Capitol Corner Update

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Capitol Corner Update
March 2025

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.  

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Preparing for the Future with Legislative Insights from 2024
Capitol Corner Update

Without a doubt, 2024 was a monumental year for government affairs.  From the general election held in November, to the bills signed by Governor Newsom in the Fall, it has been a busy season for those engaged in advocacy.  Our 2023-24 legislative season has come to a close, and CALBO’s Legislative Team extends gratitude to our community for continued support and vigilant engagement.

As you prepare for the year ahead within your jurisdiction, the efforts of CALBO’s Legislative Team are summarized below.  

Legislative Wins

This year, CALBO played an active role in supporting or shaping several important bills that focus on safety, simplifying processes, and improving building efficiency across the state.  You will find links to the text of the bill, in addition to a legislative analysis prepared by the state legislature.  

• AB 2114 (Irwin) – Exterior Elevated Elements
AB 2114 was another responsive measure to the 2015 Berkeley Balcony Collapse.  Building upon previous legislative changes enacted in 2018 and 2019, homeowners and HOAs continued to report troubles meeting new balcony inspection requirements.  AB 2114 enables licensed civil engineers to conduct visual inspections of balconies, ensuring compliance for homeowners and HOAs.  It strengthens inspection timelines, with an end goal to promote safer living conditions.  AB 2114 continued an urgency clause and is already enforceable.  Senate Floor analysis available here.  

• SB 1465 (Archuleta) – Substandard Conditions
Effective January 1, 2025, this law expands the ability to address substandard conditions across all building types, regardless of zoning.  Crafted in the wake of the Ghost Ship Fire, SB 1465 seeks to prevent catastrophic events through proactive enforcement.  SB 1465 was sponsored by the Code Enforcement Officers Association (CACEO), their second time running this legislation.  Senate Floor analysis available here.  

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Legislative Session Recap: What’s Next for California’s Building Departments?
Capitol Corner Update

While the 2023-2024 Legislative Session has adjourned, it does not quite seem to be over.

Governor Gavin Newsom called for a Special Session to deal with gas prices and pass related legislation. This could have happened while all the legislators were still in town – but the California State Senate rebuffed the request and has now said they are waiting to determine whether the California State Assembly has the requisite votes to pass the legislation before setting a date for their return. Legislators are home in their district tending to constituent affairs and some are on the campaign trail making it an inopportune moment to be hauled back to Sacramento. It does seem inevitable – if not legally required – for them to meet again this year.

CALBO weighed in on a last-minute deal providing building standards for new and existing warehouses. AB 98 (J. Carrillo) went into print in the final days of session. This follows the Speaker of the Assembly and Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes announcing in January that they would shelve existing legislation and enter stakeholder discussions led by the Chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee. While the product of those negotiations is represented by AB 98, many in the Local Government, Business and Environmental Justice community felt as though they were left out of the discussions and had no other option but to oppose. This bill barely made it off the Senate Floor and was voted on with debate limited to 30-seconds on the Assembly Floor.

The Governor has until the end of the month to decide whether to sign or veto legislation. 

He has signed AB 2114 (Irwin) allowing civil licensed engineers to perform visual inspections of balconies. After the legislature passed the requirement for regular inspections, Common Interest Developments have struggled to find qualified inspectors – so this legislation will help bring them into compliance before we enter a timeline for re-inspections. Due to the urgency clause, it is already in effect. This along with the CALBO requested ACR 201 (Alanis) declaring May as California Building Safety Month were the first of our priorities to be chaptered.

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Capitol Corner Update
Final Stretch of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session!

We are in the final stretch of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session! 

The Summer Recess is fast approaching which will be a short reprieve in July before the California State Legislature kicks into high gear during ‘End of Session’ in August. 

The proposed bills still need to clear their assigned policy committees before moving to fiscal committee in the second house. This must happen before July 3, 2024. This time is our last best chance to substantively alter legislative proposals. 

This deadline signifies one of the final hurdles for legislation as it makes its way to the Floor of each house for a final vote of the chamber and then ultimately heads to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto. 

The Legislative Calendar and its associated deadlines can be found here.

CALBO has been actively engaging with Legislative Offices, Committee Staff and our Coalition Partners to alter the shape and content of our legislative priorities.

Here is a quick update on a few of those items:

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Springing into Action: CALBO’s Spotlight on Key Legislative Bills
Capitol Corner Update

Greetings CALBO Members,

Please allow me to introduce myself as the new Public Affairs Director, a resource to you all for public policy and CALBO’s governmental affairs. This opportunity affords me the ability to continue working on the issues of importance to the CALBO community.  

I was most recently a Legislative Director in the California State Assembly, where I worked on a variety of state and regional policy issues, while serving as the primary aide advising the Assembly Member on policy positions. This experience will provide the ability to articulate the technical and crucial nature of your work to decisionmakers so that they understand our barriers to implementation for proposed legislation.

The CALBO Legislative Committee has come together and commenced our work for the year. We have looked at more than 2,000 measures that have been introduced this year and will be acted upon in the weeks ahead. As CALBO takes official positions on these items, you will be able to view them in real time here. I encourage you all to take advantage of the information that is available on our website. 

