CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

99

URGENCY STATUTE

Introduced by Assembly Member Zbur

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Connolly, Garcia, Hart, Pellerin, and Quirk-Silva)

January 22, 2026

An act to add Section 65852.10 to the Government Code, relating to land use, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

The Planning and Zoning Law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and of any land outside its boundaries that bears relation to its planning. Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a county or city to adopt ordinances that, among other things, regulate the use of buildings, structures, and land as between industry, business, residences, open space, and other purposes, as provided. For these purposes, existing law authorizes the legislative body to divide a county or city into zones, but requires that regulations adopted be uniform for each class or kind of building or use of land throughout each zone. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.

This bill, the Public Lands Protection Act, would, upon transfer to any private or nonfederal entity of a parcel of land located within the state that is owned by the United States government on or after January 1, 2025, and that has been designated in an adopted general plan or zoning ordinance as open space, public land, resource conservation, or an equivalent conservation-oriented designation, immediately subject that parcel to the zoning designation and associated state and local restrictions. The bill would also, upon transfer of a parcel of land located within the state that is owned by the United States government on or after January 1, 2025, and that has not been designated in an adopted general plan or zoning ordinance at the time of transfer to any private or nonfederal entity, automatically subject that parcel to the most restrictive conservation-oriented zoning designation currently applied in the jurisdiction, by operation of law. The bill would prohibit a parcel of land governed by these provisions from being rezoned, subdivided, or granted any development entitlement that is inconsistent with a conservation-oriented zoning designation, unless certain requirements are satisfied, including that a full environmental impact report is completed in accordance with CEQA. Notwithstanding these provisions, the bill would require electric infrastructure and clean energy facilities necessary to achieve California’s climate and decarbonization goals to be deemed permitted uses in a conservation-oriented zoning designation if certain conditions are met. The bill would also exempt certain other parcels from these provisions.

This 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 would make these provisions severable.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Public Lands Protection Act.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California is home to millions of acres of federally owned land that include critical habitat, public recreation areas, culturally significant landscapes, and open space vital to the state’s biodiversity, environmental resilience, and quality of life.

(b) Many such lands fall outside the jurisdiction of local zoning ordinances and environmental review processes due to their federal status.

(c) In 2025, federal lawmakers introduced sweeping land divestiture proposals as part of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), which would have authorized the sale or disposal of up to 258,000,000 acres of federal public land, including at least 3,000,000 acres within five years, with limited restrictions on postsale use.

(d) These lands include United States Bureau of Land Management tracts, wilderness study areas, United States Forest Service inholdings, and other undeveloped properties in California that are currently unzoned and vulnerable to incompatible development.

(e) Due to the explicit interest shown by the federal government in selling off public lands to private entities, it is therefore necessary for California to adopt proactive zoning protections that automatically apply to any such lands upon transfer to nonfederal ownership.

(f) Without protections, the federal government could sell undeveloped lands that include valuable scenic and cultural public resources to industries, including oil drilling, logging, and manufacturing with intense pollutants.

(g) The Legislature finds it is necessary to enact provisions that will protect California public lands. Without protections, public land under the authority of the federal government can be sold and have harmful impacts on areas with ecological, cultural, scenic, or recreational value.

SEC. 3.

Section 65852.10 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65852.10.

(a) Any parcel of land located within the state that is owned by the United States government on or after January 1, 2025, and that has been designated in an adopted general plan or zoning ordinance as open space, public land, resource conservation, or an equivalent conservation-oriented designation shall, upon transfer to any private or nonfederal entity, immediately be subject to the zoning designation and associated state and local restrictions, including, but not limited to, limitations on development, subdivision, grading, building permits, and incompatible uses.

(b) Any parcel of land located within the state that is owned by the United States government on or after January 1, 2025, and that has not been designated in an adopted general plan or zoning ordinance at the time of transfer to any private or nonfederal entity shall, upon transfer of the parcel, automatically be subject to the most restrictive conservation-oriented zoning designation currently applied within the jurisdiction, by operation of law, unless rezoned, subdivided, or granted a development entitlement pursuant to subdivision (c).

(c) A parcel governed by this section shall not be rezoned, subdivided, or granted any development entitlement that is inconsistent with a conservation-oriented zoning designation under subdivision (a) or (b), as applicable, unless all of the following apply:

(1) A full environmental impact report is completed in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code).

(2) The governing body of the local agency adopts the rezoning, subdivision, or development entitlement by a two-thirds vote after public hearing.

(3) The rezoning, subdivision, or development entitlement serves a compelling public interest and includes permanent mitigation or conservation offsets of equal or greater ecological value.

(4) The rezoning, subdivision, or development entitlement complies with all applicable state and local development regulations.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, electric infrastructure and clean energy facilities necessary to achieve California’s climate and decarbonization goals shall be deemed permitted uses in a conservation-oriented zoning designation, provided that:

(1) The parcel is governed by this section.

(2) All impacts to habitat and natural resources are minimized and mitigated to the maximum extent feasible.

(e) This section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1) Any parcel that, at the time of transfer, contains operational buildings, hospitals, military installations, or similar infrastructure that collectively covers more than 50 percent of the land area.

(2) Lands held in trust by the United States for the benefit of federally recognized Native American tribes or individuals, consistent with principles of tribal sovereignty.

(3) Any parcel located within a city and for which the surrounding parcels are developed with housing or contain commercial or government infrastructure that cover more than 50 percent of the floor area ratio of the parcel.

(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude local agencies from adopting more protective zoning designations, land use restrictions, or conservation measures than those established by this section.

(g) The Legislature finds and declares that preservation of open space to achieve California’s climate targets and clean energy infrastructure that aligns with conservation values is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section applies to all cities, including charter cities.

(h) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 4.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

(a) Federal actions to privatize public land represent an imminent threat to California’s environmental and recreational assets.

(b) Many lands targeted by these efforts are currently unprotected by zoning or California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code) oversight and may be lost to irreversible development.

(c) Immediate action is needed to preserve natural resources, uphold public trust values, and maintain compliance with statewide conservation and climate goals.