Real property tax: welfare exemption: moderate-income housing.

Entirely new Section 1 amending Revenue and Taxation Code Section 214 to provide a partial property tax welfare exemption for residential rental property used for low- and moderate-income households. The exemption equals the value of units serving those households and applies for lien dates from January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2029, lasting 15 years from initial filing.

The bill now includes a declaration that its provisions are severable and makes legislative findings regarding the necessity of a special statute for Alameda County, Sacramento County, and the City and County of San Francisco, indicating targeted application to those jurisdictions.

The bill provides that no state appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost due to the new exemption. This means local governments absorb the full revenue loss from the tax break.

The deadline for the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt a standardized application form was extended from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027, and the date by which local agencies must accept applications on that form was extended from October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027.

Senators Arreguin and Wiener were added as principal coauthors alongside Assembly Member Haney, with Assembly Member Wicks remaining as coauthor. The legislative digest was restructured into two distinct parts covering the housing development provisions and the new tax exemption separately.

The document was reformatted from an official legislative print layout (with line numbers, page headers, and a formal digest) into a web page format that includes site navigation, search fields, version history links, and metadata such as publication date.

The deemed-complete application requirement no longer applies universally. The digest now states the bill applies 'except with respect to applications for housing development projects located in certain jurisdictions,' creating a geographic or jurisdictional exception that was not present in the prior version.

The act now amends Government Code Section 65585 in addition to Sections 65589.5 and 65940.1, expanding the bill's reach into an additional area of planning and zoning law.

The deadline for the Department of Housing and Community Development to adopt a standardized application form was pushed from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027. The deadline for local governments to accept applications on that standardized form was pushed from October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027.

A new provision adds violations of the housing entitlement application requirements to the list of laws that, when violated, require HCD to notify the jurisdiction and authorize the Attorney General to bring a legal action to enforce state law. This gives the state a direct enforcement tool against non-compliant local governments.

The department is now required (not just authorized) to adopt emergency regulations to implement the bill's requirements, rather than simply being permitted to review, adopt, amend, and repeal standards, forms, and definitions.

Emergency regulations adopted under this bill are valid for a period of 18 months, or until permanent regulations implementing the requirements are adopted, whichever is sooner.

The emergency regulations are exempt from the requirement that the adopting agency make a finding that adoption is necessary to address an emergency, as normally required under the Administrative Procedure Act.

A new existing-law description was added (as paragraph 2) explaining the Administrative Procedure Act's procedures for adopting, amending, and repealing regulations, including rules for emergency regulations and their 180-day default limit.

Minor cleanup of garbled or duplicated text in the Housing Accountability Act description section, and renumbering of subsequent paragraphs to accommodate the new paragraph 2.

Special districts are removed from the bill's applicability throughout. The bill now applies only to cities, counties, and cities and counties, rather than also covering special districts.

A new requirement is added for applicants to provide calculations regarding the amount of linear or square footage of existing site improvements proposed for demolition, but only if the local agency has an ordinance regulating demolition of existing buildings.

Local agencies are now permitted to request that applicants voluntarily submit additional CEQA-related information as part of the housing entitlement application, provided the request clearly states that submission is voluntary and not required for the application to be deemed complete.

The conditions for a local program to qualify for expedited processing requirements are expanded. In addition to requiring that participation be voluntary and that the program offer ministerial review or expedited timelines, the program must now also not be mandated by the state for the city, county, or city and county.

The structure of Section 65941.2(a) is reorganized. The application completeness requirements are restructured into three clearer categories: (1) always-required project information, (2) additional information if required by the local agency, and (3) requirements tied to qualifying local programs. Several items are renumbered accordingly.

The bill's summary description is revised to remove explicit mention of preapplication requirement prohibitions from the descriptive paragraph, though the prohibition itself remains in the statutory text of subdivision (b).

The bill no longer amends Section 65913.2 of the Government Code (subdivision regulation). The prior version made nonsubstantive changes to that section; those were removed entirely.

Cities, counties, and city-and-counties are now explicitly authorized to develop their own application forms or templates for different housing entitlements, subject to the bill's requirements. They must post these on their websites in lieu of the state standardized form.

The list of items required for a housing entitlement application to be deemed complete was restructured. New required items include: a description of the project, a list of approvals requested, a statement of state laws or local programs for special processing (with a safe harbor so failure to list does not affect eligibility), proof of ownership or owner authorization, and an environmental questionnaire for CEQA compliance. The property survey requirement now only applies to projects with five or more units (previously always required).

A new category allows cities to require additional information 'if required by the city,' including subdivision map act documents, photographs of the site, signed fair housing affidavits, and arborist letters where a tree ordinance exists.

A new exception permits preapplication requirements if imposed as a condition of eligibility for a voluntary local program that provides either ministerial review (where discretionary would otherwise apply) or expedited processing timelines shorter than state law requires.

Specific deadlines were added: the Department of Housing and Community Development must adopt the standardized application form on or before July 1, 2026, and cities must accept applications on that form on or after October 1, 2026. The prior version had no deadline.

The prohibition on requiring expert studies as a condition of completeness now has carve-outs: geotechnical studies may be required for subdivision map act projects, and arborist reports may be required where the local jurisdiction has an ordinance regulating removal of trees of a certain size, species, or condition.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries state-mandated costs requiring reimbursement to local agencies.

The bill's scope expanded from amending only Section 65913.2 (a nonsubstantive housing subdivision provision) to also amending Sections 65589.5 and 65940.1 and adding new Section 65941.2 to the Government Code.

The bill includes findings that it addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair, making it applicable to all cities including charter cities.

Section 65940.1 is amended to require cities, counties, or special districts with internet websites to post a copy of the standardized application form for housing entitlements adopted by DHCD.

New Section 65941.2 requires that a housing entitlement application be deemed complete upon payment of permit processing fees and submission of specified information, including items on the local agency's submittal checklist.

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) must adopt a standardized application form for housing entitlements, and cities and counties must accept applications submitted on that form. Local agencies are prohibited from requiring other forms beyond the standardized form except as specified.

Local agencies are prohibited from requiring preapplication submissions, approvals, reviews, meetings, consultations, public outreach notices, or any other preapplication requirements as a condition of determining an application is complete.

Local agencies are prohibited from imposing penalties, additional fees, processing requirements, or submittal requirements as a consequence of an applicant using the standardized application form.

The definition of 'disapprove the housing development project' in Section 65589.5 was expanded to include instances where a local agency determines an application incomplete and includes an item prohibited under the new Section 65941.2. The burden of proof now shifts to the local agency to show the required item is permitted to be required.

The bill now carries a 'yes' designation for fiscal committee review and state-mandated local program, with reimbursement provisions if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains state-mandated costs. The introduced version had both marked 'no.'

DHCD is authorized to review, adopt, amend, and repeal standards, forms, and definitions to implement the new requirements, and any rules issued by DHCD under this bill are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act.