Early action by city officials stalls two housing bills for 2025

Lawmakers could revive both bills next year

By Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

Two housing bills, AB 647 (González, Mark) and SB 677 (Wiener), failed to receive enough votes to move out of their respective policy committees thanks to early action by Cal Cities and city officials. As a result, the two measures are done for this year - but could return next year in the second half of California's two-year session.

Cal Cities led the charge in opposing both measures, which would have significantly impacted local land use authority and ignored state-mandated housing elements certified by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

AB 647 would have required cities to approve up to eight housing units in nearly all single-family zones, so long as only one unit was affordable. The proposal disregarded state-mandated housing elements and would have forced cities to approve projects without environmental review or public engagement. With 35 cities formally opposing the bill, Asm. Mark González held the measure, knowing he likely did not have enough votes.

SB 677 would have nearly doubled the size of the units that could qualify for a fast-tracked lot split on an existing single-family zone under SB 9 (Atkins, 2021). It would have also blocked cities from collecting impact fees on SB 9 projects less than 1,750 square feet. After a marathon hearing and several hours of waiting, the bill had a final vote of 4-3, with Senate Housing Chair Aisha Wahab voting no and three abstentions on the committee.

The next major deadline for bills to continue moving this year is May 23, when the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees will hear hundreds of bills with potential fiscal impacts on state and local governments. Known as suspense file day, this dreaded deadline is when hundreds of bills die with little explanation in committee and thus miss the next legislative milestone.

Although AB 647 and SB 677 are dead for the year, a lot of work remains: The Legislature is considering many other housing bills this session. Please continue to contact your state representatives or regional public affairs manager on any bills of interest to your jurisdiction.