CITY COUNCIL STATE LEGISLATIVE
ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025
12:00 PM 4A
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 2
ROLL CALL
3 FLAG SALUTE
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 4 WELCOME AND
INTRODUCTIONS
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 5 AGENDA
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E ITEM 4A
RECEIVE UPDATE ON THE 2025 STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
AND PROVIDE RESULTS ON STATE LEGISLATION.
6C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 7C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 2025 State Legislative Session Overview
• 2,300 Total Bills Introduced
• House: 1,777
• Senate: 1,056
• 1,247 Bills sent to Gov. Newsom for review
• Signed: 1124 (~90%)
• Vetoed: 123 (~10%)
• Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi
• Alignment: 45%
• Senator Ben Allen
• Alignment: 35%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Letters of Support Letters of Opposition
City of Torrance Position Letters
8C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 2025-2026
9 SB 79
• Allows residential buildings up to seven stories within a walkable half-mile of many major train, light-rail, subway and high-frequency rapid bus stations — even if local zoning restrictions would otherwise ban such dense development. • Effect: No immediate impacts to Torrance. Once K-Line (previously C-Line) is extended, areas near new stop at MKG Regional Transit Center and Redondo Beach Transit Center will be subject to requirements.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 06/03/2025 and 10/08/2025 (Veto) Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 512, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 10 AB 507
• Requires local governments to ministerially approve adaptive reuse office-to- residential conversion projects statewide.
• Requires an affordability component.
• Exempts adaptive reuse office-to-residential projects from all impact fees, except any impacts resulting from the site's change of use from non-residential to residential or mixed-use.
• Goes into effect on July 1, 2026
City Position: Oppose
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 493, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 11 AB 893
• Current law allows affordable or mixed-income housing developments in office, retail, or parking zones to qualify as “use by right” subject to streamlined ministerial review. • This bill ensures existing easements do not disqualify properties from streamlined reviews.
• Allows projects in campus development zones to qualify for streamlined review, provided they meet affordability standards a.
• Projects located partially or wholly within a half-mile radius of a main campus for a UC, CSU, California Community College are considered within a campus development zone.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 12 AB 893 (CONT.)
• Limits local government review of sites to only areas impacted by construction. • Modifies parking setback requirements, applying them only to above ground parking. • Requires HCD to undertake at least two studies on the outcomes of the act; to be completed on or before January 1, 2027, and another to be completed on or before January 1, 2031.
• No state reimbursement is needed for these mandates.
City Position: No official position. SBCCOG + Cal Cities Oppose Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 500, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 13 AB 1061
• Eliminates the historical district protections for SB 9 projects (urban lot splits on single-family zoned parcels).
• Local governments may only disallow the project if it is on a historical landmark.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 04/28/25 and 10/08/25 (Veto) Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 505, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 14 AB 1154
• Minor code clean up in California Government Code Section 66322 for existing exemptions.
• Provision to remove owner-occupancy requirement for Junior ADUs that have separate sanitation facilities.
• Requires Junior ADUs to be rented for terms longer than 30 days.
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 507, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 15 SB 9
• Under current law, local agencies mist submit ADU ordinances to HCD within 60 days of adoption. If necessary, agencies must respond and amend ordinances within 30 days.
• This bill invalidates ordinances not submitted within 60 days. • Invalidates ordinances not revised/responded to within 30 days of HCD findings.
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 510, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 16 SB 634
• Prohibits a local jurisdiction from adopting a local ordinance, or enforcing an existing ordinance that restricts:
• A person or organization from providing support services to a person who is homeless or assisting with;
• Any act related to basic survival.
• Current law prohibits a state agency from adopting or enforcing any rule or a violation of which can result in the imposition of a fine or imprisonment, or both, unless by a statute.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 06/25/25 and 10/08/25 (Veto) Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 521, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 17 SB 346
• Require short-term rental facilitators to provide the physical address, including ZIP Code, of a short-term rental listing to the City, (upon request). •
• If address is not sufficient: Allow the City to request Assessors Parcel Number (APN), the listing URL, and additional identification information • Provides cities audit authority for transient occupancy taxes collected and remitted by short-term rental facilitators.
