CaliforniaSB 3402025-2026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

General plans: housing element.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

12 provisions identified: 11 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Affordable projects protected if rezoning late

If a city misses its rezoning deadline, it generally cannot deny or stall a qualifying housing project on a site that was supposed to be rezoned. The project must meet objective plan and zoning rules and set aside at least 49% of homes for very low‑, low‑, or moderate‑income households. A city can only deny it for a specific, significant, and unavoidable health or safety harm, proven with written findings. An applicant or any interested person can sue; courts must order compliance within 60 days and keep oversight.

Cities must allow shelters by right

Cities must zone at least one area where emergency shelters are allowed without special permits and plan enough sites to meet need. Sites can be vacant residential land, certain nonresidential land near services or transit (or with free transport or onsite services), or suitable redevelopable sites. Cities may count public land if they show it will be available and suitable during the planning period. Capacity is shown by using at least 200 square feet per person. Cities can share duty with up to two neighbors by building at least one year‑round shelter within two years and dividing the beds, or rely on existing capacity to use a conditional‑use path for new sites.

Cities must study and cut housing barriers

Housing plans must list and address government barriers like zoning rules, fees, permits, and historic rules, and show steps to remove them. Plans must also study private barriers such as financing, land costs, construction costs, and approval‑to‑permit delays, and explain fixes. From the seventh update on, cities must disclose new or expected constraints and anything slated on a public agenda in the first three years. Starting January 1, 2024, the state may add analysis of constraints affecting protected groups if funded.

Clear rules for emergency and transitional housing

Emergency shelter means housing with services for up to six months, and no one can be turned away for inability to pay. Transitional housing serves recently homeless people for up to 24 months and must include self‑sufficiency services; rents and fees follow an ability‑to‑pay formula consistent with HUD rules and may be saved to help residents move to permanent homes. The law also counts navigation centers, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care as emergency shelters for housing plans, including onsite services.

More shelter sites and clear bed counts

The law lets cities count more kinds of land for emergency shelters. Vacant residential land counts. Vacant nonresidential land counts if it is near services or if the city provides free transportation or onsite services. Cities can also count public land if they prove it will be available during the planning period, is suitable for homes, and is near services or backed by transport or services. Nonvacant sites usually do not count unless strong evidence shows the current use will end. For planning capacity, cities divide site square feet by at least 200 per person; this is only for planning, not building design. A different number may be used only with solid evidence from prior shelters.

Plan to save at‑risk affordable homes

Cities must list assisted housing that could lose low‑income use within 10 years, with names, addresses, aid type, and earliest change dates. Plans must estimate units at risk each year and the total cost to replace and to preserve them. Cities must also name capable nonprofits and list public and private funding sources, including any unobligated funds.

Simple, objective rules for shelters

Cities can only use written, objective rules for shelters, like bed limits, staff parking no higher than similar uses, intake areas, lighting, and security. Cities do not have to space shelters more than 300 feet apart. These shelter standards and approvals are not discretionary under CEQA, which reduces delays. If a city has shelter rules, its housing plan must analyze whether those rules block shelters.

Stronger housing plans and fair access

Housing plans must list enough sites for many housing types, including rentals, factory‑built homes, mobilehomes, and shelters. Cities must show how site choices advance fair housing and assess special‑needs groups using homeless counts and shelter data. Starting with the seventh update, plans must also study acutely and extremely low‑income needs. The state will issue a standard fair‑housing report form by December 31, 2026, and cities must use it for their seventh and later updates.

Supportive housing allowed in multifamily zones

Supportive housing is a use by right anywhere multifamily or mixed uses are allowed. Cities must allow it without discretionary approvals in those zones. This makes it faster to build homes with services for people who need ongoing support.

Faster rezoning timelines, limited extensions

The law sets clear deadlines to rezone land for homes. In the sixth cycle, cities must finish within three years of adopting the plan or 90 days after state comments. In the seventh and later cycles, rezoning is due within one year, with a longer three‑years‑and‑90‑days path only for early, compliant submittals and adoption. A city can get a one‑year extension only if it already rezoned at least 75% of lower‑income capacity and makes public, evidence‑based findings about listed obstacles.

Extra time for tribal consultation on projects

For housing project applications that were determined or deemed complete between March 4, 2020 and December 31, 2021, tribes get 30 extra days to reply and request consultation. This extra time only applies to applications complete in that date window.

Extra tribal consultation time, 2020–2021

For project applications deemed complete between March 4, 2020 and December 31, 2021, tribes had 30 extra days to request consultation. This was a temporary extension for that period only.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

John Laird
Democratic • Senate

Cosponsors

Catherine Blakespear
Democratic • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 200 • No: 4

Senate vote • 9/9/2025

Item 46 — Senate SFLOOR

Yes: 40 • No: 0

House vote • 9/8/2025

Item 110 — Assembly AFLOOR

Yes: 74 • No: 4

legislature vote • 8/20/2025

Vote in CX25

Yes: 15 • No: 0

legislature vote • 7/16/2025

Vote in CX15

Yes: 10 • No: 0

legislature vote • 7/2/2025

Vote in CX10

Yes: 11 • No: 0

Senate vote • 5/27/2025

Item 150 — Senate SFLOOR

Yes: 39 • No: 0

legislature vote • 4/1/2025

Vote in CS75