Landmark Housing Legislation Passes California Assembly With Bipartisan Support

SACRAMENTO – Landmark housing legislation that will speed up construction of new homes and change the course of the housing affordability crisis passed the California State Assembly today.

AB 130 incorporates the policy of AB 609 (Assemblymember Buffy Wicks D-Oakland) and AB 306 (Assemblymember Nick Schultz, D-Burbank) into a budget trailer bill, and will lead to more infill housing and home construction in our cities. 

Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to quickly sign the bill into law.

The adoption of AB 130 will represent a major step to make it easier and less expensive for Californians to build — and ultimately achieve — more affordable housing. And, this landmark solution will come at no fiscal cost to the state. 

This crucial legislation enjoys broad support from a variety of community groups, including workers and environmental-justice organizations, and will be essential to ensuring that hard-working California families can live near their jobs, schools and the communities they call home.

What California Leaders Say About This Landmark Housing Affordability Solution

“Workers, business owners and all Californians deserve the opportunity to live near their jobs, in the communities they help build. I’m committed to making that a reality,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas). “This budget delivers smart, sustainable and transformative housing solutions that cut red tape and streamline approvals — because building more homes, faster, is essential to making California more affordable and expanding opportunity for all.”

“This is what we’ve all been waiting for — a long-overdue step to stop CEQA from being weaponized against housing,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). “With AB 130, we’re taking a major step toward building desperately-needed homes faster, fairer, and with more certainty. This is what our working class families deserve and how we move California’s housing goals from promise to reality.”

Community Groups and Advocates Support Building More Housing Now

“The housing affordability and homeless crisis is ripping California apart. More and more Californians are finding themselves one paycheck from living in the streets. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of housing construction workers are paid poverty wages and subject to wage theft described as ‘rampant’ by the CA Department of Industrial Relations,” said Pete Rodriguez, 2nd General Vice-President, United Brotherhood of Carpenters. ”Giving workers more ability to enforce the laws they work under and providing funding for housing where it’s most needed is the right thing to do. Kicking down the bureaucratic barriers to build a foundation for more housing is way past due. We’re proud of our Governor and legislative leaders who have made attacking the housing crisis their number one priority with Assembly Bill 130.”

“As environmentalists, we cherish protections like CEQA to defend our land, air, and water, which we fought hard to attain,” said Jordan Grimes, State and Regional Resilience Manager, Greenbelt Alliance. “At the same time, we know the status quo is not working. We’re failing in our long-term protection of healthy ecosystems and wildlands. Modernizing our environmental laws to reflect the challenges we face today is essential. By narrowly exempting infill housing from the current CEQA process, we can focus on addressing true environmental threats while guiding growth to the right places, increasing housing affordability, protecting our environment, and reducing GHG emissions. These reforms mark a critical step toward a more affordable and climate-resilient California.” 

“Counties strongly support the CEQA overhaul in the state budget package,” said Jeff Griffiths, Inyo County Supervisor and CSAC President. ”No longer will CEQA be leveraged to stall critical county wildfire, water and housing projects. This legislation will make California more affordable for families by helping to alleviate our housing crisis and, in turn, reducing homelessness.”

"This is one of the biggest wins for housing in a generation,” said Brian Hanlon, CEO of California YIMBY. “AB 130 makes it crystal clear: building infill housing is not a threat to the environment — it’s how we save it. Thanks to Assemblymember Wicks and Governor Newsom, California is finally aligning our environmental laws with our climate and housing goals."

“AB 609 (Wicks) strikes the right balance between urgently needed housing and environmental protection," said Dora Rose, Deputy Director of the League of Women Voters of California. "By targeting CEQA exemptions to zoning-compliant projects in urbanized areas and requiring safeguards like Phase I environmental assessments, this bill streamlines housing production where it’s most appropriate - without sacrificing health or community input. It’s smart policy that avoids unnecessary litigation while keeping California on a path toward equitable, sustainable growth.”

“AARP thanks Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas, Senator McGuire, and Assemblymember Wicks for their leadership to address California’s housing crisis with innovative solutions like AB 609,” stated Michael Murray, AARP California State Director. “AB 609 will streamline the permitting process for housing in already-developed urban infill areas, boosting the state's housing stock and ensuring older adults have more opportunities to access safe, affordable housing. This is vital as older Californians face increasing housing insecurity and homelessness.”

“The Bay Area Council congratulates and thanks the Governor and Legislative leaders for making extremely consequential progress on one of California’s biggest barriers to building housing in California by passing this historic legislation,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “We especially want to thank Assemblymember Wicks for their tireless efforts to make California more affordable and economically dynamic. The homes these bills will streamline will help families live closer to where they go to school and work, reduce California’s cost of living, and brighten the future of the whole of California’s economy.”

“We’re thrilled that our leaders have come together for the most significant and positive CEQA reform in decades,” said Corey Smith, Executive Director, Housing Action Coalition. “By updating CEQA, we’ll both protect the environment and build more housing across the state. Streamlining housing and other essential infrastructure means a better and more affordable California for everyone.”   

Taking Urgent Action to Improve Housing Affordability

California’s housing crisis is real. The state is experiencing a 2.5 million unit shortfall — and it first must be addressed by jump-starting construction of new homes that work for all residents.

At the beginning of the 2025-26 Legislative Session, Speaker Robert Rivas urged his colleagues to consider every bill through the lens of Californians’ concerns about affordability, and specifically to focus on building more housing.

“The country looks to California for leadership, and we will continue to lead,” Speaker Rivas said to a packed Assembly chamber in December. “But our ability to protect these essential California values of equality, diversity, and opportunity depends on delivering for constituents in practical concrete ways. Practical solutions like building more housing for lower- and middle-class families. Affordable decent housing isn’t just a policy challenge – it’s the civil rights struggle of our time. Every worker has the right to live near their jobs in the communities they help build, serve, and enrich. And we have a responsibility to make that a reality.”

A longtime housing affordability advocate, Speaker Rivas has prioritized housing solutions since he joined the Assembly in 2018.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks introduced AB 609 earlier this year, and it passed the Assembly Floor on a bipartisan 67-0 vote in May, a few days after Governor Newsom voiced his strong support for the legislation and proposed including it in the state budget.

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