City Position: Support
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 751, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 18 SB 707
• The Ralph M. Brown Act requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body, as defined, of a local agency be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate.
• Until January 1, 2030, requires a city council or a county board of supervisors to comply with additional meeting requirements, including that all open and public meetings include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a 2-way telephonic service or a 2-way audiovisual platform, as defined, that a system is in place for requesting and receiving interpretation services for public meetings, as specified, and that the city council or county board of supervisors encourage residents to participate in public meetings, as specified.
City Position: Opposition
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 327, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 19 AB 339
• Requires the governing body of a public agency to give recognized employee organization no less than 45 days’ written notice before issuing a request for proposals, request for quotes, or renewing or extending an existing contract to perform services that are within the scope of work of the job classification represented by the recognized employee organization.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 07/17/25 and 10/08/25 (Veto) Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 687, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 20 AB 253
• On a “completed application,” the local jurisdiction must give an estimated timeframe for compliance review.
• If the estimated timeframe > 30 business days, or no compliance determination within 30 days, applicant can hire a private professional provider to perform plan check. • “Private professional provider” means a professional engineer… or an architect ….who is currently certified as a residential plans examiner…. the private professional provider shall not have a financial interest in the residential building permit or in preparing the plans and specifications.
• Private professional provider must submit an affidavit (under penalty of perjury) and a plan check report; jurisdiction must act within 10 business days after receipt or deemed approved. • If the local agency notifies noncompliance, applicant may resubmit or have corrections reviewed.
Status: Signed by the Governor on 10/10/2025 as urgency (effective immediately)
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 21 AB 671
• Local permitting department shall allow, upon request from an applicant for a permit for a tenant improvement relating to a restaurant, a qualified professional certifier to certify, at the applicant’s expense, compliance with applicable building, health, and safety codes for the tenant improvement.
• The local building department or enforcement agency must approve or deny the permit application within 20 business days after receiving a complete application. • If the agency fails to act within 20 business days, the certified plan is deemed approved for permitting purposes, assuming fees and documents are submitted. • If the department denies the initial application, the applicant can resubmit corrected plans addressing only the deficiencies cited. The department’s review of each resubmission is limited to those deficiencies, and it must act within 10 business days of receipt. • Mandates audits of certified plans.
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 470, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 22 SB 627
• This bill makes it a crime for a law enforcement officer, as defined, to wear a facial covering in the performance of the duties, except as specified, and requires any law enforcement agency operating in California to maintain and publicly post a written policy limiting the use of facial coverings, as specified. • By July 1, 2026, a law enforcement agency, as defined, operating in California shall maintain and publicly post a written policy regarding the use of facial coverings • City Position: Letter of Opposition sent on 07/09/2025 • Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 125, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 23 SB 635
• Prohibits an agency or department of a local authority that regulates street vendors or compact mobile food operations (CMFOs), or enforces sidewalk vending regulations, from collecting citizenship or criminal background data, and limits the activities that a local government can do related to immigration enforcement.
City Position: Letter of Opposition sent on 07/03/2025
Status: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 463, Statutes of 2025.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 24 Dead/Vetoed Bills
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 25 AB 1383
Modifies the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) to increase pensionable compensation, defined benefit retirement formulas, and contribution cost sharing. • Sets, for service earned on or after January 1, 2026, the pensionable compensation limit for all PEPRA members to a related dollar limitation established and adjusted annually for inflation under federal law. • Lowers the benefit age factor, from age 57 to age 55, for the three existing retirement formulas for PEPRA safety members and creates a fourth PEPRA safety formula of 3% at age 55, applicable to existing and new PEPRA members beginning January 1, 2026. An employer and employees may agree in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to place members in a lower or higher safety formula. • Allows an employer and employees to collectively bargain and agree in an MOU for the employer to pay a portion of an employee’s contribution.
City Position: Letter of Opposition sent on 05/02/2025
Status: Bill Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 26 SB 445
• Directs the High-Speed Rail Authority (HSRA), in consultation with specified entities, to develop both internal rules governing HSRA’s engagement of specified utilities to ensure coordination and cooperation in relocating utility infrastructure and regulations governing local agency permits and approvals. • Requires local governments, utilities, and other third parties to respond to permit requests within specific timeframes to prevent delays, making the process faster and more reliable.
