public workshops, as specified. The bill would also require, on or before January 1, 2030,
and every 5 years thereafter, the State Fire Marshal to review the local responsibility area lands
designated as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones and to recommend changes.
The bill would no longer require this review to, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each
county’s general plan update. (Based on 02/20/2026 text)
Location: 02/20/2026 - Assembly Print
March 10, 2026 Item #4 Page 43 of 43
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY GROUP •PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM
City of Carlsbad
Legislative Subcommittee Meeting
March 10, 2026
Sharon Gonsalves, Managing Director, California Public Policy Group
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY GROUP • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY GROUP • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM
2026 Legislative Calendar
•January 1: All legislation signed into law in 2025, unless otherwise stated, goes into effect
•January 5: The Legislature reconvenes for the 2026 legislative session
•January 10: The Governor releases fiscal year 2026-27 budget proposal
•January 31: Last day for two-year bills to advance out of their house of origin
•February 20: Last day for the Legislature to introduce bills
•March 25: Spring Recess begins upon adjournment
•April 6: Legislature reconvenes from Spring Recess
•Mid -May: Governor releases the May revision of the state budget
•May 29: Last day for the Legislature to pass bills out of their house of origin
•June 15: Legislature must pass the primary budget bill
•June 30: Governor must sign the primary budget bill
•July 2: Summer Recess begins upon adjournment
•August 3: Legislature reconvenes from Summer Recess
•August 31: Last day for the Legislature to pass bills; end of the 2026 session
•September 30: Last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY GROUP • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM
City Sponsored Bill
AB 2179 (Patel) Workplace violence: restraining orders.
This bill would, beginning on July 1, 2027, allow any party or witness to a petition for a restraining order to
appear remotely at a hearing and would prohibit any fee for appearing remotely.
Status - Introduced
AB 1909 (Davies) Department of Motor Vehicles.
This bill would allow first responders to operate off-highway vehicles in an operational capacity when
performing job duties .
Status - Introduced
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Positioned Bills (Environment and Climate)
AB 35 (Alvarez) Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and
Clean Air Bond Act of 2024: Administrative Procedure Act: exemption: program
guidelines and selection criteria.
This bill would exempt the adoption of regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act
from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Ac t . The bill would require a state entity that receives
funding to administer a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Ac t
exemption to develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines and to submit those guidelines to
the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency. This bill would authorize the use of certain previously
developed program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes.
Position : Support
Status : Senate Rules
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Positioned Bills: E-Bikes
AB 1569 (Davies) Pupil safety: electric bicycle parking: safety program.
This bill would require each school that allows pupils to park a class 1, 2, or 3 electric bicycle on campus
during regular school hours to require pupils to complete the electric bicycle safety and training program as a
condition for parking on campus.
Status : Assembly Education Committee
AB 1557 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
This bill would clarify that an electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric
motor that cannot exceed 750 watts of peak power.
AB 1614 (Dixon) Vehicles: bicycles.
Anyone riding a bicycle, including electric bicycles, on a highway must use a permanent seat unless the bike
was designed otherwise. This bill makes it applicable to the operation of a bicycle upon a Class I bikeway.
Status: Assembly Transportation
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Positioned Bills (Housing)
SB 677 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development.
This bill would change the definitions of “high -frequency commuter rail” and “commuter rail” for purposes of
implementing Senate Bill 79.
Position : Oppose
Status: Assembly Desk
SB 722 (Wahab) Housing development: transit-oriented development.
This bill exempts parcels governed by Mobilehome and Recreation Vehicle Park Occupancy Laws .
Position : Support
Status: Assembly Desk
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Positioned Bills (Public Safety)
AB 1667 (Boerner) Serious felonies: furnishing fentanyl to a minor.
Currently, there is a 5-year sentencing enhancement for repeat offenses involving serious felonies. This bill
would classify supplying fentanyl and its analogs to a minor as a serious felony, expanding the circumstances
under which sentencing enhancements can be applied.
