SB 179 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Housing.

SB 179 is a procedural bill that expresses the California Legislature's intent to later enact statutory changes related to the Budget Act of 2025. It does not make any immediate policy changes or affect any specific groups or programs. The bill simply states the Legislature's future plan to modify the budget law, without specifying what those changes would be or when they would occur. This is a formal step to initiate future budget-related legislation, not a substantive policy measure.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Jul 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Assembly Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 23, 2025 Last action Jul 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

06/26/26 - Amended Assembly SB179 · 11 edits
MAJOR
SB 179 is California's Budget Act of 2025 housing bill, transitioning from an Assembly-amended version to a new Senate version. The diff shows the complete removal of the prior assembly-amended text (truncated at 909 of 7770 lines), indicating a full reissuance of the bill. The bill covers a wide range of housing policy changes including new local impact fee requirements for affordable housing, modifications to the Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention program, a new Disaster Rebuilding Assistance Program, establishment of the Housing Development and Finance Committee, state bond ceiling allocations for residential rental projects, and a split of the AHSC Program between two agencies.
Scope change
The bill's scope expands significantly with the addition of new programs (Disaster Rebuilding Assistance Program), new entities (Housing Development and Finance Committee), new statutory chapters (Chapter 3.1 on local impact fees), and a major restructuring of how state bond capacity is allocated for housing (90 percent minimum for residential rental projects). The AHSC Program is split between two agencies, changing which entity administers different types of projects.
SCOPE

New Chapter 3.1 (Sections 50160-50161) requires state housing entities to consider quantifiable in-kind local contributions (such as waivers or reductions of development impact fees) when awarding competitive multifamily affordable housing funding for new construction, applicable to notices of funding opportunity issued after July 1, 2027.

Establishes the Housing Development and Finance Committee effective July 1, 2026, as part of the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 2025, with an executive committee that is exempt from Administrative Procedure Act requirements for rulemaking related to its establishment and bond allocation.

Splits administration of the AHSC Program between the Strategic Growth Council (AHSC Sustainable Communities Allocation for infrastructure and community improvements) and the Housing Development and Finance Committee (AHSC Housing Allocation focused on infill housing projects), beginning with new funding rounds on or after July 1, 2026.

FISCAL

Creates a Disaster Rebuilding Assistance Program administered by the California Housing Finance Agency and establishes a continuously appropriated Disaster Rebuilding Fund in the State Treasury to support construction, reconstruction, and renovation loans for properties damaged or destroyed in qualified disasters.

Beginning January 1, 2027 and until January 1, 2037, requires the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee to dedicate a minimum of 90 percent of the entire state ceiling to qualified residential rental projects, with at least half reserved for projects awarded by the Housing Development and Finance Committee (reducible to 40-50 percent after July 1, 2029 based on demand surveys).

Requires remaining unexpended HHAP allocation funds to be returned to the department for reallocation via subsequent notices of funding availability, rather than reverting to the General Fund. Appropriates $900 million for round 7 of HHAP to be administered as additional disbursements of round 6.

ELIGIBILITY

Modifies HHAP program performance measures to require tracking of demographic data (age, gender, race, ethnicity) and changes metrics to include the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness on a single night, rather than just total homelessness counts.

Expands eligibility for the Joe Serna Farmworker Housing Grant Program by removing a limitation on the department's authority to determine unit counts subject to occupancy restrictions, and broadens household eligibility by relying solely on USDA determination rather than a state calculation override.

REQUIREMENT

Amends the State Housing Law (Section 17929) to provide that mixed-income multifamily structure access requirements do not apply to age-restricted units in developments that include a licensed residential care facility for the elderly, applying only to non-age-restricted housing units.

Changes the Multifamily Housing Program rehabilitation loan requirement from a test of whether the loan is necessary to avoid increases in monthly debt service with specified effects, to a prioritization standard favoring loans that extend affordability and reduce displacement risk for lower income households.

TECHNICAL

Expands the categories of building code changes the California Building Standards Commission may adopt between triennial editions to include changes or modifications relating to certain health facilities (referencing Sections 1200, 1226(b), and 1250(a)-(c) of Health and Safety Code).

Floor votes · Senate Mar 20, 2025

How they voted

2810
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 40
Mar 20, 2025
D Democratic30
28 Yea 2
93% Yea
R Republican10
10 Nay
100% Nay
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
13
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Amendments
1
Jul 2, 2026
Committee
Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET pursuant to Assembly Rule 97.
lower
Jun 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.
lower
Mar 24, 2025
Committee
Referred to Com. on BUDGET.
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 28. Noes 10. Page 456.) Ordered to the Assembly.
upper
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Referred to Com. on B. & F. R.
upper
Jan 23, 2025
Introduced
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.