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AB-36 • 2026

Housing elements: prohousing designation.

Housing elements: prohousing designation.

Housing Land
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Soria
Last action
2025-10-10
Official status
Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 485, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Prohousing Designation for Housing Elements

This law changes how the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) designates cities or counties as prohousing based on their housing plans, with special rules for small rural areas.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires HCD to use permanent regulations instead of emergency ones when deciding if a city or county is prohousing.
  • Allows small rural jurisdictions to request an evaluation of their housing element submission starting from the seventh cycle.
  • Limits HCD's ability to require small rural areas with compliant housing elements to renew their prohousing designation for at least four years.
  • Defines 'small rural jurisdiction' as a city under 25,000 people or a county under 200,000 people.

Who It Names or Affects

  • The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
  • Cities and counties in California
  • Small rural jurisdictions

Terms To Know

Prohousing designation
A status given by HCD to cities or counties that meet certain housing requirements.
Housing element
Part of a city's or county's general plan that outlines how it will address its housing needs.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill only applies to small rural jurisdictions with compliant housing elements.
  • Some parts of the bill may not take effect unless another related bill (SB 262) is also passed and enacted after this one.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-10 California Legislative Information

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 485, 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 3210.).

  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 2667.).

  7. 2025-09-08 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. 2025-09-04 California Legislative Information

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  9. 2025-08-29 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to third reading.

  10. 2025-08-29 California Legislative Information

    From Consent Calendar.

  11. 2025-08-26 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  12. 2025-08-25 California Legislative Information

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

  13. 2025-08-18 California Legislative Information

    (Ayes 27. Noes 0. Page 2173.)

  14. 2025-08-18 California Legislative Information

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

  15. 2025-08-13 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  16. 2025-07-16 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  17. 2025-05-21 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on HOUSING.

  18. 2025-05-08 California Legislative Information

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

  19. 2025-05-08 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 1485.)

  20. 2025-05-01 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar.

  21. 2025-04-30 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 30).

  22. 2025-04-23 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 10. Noes 0.) (April 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  23. 2025-04-09 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 9). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

  24. 2025-03-20 California Legislative Information

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

  25. 2025-03-19 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.

  26. 2025-03-18 California Legislative Information

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  27. 2025-02-03 California Legislative Information

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

  28. 2024-12-03 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.

  29. 2024-12-02 California Legislative Information

    Read first time. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 36, Soria.
Housing elements: prohousing designation.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. The law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to determine whether the housing element is in substantial compliance with specified provisions of that law. Existing law requires HCD to designate jurisdictions as prohousing pursuant to emergency regulations adopted by HCD, as prescribed, and to report those designations to the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. Existing law specifies that these emergency regulations will remain in effect until HCD promulgates permanent prohousing regulations.
This bill would instead require HCD to designate jurisdictions as prohousing pursuant to permanent regulations adopted by HCD to
implement these provisions, as specified. Beginning with the 7th housing element cycle, upon request by a small rural jurisdiction, to the extent feasible, the bill would require HCD to evaluate materials from the small rural jurisdiction’s housing element submission when determining whether the jurisdiction qualifies as prohousing, but only with respect to those small rural jurisdictions that have a compliant housing element. The bill would also prohibit HCD from requiring small rural jurisdictions to renew their prohousing designation for at least 4 years. The bill would define “small rural jurisdiction” for these purposes to mean either a city with a population of fewer than 25,000 persons or a county with a population of fewer than 200,000 persons.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65589.9 of the Government Code proposed by SB 262 to be
operative only if this bill and SB 262 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Current Bill Text

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