The measures are aimed at helping the state combat the ongoing housing crisis, according to the governor’s office.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on June 30 signed two bills into law that overhaul the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act as part of an effort to ease the housing crisis and reduce homelessness.
Newsom gave his stamp of approval to Assembly Bill 130 and SB 131, in a move his office described as “the most significant overhaul of California’s housing and environmental review laws in decades.”
The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, passed in 1970, requires a thorough review of proposed developments for their environmental impacts and the adoption of measures to reduce or eliminate those impacts.
Specifically, the act established a state policy of sustainability to “create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony to fulfill the social and economic requirements of present and future generations,” according to California attorney general’s office.
The bills modernize the CEQA review process for critical housing and infrastructure, the governor’s office said. The bills were passed as part of the governor’s 2025-26 budget.
They include a “comprehensive streamlining package” that will help reduce long-standing development barriers, create new tools to speed up production, cut costs, and improve accountability across the state, according to his office.
Newsom thanked the many housing, labor, and environmental leaders who, in addition to the legislature, helped pass the law.
According to his office, the two bills will streamline the CEQA review to speed up the delivery of housing and infrastructure projects—such as high-speed rail facilities, utilities, broadband, community-serving facilities, and wildfire prevention—while also maintaining protections for natural and sensitive lands.
The bills also exempt local government rezoning procedures from CEQA requirements.
The measures will accelerate the housing permitting and approvals process by expanding the Permit Streamlining Act, and limiting certain Coastal Commission housing appeals, Newsom’s office said. They will also make permanent key provisions of the Housing Accountability Act and Housing Crisis Act.
Newsom’s office said measures also bolster regulatory stability and help control costs by freezing new residential building standards through 2031 with exceptions for emergency, fire, and conservation-related updates.
