SB 1256 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Subdivision Map Act: action or proceeding.

Summary

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it 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. CEQA requires that an action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul specified acts or decisions of a public agency on the grounds of noncompliance with CEQA be commenced in accordance with specified timeframes. Existing law, the Subdivision Map Act, vests the authority to regulate and control the design and improvement of subdivisions in the legislative body of a local agency and sets forth procedures governing the local agency's processing, approval, conditional approval or disapproval, and filing of tentative, final, and parcel maps, and the modification thereof. The act requires an action or proceeding against a decision of a local agency taken pursuant to that act to be commenced within a certain time period, as specified. This bill would prohibit an action or proceeding to enforce the Subdivision Map Act from being maintained if certain criteria exist, including that the action or proceeding to enforce the Subdivision Map Act includes substantially similar claims or issues to claims or issues raised in an action or proceeding to enforce CEQA and the defendant in the action or proceeding to enforce the Subdivision Map Act was the defendant in the action or proceeding to enforce CEQA. The bill would provide that its provisions do not prohibit or abrogate specified actions, including the filing of timely objections to an agency's return to a writ seeking to enforce its specific mandates or timely filing of a separate action relating to the same project, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Jul 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Assembly Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Aug 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/30/26 - Amended Senate → 06/24/26 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Jun 24, 2026

MODERATE

The Assembly amended SB 1256 to add a January 1, 2032 sunset date, broaden the definition of covered parties to include real parties in interest, and add two new exceptions: one allowing Subdivision Map Act claims necessary to enforce mitigation measures from an EIR or court order/settlement, and another preserving local agencies' obligations to comply with procedural requirements of the Subdivision Map Act.

TIMELINE

A new subsection (c) adds a sunset provision: the section remains in effect only until January 1, 2032, and is repealed as of that date.

ELIGIBILITY

A new exception (b)(3) allows the timely filing of a Subdivision Map Act claim when necessary to enforce adherence to a mitigation measure identified in an approved EIR or in a court order or approved settlement of a CEQA action.

REQUIREMENT

A new exception (b)(4) clarifies that the section does not abrogate a local agency's obligation to comply with a procedural requirement of the Subdivision Map Act.

DEFINITION

Criterion (5) was expanded from 'plaintiffs or petitioners' to 'plaintiffs, petitioners, or real parties in interest,' broadening the scope of who is considered the same party or in privity for purposes of the bar.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated to reflect both addition and repeal of Section 66499.39, and subsection lettering was cleaned up to remove redundant labels within numbered subparts.

04/22/26 - Amended Senate → 04/30/26 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Apr 30, 2026

MODERATE

SB 1256 was significantly narrowed and made highly project-specific in this amendment. The bar on Subdivision Map Act lawsuits now only applies if the related CEQA action was filed before January 1, 2019, and the project must meet very specific criteria: at least 400 units of mixed-income housing, a project labor agreement, and location in an unincorporated area of a county with a population between 3 million and 4 million. A savings clause was also added to preserve certain legal challenges.

Scope change

The bill's scope was dramatically narrowed from a general rule barring Subdivision Map Act actions when related CEQA claims have been adjudicated, to a provision that only applies to projects meeting very specific criteria (400+ mixed-income units, project labor agreement, county population 3-4 million) and only where the related CEQA suit was filed before January 1, 2019. This effectively targets a single project or narrow class of projects.

ELIGIBILITY

The CEQA action that triggers the bar on Subdivision Map Act lawsuits must now have been commenced prior to January 1, 2019, in addition to being fully adjudicated. This limits the provision's reach to older CEQA cases only.

SCOPE

The project approval criterion was replaced with four specific requirements: (A) at least 400 units of mixed-income housing, (B) a project labor agreement, (C) location in an unincorporated area of a county with a population between 3 million and 4 million residents, and (D) approval by the lead agency. These criteria appear tailored to a specific project, likely in Los Angeles County.

REQUIREMENT

A new subdivision (b) was added as a savings clause stating the section does not prohibit filing timely objections to an agency's return to a writ seeking to enforce its specific mandates, nor the timely filing of a separate action relating to the same project.

TECHNICAL

The statutory structure was reorganized from a flat list of criteria (a) through (e) into a nested format with subdivision (a) containing numbered sub-items (1) through (5), and new subdivision (b).

Floor votes · Senate May 27, 2026 · Assembly Aug 30, 2026

How they voted

33–0

Passed · 7 other

Total votes 40

May 27, 2026

D Democratic30

24 Yea 6

80% Yea

R Republican10

9 Yea 1

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 1.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

upper

Aug 30, 2026

Introduced

In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

upper

Aug 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

lower

Jul 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (July 1).

lower

Jun 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

lower

Jun 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 23).

lower

Jun 8, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on JUD. and L. GOV.

lower

May 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4481.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

Apr 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

upper

Apr 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4095.) (April 29).

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

upper

Apr 22, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 3979.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and L. GOV.

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

April 8 hearing postponed by committee.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on E.Q. and E., U & C.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors