With the bill introduction deadline (February 21) behind us, CALBO’s Legislative Committee has come together to assess the nearly 5,000 pieces of legislation proposed by state lawmakers.  To date, CALBO is monitoring 20 primary items that would have significant ramifications on local building departments.  A few measures are detailed below.

AB 306 (Schultz-D):  AB 306 will be one of CALBO’s largest priorities for the 2025 session, and it will without question be an uphill battle.  AB 306 proposes to “pause” additional changes to the building codes, as they would apply to residential construction, for a six-year period commencing on June 1, 2025.  It would prohibit local government for making local amendments with very limited exceptions.  From a practical standpoint, this would create separate codes to enforce where commercial would be held to a different standard.  Assemblymember Schultz is from Burbank, and much of his district was impacted by the recent Eaton fire. As his community rebuilds, it is understandable that a legislator would want to make it easier – less cumbersome and costly – to rebuild to a “like for like” standard that was in place before the fire.  With that, we are an organization of code officials who believe in the necessity of modern, updated, and streamlined codes.  Skipping fire and life safety advancements that will go into effect in the next cycle, including the recently adopted 2025 California Wildland-Urban Interface code is a disservice to those impacted by the fires.  Although this bill carries the support of the Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas, Governor Newsom, and the California Building Industry Association, CALBO Opposes AB 306.  

AB 253 (Ward-D):  AB 253 is entitled the California Residential Private Permitting Review Act, which will be another priority item for CALBO’s Advocacy Team.  As a legislative effort to accelerate residential construction, AB 253 would allow permit applicants to self-select a third-party plan review firm for any permit that is estimated to take longer than 30 days to approve.  In this case, permit delays are cited as a primary reason as to why California faces a housing shortage.  Last year lawmakers approved expedited processes for accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) with AB 1332.  As CALBO sees it, AB 253 is another effort to undermine the authority of the public sector ensuring that standards of public safety are upheld.  The author’s office has been engaged with CALBO and we hope to assist him with our shared goal of increased housing in California – just in a more responsible and pragmatic way.  CALBO Opposes AB 253.  

AB 1206 (Harabedian-D):  Along the same lines of expediting plan check to accelerate residential construction, AB 1206 is also looking to AB 1332 of last year as a model to expand pre-approved plans.  AB 1206 would require local jurisdictions, by January 1, 2026, to develop a program that would provide pre-approved plans for both single-family and multi-family residential construction.  As code officials, we understand that a “one-size fits all approach” is not appropriate for residential housing.  We posed the same argument as AB 1332 was deliberated last year relative to ADUs, but expanding to much larger residential projects gives CALBO considerable pause.  CALBO Opposes AB 1206.  

AB 750 (Quirk-Silva-D):  Shifting away from the housing measures, AB 750 would require local jurisdictions to inspect homeless shelters no less than once per year.  Homelessness and the growing population of unhoused persons has become a primary concern for state lawmakers.  As encampments have become a common occurrence in many communities, the push for permanent housing and shelters has become a political priority from many lawmakers.  In many communities, there has been a rise in the predominance of homeless shelters.  With that, local jurisdictions already respond to issues of code enforcement concern when complaints are filed or infractions are observed at existing shelters.  This is already a part of the scope of work that fire departments are expected to complete each year.  Without a problem to essentially solve, to CALBO AB 750 seems like an unnecessary and redundant mandate on local jurisdictions.  CALBO Opposes AB 750.  

AB 339 (Ortega-D):  AB 339 would make it more difficult for local jurisdictions to select and contract with private-sector consultants.  The measure would require all public agencies to offer 120 days written notice to recognized employee organizations (labor unions) prior to releasing an RFP for proposed outsource services.  This measure would be in direct competition with other legislative mandates that require streamlined processes to complete specifically defined projects.  CALBO understands first-hand the constraints of the public sector and local building departments, necessitating supplemental third-party staff to meet existing and proposed permitting and construction requirements.  This is a similar measure to AB 2557of 2024, which CALBO also opposed.  CALBO will be joining our local government coalition colleagues once again in Opposing AB 339.  

A few other measures to note.  AB 389 (Wallis-R) would create state tax-credits for voluntary home-hardening and wildfire mitigation efforts.  CALBO is Supporting AB 389 as we feel it is a common-sense effort to encourage homeowner action.  AB 1 (Connolly-D) will likely change a bit in the coming months but would require the Department of Insurance to consider new wildfire mitigation and building-hardening requirements every five years starting in 2030.  Although CALBO does not have an official position on AB 1, it is on our radar as it moves through the legislative process.  And finally, AB 39 (Zbur-D) would require local jurisdictions to identity opportunities to expand electric-vehicle (EV) charging particularly in communities that are specified to be disadvantaged.  While CALBO does not see the need for local jurisdictions to be the search-agents for EV expansion, we are currently WATCHING the bill to see how it impacts local planning efforts.  

It will be a busy year for the CALBO Advocacy Team, but it is always helpful to be past the introduction deadline so that we know what legislative proposals we are working with.  Given all that has occurred in California in a short period of time, it should not be surprising to see proposals seeking to mitigate wildfires, accelerate residential construction, and call upon the expertise of our public safety professional membership.  

Please consider joining the CALBO Advocacy Team in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 for CALBO’s Annual Leadership & Advocacy Day.  This one-day event is open to all members of CALBO, with registration currently available.  Whether you’re a novice advocate or a seasoned professional, we’d love to have you join in the effort to promote local government and the code official profession before state lawmakers.  It’s a great experience for all and we hope to see you there.  

For a full list of all bills of interest to the CALBO community, you can visit our Legislation of Interest page on the CALBO website.  This page includes a full summation of all bills that CALBO is monitoring, including our positions approved by the Legislative Committee.