This article summarizes changes in California construction law taking effect in 2025.

Building Standards, Entitlements, and Excavation Requirements

Senate Bill 1432 Vetoed – Seismic Standards for Hospitals

SB 1432 would have revised the deadline to comply with the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 from January 1, 2030 to January 1, 2038, however, on September 12, 2024 the Governor vetoed SB 1432. Consequently, hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973 must move quickly to meet the 2030 seismic retrofit deadline to comply with the Act. The Act increased seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973, and required that, by January 1, 2030, owners of these hospitals demolish, replace, or change to nonacute care use all hospital buildings not in compliance with these standards, or seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospital buildings so they are in substantial compliance with these standards.

Assembly Bill 2729 – Permits and Other Entitlements for Development Projects

AB 2729 adds section 65914.4 to the Government Code, providing an 18-month extension to the expiration of state agency approvals, permits, or other entitlements for housing development projects issued before January 1, 2024, and expiring before December 31, 2025. AB 2729 does not limit any municipality from issuing its own extensions, but gives entitlement holders increased ability to extend issued entitlements a municipality is not willing or able to extend on its own. AB 2729 also tolls this 18-month extension during any time that the housing entitlement is the subject of a legal challenge.

Senate Bill 597 – Building Standards for Rainwater Catchment Systems

SB 597 adds Health and Safety Code section 17921.8, which provides guidelines for the Department of Housing and Community Development to explore possible new building standards for the installation of rainwater catchment systems for non-potable water uses in newly-constructed residential dwellings. SB 597 requires the Department of Housing and Community to report back to the Legislature with its research findings on or before January 1, 2027.

Assembly Bill 98 – New Warehouse Design and Building Standards

AB 98 adds Warehouse Design and Building Standards to the Government Code as section 65098, et seq. Beginning January 2026, AB 98 imposes new building standards relating to warehouse design and location, parking, truck loading bays, landscaping buffers, entry gates, and signage.

AB 98 broadly applies to all new development or expansions (20% or more) of logistics uses, unless an exception applies. A “logistics use” is defined as “a building in which cargo, goods, or products are moved or stored for later distribution to business or retail customers, or both, that does not predominantly serve retail customers for onsite purchases, and heavy-duty trucks are primarily involved in the movement of the cargo, goods, or products.” The applicable standards will depend on the size of the project, the existing zoning and the presence of sensitive areas, such as residences, schools, hospitals, and parks.

All New or Expanded Logistics Uses:

• Facility operators must prepare and submit a truck routing plan to and from the state highway system based on the jurisdiction’s latest truck map before receiving a certificate of occupancy, including enumerated measures to prevent trucks from queuing, circling, stopping, and parking on public streets.
• Entry gates to the loading truck docks must be positioned to allow 50-70 feet of available stacking depth inside the property line, depending on the number of loading bays.
• New logistic uses may only be located on roads designated as arterial roads, major thoroughfare, or local roads that predominantly serve commercial uses. Local jurisdictions may issue waivers of this requirement if there are no feasible alternative sites.
• Anti-idling signs must be installed at truck loading sites, the entrance, and at all truck exit driveways directing drivers to the proper truck route.
• If a logistics use development contemplates demolishing any housing unit that was occupied within the previous 10 years, the jurisdiction is required to impose a 2-to-1 replacement requirement as a condition of approval. The developer will also be required to pay any evicted tenants the equivalent of 12 months’ rent at their current rate.

Requirements For a New or Expanded Logistics Use Within 900 Feet of a Sensitive Area:

• Developments of 250,000 square feet or more and developments of less than 250,000 square feet located in a zone other than an industrial zone, must comply with Tier 1 21st Century Warehouse design elements, as defined in the statute. Loading bays must be located on the opposite side of the building from sensitive areas and truck entrances/exits must be located away from sensitive areas. Depending on zoning, truck loading bays must be setback 300 to 500 feet from property lines with sensitive areas, with landscape buffering along the sensitive areas.
• Developments of less than 250,000 square feet in an industrial zone must comply with the most current building energy efficiency standards and implement additional energy efficient systems as enumerated in the statute. Loading bays must be located on the opposite side of the building from sensitive areas and truck entrances/exits must be located away from sensitive areas with at least 50 feet of landscape buffering along sensitive areas.

Truck Routes

AB 98 requires counties or cities to update their circulation element by January 1, 2028, including identifying and establishing specific travel routes for the transport of goods, materials, or freight for storage, transfer, or redistribution to safely accommodate additional truck traffic and avoid residential areas and concentrations of sensitive areas.

Senate Bill 778 – Amendment to “Call Before You Dig” Law

SB 778 clarifies the California “Call Before You Dig” law or “Dig Safe Act” for excavators. In part, this bill requires an excavator to immediately cease excavation if an excavation ticket expires, and requires the excavator to obtain a new ticket. It further requires the excavator to call 911 immediately upon discovering or causing damage to a gas or hazardous liquid pipeline or high priority subsurface installation of any kind.

Building Inspections

Assembly Bill 2579 – Building Inspections of Exterior Elevated Elements

AB 2579 amends Health and Safety Code section 17973, California’s balcony inspections law, which provides governmental authority for entry and inspection of buildings with exterior elevated elements, such as decks and balconies, whenever necessary to secure compliance with or prevent a violation of the California Building Standards Code. Initially, the inspection deadline was January 1, 2025 for buildings with three or more multifamily dwelling units. AB 2579 extends the deadline for initial inspection to January 1, 2026.

Assembly Bill 2114 – Building Inspectors

AB 2114 expands the criteria within Section 5551 of the California Civil Code for persons who may inspect the exterior elevated elements of a condominium project to include licensed civil engineers, in addition to the originally allowed structural engineers and architects. Section 5551 was originally enacted after the balcony collapse in 2015 in Berkeley, California of an apartment building, killing six and injuring seven. It requires all exterior elevated elements of common interest developments to be visually inspected every nine years. Now, licensed civil engineers may also perform the required visual inspection.

Transparency in Housing Development Fees and Exactions

Assembly Bill 1820 – Estimates for Housing Development Projects

AB 1820 amends the provisions of Section 65940, et seq., of the Government Code to require local agencies to provide estimates of preliminary fee and exactions upon the submission of a preliminary application for a housing development project. State studies found that that the lack of transparency in fees charged by California's over 5000 local agencies deters housing development. Local agencies are now required to provide a good faith written estimate and itemized list of anticipated fees for a housing development project within 30 days of final project approval. However, these estimates and itemized lists are not legally binding on the local agency, and only provided for informational purposes.

Assembly Bill 3012 – Fee Estimate Tool

AB 3012 adds Government Code section 65940.2, which requires cities and counties to create and publish to their websites a fee estimate tool the public can use to estimate fees and exactions for any proposed housing development projects. If the city or county has a population of more than 500,000 people, it must meet this requirement on or before July 1, 2031. If the city or county has a population of 500,000 people or fewer, it must meet this requirement on or before July 1, 2032.

AB 3012 also requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to create a fee schedule template for proposed housing development projects that may be used by cities and counties, and a list of best practices regarding presenting information for fees and exactions levied by local jurisdictions.

Public School Districts

Senate Bill 956 – Design-Build Contracts for School Districts

SB 956 deletes the sunset provision of Section 17250.55 of the Education Code, authorizing California school districts to employ “design-build” or “best value” as delivery methods for projects over $1 million. Previously, the statute expired on January 1, 2025. Now, the provision is extended indefinitely, allowing school districts to employ alternative construction delivery methods in perpetuity.

Assembly Bill 3116 – “Density Bonus” For Student Housing Development

AB 3116 expands “density bonus” incentives for developers who include student housing for lower income students in a development. Density bonus incentives vary by locale, but generally include incentives like relaxed construction standards, approval of additional floors for construction, modification of zoning restrictions, or waiver of fees. Existing law provides density bonus incentives for projects that include at least 20% of total units for lower income students in a student housing development. This amendment would require two density bonus incentives for any project that sets aside 23% of its development for affordable student housing.

Contractor Licensure

Assembly Bill 2622 – “Minor Work” Exemption for Contractor Licensure Requirements

AB 2622 expands the “minor work” exemption of Section 7027.2 and 7048 of the Business and Professions Code, which requires contractors to possess licenses issued by the Contractors State License Board for construction projects. Existing law allows a minor work exemption for projects costing $500 or less. The new statutes expand this allowance to $1,000 or less, citing the decrease in buying power of $500 since the last amendment to these statutes in 1998.

Senate Bill 1455 – Contractors State License Board Reforms

SB 1455 extends the sunset date for the Contractors State License Board and its authority to appoint a registrar until January 1, 2029, and enacts minor policy reforms. These reforms include deleting the requirement for a contractor to submit an employment duty statement for a qualifying individual, and adding a mandate that a contractor pay reasonable fees associated with a professional or expert investigation resulting from a public complaint. Existing law requires all contractors to obtain worker's compensation insurance by January 1, 2026, or submit a certificate of exemption stating they have no employees. This bill delays the deadline until January 1, 2028.

Design Professionals

Senate Bill 1048 – Government Code Definition of “Site Plan”

SB 1048 narrows the definitions of “site plan” within section 65103.5 of the Government Code, which balances the intellectual property rights of an architect or designer to his/her designs and the needs of a local planning agency for public disclosure of said designs. The original statute requires the local agency to protect full architectural drawings that contain copyright protected information in a manner that does not facilitate copying. These protections include the limitation that the designs only be available for inspections and public review at the premises of the local agency, and restrictions on copying without permission from the designer. However, due to the needs of public participation, local agencies are allowed to display a copy on the internet when the development application is under consideration. Thus, when a design professional submits plans to the local agency, he/she has the option of submitting a site plan or massing diagram for posting online or distribution, which would be published instead of the full plans. If a design professional chooses not to submit a site plan or massing diagram, permission is deemed granted to the public agency to publish the full plans during public consideration.

