AB 1561 · Housing Laws Navigator
Bills · 2019-2020 Session

AB 1561

Planning and zoning: housing element and entitlement extensions.Ch. 195, Stats. 2020 · chaptered 2020-09-28 · Current law

Key provisions · Claude summary of the digest, not bill text

Extended housing entitlements and tribal consultation response periods in response to the COVID-19 period, and broadened the housing element constraints analysis.

  • Entitlement extension. Extended by 18 months the expiration, effectuation, or utilization period of housing entitlements issued before and in effect on March 4, 2020, that would expire before December 31, 2021, except as specified.
  • No double extension. Provided that entitlements already extended by at least 18 months on the same conditions by a state or local agency on or after March 4, 2020, would not receive an additional 18 months, and preserved local authority to grant extensions.
  • Tribal consultation. Extended a California Native American tribe's 30-day response time by an additional 30 days for housing development project applications completed between March 4, 2020, and December 31, 2021.
  • Constraints analysis. Authorized, at HCD's discretion, a housing element analysis of governmental constraints on housing for persons with characteristics identified in a specified provision of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
  • Charter cities. Declared the changes a matter of statewide concern applying to all cities, including charter cities.
  • SB 1138 coordination. Incorporated additional changes to Government Code Section 65583 proposed by SB 1138, operative only if both were enacted and this bill was enacted last.

Paraphrased from the Legislative Counsel’s Digest. Check the bill text before relying on it.

ClaudeGreen text is a summary heading written by Claude to help navigate. It is not statute text; the statute text is in black.

Preamble

SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

(a) According to the Department of Housing and Community Development in its report entitled, “California’s Housing Future: Challenges and Opportunities: Final Statewide Housing Assessment 2025” (February 2018), homeownership rates for Black or African Americans are 35 percent, for Latino or Hispanic, 43 percent, and for American Indian or Alaskan Native, 45 percent.

(b) This report also found that among renters paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, 59 percent are Black or African American, 57 percent are Hispanic, and 51 percent are Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Alaskan Native.

SEC. 2In the navigator:§ 65583changes

Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 2.5In the navigator:§ 65583changes

Section 65583 of the Government Code is amended to read:

SEC. 3In the navigator:§ 65914.5changes

Section 65914.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:

SEC. 4

Section 2.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 1138. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2021, (2) each bill amends Section 65583 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 1138, in which case Section 2 of this bill shall not become operative.

SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

Source: LegiScan API, chaptered text of AB 1561 (2019-2020 Session).

Bill text is the chaptered version from LegiScan (California Legislature); spacing is normalized. Code section text in a bill is the text that bill chaptered, not necessarily the law in effect today. Not legal advice.