Which of the 800+ bills signed over the weekend will impact cities the most

By Cal Cities Staff

With one last message about fiscal responsibility, Gov. Gavin Newsom closed out the legislative session on Monday. For now. He cleared nearly 1,000 bills off his desk this weekend, vetoing about 18%. In most cases, he cited their impact on the state's already stretched coffers.

Although he signed several high-profile measures opposed by Cal Cities - including stringent new warehouse requirements - the Governor also signed a slew of measures that will make it easier for cities to comply with various state regulations.

As the legislative year came to an end, packed with major public safetyand revenuewins, it's clear that 2024 was another (mostly) good year for cities. Below are the most important measures that the Governor signed and didn't sign last week.

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Community Services

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two major recovery housing bills sponsored by Cal Cities- the result of nearly a decade of Cal Cities' advocacy. The two measures, AB 2081 (Davies)and AB 2574 (Valencia)will provide much-needed transparency and hold providers accountable for high-quality treatment and care.

AB 2081 will require licensed treatment facilities to share resources about their licensure status with potential patients. The legislation would enable patients to make informed decisions about their care and connect them with other available licensing and certification resources.

The other measure, AB 2574, will improve oversightof sober living homes operating as an integral part of a licensed treatment facility located elsewhere in the community. This much-needed transparency will help ensure that if a recovery residence is operated as a business with a licensed treatment facility, it is regulated like a business, not a residential home.

To the surprise of no one, the Governor signed his sponsored bill, AB 3093 (Ward). The measure will add new income categories to the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, which lawmakers say would help assess the needs of homeless residents.

Cal Cities had an oppose unless amended positionon AB 3093 since Asm. Chris Ward introduced the bill and worked closely with his office on several clarifying amendments. Cal Cities ultimately requested a veto, as the measure did not come with any ongoing funding and duplicated existing efforts.

- Caroline Grinder, legislative affairs lobbyist

Housing, Community, and Economic Development

Cal Cities advocated on nearly 30 housing bills this year. Twelve of those bills made their way to the Governor's desk, most of which he signed over the objections of Cal Cities.

AB 1886 (Alvarez)prohibits cities from self-certifying their housing elements even if there is a genuine disagreement between them and the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) about their housing element. As soon as HCD determines a housing element does not comply with state law - and once a city then passes the statutory deadline to get its housing element certified by the state - developers can use the builder's remedy to ignore local zoning codes if a project has enough affordable housing units.

A similar measure by Asm. Buffy Wicks, AB 1893, set guardrails on builder's remedy projects by limiting their density. Unfortunately, the measure prohibits cities from using objective standards if the objective standards render a builder's remedy project infeasible. The bill also has extremely vague language on what a city can or cannot do with such projects, even though its intent was to provide more clarity. This will likely result in more litigation instead of more housing.

SB 1037by Sen. Scott Wiener will also create significant consequences for cities that do not have a certified housing element or do not ministerially approve affordable housing projects. A court could fine a city $50,000 a month until HCD certifies that the housing element complies with state law. A court could also fine cities that do not automatically approve affordable housing projects if it finds a local government has violated state law.

These fines can occur if a court rules that a local agency's acts or omissions are "arbitrary, capricious, or entirely lacking in evidentiary support, contrary to established public policy, unlawful, or procedurally unfair" without definition, opening local governments up to a constant cycle of litigation and overly punitive fines.

There was, however, at least one piece of good news on the housing front for cities. Cal Cities successfully urged the Governor to veto AB 3068by Asm. Matt Haney. This measure would have forced cities to approve all office-to-residential conversions and exempted them from certain fees. This could have led to a proliferation of housing in areas never planned for residential development.

- Brady Guertin, legislative affairs lobbyist

Environmental Quality

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the jam-jobof this legislative session, AB 98 (Carrillo, Juan and Reyes), despite receiving nearly 700 letters on this problematic bill. Local leaders, business groups,and even environmental organizationsall opposed the measure when it was introduced for the first time in the final days of session.

AB 98 will place stringent requirements on new or expanded warehouse or logistic use centers and force local governments to update their circulation elements - some as soon as Jan. 1, 2026. The Attorney General can fine local governments $50,000 every six months if their circulation elements are not updated to address AB 98's requirements.

"Cities deserved a voice in this process," Cal Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman said in a statement. "Cal Cities will be advocating for a more transparent and inclusive process next session that addresses our concerns."

Cal Cities will release information to help cities comply with these new requirements and push for promised clean-up legislation in the next session.

The Governor signed two bills supported by Cal Cities that will create flexibility for the state's organic waste rule: AB 2346 (Lee)and AB 2902 (Wood). He also signed SB 1046 (Laird), a measure that requires CalRecycle to complete a programmatic environmental impact report so that local jurisdictions can more easily site and zone for small and medium composting facilities.

Another measure by Sen. John Laird, SB 1280, received the Governor's John Hancock as well. Starting Jan. 1, 2028, retailers can only sell 1-pound propane cylinders in California if they are reusable or refillable. This will lessen the impact of illegally dumped or improperly disposed camping fuel on cities and counties.

The Governor vetoed two Cal Cities-sponsored measures - a wildfire preparedness permit streamlining measure, AB 2330 (Holden), and an organic waste technical assistance bill, SB 972 (Min)- citing their ongoing costs to state agencies.

- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative affairs lobbyist

Public Safety

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed most of the critical public safety measures in Augustprior to the Legislature adjourning for the year, including a 10-bill retail theft package broadly supported by Cal Cities. In September, he signed the last bill in the package, AB 1960 (Rivas), a sentence enhancement bill that was delayed in August.

The Governor also signed two important cannabis bills supported by Cal Cities: AB 2643 (Wood)and SB 1064 (Laird). AB 2643 requires the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to conduct a study and create a framework for cannabis site restoration. SB 1064 simplifies the licensing structure for commercial cannabis by allowing regulators to authorize two or more commercial cannabis activities at the same premises under a single license and streamlining the submission of owner-related information.

The Governor vetoed AB 1168 (Bennett), a bill sponsored by Cal Cities that would have clarified a city or fire district's right to provide emergency ambulance services. He noted that while the measure was narrowly crafted, he was concerned it would set a precedent for other cities to pursue legislation. This was surprising due to the amendments that Cal Cities worked out with the California Emergency Management Systems Authority over the summer.

- Jolena Voorhis, legislative affairs lobbyist

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations

The Governor signed two bills that Cal Cities laboriously opposed.

AB 2561 (McKinnor)requires local agencies to hold public hearings on their vacancy rates. Agencies will need to identify any recruiting activities and retention efforts to fill vacancies. The author did remove burdensome requirements that called out public agencies with bargaining units that exceeded a certain percentage of vacancies over a specific period of time. The bill also no longer requires agencies to create and publish a vacancy report on their website.

In a coalition veto letter, Cal Cities and others made clear that private businesses have the advantage when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent thanks to stronger financial incentives and flexible work options. Moreover, although the state's own vacancy rate has consistently remained above 10%, AB 2561 excludes state agencies. Cal Cities will work to ensure that cities have sufficient guidance on the new requirements for reporting job vacancies.

SB 399 (Wahab)prohibits an employer from subjecting an employee to any adverse action if the employee declines to attend an employer-sponsored meeting or affirmatively declines to participate in communications with the employer, the purpose of which is to communicate the employer's opinion about religious or political matters. Cities are included in the bill's provisions despite existing laws already ensuring protection for their employees.

The uncertainty created because of the bill's vague and overly broad provisions will make compliance incredibly difficult and will certainly be litigated. The final version includes amendments that did not address cities' concerns.

However, Gov. Gavin Newsom did sign a very beneficial bill into law. SB 1243 (Dodd)raises the threshold for contributions regulated by the Levine Act from $250 to $500. The bill also provides additional time for a local official to cure unintentional violations. This extended timeframe will allow officials to identify and correct a wrongful contribution without being unfairly penalized.

- Betsy Montiel, legislative affairs analyst, and Johnnie Pina, legislative affairs lobbyist

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

Cal Cities scored a major public works win when the Governor vetoed AB 1890 (Patterson), which sought to require local agencies to notify the Department of Industrial Relations of any subcontractor change on a project and any change orders, as well as create new civil penalties for local agencies. Gov. Gavin Newsom's veto message mirrored Cal Cities' arguments against the measure, noting it duplicated current law and was therefore unnecessary.

The Governor's vetoes were not all welcome news. He vetoed two Cal Cities-supported bills, AB 637 (Jackson)and AB 3179 (Carrillo), that sought to provide much-needed flexibility to local municipalities struggling to meet the state's Advanced Clean Fleet regulations. Despite these setbacks, Cal Cities remains committed to backing future legislation aimed at providing cities with more flexibility and resources.

Despite Cal Cities' opposition, Newsom signed SB 1418 (Archuleta), which requires cities to adopt an expedited, streamlined permitting process for hydrogen-fueling stations. Cal Cities will work with the Governor's Office of Economic Development - better known as Go-Biz - to develop a Hydrogen Station Permitting Guidebook featuring best practices and model ordinances.

- Damon Conklin, legislative affairs lobbyist

Revenue and Taxation

Despite a strong showingthroughout the year, September was a mixed bag for the revenue and taxation portfolio. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed AB 2061 (Wilson)and AB 2564 (Boerner), two measures supported by Cal Cities.

AB 2061 would have created a partial sales and use tax exemption for zero-emission ferries for local governments. This would have reduced the front-end expense of purchasing these vehicles, resulting in cost savings for cities and helping them comply with California Air Resources Board regulations.

AB 2564 would have provided ongoing funding to the Property Tax Postponement Program, which helps seniors, people with certain disabilities, and other vulnerable residents stay in their homes if they cannot pay their property taxes - without a negative fiscal impact on cities. While it is disappointing that the Governor vetoed the bill, Cal Cities did secure additional one-time funding for the program in the 2024-25 State Budget.

However, the Governor signed AB 2854by Asm. Jacqui Irwin, which will increase transparency, oversight, and public review around sales tax sharing agreements. The intent of the bill aligns with the recommendations put forward by Cal Cities City Manager Sales Tax Working Group.

- Ben Triffo, legislative affairs lobbyist

What's next?

This is usually the part where Cal Cities reminds city officials to keep an eye out for briefings and guidebooks on the biggest new laws coming into effect next year - and you should. But this year is a bit different. The Assembly has convened a special session focused on high gas prices, with the Senate to follow suit in October.

Cal Cities opposes any legislation that would suspend revenues that local municipalities rely on to maintain local streets and roads. While such efforts have thus far failed to take off, Cal Cities is closely watching all relevant proposals.