SB 158: Land use.

This bill aims to improve land use and housing finance in California. The state's reorganization plan has created a new executive committee to centralize affordable housing finance policymaking. The committee must align state housing funding sources and make recommendations to the legislature on optimizing loan administration. The bill also requires counties and cities to provide annual reports on housing elements, using standards adopted by the governor's office of land use and climate innovation. Additionally, it defines "housing development project" for purposes of the permit streamlining act. The bill makes changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to include lands identified for conservation in natural community conservation plans in the definition of "natural and protected lands". It also updates the exemption for housing projects from CEQA requirements. The bill…