California Employment News: California Wage Compliance – Avoiding Legal Pitfalls
California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
(Podcast) California Employment News: CA Local Minimum Wage Updates
Adaptive Reuse: From Desks to Doorways
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 514: Listen and Learn -- Discovery (Civ Pro)
A Counterintuitive Approach to Winning Without Litigation: One-on-One with Haley Morrison
(Podcast) California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
California Employment News: Creating the Report for a Workplace Investigation – Part 4 (Featured)
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 511: Listen and Learn -- Landlord/Tenant Law (Part 1)
From Permits to Penalties: A Deep Dive Into Coastal Development Law
California Employment News: Synthesizing Evidence in a Workplace Investigation – Part 3 (Featured)
Doc Fees Decoded: The Price of Paperwork in Auto Sales — Moving the Metal: The Auto Finance Podcast
(Podcast) California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
California Employment News: Gathering Information in a Workplace Investigation – Part 2 (Featured)
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 314: Listen and Learn -- False Imprisonment and Shopkeeper’s Privilege (Torts)
(Podcast) California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
California Employment News: Starting a Workplace Investigation – Part 1 (Featured)
Feeling the Heat: Strategies to Keep Cool Under California's Consumers Legal Remedies Act — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The JustPod: Prosecutor-Initiated Resentencing: A Discussion with Hillary Blout
With the current housing shortage in California, coupled with recent regulatory changes, multifamily development is robust throughout the state. Perhaps the most consequential recent change is the reform of the California...more
As discussed in our earlier post, California's CEQA landscape has rapidly, and potentially seismically, evolved with the passage of AB 130 and SB 131. This post focuses on the immediate creation of a new statutory exemption,...more
This is the seventh update in our series covering AB 130 and SB 131, two bills that work substantive changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law....more
On June 30, 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two budget trailer bills—AB 130 and SB 131—that together work major changes both to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law. Because these bills...more
Originally enacted in 1970, the objective of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was to review projects to assess potential impacts on the environment, disclose those impacts to the public, and mitigate those...more
On June 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two budget bills that contained the most significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in decades, effective immediately. These changes create an...more
On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed into law a sweeping set of housing and infrastructure reforms as part of the 2025–2026 State Budget, marking one of the most significant overhauls of the California Environmental...more
On June 16, 2025, the San Diego City Council voted 5-4 to cap the number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) that can be built on single-family lots. The decision reverses the City’s 2020 implementation of a program allowing...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - Mayor Lurie names new S.F. planning director (SF Chronicle): Sarah Dennis Phillips has been named the City’s planning director,...more
In a show of bipartisan and bicameral unity, California lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping 20-bill legislative package aimed at overhauling the state’s housing development process. Branded as the “Fast Track Housing”...more
In part three of the Housing New Laws series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), attorneys provide synopses of important new housing legislation for 2025 governing local housing elements and State Density Bonus Law. Below are...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - Mayor Lurie launches initiative to speed up S.F.’s slow permitting process (SF Chronicle): The Mayor announced a new effort to...more
The Los Angeles City Council last Friday granted final approval to a sweeping rezoning plan that aims to boost housing development along commercial corridors and existing dense residential neighborhoods. In a 14-0 vote,...more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco Why Mission Bay is recovering faster than anywhere else in San Francisco (SF Standard): The redeveloped neighborhood is booming ahead...more
On Thursday, Sept. 19, Gov. Newsom signed a package of housing bills designed to address the housing crisis affecting California. Below is a brief summary of key bills....more
On September 19, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom approved Assembly Bill (AB) 2243 (Wicks), which amends AB 2011 (Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022), effective January 1, 2025. As explained in our prior legal...more
City of Los Angeles - Increase to Planning Applications and Affordable Housing Linkage Fees - On July 1, 2024, the fee for planning and land use applications increased by 3.5% based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban...more
The Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform held its first hearing on June 18, 2024, commencing its efforts to address California’s housing and climate crises by reforming the state’s land use permitting regime....more
A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team: San Francisco - Small and Mighty: How small businesses can reinvent downtown San Francisco (SPUR Policy Brief): SPUR’s research, drawn from a...more
It seems like year-after-year, attempts are made to reform or repeal California’s rent control regulations, namely the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Civ. Code §§ 1954.50 et seq.) (Costa-Hawkins Act). 2024 has proven to be...more
Two bills proposed to modify the Builder’s Remedy are currently making their way through the State Legislature. As currently proposed, AB 1893 (Wicks) would (i) reduce the required percentage of (lower income) affordable...more
Voters in San Francisco and California will again confront a formidable ballot during the election on March 5, 2024, with an array of qualified City measures and one state proposition to consider....more
Recognizing that Downtown San Francisco is “struggling” post-pandemic, State Senator Scott Wiener has announced new legislation to exempt certain projects in the area from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review...more
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, California is facing a jaw-dropping 3.5 million unit housing deficient for the current population. This despite several...more
The 2023 legislative cycle saw another mixed-bag of legislation dealing with CEQA “reform,” with a particular focus on streamlining affordable housing development. While many bills died during the process, a few key laws were...more