Updated on October 17, 2025. Originally published on June 18, 2025.
The 2025-2026 legislative session has come to an end, and Greenbelt Alliance is happy to announce that eight of our endorsed bills were signed into law! It is an exciting moment in California, as we push for more climate-smart growth and sustainable land-use policies.
Some of the most transformative bills in recent history were signed into law.
We are especially proud of our first co-sponsored bill, Senta Bill 79 (Wiener), passing the legislature and being signed into law. This bill will provide many new resilient homes near public transit, a crucial step to alleviate the crippling housing crisis in our state. “We are beginning to shift away from decades of harmful development patterns and move toward building a more sustainable and affordable future,” explained Jordan Grimes, Legislative Director, Greenbelt Alliance. “This critical change will help safeguard our natural and working lands while delivering lasting benefits for our climate, our environment, and our communities.”
This year also saw new major reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that exempt sustainable infill housing developments from having a full environmental review.
Every year, Greenbelt Alliance selects legislative priorities to further our mission to educate, advocate, and collaborate, ensuring the Bay Area’s lands and communities are resilient to a changing climate. Learn more about our legislative priorities here and check out our most recent highlights below:
Legislative Wins
SB 427 (Blakespear) — Extension of the Habitat Conservation Fund
Status: Signed into law
SB 427 extends the Habitat Conservation Fund until 2035 to protect critical flora and fauna. California’s diverse ecosystems are integral to the state’s health, sequester carbon, and provide natural buffers for communities against climate-related hazards.
SB 79 (Wiener) — Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act
Status: Signed into law
SB 79 codifies transit-oriented development (TOD) as an essential strategy to produce more homes, increase affordability, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By building near major transit stops, such as BART, Caltrain, or the San Diego Trolley, we can promote reduced car use and healthier communities.
For far too long, California has embraced development patterns that have harmed our communities and environment. Making it difficult to build in our existing cities and towns has pushed development further out and caused sprawl—paving over critical wildlife habitat and productive farmland and worsening the affordability crisis in California.
SB 79 advances Greenbelt Alliance’s holistic vision for climate-smart growth while protecting our natural and working lands, and it’s one of the most impactful pieces of legislation we have ever supported.
AB 609 (Wicks) — The CEQA Exemption for Environmentally-Friendly Housing Act
Status: Signed into law
Initially presented as AB 609, this piece of legislation was later incorporated into the AB 130 budget trailer bill to exempt infill housing projects from the traditional environmental review (CEQA) process. By adding it into the budget, Governor Newsom was able to fast-track the bill through the legislature. The bill limits CEQA under set infill conditions, including: projects of 20 acres or less, located in incorporated cities or urbanized areas, with prior or adjacent urban development, consistent with local plans, and meeting at least half the minimum residential density.
While it sparked heated debates among advocates, Greenbelt Alliances endorsed AB 609 because it is a clear and focused exemption that supports housing developments in the right places—within already developed areas. Its narrow scope ensures that low-density and sprawl developments are still accountable to environmental review.
Learn more about our take in the blog “Now You CEQA, Now You Don’t: Unpacking Major New Reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act” and join the upcoming Alliance for Housing and Climate Solutions session on the topic.
AB 1021 (Wicks) — Streamlining housing projects on educational institution lands
Status: Signed into law
AB 1021 streamlines housing projects proposed by and on local school districts; it additionally allows these projects to be exempt from CEQA review if the right affordability requirements are met.
SB 71 (Wiener) — CEQA exemption for transit projects
Status: Signed into law
SB 71 streamlines sustainable transportation projects by fast-tracking them through California’s environmental review procedure (CEQA), allowing many to be exempt from the CEQA process altogether.
SB63 (Wiener) — Bay Area Regional Transit Measure
Status: Signed into law
Facing a fiscal cliff, public transit agencies throughout the Bay Area are still recovering from the pandemic and are in need of additional funding to strengthen their capacity to connect our communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
SB 63 outlines a sales tax mechanism that will go directly to support transit operations, maintenance, oversight, and others. With Governor Newsom codifying the bill, the regional transit measure will now become a proposition for Bay Area voters in the November 2026 election. Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties will decide on a ½ cent sales tax to support public transit, while San Francisco County will decide on a 1-cent sales tax.
AB 357 (Alvarez) — Student and Faculty Housing Success Act
Status: Signed into law
AB 357 requires the Coastal Commission to approve or deny completed coastal development permit applications within 90 days of submission. This applies if the application involves student, faculty, or staff housing development. This bill allows the construction of housing on any property owned by a local educational agency under specific conditions. This provision would last until January 1, 2036. The bill also clarifies that education housing projects can be exempt from CEQA review if they meet the right affordability requirements.
SB 484 (Laird) — Coastal Zone Permitting Exclusion
Status: Signed into Law
This bill supports new housing development in the coastal zone by allowing certain projects to skip getting a coastal development permit (in addition to a typical development permit) if they meet the affordability and infill criteria. It requires the Coastal Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to identify potential areas that would be applicable and allow them to have the coastal permitting exclusion.
Status of Remaining Bills
SB 5 (Cabaldon) — Protecting Farmlands from Sprawl
Status: Vetoed by Governor Newsom
SB 5 was a key bill in the fight against sprawl and development in our open spaces and farmlands. It sought to close a loophole in the Williamson Act that inadvertently would allow developers to enjoy tax benefits that are intended for farmland protection.
Unfortunately, the bill was vetoed by the Governor, who argued that local jurisdictions already can decide whether Williamson Act lands are included in EIFDs. While this is true, the core intent of the legislation was to protect agricultural lands under Williamson Act contracts from development through EIFDs, preventing sprawl and loss of farmland. The issue is not one of local control, but of farmland conservation.
AB 736 (Wicks)— Affordable Housing Bond Act
Status: Held in committee
To address the housing shortage and skyrocketing housing costs in California, AB 736 would have authorized the state to issue $10 billion worth of bonds for development projects. These bonds would have been used to fund affordable rental housing and home ownership programs, including the Multifamily Housing Program, the CalHome Program, and the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Program.
AB 902 (Schultz) — Transportation projects and barriers to wildlife movement
Status: Held in the suspense file in Senate Appropriations
AB 902 requires lead agencies to integrate wildlife connectivity into their transportation infrastructure projects in designated areas throughout the state.
This is a critical bill for long-term ecological resilience because it supports wildlife connectivity in natural environments. This has compounding benefits, allowing animals to have greater access to food, water, and mates (integral for genetic diversity against disease) while also allowing freedom of migration, whether that is natural movement or in response to environmental hazards.
SB 445 (Wiener) — Sustainable Transportation Planning Projects
Status: Held in committee
This bill establishes standards and timelines for what qualifies as a sustainable transportation project and how a lead agency interacts and collaborates with third-party entities. Notably, it sets deadlines for relevant bodies to comply with the permitting process.
AB 1294 (Haney) — Permit Streamlining Act
Status: Held in committee
The Permit Streamlining Act would allow the State’s Housing Department, HCD, to set clear standards for development applications statewide. It holds cities accountable for following application processes on time and mandates them to be transparent on scheduled fees and other requirements.
End of Legislative Season
The 2025-2026 legislative session created new laws to streamline infill housing development, protect natural habitats, and reform CEQA to be more effective. Some of these bills were years in the making, and we are incredibly excited to see them become law!
Greenbelt Alliance is proud that many of our endorsed bills passed, and we will continue to work with partners and decision-makers to hold agencies and jurisdictions accountable.
