by Gennady Sheyner
June 11, 2025
An ambitious and divisive housing bill that seeks to encourage taller and denser developments near transit lines survived a key vote in the state Senate last week with the assistance of state Sen. Josh Becker, though its ultimate fate remains uncertain is it moves to the Assembly.
Andrew Keatts
June 4, 2025
California’s most significant attempt to supercharge dense homebuilding is closer than ever to passage.
Why it matters: The state’s housing shortage and affordability crisis could be beginning to translate into significant policy changes. State of play: SB 79, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, passed the Senate Tuesday and now moves to the Assembly for approval. The bill would allow private developers to build dense apartment buildings between four to seven stories near transit stops, regardless of local development restrictions.
By DAN WALTERS
May 29, 2025
Last week, the California Senate appeared to double down on making housing development more difficult and costly, shunting a bill aimed at making it easier to build housing for lower-income families by exempting some projects from the California Environmental Quality Act.
By Danielle McLean
May 27, 2025
Six cities outside Denver sued the state of Colorado to block a pair of laws forcing communities to reform local land-use restrictions to allow for more housing construction, claiming the legislation violates their home rule rights.
The lawsuit follows a May 16 executive order signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis that ties distribution of more than $100 million in state funding for cities and towns to whether they complied with laws passed during the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions to address the statewide housing shortage.
BY RYAN SABALOW AND HANS POSCHMAN
MAY 19, 2025
As lawmakers rush through thousands of bills in Sacramento and make decisions in secret, regular Californians are often silenced. Landon Morrison, a recovering addict, wanted to tell lawmakers why they should support legislation he believes will hold troubled drug and alcohol treatment centers accountable. But after getting on the road at 4 a.m. for the six-hour drive to Sacramento from Los Angeles County, he didn’t get to say a single word because previous speakers talked too long.
By Jeremy B. White
May 15, 2025
In the space of two minutes, Gov. Gavin Newsom reordered a political standoff over California’s housing crisis. The governor on Wednesday threw his weight behind a push to turbocharge housing construction statewide by slashing local restrictions and environmental reviews. With divisions among legislative Democrats imperiling a package of bills, Newsom announced during a news conference that he would instead advance those policy changes through the budget, over which he has considerably more leverage.