2021 Legislation

SB 1 – Sea Level Rise Mitigation and Adaptation Act of 2021:  SB 1 directs the California Coastal Commission to take sea level rise into account in its planning, policies, and activities, and establishes a cross-government group tasked with educating the public and advising local, regional, and state government on feasible sea level rise mitigation efforts. The bill also expands funding to assist disadvantaged communities along the coast that are vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise and are actively working to address environmental justice issues, and specifies that $100 million per year would be allocated to this effort. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 23, 2021.

SB 7 - Jobs and Economic Improvement Through Environmental Leadership Act of 2021:  SB 7 extends and broadens provisions of legislation passed in 2011 to establish a new process under CEQA to streamline administrative paperwork and expedite legal challenges for large, multi-benefit, housing, clean energy, and manufacturing projects that have a capital investment of more than $100 million. This previous legislation resulted in approval of nearly 20 major new clean energy and infill housing projects, amounting to an estimated $2 billion in the state, and resulting in thousands of new housing units and high-wage construction and permanent jobs. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 20, 2021.

SB 9 – The California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act:  SB 9 streamlines a homeowner’s ability to build a duplex or split their current residential lot, allowing for a maximum of four units on a single-family parcel. The law ensures homeowners, not investors, would benefit by requiring the owner to live in one of the units for a minimum of three years after getting approval for a lot split, and prohibits ministerial lot splits on adjacent parcels by the same individual. The law also protects existing renters by excluding properties where a tenant has resided in the past three years. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 16, 2021.

Additional Legislative Highlights:

SB 2 - Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021 (Atkins Coauthor):  SB 2 establishes a statewide process to decertify officers who have engaged in serious misconduct and illegally violate a person’s civil rights. The law creates an Advisory Board responsible for reviewing the findings after police misconduct investigation. After a review of the findings, the board then makes a recommendation to the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 30, 2021.