California legislation · 2025-2026 Regular Session
California AB1997: Land use: housing development approvals: timelines and processes.
Status: Vetoed, September 30, 2026
What the bill says
An act to amend Sections 65928, 65950, and 65952 of, and to add Section 65928.6 to, the Government Code, relating to housing. housing Land use: housing development approvals: timelines and processes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect…
From the enrolled text, August 27, 2026:
An act to amend Sections 65928, 65950, and 65952 of, and to add Section 65928.6 to, the Government Code, relating to housing. housing Land use: housing development approvals: timelines and processes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. The Permit Streamlining Act sets forth various procedures for the review and approval of development project applications. Among other things, the act requires a public agency that is the lead agency or a responsible agency for a development project to approve or disapprove the project within a specified period of time, which varies depending on the project’s phase in the CEQA process. The act defines “development project” to include …