Currently, there is confusion as to the definition of the term “site plan” because certain projects do not contain some of the required elements. To clarify, SB 1048 narrows the definition. Previously, “site plan” included property lines, setback lines, topographic lines, easements, drainage, utilities, lighting, driveways, surrounding streets and traffic flow, parking lots, landscaped areas, setback distance between building and property lines, outline of existing and proposed buildings, distance between buildings, and ground sign locations. SB 1048 deletes the requirements for topographic lines, drainage, lighting, distance between buildings and ground sign locations. Local agencies may still require additional components depending on the project, but this bill lightens the requirements of a site plan and provides flexibility to both the design professional and local agencies.

Assembly Bill 1862 – LLP Eligibility for Engineers, Surveyors and Architects

AB 1862 extends the sunset of statutes allowing engineers, surveyors and architects to form limited liability partnerships from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2034.

Senate Bill 1452 – Architect Licensure Reporting Requirements

SB 1452 extends the sunset date for the California Architects Board (CAB) and Landscape Architects Technical Committee to January 1, 2029, and enacts various small changes. These changes include a requirement for applicants and licensees who have a valid email address to notify the Board within 30 days of any change to their email address, an expiration date of two years for any issued licenses or renewals, and a requirement for the CAB to post the licensees' current mailing address and name of business entity on CAB’s website.

Alternative Construction Delivery Methods for California Public Projects

Senate Bill 739 – Elk Grove Zoo Project

SB 739 adds Public Contract Code section 20175 which authorizes the City of Elk Grove to utilize construction manager at-risk construction contracts for a zoo project, subject to certain requirements.

Assembly Bill 2235 – Pier Wind Port of Long Beach

AB 2235 adds Public Contract Code section 22190 which authorizes the City of Long Beach to procure contracts relating to the terminal development project at the Port of Long Beach, known as Pier Wind, and to enter into an alternative project delivery method contract for that purpose. AB 2235 requires the city to prepare, publicly advertise, and issue solicitation documents to procure and award any contract, subject to prescribed requirements. AB 2235 requires the selected contractor to provide payment bonds for the project and use a skilled and trained workforce to perform all construction work on the project, among other requirements.

Assembly Bill 1957 – “Best Value” Bids for Public Contracts in All California Counties

AB 1957 expands section 20155 of the Public Contract Code, which allowed certain California counties to select bidders based on “best value,” to apply to all California counties, and extends the operation of this statute from January 1, 2025 to January 1, 2030. Under this statute, each county may form a board of supervisor to adopt and publish procedures and required criteria for “best value” to the county, and ensure that all sections are conducted in a fair and impartial manner. Under Section 20155.1, the “best value” criteria is defined as “the best combination of price and qualifications.” State legislators believe this pilot program has been highly successful in helping California counties expand construction delivery methods beyond the traditional “design-bid-build” method. The pilot counties have provided mixed reviews, noting some success in working with higher quality contractors but increased costs for the evaluation process.

Senate Bill 1068 – Construction Manager/General Contractor Project Delivery Method for Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority

SB 1068 allows the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority to employ the “Construction Manager/General Contractor” (CM/GC) project delivery method to construct rail service through the Altamont Pass. The Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Regional Rail Authority was created to connect the BART system to the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail service. Previously, CalTrans and other select regional transportation agencies could employ this CM/GC delivery method. Now, the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Authority is also expressly authorized to employ a construction manager for consultation in all phases of the construction process. This bill further requires that CalTrans perform any construction inspection for any aspect of the project that interfaces with the state highway system.

Labor-Related Changes

Assembly Bill 1034 – Construction Industry PAGA Exemption

AB 1034 extends the exemption from the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) for certain employees in the construction industry until January 1, 2038. PAGA is a statute that authorizes an aggrieved employee to bring a civil action to enforce a violation of the Labor Code. This exemption applies to employees in the construction industry who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that (1) expressly provides for wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees; (2) provides premium wage rates for all overtime worked; and (3) employees receive a regular hourly pay rate of not less than 30% more than the state minimum wage.

To qualify, the collective bargaining agreement must also prohibit all of the violations of the labor code that are redressable pursuant to PAGA and provide for a grievance and binding arbitration process to redress those violations. The collective bargaining agreement must also expressly waive PAGA’s requirements in clear and unambiguous terms and authorize the arbitrator to award any and all remedies available under the Labor Code.

Assembly Bill 2696 – Contractor Labor-related Liabilities

AB 2696 authorizes a joint labor-management cooperation committee (JLMCC), formed under federal Labor Management Cooperation Act of 1978, to file civil cases directly against general contractors for wage claims on behalf of claimants or unions. Traditionally, a JLMCC mediates, investigates and attempts to resolve wage disputes in the construction industry. For contracts entered into after January 1, 2022, this bill allows a JLMCC to bring civil actions for unpaid wages and fringe benefits, penalties or liquidated damages, and interest owed by the direct contractor for workers’ or employees’ performance of work on a private project. This bill further authorizes the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.