AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 7, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 24, 2025

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 24, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

94

CHAPTER 501

Statutes of 2025

[ Approved by Governor October 10, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 10, 2025. ]

Introduced by Assembly Member Caloza

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wicks)

February 19, 2025

An act to add Section 65940.3 to the Government Code, relating to housing.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

The Permit Streamlining Act requires a public agency that is the lead agency for a development project to approve or disapprove that project within specified time periods. Existing law requires a city or county that has an internet website to, among other things, make a fee estimate tool that the public can use to calculate an estimate of fees and exactions for a proposed housing development project available on its internet website.

This bill would require a city or county with a population of 150,000 or more persons to make a centralized application portal available on its internet website to applicants for housing development projects, as prescribed. The bill would, notwithstanding that provision, authorize a city or county described above to make a centralized application portal available on its internet website no later than January 1, 2030, if the legislative body of the city or county, on or before January 1, 2028, takes certain action, including initiating a procurement process to make a centralized application portal available on its internet website.

The bill would require the centralized application portal to allow for tracking of the status of an application. The bill would specify that a city or county is not required to provide the status of any permit or inspection required by another local agency, a state agency, or a utility provider. The bill would define various terms for purposes of its provisions.

The 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.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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

SECTION 1.

Section 65940.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:

65940.3.

(a) (1) A city or county with a population of 150,000 or more persons shall, no later than January 1, 2028, make a centralized application portal available on its internet website to applicants for housing development projects.

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the population of a county shall be determined based on the population of persons in the unincorporated areas of the county.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a city or county subject to this section may make a centralized application portal available on its internet website no later than January 1, 2030, if the legislative body of the city or county, on or before January 1, 2028, does both of the following:

(1) Makes a written finding that making a centralized application portal available on its internet website on or before January 1, 2028, would require a substantial increase in permitting fees.

(2) Initiates a procurement process to make a centralized application portal available on its internet website.

(c) The centralized application portal shall allow for tracking of the status of an application.

(d) A city or county shall not be required to provide the status of any permit or inspection required by another local agency, a state agency, or a utility provider.

(e) For purposes of this section, both of the following definitions apply:

(1) “Centralized application portal” means a website or software that a city or county uses to collect information and materials provided by an applicant that are necessary for the city or county to consider a housing development project.

(2) “Housing development project” has the same meaning as that term is defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 65905.5.

SEC. 2.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act adding Section 65940.3 to the Government Code addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Section 1 of this act applies to all cities, including charter cities.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.