California Municipal Law Blog
category:
Legislative Updates
by Kelly M. Doyle on March 18, 2026
posted in
Administrative Regulations, Brown Act, Legislative Updates, Meetings, Municipal Law,
Recognizing the utility of employing online meeting platforms for public meetings under the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, lawmakers recently approved legislation that would require certain public agencies to provide the public with both online and telephonic options at public meetings, among other requirements. This legislation, Senate Bill 707 (María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles), aims to modernize the Brown Act’s teleconferencing provisions while expanding the public’s access to local government meetings.
Scope
Many of the sweeping changes authorized by SB 707 ... Continue Reading
tags:
Brown Act, Hybrid meetings, Public meetings,
by Layla A. Sarwari on March 4, 2026
posted in
Administrative Regulations, Landlord-Tenant, Legislative Updates,
A trio of newly enacted statutes is reshaping the regulatory landscape for mobilehome parks across California, expanding tenant protections, modernizing notice requirements and imposing new disaster-response obligations that directly affect local governments and public agencies.
Assembly Bill 391
Assembly Bill 391 (Michelle Rodriguez, D-Ontario) amends Section 798.14 of the Civil Code to allow mobilehome park management to provide required notices to homeowners and residents electronically with affirmative written consent. This includes annual notices required by the Mobilehome Residency ... Continue Reading
tags:
ASSEMBLY BILL 391, ASSEMBLY BILL 806, CIVIL CODE AMENDMENTS, MOBILE HOME, MOBILEHOME, New laws, PUBLIC AGENCY LAW, SENATE BILL 610, TENANT LAWS,
by Stephen J. Zelezny on October 23, 2025
posted in
Administrative Regulations, CEQA, Legislative Updates,
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed landmark California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) reform legislation into law on June 30, 2025. Together, Senate Bill 131 (SB 131) and Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) exempt numerous development projects from extensive environmental review — enacting an urgent statewide effort to spur new housing construction. In addition to prioritizing housing, SB 131 also creates statutory exemptions for nonresidential developments, such as healthcare facilities, day care centers and broadband projects.
Municipalities, developers and residents will surely welcome these new CEQA reforms, ... Continue Reading
tags:
AB130, administrative record, CEQA, construction, developers, SB 131,
by Betsy Martyn on December 31, 2024
posted in
Administrative Regulations, CEQA, Code Enforcement, Employment Law, Legislative Updates, Uncategorised, Zoning,
Unless otherwise stated, all bills are effective January 1, 2025, and do not require an implementing ordinance to take effect. Please note, that the California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) is expected to release guidelines for some of the new housing laws. Our office will continue to update you as information is provided.
ZONING AND PLANNING
Zoning Ordinance Notice (Assembly Bill 2904) – Increases the notice period to 20 calendar days – Mandatory [Passed Sept. 27, 2024]
Assembly Bill 2904 (“AB 2904”) extends the notice period for public ... Continue Reading
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by Betsy Martyn on January 21, 2024
posted in
Legislative Updates,
GENERAL GOVERNMENTAL MATTERS
All bills take effect January 1, 2024, unless otherwise noted.
Brown Act: AB 557 revises the Brown Act (Govt. Code Section 54953) to remove the requirement (and corresponding references to that requirement) that there be a state declaration of an emergency to allow an all-zoom meeting. Instead, local agencies may continue to use teleconferencing during a proclaimed local state of emergency.
Public Agency Internet websites: AB 1637 adds Govt. Code Section 50034 which provides that no later than January 1, 2029, all public agencies must ... Continue Reading
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