Housing element: governmental constraints: disclosure statement.

The constraints disclosure statement (Section 65583(a)(5)(B)) is restructured. The old version required identification of (i) constraints adopted after the previous element's due date and (ii) constraints under consideration or proposed for adoption during the planning period. The new version requires (I) constraints adopted after the previous element's due date AND before submittal of the current draft to the department, and (II) constraints the governing body can anticipate adopting in the first three years.

A savings clause is added stating that the disclosure statement requirement shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint regardless of whether it was included in the disclosure statement.

A new definition of 'anticipate adopting' is added: it means the local government's legislative body identified in a Brown Act agenda, after the previous element's due date and before submittal of the current draft, an action to consider adopting, amending, or increasing the stringency of a governmental constraint.

The scope of the first disclosure category is narrowed by adding an upper time bound: constraints must have been adopted both after the previous housing element's due date AND before submittal of the current draft housing element to the department. Previously there was no explicit upper bound.

Minor corrections throughout: a duplicate 'during within' in the digest is fixed to 'within'; a stray 'process' word appears in Section 1(e) findings; 'provisions' is changed to 'provision' in Section 65583; page numbering shifts from 97 to 96.

The bill's header changed from the enrolled format (showing Assembly and Senate passage dates and clerk signatures) to the chaptered format showing 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGICAL MATERIAL' and Chapter 494.

Governor approval date of October 10, 2025 was added, confirming the bill became law on that date.

Page headers changed from 'AB 610' to 'Ch. 494' throughout the document, and text was reformatted to a wider line width consistent with the official chaptered publication format.

Amendment history header lines removed (dates showing when the bill was amended in Senate and Assembly).

Session label 'california legislature 2025-26 regular session' and page number formatting removed as part of standard enrollment reformatting.

Added a sentence to the fiscal note stating that the bill incorporates additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by SB 340 and AB 650, to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This ensures that if all three bills pass, the combined amendments merge cleanly into a single version of Section 65583.

The prohibition on local governments adopting new or more stringent governmental constraints within three years of housing element substantial compliance certification was completely removed. This was the bill's most significant enforcement mechanism.

Findings and declarations supporting the prohibition on adopting new constraints were removed, including language stating it is state policy that local governments should focus on removing existing constraints rather than adopting new ones not required by federal or state law.

The potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement requirement is now limited to the seventh and all subsequent revisions of the housing element, rather than applying to all housing element cycles as in the prior version.

The addition of a new section (Section 65583.5) to the Government Code was dropped. The bill now only amends Section 65583.

Local agencies must now submit to the Department of Housing and Community Development a copy of any policy, standard, or ordinance that includes a covered potential or actual governmental constraint (or a more stringent revision) within a specified timeframe. This creates a new reporting obligation that did not exist in the Assembly version.

The threshold for when local governments may adopt new constraints was lowered. The Assembly version required that the local government had 'completed all of the housing element program commitments to eliminate or mitigate covered governmental constraints.' The Senate version changes this to 'address and, where appropriate and legally possible, remove covered governmental constraints,' which is a less demanding standard and gives localities more flexibility in adopting new regulations.

A new provision clarifies that the 'first three years of the planning period' referenced in the disclosure statement requirements begins on the date the local agency's housing element is considered to be in substantial compliance pursuant to Section 65585.03. This provides a concrete starting point for the three-year window.

The 'governmental constraints disclosure statement' was renamed to 'potential and actual governmental constraints disclosure statement,' aligning the terminology more closely with the statutory language used elsewhere in the Housing Element Law.

The term 'governmental constraint' in the prohibition section was replaced with 'covered governmental constraint, as defined,' indicating a new defined term that likely narrows which constraints are subject to the adoption restriction.

A specific 3-year period was added: the prohibition on adopting new or more stringent covered governmental constraints applies 'within 3 years from the date the housing element or amendment is considered in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law.' This gives local governments a clear deadline after which they can adopt new constraints without the disclosure and mitigation requirements.

The legislative digest was substantially expanded to describe existing law on housing element preparation, substantial compliance determinations by HCD or courts, and how prior compliance findings can be superseded. This provides more legal context for the bill's operation.