Guide to Changes in State Law

Overview

Guide to Changes in State Law

As CALBO’s Legislative Team prepares for the upcoming 2023-2024 Legislative Session, CALBO members, and our local jurisdictions are preparing for recently signed legislation to officially become enacted in 2023. To help our members prepare for the changes in law, CALBO’s Legislative Team is working on publishing a guide to the newly signed laws, which can be found below. The goal of this effort is to provide short articles about the major laws and what they will mean for our membership on the ground.  

These articles include specific details of the laws and provide guidance on best practices that local jurisdictions can use to assist in compliance with the law while providing the best service to your communities. To be clear, this is not legal advice, so we strongly encourage you to reach out to your city attorneys should you have any further legal questions on the new laws.

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Accessory Dwelling Units
SB 897: Accessory Dwelling Units: junior accessory dwelling units

As California continues to look at ways to provide more affordable housing for low-income Californians and reduce the costs to renters and homeowners, an issue area that has been a consistent topic for just under a decade is the establishment of new laws around Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADU).  In the fifth installment of CALBO’s “Guide to Changes in State Law,” we will focus on the most recent law passed to increase ADU development in the state.  As what feels like an annual tradition in Sacramento, California passed yet another new law o

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Permit Fee Caps Solar Energy Systems
AB 1124: Solar Energy Systems

In the fourth installment of “Guide to Changes in State Law”, CALBO’s Legislative Team is going to take a trip back to another common legislative issue: solar energy systems.  In our first installment of the project and one of the most prevalent bills impacting local building departments, we discussed SB 379.  The California Energy Commission also hosted a public workshop on the reporting requirements for the bill which can be found here.  This article will cover another issue to further reduce

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Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
AB 970: Planning and zoning: electric vehicle charging stations: permit application: approval

In the second installment of the “Guide to Changes in State Law” CALBO’s legislative team provides some guidance on one of the hot topics in California politics: electric vehicles.  Every year, it seems like there are anywhere from 5-10 bills that the legislative team tracks and advocates on behalf of CALBO members about this issue.  In 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) took the unprecedented step of banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles for new cars by 2035 to help address the 40% of carbon emissions that comes from the transportation sector every year in Califor

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Automated Permitting for Solar Energy Systems
SB 379: Residential Solar Energy Systems: Permitting

As 2022 winds down, CALBO’s legislative team is gearing up for the start of the new legislative session which will officially kick off January 1, 2023. Despite the excitement of a new legislative session for CALBO, the start of a new session brings forward the official enactment of California’s new laws that will impact your building departments.  Before the new year begins, CALBO’s legislative team will provide several articles to provide guidance to our membership about some of the new changes to state law that will impact your departments.

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SB 379 Resources: California Energy Commission

California Energy Commission Public Workshop Recording on SB 379

The CEC hosted a webinar in December 2022 discussing Senate Bill 379, which requires specific jurisdictions to adopt an automated online permitting system for residential solar energy systems. Please see the recording here for more information: https://energy.zoom.us/rec/share/lNKkWV7SrueRKBaIf6cS4LDcDYehK9IvB34-XHhJjV0xfe8yf1XGR79YALRKgBRL.jHbgoT8AfWe0UYEx?startTime=1670522278000 

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CBSC Resources

California Building Standards Commission Guide to 2023 Legislation

CBSC has released key legislative changes impacting building code development at the state level due to new laws passed by the California Legislature. 

2023 Legislative Changes

California Building Standards Commission Guide to 2022 Legislation

The California Building Standards Commission has released a bulletin with some of the key legislative changes beginning in 2022.  Please see the link below for this information. 

2022 Legislative Changes