Cities and towns; creating the Yes In God's Backyard Act; allowing faith-based organizations to apply to construct certain project. Emergency.
SB 1545, the "Yes In God’s Backyard Act," allows religious organizations (like churches and mosques) to develop affordable housing on their owned properties without discretionary municipal approval. It requires 60% of mixed-use projects to be residential, with 80% of units designated as affordable housing (capped at 40% non-affordable units for staff housing). The bill preempts local zoning rules that would block such projects, mandates municipalities to approve applications within a set timeframe, and requires compliance with building codes and fair housing laws. This directly affects faith-based groups seeking to use underutilized land for housing, aiming to address housing shortages by streamlining development.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 2, 2026
Last action Feb 3, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
0
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
First Reading
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Julia Kirt
DDemocratic
Ask Maddy
·
AI policy assistant
Ask Maddy about SB 1545
Scope: OK
Hi! I can help you understand SB 1545. What would you like to know?
Try one of these
i
Maddy answers using official bill text and legislative records. Always verify before sharing.
Sources cited inline