Major Changes to CEQA and California Housing Law Approved by Gov. Newsom

On June 30, 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two budget trailer bills—AB 130 and SB 131—that together work major changes both to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and California housing law. Because these bills were passed as part of the budget, they take effect immediately, making time of essence for a wide range of stakeholders to understand the scope and breadth of what they contain.

In broad strokes, the two bills create a series of changes to existing law that will have major ramifications:

CEQA changes

• A significantly expanded, wide-ranging suite of CEQA exemptions;
• A new way to mitigate significant transportation-related impacts—the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Fund;
• Litigation streamlining for certain types of projects, as well as administrative record reform; 
• Withdrawing Coastal Commission appeal jurisdiction for certain housing projects and requiring Coastal Commission reporting for appealed housing projects; and
• Directing the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly the Office of Planning and Research) to engage in rulemaking to effectuate infill housing streamlining.

Housing changes

• Streamlining application processing for housing projects;
• Ministerial processing clean-up actions for certain housing projects;
• Building code updates;
• CEQA streamlining for mixed use and infill residential projects;
• Transit-oriented development; and
• A wide-ranging list of housing clean-up actions addressing mortgage processing, tenants’ rights, affordable housing funding and many others

Webinar series

• Navigating the CEQA and Housing Shift: CEQA Law Overhauled
• Navigating the CEQA and Housing Shift: CEQA Reimagined

Due to the magnitude of the changes worked by AB 130 and SB 131 to both CEQA and housing law, Brownstein will roll out a series of client alerts focusing on these broad categories over the next several weeks. This forthcoming series on AB 130 and SB 131 is intended to provide bite-sized, digestible chunks of information that can help stakeholders understand what these two bills mean to them.

In the meantime, if you have any specific questions about either bill, please do not hesitate to contact the authors.

Find the rest of the series below:

• CEQA Infill Exemptions and “Near Miss” Streamlining—A Concrete Fix for California’s Housing Crisis?
• CEQA Reform: AB 130 and SB 131 Create Series of Exemptions for Wide Range of Projects
• AB 130 Accelerates the Permit Streamlining Act
• New Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation—Abundance or Another Bagel Topping?
• CEQA Reform: Admin Record Cleanup and Expanded Litigation Streamlining Eligibility
• AB 130 Places New Limitations on Building Code Updates for Residential Buildings
• AB 130 Withdraws Coastal Commission Appeal Jurisdiction for Certain Housing Projects
• How SB 131 Tries To Put the ‘Land’ Back in ‘Land Use’
• California Budget Bills Plug Holes to Stop Certain Projects from Sinking | Brownstein

This document is intended to provide you with general information regarding AB 130 and SB 131 in California. The contents of this document are not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about the contents of this document or if you need legal advice as to an issue, please contact the attorneys listed or your regular Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP attorney. This communication may be considered advertising in some jurisdictions. The information in this article is accurate as of the publication date. Because the law in this area is changing rapidly, and insights are not automatically updated, continued accuracy cannot be guaranteed.