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AB-1275 • 2026

Regional housing needs: regional transportation plan.

Regional housing needs: regional transportation plan.

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Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Elhawary
Last action
2025-10-10
Official status
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 593, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Regional Housing Needs: Regional Transportation Plan

AB-1275 extends the timeline and modifies requirements for determining regional housing needs, aligning them with regional transportation plans.

What This Bill Does

  • Extends the time frame for state departments to determine housing needs from two years before a revision of the housing element to three years prior.
  • Requires councils of governments to consult with the department at least 38 months before revisions for the seventh and subsequent updates of the housing element.
  • Changes how subregions allocate their housing needs, making it proportional to the current adopted final regional housing need allocation plan instead of the distribution of households in a transportation plan.
  • Requires councils of governments to consider development patterns from sustainable communities strategies when allocating housing needs.
  • Modifies the requirement for housing plans to be informed by rather than consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy.

Who It Names or Affects

  • State departments responsible for determining regional housing needs.
  • Councils of governments involved in planning and allocation of housing needs.
  • Local entities such as cities and counties that revise their housing elements.

Terms To Know

Housing element
A part of a city or county's general plan that includes information about land suitable for residential development.
Sustainable communities strategy
A plan within regional transportation plans aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and promoting sustainable urban growth.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill's full impact depends on the enactment of related bills SB-486 and AB-650.
  • It imposes additional requirements that may require state reimbursement to local agencies for certain costs.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-10 California Legislative Information

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 593, Statutes of 2025.

  2. 2025-10-10 California Legislative Information

    Approved by the Governor.

  3. 2025-09-22 California Legislative Information

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

  4. 2025-09-10 California Legislative Information

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3203.).

  5. 2025-09-09 California Legislative Information

    In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  6. 2025-09-09 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2727.).

  7. 2025-09-08 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. 2025-09-05 California Legislative Information

    Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  9. 2025-09-04 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  10. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to third reading.

  11. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    From Consent Calendar.

  12. 2025-07-15 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  13. 2025-07-14 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar.

  14. 2025-07-02 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  15. 2025-06-04 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on HOUSING.

  16. 2025-05-23 California Legislative Information

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  17. 2025-05-23 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 71. Noes 0. Page 1664.)

  18. 2025-05-15 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  19. 2025-05-14 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

  20. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  21. 2025-04-28 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  22. 2025-04-24 California Legislative Information

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended.

  23. 2025-04-24 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 24). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  24. 2025-04-24 California Legislative Information

    (Pending re-refer to Com. on L. GOV.)

  25. 2025-04-24 California Legislative Information

    Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 1265.)

  26. 2025-03-25 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on H. & C.D.

  27. 2025-03-24 California Legislative Information

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on H. & C.D. Read second time and amended.

  28. 2025-03-24 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and L. GOV.

  29. 2025-02-24 California Legislative Information

    Read first time.

  30. 2025-02-22 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.

  31. 2025-02-21 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1275, Elhawary.
Regional housing needs: regional transportation plan.
(1) Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries. Existing law requires the general plan to include, among other mandatory elements, a housing element, and requires the housing element to include, among other things, an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development.
Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the department to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region, as specified. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region at least 2 years prior to
the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided. Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodology to be used to determine the region’s housing needs at least 26 months prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element, as provided.
This bill, except as specified, would extend the above-described timeline for the department to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region from 2 years to 3 years prior to the scheduled revision of the housing element. The bill would require the department to meet and consult with the council of governments, as described above, pursuant to prescribed deadlines. For the 7th revision of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision, except for specified councils of governments. For
the 8th and subsequent revisions of the housing element, the bill would require the department to meet and consult with each council of governments at least 38 months prior to the scheduled revision.
(2) Existing law authorizes at least 2 or more cities and a county, or counties, at least 28 months prior to the scheduled housing element revision, to form a subregional entity to allocate the subregion’s existing and projected housing need among its members. Existing law requires the council of governments to determine the share of regional housing need assigned to each delegate subregion at least 25 months prior to the scheduled revision. Existing law also requires the share allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments to be in a proportion consistent with the distribution of households assumed for the comparable time period of the applicable regional transportation plan.
This bill would instead require the share allocated to the delegate subregion or subregions by a council of governments to be in a proportion consistent with the subregion’s share of the current adopted final regional housing need allocation plan.
(3) Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt a regional transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Existing law requires that each regional transportation plan include a sustainable communities strategy developed to achieve greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035 established by the State Air Resources Board.
Existing law requires each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to consider certain factors in developing the methodology that
allocates regional housing needs, including each member jurisdiction’s existing and projected jobs and housing relationship.
This bill would require each council of governments, or delegate subregion as applicable, to consider, in addition to the above-described factors, the development pattern set forth in the region’s sustainable communities strategy of its regional transportation plan.
(4) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that housing planning be coordinated and integrated with the regional transportation plan. To achieve this goal, existing law requires the allocation plan to allocate housing units within the region consistent with the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy. Existing law also requires the resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan to demonstrate that the plan is consistent with the sustainable communities strategy in
the regional transportation plan, among other things.
This bill would instead require the allocation plan to be informed by the development pattern included in the sustainable communities strategy. The bill would also require the resolution approving the final housing need allocation plan to demonstrate that the plan is, instead, informed by the sustainable communities strategy in the regional transportation plan, among other things.
(5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 to be operative only if this bill and SB 486 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This
bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.03 of the Government Code proposed by AB 650 to be operative only if this bill and AB 650 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by SB 486 and AB 650, to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(6) By imposing additional requirements on a local entity, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

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