Local agency formation commissions: written policies and procedures: Permit Streamlining Act: housing development projects.

The bill was assigned Chapter 518 and the governor's approval date of October 10, 2025 was recorded, confirming it became law.

New Section 1 amends Government Code Section 56300 to require each local agency formation commission (LAFCO) to establish written policies and procedures, changing the language from 'it is the intent of the Legislature' to a mandatory 'shall establish.' This makes compliance obligatory rather than aspirational.

The bill title was expanded from 'relating to housing' to 'relating to housing. local government.' to reflect the new LAFCO provisions.

The LAFCO amendment requires that written policies and procedures include forms necessary for a complete application concerning any proposed change of organization or reorganization, broadening the prior reference to just 'any proposed organization change.'

The LAFCO amendment requires each commission to provide public access to notices, written policies and procedures, and other commission information through its internet website, including notice of all public hearings, commission meetings, and any forms necessary for a complete application for a change of organization or reorganization in electronic format.

New Section 2 amends Government Code Section 65928 to define 'development project' as any project undertaken for the purpose of development, including projects involving issuance of a permit for construction or reconstruction (but not a permit to operate), excluding ministerial projects proposed to be carried out or approved by public agencies, and expressly including housing development projects as defined in Section 65905.5(b)(3).

The definition of 'development project' in Section 65940 was restructured to reference the new Section 65928 definition, which now explicitly excludes ministerial projects while including housing development projects that involve no discretionary approvals and projects involving both discretionary and nondiscretionary approvals.

The fiscal committee review designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting that the bill now imposes new obligations on local agencies (both LAFCOs and planning agencies) that trigger these designations.

All amendments to Section 65950 were removed. This section had imposed specific deadlines for public agencies to approve or disapprove housing development projects: 180 days from EIR certification generally, 90 days for housing projects, and 60 days for housing projects with at least 49 percent affordable units and confirmed financing applications.

The bill's stated purpose changed from 'relating to housing' to 'relating to local government,' reflecting the removal of housing-specific time limits and definitions.

All amendments to Section 65953 were removed. This section had defined 'housing development project' for time-limit purposes to include residential-only uses, mixed-use developments meeting specific square footage thresholds (two-thirds residential, or 50 percent with 500+ units and no transient lodging, or 50 percent with 500+ units plus demolition of 100,000+ sq ft of nonresidential use), transitional housing, supportive housing, and farmworker housing.

Section 65928 now includes a new provision (subdivision (d)) stating that 'development project' includes a housing development project that requires an entitlement from a local agency, regardless of whether the process for permitting that entitlement is discretionary or ministerial. This broadens coverage beyond just projects with discretionary approvals.

Section 65928 now explicitly excludes postentitlement phase permits (as defined in Section 65913.3) from the definition of 'development project' in a new subdivision (e).

Section 65940 was simplified: the Senate version had a detailed subdivision (e) defining 'housing development project' to include specific approvals (excluding postentitlement phase permits) and changes of organization or reorganization, plus a January 1, 2030 sunset date. The Assembly version reduces this to a single cross-reference to the definition in Section 65905.5(b)(3) and removes the sunset date.

Section 56300 (Local Agency Formation Commissions) removed the expired 'not later than January 1, 2002' deadline language, making the requirement to establish written policies a standing obligation rather than one tied to a past date. Also updated 'Internet Web site' to 'internet website.'

The amendment to Government Code Section 65928 was deleted. This section would have redefined 'development project' under the Permit Streamlining Act to include a housing development project as defined in Section 65905.5(b)(3), which includes projects with no discretionary approvals and projects with both discretionary and nondiscretionary approvals. Removing this means the bill no longer expands which housing projects fall under the Permit Streamlining Act's application list requirements.

The act description was corrected from 'Sections 56300, 65928, 56300 and 65940' to 'Sections 56300 and 65940,' reflecting the removal of the Section 65928 amendment.

The bill was reformatted from line-numbered assembly markup to clean enrolled text, with procedural enrollment language added (passed Senate September 4, passed Assembly September 3, received by Governor).

The January 1, 2030 sunset date was removed from both Section 65928 and Section 65940. Previously, the inclusion of housing development projects in the definition of 'development project' and the related publication requirements would have expired on that date. Now they are permanent.

Section 65928(d) previously required that a housing development project must 'require an entitlement from a local agency, regardless of whether the process for permitting that entitlement is discretionary or ministerial' to be included in the definition of 'development project.' The amendment removes this qualifier, so now ALL housing development projects as defined in Section 65905.5 are included, even those that do not require any entitlement.

Section 65940(d) changed from requiring publication of the information list 'for each approval issued by a public agency in connection with a housing development project' to 'for each type of approval.' This reduces the number of separate online publications a local agency must maintain, grouping approvals by type rather than listing each individual approval separately.

The section reference in the bill's opening line was changed from 'Sections 56300, 65928, and 65940' to 'Sections 56300, 65928, 56300 and 65940,' which appears to be a drafting error duplicating Section 56300.

The bill changed from a pure intent statement (no operative text) to full amendments of three Government Code sections (65940, 65950, 65953), making it substantive legislation with binding requirements on public agencies.

The bill's designation changed from 'no state-mandated local program' to 'yes state-mandated local program,' and the fiscal committee review changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting that the new duties imposed on local agencies constitute a state-mandated program.

Section 65940 now requires public agencies to publish online the list of information required from applicants for housing development projects, including completeness criteria and the name of each approval. This is a new transparency obligation not present in the introduced version.

Section 65950 establishes specific approval deadlines: 180 days for general development projects with an EIR, 90 days for housing development projects with an EIR, and 60 days for housing projects where at least 49% of units are affordable to very low or low-income households and the applicant has applied for public financial assistance. A 60-day deadline also applies when a negative declaration is adopted or the project is CEQA-exempt.

All new provisions include a sunset date of January 1, 2030, after which the amendments to Sections 65940, 65950, and 65953 are repealed.

Section 65953 defines 'housing development project' to include: residential-only uses; mixed-use developments where at least two-thirds of square footage is residential, or 50% is residential with at least 500 net new units (with additional conditions for larger conversions involving demolition of 100,000+ sq ft); transitional or supportive housing; and farmworker housing. It also clarifies the definition covers both discretionary and nondiscretionary approvals and single dwelling unit proposals.

Postentitlement phase permits (as defined in Section 65913.3) and certain special district applications (Section 65913.3.1) are explicitly excluded from the streamlined approval process, meaning they do not benefit from the shortened deadlines.

A no-reimbursement clause (Section 4) was added, stating that no reimbursement is required under Article XIII B of the California Constitution because local agencies have authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to cover the mandated program costs.