May 27, 2025 | Housing, Legislation
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.
May 19, 2025 | Legislation
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.
May 17, 2025 | Current Bills, Housing, Legislation, Politics
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.
May 1, 2025 | Legislation
Dan Walters
May 1, 2025
California’s governors and legislators have a very bad habit of enacting major programs and projects without fully exploring their downside risks. The most spectacular example occurred in 1996, when a Republican governor, Pete Wilson, and a Democrat-controlled Legislature decided to overhaul California’s electric power industry.The legislation was hammered out in lengthy and secret negotiations. It was enacted with only cursory public input.
Apr 30, 2025 | Current Bills, Housing, Legislation
BY BEN CHRISTOPHER
APRIL 30, 2025
Two consecutive committee chairs getting overruled by their committee members signifies a growing rift among California Democrats about how to address the housing crisis. One of the most controversial housing bills of the year has lived to be voted upon another day, but only by surviving the Legislative equivalent of two back-to-back prison breaks.
Apr 22, 2025 | Housing, Legislation, Opinion
By Ann Duwe
Apr 22, 2025
When Governor Gavin Newsom declared he wanted 2.5 million new housing units in California, he failed to see how his “aspirational goal” would transform the Golden State into a matrix for high-rise, rental development. Newsom’s number became the basis for the 6th-cycle RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) numbers, the outsized housing demands now at the heart of every city’s housing element.