.
Position : Support
Status : Assembly Public Safety
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Legislative Update: E-Bikes
AB 2284 (Dixon) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
This bill would require CHP to compile a list of electric bicycles and electric bicycle products that do not
comply with statutory and regulatory requirements for the labeling or advertising of electric bicycles or electric
bicycle products and to make the list available on its internet website and to update the list and internet
website.
Status : Introduced 2/19
AB 1942 (Bauer-Kahan) Electric bicycles: registration and special license plates.
This bill would require class 2 electric bicycles and class 3 electric bicycles to be registered with the
department and to display a special license plate issued by the department, and would make a person
operating a class 2 or class 3 electric bicycle in violation of these requirements guilty of an infraction.
Status : Introduced 2/13
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Legislative Update: E-Bikes
AB 2346 (Wilson) Vehicles: electric bicycles and speed limits.
This bill would require all class 1 and 2 electric bicycles manufactured, sold, or offered for sale on or after
January 1, 2029, to be equipped with a speedometer.
Status : Introduced
AB 2595 (Papan) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
This bill would authorize a local authority within the County of San Mateo, to adopt an ordinance that would
prohibit a person under 12 years of age from operating a class 1 or 2 electric bicycle.
Status : Introduced
SB 1167 (Blakespear) Vehicles: electric bicycles.
This bill would amend the type of vehicles that are prohibited from being advertised, sold, offered for sale, or
labeled as electric bicycles, including motor-driven cycles and mopeds.
Status: Senate Transportation Committee
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Legislative Update: Health and Human Services
SB 490 (Laird) Alcohol and drug programs.
This bill would require investigations into alcohol and drug treatment facility licensing violations to begin
within 10 days of receiving an allegation, and generally be completed within 60 days . If a complaint is outside
the department's jurisdiction, the complainant must be informed. Additionally, follow-up site visits are
mandated to ensure compliance. The bill allows counties with the Drug Medi-Cal organized delivery system to
request approval for site visits of alleged unlicensed recovery residences, under certain conditions.
Status: Assembly Desk
SB 329 (Blakespear) Alcohol and Drug Recovery Programs: Investigations
This bill requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), within 10 days of receiving a complaint
about a residential alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility (RTF), assign the complaint to an
analyst, and complete an investigation within 60 days of assigning the complaint.
Status: Assembly Appropriations
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Legislative Update: Homelessness
SB 569 (Blakespear) Department of Transportation: homeless encampments.
This bill would require the Department to appoint a liaison to improve communication with local governments
and state agencies to address homeless encampments on highway property. This liaison would help create
and oversee maintenance agreements with local agencies for reducing and removing these encampments.
The bill would allow the Department to issue a single general entry permit for activities related to these
agreements. Additionally, the Department must submit an annual report to the Legislature with information
and recommendations on managing homeless encampments
Status: Assembly Transportation
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Legislative Update: Homelessness
AB 1708 (Solache) Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program: round 7.
The Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program provides grants to help address
homelessness at local levels. It distributes funds to continuums of care, cities, counties, and tribes over
several funding rounds. Rounds 1 to 5 are managed by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, while round
6 is managed by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Round 7, beginning July 1, 2026,
includes a $500 million appropriation, released only after a confirmation that round 6 funds are nearly fully
disbursed. For round 7, this bill mandates that funding be allocated to smaller jurisdictions (cities with
populations under 300,000) that meet specific criteria, including adopting a housing resolution, maintaining a
compliant housing element, and establishing a local encampment policy. Continuums of care must follow set
procedures when accepting applications from these smaller jurisdictions.
Status: Assembly Housing & Community Development
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Legislative Update: Public Safety
SB 758 (Umberg) Public health: nitrous oxide.
The Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 mandates that retailers must obtain a license from
the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to sell cigarettes or tobacco products, with violations
classified as misdemeanors. This bill would extend these provisions by prohibiting the sale of nitrous oxide at
retail locations, under certain conditions. The bill creates a state-mandated local program, necessitating local
administrations to fulfill these new obligations. Although the California Constitution mandates state
reimbursement to local agencies for specific state-mandated costs, this bill specifies that no reimbursement
is required in this instance.
Status: Assembly Desk
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Legislative Update: Transportation
SB 922 (Laird) Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways.
This bill modifies that law by limiting the prohibition to charges based on vehicle weight only. It clarifies that
local agencies can to cover street maintenance, repair, and other related public service or works costs without
being restricted by the existing law.
Status: Senate Local Government
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Legislative Update: Governmental Operations
AB 2033 (Papan) Local Agency Public Construction Act: job order contracting.
This bill would let city councils award yearly job order contracts, each capped at $500,000, for repair,
remodeling, or repetitive work based on unit prices. These contracts cannot be used for new construction
projects. They must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder and be based on standard plans and
specifications.
Status: Assembly Local Government
SB 1005 (Caballero) Local agency: payment: rounding amount.
This bill would allow local agencies to round cash payments, refunds, or amounts up to the nearest $0.05.
However, this policy would only apply if the local agency's governing body approves it with a majority vote
through a resolution. The bill also includes definitions for the necessary terms.
Status: Senate Local Government
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Legislative Update: Governmental Operations
SB 1187 (Durazo) Open meetings: majority.
The proposed bill clarifies that "majority" refers to more than half the total seats of the legislative body,
including vacant seats. Additionally, it aligns with constitutional provisions that require statutes limiting public
access to meetings or documents to be justified by a demonstrated need. The bill asserts its compliance with
these constitutional requirements to ensure transparency in public meetings and records.
Status: Senate Local Government
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Legislative Update: Wildfire
AB 2517 (Calderon) Fire safety: fire hazard severity zones.
This bill proposes that before finalizing these classifications, the State Fire Marshal must post relevant
information online, hold regional public workshops, and conduct a 30-day period for written public comments,
which must be responded to within 30 days. Additionally, the Fire Marshal is required to review these zones
every five years, independently of the county plan schedules, and to publish relevant local ordinances online
within 60 days. The bill also permits local agencies to apply a higher fire hazard severity across an entire parcel
if it contains multiple zone designations.
Status: Assembly Print
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Legislative Update: Emergency Response and
Disaster Preparedness
AB 1866 (Rogers)California Disaster Assistance Act: minimum damages thresholds.
The California Disaster Assistance Act mandates the Director of Emergency Services to offer financial help to
local agencies for expenses related to personnel, equipment, and supplies during a state of emergency
declared by the Governor, based on certain criteria. This bill requires the Director to prioritize financial aid
for local agencies that do not qualify for federal funding because they cannot meet the minimum
damage requirements under federal law.
Status: Assembly Emergency Management
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Legislative Update: Emergency Response and
Disaster Preparedness
AB 2373 (Dixon) The California Coastal Act.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 mandates local governments within the coastal zone to develop a local
coastal program, which must be certified by the California Coastal Commission. This bill would allow coastal
cities and counties to use the neighborhood-scale adaptation approach when updating Local Coastal
Programs (LCPs)
Status: Assembly Print
CALIFORNIA PUBLIC POLICY GROUP • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM
Legislative Update: Housing and Land Use
AB 2433 (Alvarez) Housing development: affordable homes bonus.
This bill would require a city or county to grant an affordable homes bonus, other incentives or concessions,
and waivers or reductions of development standards, to an applicant for a housing development when the
applicant submits an application for a housing development that a city, county, or city and county determines
meets specified criteria, including, among others, the housing development includes specified percentage of
units for very low income, lower income, or senior citizen housing.
Status: Introduced
SB 908 (Wiener) Housing development: transit-oriented development.
The bill intends to introduce further legislation to clarify these rules and extend them to include specific ferry
terminals in the San Francisco Bay area.
Status: Senate Rules
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Questions/Discussion
Thank You!
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