Building regulations: state building standards.

Assembly Members Schultz and Rivas, responding to California's housing crisis, propose a six-year moratorium on local modifications to residential building standards, marking a significant shift toward state-level oversight of housing construction requirements.

From June 2025 through June 2031, cities and counties must obtain California Building Standards Commission approval before modifying residential building standards, unless the changes match existing local requirements from January 2025, address emergency health and safety needs, or relate to home hardening measures. The commission must reject proposed modifications that do not meet these criteria. This restriction applies to all municipalities, including charter cities, reflecting the bill's designation of housing availability as a statewide concern rather than a local matter.

The legislation also temporarily exempts residential building standards from the standard 18-month code adoption cycle and limits the commission's authority to approve new standards. During this period, only emergency safety measures, home hardening requirements from the State Fire Marshal, and specific water conservation standards may receive consideration. These provisions aim to create regulatory consistency across jurisdictions while maintaining flexibility for critical safety updates.

The bill's findings cite California's housing shortage as the primary driver of affordability challenges, positioning standardized building requirements as one component of a broader strategy to increase housing supply and reduce construction barriers. As an urgency measure, the legislation would take effect immediately upon passage to address what its authors characterize as pressing economic and social impacts from the current housing situation.