California Senate Bill 486
Session 20252026
Regional housing: public postsecondary education: changes in enrollment levels: California Environmental Quality Act.
Became Law
Became Law on Oct 10, 2025
Origin Chamber
Senate
Type
Bill
Bill Number
486
State
California
Session
20252026
Motion Text
Unfinished Business SB486 Cabaldon Concurrence
Senate Roll Call Votes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Other
Yes
Yes
Other
Yes
Summary
(1) Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt regional transportation plans directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Existing law requires each regional transportation plan to include a sustainable communities strategy prepared by each metropolitan planning organization in order to, among other things, identify areas within the region sufficient to house all the population of the region, including all economic segments of the population, over the course of the planning period of the regional transportation plan taking into account net migration into the region, population growth, household formation, and employment growth.
This bill would require the sustainable communities strategy, in identifying areas within the region sufficient to house all the population of the region, to also take into account changes in enrollment levels at institutions of public higher education, as defined. By imposing additional duties on metropolitan planning organizations, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires, for the 4th and subsequent revision of the housing element, the Department of Housing and Community Development to determine the existing and projected need for housing for each region in a specified manner.
Existing law requires the department to meet and consult with the council of governments regarding the assumptions and methodologies to be used to determine each region's housing needs and requires the council of governments to provide data assumptions from the council of governments' projections, including specified data for the region, if available. As part of that requirement, existing law directs the council of governments to provide data assumptions regarding anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
This bill would require the Department of Finance to consider changes in enrollment levels at campuses of the University of California or the California State University in the region, as forecasted by the University of California and California State University pursuant to the provisions described below, when preparing the anticipated household growth associated with projected population increases.
Existing law requires each council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to develop a proposed methodology for distributing the existing and projected regional housing need to cities, counties, and cities and counties within the region or within the subregion, as provided. Existing law requires, to the extent that sufficient data is available, each council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, in developing the methodology, to consider including several specified factors, including the housing needs generated by the presence of a private university or a campus of the California State University or the University of California within any member jurisdiction.
This bill would require each council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, in developing the proposed methodology, to also consider including the distribution of students of the above-described universities among jurisdictions within the region, and for a campus of the California State University or the University of California, the optimization of transit, pedestrian, and other nonvehicle trip efficiency by students to the campus, including off-campus facilities. The bill would request the Regents of the University of California, and require the Trustees of the California State University, to provide, no more than 6 months before the development of the proposed methodology for the 7th and each subsequent housing element cycle, except as specified, to each council of governments a forecast of changes in enrollment levels at its campuses, including off-campus facilities, within the region based on specified factors and to provide, upon request, trip and travel data.
By imposing additional duties on councils of government, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) CEQA requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that the lead agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law makes the selection of a location for a particular campus of public higher education and the approval of a long-range development plan subject to CEQA and requires preparation of an EIR. Existing law provides that enrollment or changes in enrollment, by themselves, do not constitute a project for purposes of CEQA.
CEQA regulations require an EIR to describe a range of reasonable alternatives to the project, or to the location of the project, including a "no project" alternative analysis for the purpose of allowing decisionmakers to compare the impacts of approving the proposed project with the impacts of not approving the proposed project.
This bill would specify that the University of California and the California State University are not required to conduct a "no project" alternative analysis in an EIR, a supplemental EIR, or an addendum for a development project, for which the University of California or the California State University, respectively, is the lead agency, if specified conditions are met, including that the University of California or the California State University, respectively, has provided the forecast of changes in enrollment levels for purposes of developing the most recent methodology pursuant to the above-described provisions.
(4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.01 of the Government Code proposed by SB 233, AB 650, and AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and one, two, or all of the other bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
This bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 65584.04 of the Government Code proposed by AB 650 and AB 1275 to be operative only if this bill and one or both of the other bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(5) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
02/19/25 - Introduced
February 19, 2025
04/03/25 - Amended Senate
April 3, 2025
04/28/25 - Amended Senate
April 28, 2025
07/17/25 - Amended Assembly
July 17, 2025
09/03/25 - Amended Assembly
September 3, 2025
09/05/25 - Amended Assembly
September 5, 2025
09/13/25 - Enrolled
September 13, 2025
10/10/25 - Chaptered
October 10, 2025
03/27/25- Senate Housing
March 27, 2025
04/21/25- Senate Environmental Quality
April 21, 2025
04/28/25- Senate Environmental Quality
April 28, 2025
05/20/25- Sen. Floor Analyses
May 20, 2025
06/16/25- Assembly Housing and Community Development
June 16, 2025
07/11/25- Assembly Natural Resources
July 11, 2025
08/18/25- Assembly Appropriations
August 18, 2025
08/22/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
August 22, 2025
09/03/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
September 3, 2025
09/05/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
September 5, 2025
09/09/25- Sen. Floor Analyses
September 9, 2025
Sort by most recent
10/10/2025
California State Legislature
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 517, Statutes of 2025.
10/10/2025
California State Legislature
Approved by the Governor.
09/22/2025
California State Legislature
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.
09/10/2025
Senate
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 2831.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
09/09/2025
Senate
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
09/09/2025
Assembly
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 3070.) Ordered to the Senate.
09/05/2025
Assembly
Ordered to third reading.
09/05/2025
Assembly
Read third time and amended.
09/03/2025
Assembly
Ordered to third reading.
09/03/2025
Assembly
Read third time and amended.
08/21/2025
Assembly
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
08/20/2025
Assembly
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 20).
07/17/2025
Assembly
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
07/17/2025
Assembly
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (July 14).
07/17/2025
Assembly
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 49. Noes 15. Page 2578.)
06/18/2025
Assembly
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on NAT. RES. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on NAT. RES.
06/05/2025
Assembly
Referred to Coms. on H. & C.D. and NAT. RES.
05/28/2025
Assembly
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
05/27/2025
Senate
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1250.) Ordered to the Assembly.
05/20/2025
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
05/19/2025
Senate
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
05/09/2025
Senate
Set for hearing May 19.
05/01/2025
Senate
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0. Page 963.) (April 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
04/28/2025
Senate
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.
04/23/2025
Senate
Set for hearing April 30.
04/22/2025
Senate
April 23 hearing postponed by committee.
04/08/2025
Senate
Set for hearing April 23.
04/03/2025
Senate
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.
04/02/2025
Senate
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on E.Q. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 609.) (April 1).
03/20/2025
Senate
Set for hearing April 1.
02/26/2025
Senate
Referred to Coms. on HOUSING and E.Q.
02/20/2025
Senate
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
02/19/2025
Senate
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
Sources
Record Created
Feb 20, 2025 5:56:18 AM
Record Updated
Nov 11, 2025 8:33:30 AM