AB 215 Summary

• Local governments must make the first draft revision of a housing element available for public comment for at least 30 days, and if comments are received, take at least 10 additional business days to consider and incorporate them before submitting to the Department of Housing and Community Development.

• The Department of Housing and Community Development cannot review a first draft housing element revision until the local government has completed the 30-day public comment period and 10-business-day consideration period.

• The Housing Crisis Act of 2019 and Section 65913.11 are added to the list of laws whose violations trigger notification to jurisdictions and authorize the Attorney General to bring enforcement actions.

• If a jurisdiction fails to comply with a court order to bring its housing element into compliance, the court may impose monthly fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 (or up to 6 times that amount after 6 months of non-compliance) and may appoint a court agent to take necessary governmental actions to remedy deficiencies.

• The statute of limitations for Attorney General actions or department-appointed counsel actions is set to four years under Code of Civil Procedure Section 338(a).