The housing crisis in America is now a nationwide issue, with cities like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Miami seeing housing costs rise even faster than in California, and the problem is not caused by ideology, but by the politics of land use and the privilege of homeownership.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the most sweeping reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act in over five decades, creating ten new CEQA exemptions for projects such as infill housing, child care centers, and broadband infrastructure, and investing nearly $1.4 billion in new investments for affordable housing, renters, and first-time homebuyers.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a 2025 state budget that includes CEQA reforms to speed up housing development, which is seen as a crucial policy shift in modern California history.
Environmental justice groups and conservation advocates are opposing Senate Bill and Assembly Bill 131, which they say would rollback environmental protections in California, exempting large-scale industrial developments from environmental review, allowing public agencies to withhold critical decision-making documents from the public, and weakening legal protections for endangered species, air and water quality, and community health.
California State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo presented a Senate joint resolution (SJR 9) denouncing the mass deportation raids targeting workers and families in the state, affirming that California stands with immigrant families, workers and community leaders against neighborhood intimidation and reaffirming constitutional rights.
California Democrats are struggling to address the housing crisis, with the governor’s proposal to streamline housing development being met with resistance from labor, environmental, and local government factions, while the state’s failure to build more homes per capita threatens to spark a backlash from middle- and upper-middle-class voters.
A coalition of California and national civil rights leaders called on Governor Gavin Newsom to commute the death sentences of all 574 individuals currently on California’s death row, citing systemic injustice, racial bias, and irreparable harm.
La Passeggiata, an affordable housing development in Stockton, will transform excess state-owned land into 94 energy-efficient homes for low-income Californians, part of Governor Newsom’s initiative to address the nation’s affordable housing crisis.
The Trump administration has threatened to revoke federal education funding to California if the state does not ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ high school sports, sparking a clash with the state’s existing law that allows students to participate in school programs consistent with their gender identity.
California lawmakers have eliminated new funding for the HHAP program in fiscal year 2025–26, potentially halting progress in addressing homelessness and forcing local governments to scale back services and programs.
A coalition of environmental and labor leaders is urging California lawmakers to halt a rushed effort to weaken the state’s foundational environmental law, citing overwhelming public support for the CEQA and opposition to legislative attempts to scale it back.
The June 2023 Quarterly Survey of Apartment Construction & Development Activity shows a decline in construction delays, but still reports labor availability and material issues, with a slight shift towards improvement in market conditions and a rebound in market confidence.
California is set to implement a major environmental and housing reform with the expected signing of AB 609 into law, which will exempt certain infill housing projects from CEQA review, allowing for faster and more efficient construction of new homes in already developed areas.
The US housing market is experiencing a paradox where more homes are on the market, but fewer people are able to afford them due to rising prices and mortgage rates, highlighting a broken system that needs aggressive policy solutions to tackle the supply and cost sides of the housing equation.
California State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez has introduced the No Vigilantes Act, which aims to strengthen the state’s laws against police impersonation and require law enforcement officers to display clear identification.
The housing crisis is a growing problem in the US, with millions of middle-class people struggling to afford homes, and it is not just a free market issue, but a systemic one caused by decades of artificial scarcity and artificial barriers to home ownership.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom celebrated a court ruling that allows Newport Beach to implement its housing element without a public vote, rejecting a legal challenge based on a local charter provision.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has appointed 16 new judges to county trial courts across the state, including six in Los Angeles County, one in Merced County, one in Orange County, one in San Diego County, two in San Francisco County, three in Santa Clara County, one in San Joaquin County, and one in Tulare County.
States across the country are stepping up to dismantle outdated zoning rules and encourage denser development to combat housing scarcity and inequality, while cities must step up to support the new laws or risk being left behind.
California is increasing penalties for retail theft, but lacks comprehensive data to determine if the changes are working, and the state is flying blind without it.