City Position: Letter of Opposition sent on 07/10/2025
Status: Bill Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 27 AB 470
• This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), in coordination with the Office of Emergency Services (OES), to adopt a process for telephone corporations to petition the CPUC to amend their status as a carrier of last resort (COLR) in designated areas by December 15, 2026, as specified.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 07/16/25 and 10/08/25 (Veto) Status: Bill Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 28 AB 986
• California Emergency Services Act gives the Governor authority to proclaim a state of emergency in an area affected or likely to be affected when: conditions of disaster or extreme peril exist; the Governor is requested to do so upon request from a designated local government official; or the Governor finds that local authority is inadequate to cope with the emergency.
• Current statute provides multiple examples of conditions that may constitute an emergency, including, but not limited to, earthquakes, fires, and floods. AB 986 would add landslides to that list.
City Position: Letter of Support sent on 09/18/25
Status: Vetoed
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 29 AB 11
• Create a state housing authority to build residential development in communities across California to meet the state’s RHNA goals for extremely low and very low- income housing.
• Does not need to comply with local housing elements approved by the state, follow local regulations, zoning codes or height limits.
• The proposed housing authority only needs to consult with local jurisdictions’ preferences for the specific site of development, the number of stories, the number of units, or the development timeline.
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 04/28/2025 Status: Bill Died
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 30 AB 303
• Revises the permitting review process for Battery Energy Storage Systems facilities. • Denies any pending applications as of the effective date of AB 303. • Provide objective separation requirements and would impose a state-mandated local program to review proposed development projects that include a battery energy storage system at the local agency level.
City Position: Support
Status: Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 31 AB 609
• Exempts a housing development project that meets certain conditions on sites up to 20 acres from the requirements of CEQA.
• Requires a local government, to require the development proponent to complete a phase I environmental assessment as a condition of approval.
Status: Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 32 AB 650
• Amends and significantly improve the housing element review process. • Allows local jurisdictions to begin Housing Element update and planning six (6) months earlier, providing greater clarity, providing certainty to a difficult and complex process.
• Support good faith actors that are working through the housing element review process.
• Require HCD to provide written communication that identifies specific deficiencies in the proposed Housing Element draft and text or analysis.
City Position: Support
Status: Vetoed
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 33 AB 736
• Authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10 billion dollars to finance affordable rental housing and homeownership programs.
• Allows for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the June 2, 2026, statewide primary election.
City Position: Support
Status: Bill Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 34 AB 874
• Requires local agencies to waive all fees or charges for a residential development project that has a 55-year regulatory agreement with at least 49% of the total units reserved for lower-income households at an affordable rent. • Only allows the local agency to collect fees to fund code enforcement, inspection services, or other fees to pay for enforcing local ordinances or state law.
Status: Died in Committee
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 35 SB 569
• This measure requires Caltrans to develop locally tailored plans for homeless encampments on state-owned land. It would also require the department to establish advisory committees in each Caltrans district, set clear timelines, speed up the contracting process, and provide additional funding to better help transition people into shelter and services.
City Position: Support
Status: Bill Died
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 36 SB 677
• Limits local government’s ability to impose objective standards on SB 9 projects with 1,750 net habitable square feet in the floor area.
• Eliminates local agencies’ ability to enforce:
City Position: Letter of Opposition Submitted on 04/25/2025 Status: Bill Died
• Setback requirements.
• Height.
• Lot coverage.
• Floor area ratios.
• Any other standard that would limit residential
development capacity for these projects.
• Prohibits local governments from collecting impact
fees for projects less than 1,750 square feet.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 37 Gonsalves & Sons Update
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 38 STAFF RECOMMENDATION
• Recommendation of the City Manager and
Community Development Director that the City
Council State Legislative Advocacy Committee
accept/file an update on the 2025 State Legislative
Session.
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E 39 QUESTIONS?
C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
40C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E
CLOSING REMARKS
41C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E
ADJOURNMENT
42C I T Y C O U N C I L S T A T E L E G I S L A T I V E A D V O C A C Y C O M M I T T E E