APA California Legislative Update: June 2025

The Legislature recently passed a major deadline, working on the floors of their respective house to pass bills to the other house by June 6. Most major planning-related bills continue to move as APA California discusses key issues and provides technical guidance on several. Policy committees have resumed, where all planning-related bills will have a second pass before Summer Recess on July 18.

For more information on all the bills APA California is currently tracking, you can always visit our website for the current list. As we continue to develop positions on bills moving in the Legislature, APA California shares our position letters online. Note that even if you don’t see a position letter on a particular bill, that doesn’t mean we aren’t working on it. We often work in advance of taking a position to try and address concerns where possible. In fact, we are continuing to do this as we speak!

The Legislature passed the budget bill on July 14 to meet their constitutional deadline. Now the Legislature and Governor must negotiate the final details before the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1. As a reminder, the Governor’s proposed May-Revise projected a $12 billion budget deficit, included cuts to several programs and didn’t include any new funding for housing/homelessness programs, among many other changes.

The Legislature’s $325 billion spending plan closes the $12 billion shortfall and rejects many of the proposed cuts. Of interest to planners, the Legislature included some funding for housing programs, including $500 million for a 7th round of the HHAP grant program, provided assistance to Los Angeles County local governments for wildfire recovery and to transit entities in the San Francisco Bay Area facing significant fiscal challenges (just to name a few key points).

Finally, as we noted in our last update, the Governor announced his support for two legislative proposals (AB 609 and SB 607) that were already moving through the Legislative process. These bills will likely now be taken up in budget trailer bills as part of the budget process. APA California has had numerous discussions with legislative staff, supports both pieces of legislation and will be monitoring for more details.

Once an agreement is reached, there will likely be changes to the main budget bill and budget trailer bills to implement specifics in the proposed budget will be put in print. Budget trailer bills have until the end of session to pass. That being said, these budget negations are during unprecedent uncertainty at the state and federal level. Budget projections could change significantly based on upcoming actions by Congress and the White House.

If you’re interested in receiving updates on legislative and regulatory issues from the Chapter’s Policy and Legislation Team, please join here. Have questions on policy and legislative related issues, including bills and regulations? APA California members are welcome to reach out to the VP for Policy and Legislation at policy@apacalifornia.org.

APA California has a robust legislative program at the Chapter level that engages with the California Legislature. The Policy and Legislation team includes an elected VP for Policy and Legislation, two appointed Legislative Technical Advisors, and a Lobbyist retained by the Chapter. The team engages directly with APA California Section Legislative Representatives from each of the 8 Sections within the Chapter to discuss feedback on legislation and other relevant issues regularly throughout the year. To view the Policy and Legislation team, visit the Board of Directors page.

APA California actively engages in many bills throughout the year. In fact, we work closely with legislative and committee staff on amendments and clarifications to bills before taking a position. As an organization, APA California is often asked to provide feedback on planning related bills and provide technical expertise, giving a voice to planners and an opportunity to help shape legislation. This is a valuable role that the Chapter works hard to maintain. More broadly, we will continue to discuss the work planners are doing at the local level to implement and keep up with all the planning related bills that pass year over year and how that relates to the cumulative impact of bills on the table this year. We also continue seek opportunities to suggest tangible ways, absent fiscal resources at the state level, that the Legislature can help to make implementation more successful and support the planning community.