The Final Report from the Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform, chaired by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), examines systemic permitting challenges that slow critical housing and climate infrastructure projects in California. Based on a year of research, public hearings, site visits, and input from over 100 stakeholder organizations, the report identifies key barriers, highlights best practices, and outlines opportunities for reform to reduce uncertainty, streamline approvals, and lower costs. The findings underscore how California’s current permitting system drives delays and increased expenses, hindering efforts to address the state’s urgent housing and climate needs.
California Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform
The Bay Area Council Economic Institute is proud to be a key partner on a new report from the Assembly Select Committee on Permitting Reform, chaired by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. The report underscores how California’s complex and outdated permitting system is slowing progress on critical infrastructure projects, driving up costs, and making it harder for the state to meet its housing and climate goals.
The report follows a year-long effort, including four public hearings, site visits across the state, and engagement with more than 100 stakeholders spanning housing, clean energy, transportation, and climate resilience. The findings confirm what many have long argued: permitting inefficiencies increase uncertainty, add years to approval timelines, and make essential projects more expensive and difficult to build.
The Bay Area Council was instrumental in facilitating site visits, coordinating hearings, and bringing together experts to shed light on these challenges. Now, with this report in hand, the focus shifts to advancing solutions that will modernize the permitting system and remove unnecessary roadblocks to progress.
The Select Committee will continue its work in 2025 to ensure that these findings translate into meaningful action for California’s future, and the Bay Area Council’s policy team will continue to push for legislative action.
Please click on the report cover or the button below to read the full report with or without the appendices.
