Newsom signs bills to boost housing, provide shelter beds

California Governor Gavin Newsom Tuesday signed two bills aimed at addressing the state’s ongoing housing and homelessness crisis. The new legislation seeks to boost the supply of shelter beds and junior accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

The first piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 3057, focuses on junior ADUs—units created within existing homes that are up to 500 square feet and do not require a separate bathroom. These smaller units will now be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, which can add time and cost to building projects.

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) championed this bill, highlighting the technical change as a means to provide more accessible and efficient options for affordable housing. “By simplifying the process for constructing junior accessory dwelling units, this bill makes it faster, cheaper, and easier for families to create additional living spaces within their homes, helping to address our state’s housing shortage,” Wilson noted.

The second bill, Assembly Bill 2835, makes permanent the temporary rules that have facilitated the housing of homeless individuals in privately owned hotels and motels for periods longer than 30 days. This strategy has been increasingly adopted by local governments, including Los Angeles, to move people off the streets.

“We need solutions to our homelessness crisis that are both compassionate and effective,” said Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), the bill’s author. “AB 2835 will deliver on both fronts by providing much-needed stability to kids and families experiencing homelessness while also cutting red tape and saving taxpayer resources.”

Newsom emphasized the urgency of the situation, arguing that “the homelessness crisis demands immediate and innovative action, not the status quo. With these new laws, local governments have even more tools to provide housing. I urge them to fully utilize the state’s unprecedented resources to address homelessness.”