The bills the Legislative Committee will be reviewing with high priority include:

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Capitol Corner Update
What to Expect in Year 2 of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session

As the 2023 Holiday Season approaches, CALBO’s Legislative Team would like to wish our CALBO family a happy holiday season.  We hope that you and your families enjoy the time together and look fondly at the previous year.  2023 was a successful year for CALBO’s advocacy efforts as around 11 of CALBO’s 25 bills we were tracking were signed into law. However, only about 4 of the bills signed into law will have a direct impact on CALBO members.  Despite these successes, more work will need to be done next year as the remaining 14 bills may come back in early January and CALBO will have about a month to act on legislation to get any necessary changes in bills that are moving forward this legislative session.

This fall there were multiple changes in Sacramento that will impact CALBO’s advocacy efforts in 2024.  The State Assembly has a new speaker Assemblymember Robert Rivas from California’s Central Coast. As a result of this leadership change, the Assembly Housing and Assembly Local Government Committee received new chairs of the respective committees.  Assemblymember Chris Ward from San Diego has officially been tapped as the new chair of the Assembly Housing Committee while Assemblymember Juan Carrillo from the Palmdale area is the new chair of the Assembly Local Government Committee.  On the Senate side, Senator Mike McGuire from the North Coast has become the new Pro Tempore of the Senate and may impact the makeup of the Senate Housing and Senate Governance and Finance Committee in the upcoming year. Nothing has been announced officially yet, but CALBO will be keeping an eye out for any leadership changes in our relevant committees. 

Although the Capitol is quieter this time of year, CALBO has been working on preparing for the upcoming year.  CALBO’s Legislative Committee met in September to wrap up the year and begin discussing potential amendments for 2-year bills of concern that may come back next year.  Additionally, staff has been hard at work building relationships with legislative staff to discuss policy issues impacting building departments and housing in the state. Finally, CALBO has been actively attending ICC Chapter meetings this fall so our building departments can be prepared for the upcoming changes in state law that will impact local jurisdictions on January 1st.

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Capitol Corner Update
July 2023

As the first year of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session warms up like the summer heat in California, CALBO’s Legislative Team has been hard at work in Sacramento.  CALBO started this year with around 25 High Priority bills, but CALBO now has around 10 bills remaining this year.   Although this year has been positive, more work is required before the legislature wraps up its first year of this legislative session in September.  Currently, the legislature is at recess until August 14th.  Before we cover a few remaining high priority bills, let’s recap the recent membership events CALBO’s Legislative Team has hosted this spring and summer. 

The Return of Leadership and Advocacy Day

After a 3-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, CALBO hosted its first Leadership and Advocacy Day (LAD) in Sacramento this May.  The event was well-attended as CALBO members met with legislative staff and elected officials to discuss who CALBO is and what some of our high-priority bills are this year.  Attendees participated in over 50 meetings with legislators and their staff, learned about the California Legislative Process, and got an understanding about the major pieces of legislation impacting CALBO members.  LAD is an important effort for CALBO’s government relations efforts as elected officials can hear from you, their voters about issues of importance in the built environment. CALBO met with not only representatives of the respective building departments in attendance, but also members of relevant policy committees to CALBO’s legislative efforts.  This was the first time CALBO got a taste of the “swing space” or the new building that legislative staff is working in as the Capitol is under renovation for the next several years.  Additionally, some attendees had their first experience talking with legislative staff, who are some of the most important people in the legislature as they provide background to their bosses on policy issues and recommend how to vote on specific bills.  CALBO looks forward to continuing this annual tradition next year for our members. Keep your eyes out for registration and event details later this year so YOU can participate in this important event in May 2024. 

CALBO Legislative Webinars: Spring and Summer 2023

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Capitol Corner Update
CALBO’s 2023 Legislative Package

As California transitions from the wet and cold winter to the welcome sights of longer, warmer spring days, the California State Legislature is continuing to heat up its efforts for the first year of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session.  2023 brings Sacramento 37 newly elected officials and the fast-moving first year of California’s two-year session.  The legislature introduced just under 3,000 bills this year. At the end of March, CALBO finalized its 2023 Legislative Bill Package, where the CALBO Legislative Committee has officially deemed 21 bills as a high priority, with 13 of the bills having an official position that CALBO’s Advocacy Team is actively working on in Sacramento. CALBO members have the opportunity to participate in these efforts through CALBO’s Leadership and Advocacy Day, which will occur on May 17th in Sacramento, you can register for this free member event here. Below are some highlights of the busy spring and the major bills CALBO is continuing to give a voice to our members on in the legislature. 

Events and New Resources for Members

The CALBO Legislative Team is proud to announce a new webinar series highlighting the major bills CALBO is working on in the California State Legislature.  Throughout the legislative session, CALBO’s Legislative Team will host 3 free webinars to update the membership on our ongoing government affairs efforts.  CALBO hosted its first legislative webinar on April 13th, which highlighted the major bills impacting local building departments currently moving through the legislative process. The event was well attended with just under 100 members participating in the webinar.  If you missed the presentation, you can download a PDF version of the presentation at CALBO’s new Legislative Presentations page on our website which can be found here.  CALBO will be hosting another webinar this summer to update members on the fate of our high priority bills this year.  The final webinar is planned for the fall after Governor Newsom signs legislation.  The goal of the final webinar is to provide information about the new laws and how they will impact your jurisdiction during the upcoming year.  Please keep your eyes out for the email announcing the dates later this year. 

Bills and Committee Hearings

Every March through May is a busy time in Sacramento, as committee hearings occur daily to review and give input on the bills introduced by elected officials.  CALBO is actively going to the swing space or capitol to voice member thoughts and concerns for bills impacting public safety.  Here are some highlights of the major bills that CALBO has been actively working on in Sacramento so far.