From Permits to Penalties: A Deep Dive Into Coastal Development Law
Navigating Environmental Restrictions on Alternative Project Delivery for Complex Infrastructure Projects
On-Demand Webinar | Charting a Course for Offshore Wind Energy in California
[WEBINAR] Update on the California Environmental Quality Act: What’s New for 2018
[WEBINAR] Building a Solar Energy Project in 2018
How Trump's Infrastructure Plan Impacts the Energy Industry
BB&K's Charity Schiller Discusses CEQA Baseline
Welcome to “CEQA News You Can Use,” a quarterly production of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP’s Natural Resources lawyers. This publication provides quick, useful bites of CEQA news, which we hope can be a resource for...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 our third update on the important changes in the two budget trailer bills, AB 130 and SB 131, after previous posts addressing the new CEQA exemption for infill housing and the “near miss” CEQA streamlining process....more
Much is discussed every year in the Legislature about how the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) needs reform. But the calls for change nearly always fail, aside from a few tinkering changes. This year is...more
On June 30, 2025, Governor Newsom signed AB 130 and SB 131 into immediately effective law as budget trailer bills, marking a historic effort to accelerate housing production and to reform the CEQA review process that has been...more
On June 30, 2025, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) and Senate Bill 131 (SB 131), legislation that contains significant changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that...more
On June 30, 2025, two budget trailer bills — Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) and Senate Bill 131 (SB 131) — were signed by Governor Newsom and went into effect immediately. In addition to significant modifications to the...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Originally enacted in 1970, the objective of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was to review projects to assess potential impacts on the environment, disclose those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, 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
In Cleveland National Forest Foundation v. County of San Diego (2025) 109 Cal. App.5th 1257, the Fourth District Court of Appeal invalidated two thresholds of significance adopted by the County of San Diego (“County”) that in...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 a published opinion filed March 27, 2025, the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) reversed the trial court’s judgment denying a writ petition, and held that two screening thresholds of significance for vehicle miles...more
Senator Scott Wiener is back with another bill – SB 79 – to provide for streamlined ministerial (i.e., no CEQA) approval of qualifying housing development projects near transit across California. For qualifying projects...more
In part one of the Housing New Laws series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), attorneys cover important new housing legislation for 2025 that updates the Housing Accountability Act and relates to housing development fees....more
In Part Five of the New Laws series from Best Best & Krieger LLP (BBK), new legislation for 2025 focusing on the Brown Act, Environment, Public Contracts, Affordable Housing, Elections and Employment Law includes key...more
On February 20, 2025, Senator Scott Wiener introduced Senate Bill No. 607 (SB 607), a proposed law that is relatively short in text length, but which would engender major CEQA reforms if enacted as currently drafted. The...more
Governor Gavin Newsom stepped up his intervention on the California Coastal Commission last Monday, chiding the agency for providing “legally erroneous guidance” that threatens to create confusion and delay the rebuilding...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
Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed two new bills that aim to boost housing supply and further address the state’s homelessness crisis....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
This article summarizes some of the most significant amendments to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that were enacted in 2023. Some housing laws that relate to CEQA are discussed in the article, “Recently...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
The 2023 legislative session culminated in Governor Newsom signing dozens of land use bills. This post discusses the most important. The Legislature continued its multifaceted approach to addressing the housing crisis, with...more