Bills

AB 1070: Residential developments: building standards: review.

  • Session Year: 2025-2026
  • House: Assembly

Current Status:

In Progress

(2026-01-22: In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.)

Introduced

First Committee Review

First Chamber

Second Committee Review

Second Chamber

Enacted

Version:

Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission (commission) within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code (code). Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety once every 3 years.

Existing law requires the building standards and rules and regulations to impose substantially the same requirements as are contained in the most recent editions of specified international or uniform industry codes, including the International Residential Code of the International Code Council.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) and requires the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department.

This bill would require the department to convene a working group no later than December 31, 2027, to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards allowing residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be built under the requirements of the California Residential Code, as specified. The bill would require the department, no later than December 31, 2028, to provide a one-time report of its findings to the Legislature in the annual report described above. The bill, if the report identifies and recommends amendments to building standards, would require the department to research, develop, and consider proposing the standards for adoption by the commission, as specified. For the purposes of these provisions, the bill would authorize the department to exceed the scope and application of the International Residential Code to allow residential developments of between 3 and 10 units to be designed and constructed under the requirements of the California Residential Code.

The bill would additionally require the department to perform a review of construction cost pressures for single-family and multifamily residential construction as a result of new or existing building standards and provide its findings to the Legislature in its above-described annual report on or before December 31, 2027. The bill would require the department to perform the same review every 3 years to revise or update standards, as specified.

Existing law provides for the formation of various transit districts and specifies the duties and powers of their governing boards. Existing law authorizes a transit district to compensate a member of the governing board for attending a board meeting and for engaging in other district business, as provided.This bill would prohibit a transit district from compensating a member of the governing board unless the member demonstrates personal use of the transit system, as specified. The bill would require the governing board of a transit district to include 2 nonvoting members and 4 alternate nonvoting members, as specified. The bill would require nonvoting members and alternate nonvoting members to have certain rights and protections, including the right to attend and participate in all public meetings of the governing board, except as specified. The bill would require the chair of the governing board of a transit district to exclude these nonvoting members from meetings discussing, among other things, negotiations with labor organizations. By expanding the duties of transit districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Discussed in Hearing

Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development12MIN
Jan 14, 2026

Assembly Standing Committee on Housing and Community Development

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News Coverage:

AB 1070: Residential developments: building standards: review. | Digital Democracy