2025 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: Where Key Bills Stand

advocacy update

2025 Legislative Session Wrap-Up: Where Key Bills Stand

Every year, the AIA California Board of Directors carefully considers legislation that could impact the architecture profession and the broader built environment. This process evaluates both opportunities and risks for architects, drawing on the expertise of our legislative staff and nearly 40 AIA CA members serving on our Climate Action, Housing, and Advocacy subcommittees.

This year was particularly active: the Legislature introduced 2,397 new bills—1,533 in the Assembly and 864 in the Senate. AIA California staff reviewed all of them, flagged several hundred as relevant to the profession, and elevated 62 bills to the Board for formal positions.

The 2025 legislative session adjourned on September 13^th. Governor Gavin Newsom has until October 13^th to act on measures that reached his desk. Here’s where the priority bills we’ve been tracking now stand:

Housing, Permitting, and Code Modernization

AB 507 (Haney) – Adaptive Reuse
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk [11.18.25 update – Signed into Law]
Streamlines conversion of underutilized commercial buildings into housing through ministerial approval, CEQA exemptions, and reduced parking mandates.
AB 306 (Schultz) – Building Standards Freeze
Position: Oppose Unless Amended | Status: Provisions enacted in the 2025 Budget; bill did not advance
The budget includes a temporary pause on updates to the California Residential Code (CRC) with limited exemptions.
AB 1265 (Haney) – Historic Tax Credit
Position: Support | Status: Paused for the year
Would have renewed and strengthened California’s Historic Tax Credit program to encourage rehabilitation of historic structures. Expected to return in 2026.
AB 6 (Ward) – Expansion of CRC
Position: Support | Status: Held in Assembly Appropriations; did not advance
Would have studied applying CRC standards to small-scale housing projects (3–10 units).
AB 368 (Ward) – Passive House Standards
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk [11.18.25 update – Signed into Law]
Directs the CEC to evaluate adopting Passive House standards as an alternative compliance pathway.
SB 607 (Wiener) – CEQA Reform
Position: Support | Status: Bill did not pass and was replaced with different language; elements of the bill were included in the 2025 Budget
Budget language included streamlining provisions and mapping requirements for infill projects.

Resilience and Disaster Recovery

AB 239, AB 818, AB 265, SB 663 – Disaster Recovery Package
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk
Covers interagency coordination, streamlined permitting, small business support, and property tax relief.
AB 783, AB 685, AB 1284
Position: Support | Status: Did not advance
Would have addressed construction material costs, nonprofit recovery support, and long-term recovery frameworks.
AB 39 (Zbur) – Local Electrification Planning
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk
Requires local governments to integrate electrification planning into general plans by 2030.
SB 677 (Wiener) – Streamlining
Position: Support | Status: Did not advance
Would have expanded and strengthened SB 9 and SB 423 housing streamlining laws.
SB 79 (Wiener) – Transit-Oriented Development
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk
Expands opportunities for multifamily housing near major transit stops by setting statewide minimum zoning standards and giving transit agencies more flexibility to use their land.
AB 253 (Ward) – Private Permitting Review
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk
Allows licensed architects and engineers to perform plan checks when local jurisdictions face delays.
AB 1, AB 888 – Resiliency Grants & Standards
Position: Support | Status: Passed; on the Governor’s desk
Funds home hardening retrofits and requires wildfire mitigation standards to be regularly updated.
AB 389, SB 269, AB 623
Position: Support | Status: Did not advance
Would have provided tax credits and CEQA exemptions for fire-safe improvements and defensible space projects.

Looking Ahead

Taken together, these measures illustrate how architects remain at the center of California’s most urgent challenges—housing supply, permitting reform, disaster recovery, and climate resilience.

AIA California will continue to monitor the Governor’s actions in the weeks ahead and prepare implementation guidance for members. We thank the many architect members who participated in reviewing bills this session—your expertise ensured our positions reflected both the realities of practice and the profession’s role in shaping California’s future.

👉 Click here for the full list of bills AIA California took positions on

As we look toward the 2026 session, you can help shape our advocacy priorities by participating in AIA CA’s Annual Advocacy Survey. Your input ensures our agenda reflects the needs and voices of the profession.

👉 Take the Advocacy Survey by October 10^th here