Local building permits: nonresidential private permitting review.
AB 2418
California Bills
20250AB__241897AMD INTRODUCED 2026-02-20 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-05-21 AMENDED_SENATE 2026-06-24 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Mark González (Coauthors: Assembly Members Nguyen, Blanca Rubio, Schiavo, Wicks, Zbur, and Caloza) (Coauthor: Senator Arreguí
n) LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Mark González COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Nguyen COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Blanca Rubio COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Schiavo COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Wicks COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Zbur COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Caloza COAUTHOR SENATE Arreguín
An act to amend, repeal, and add
Section of, and to add Sections and to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to building permits. building permits Local building permits: nonresidential private permitting review. Existing law requires every city, county, or city and county, whether general law or chartered, that requires the issuance of a permit as a condition precedent to the construction, alteration, improvement, demolition, or repair of any building or structure, to require the execution of a permit application, as specified.
Existing law permits a local agency, defined as a city, county, or city and county, to authorize its enforcement agency to contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform plan-checking functions for a nonresidential building, but that the local agency is not required to do so if it determines that no entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services.
Under existing law, when there is an excessive delay, as defined, in checking plans submitted as part of an application for specified nonresidential projects, a local agency is required to, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function. Existing law defines “excessive delay” to mean, among other things, the local agency has taken more than days to check plans and specifications, as provided. This bill would, until January 1, 2037, revise and recast the above-described provisions related to private plan checking.
The bill would, upon receipt of a complete application for a nonresidential building permit, require the local agency to provide the applicant with an estimated timeframe in which it will determine if the completed application is compliant with permit standards. This bill would require the local agency to, upon an applicant’s request, contract with or employ a private plan-checking entity if the estimated timeframe would result in an excessive delay or if there is excessive delay by the local agency.
The bill would prohibit a local agency from reducing, eliminating, or failing to fill budgeted civil service positions within the building department as a result of the use of private professional providers, as provided. If the local agency determines no private entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services, the bill would authorize the applicant to retain, at their sole expense, a private professional provider, as specified. The bill would shorten the timeframe constituting an “excessive delay” from days to business days.
This bill would, until January 1, 2037, require an applicant who retains a private professional provider to notify the city or county of their intent to retain the private professional provider within a prescribed timeframe. If a private professional provider performs the plan-checking function, the bill would impose additional requirements, including, among other things, requiring the private professional provider to prepare a specified affidavit, under penalty of perjury, and the applicant to submit to the city or county a specified report of the plan check.
This bill would require the city or county, within business days of receiving the report, to consider the report and, based on the report, either issue the residential building permit or notify the applicant that, according to the report prepared by the private professional provider, the plans and specifications do not comply, as specified. If the city or county notifies the applicant that the plans and specifications do not comply, the bill would authorize the applicant to resubmit corrected plans and specifications to the city or county, as specified.
The bill would authorize a city or county to adopt requirements that limit the size of an eligible nonresidential building, as provided, or specify the eligible types of businesses or occupancy, provided that requirements do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the use of a private professional provider as authorized by the bill. Existing law, the Permit Streamlining Act, requires each public agency to provide a development project applicant with a list that specifies the information that will be required from any applicant for a development project.
Existing law requires a public agency that has received an application for a development project to determine in writing whether the application is complete within calendar days and to immediately transmit the determination to the applicant of the development project.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill, until January 1, 2037, if a private professional provider performs the plan-checking function, would deem the local agency to be in compliance with the above-described streamlining provisions governing applications for nonresidential development projects as those requirements pertain to the nonresidential building permit.</xhtml:p>"?> Existing law, the Government Claims Act, establishes the liability and immunity of a public entity for its acts or omissions that cause harm to persons.
Where a public entity is under a mandatory duty imposed by an enactment that is designed to protect against the risk of a particular kind of injury, existing law imposes liability upon the public entity for an injury of that kind proximately caused by its failure to discharge the duty unless the public entity establishes that it exercised reasonable diligence to discharge the duty.
This bill would, until January 1, 2037, notwithstanding existing public entity liability provisions, grant a public entity immunity from liability for an injury caused by their discretionary or ministerial acts or omissions relating to the issuance or denial of any nonresidential building permit pursuant to the bill’s provisions.
The bill would require the applicant to enter into an agreement to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the local agency and its agents, officers, and employees from any claim, action, or proceeding brought against the local agency or its agents, officers, or employees relating to any property damage or personal injury arising from construction in accordance with the plans checked by a private professional provider under the bill’s provisions.
Existing law permits the governing body of any county or city, including a charter city, to adopt an ordinance prescribing fees for filing applications for specified building permits, as provided. This bill would broaden the above-described permission and require a county or city that prescribes fees for a nonresidential building permit to prepare a nonresidential building permit fee
schedule and post the
schedule on the county’s or city’s internet website. This bill would additionally require a local building department to conduct an inspection of the permitted work for specified new nonresidential buildings or structures within business days of receiving a notice of the completion of the permitted work authorized by a building permit issued for those projects. By expanding the crime of perjury, and by imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include related findings and declarations.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons. MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (
a) Local building plan-checking functions are subject to extensive swings in workload, which can result in significant delays in processing nonresidential building permits. (
b) Prolonged delays in building plan-checking functions at the local level can negatively impact the state’s nonresidential construction pipeline and ultimately state and local economies. (
c) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a set of options for local jurisdictions to augment, not replace existing building plan-checking functions and prevent excessive delays in this critical administrative process.
SEC. 2.
Section of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 19837. (
a) The governing body of a local agency may authorize its enforcement agency to contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform plan-checking functions. (
b) A local agency need not enter into a contract or employ persons if it determines that no entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services. (
c) Entities or persons employed by a local agency may, pursuant to agreement with the local agency, perform all functions necessary to check the plans and specifications to comply with other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or by local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, except those functions reserved by this part or local ordinance to the legislative body. A local agency may charge the applicant fees in an amount necessary to defray costs directly attributable to employing or contracting with entities or persons performing services pursuant to this
section which the applicant requested. (d)
(1) Upon receipt of a complete application for a nonresidential building permit for a building, a city or county shall provide the applicant with an estimated timeframe in which the local agency will determine if the complete application is compliant with permit standards. (
A) If the estimated timeframe would result in an excessive delay in determining that the complete application is compliant with permit standards, the local agency shall, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function, subject to subdivisions (
b) and (c). (
B) If there is an excessive delay by the local agency in determining whether the complete application is compliant with permit standards, the local agency shall, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function, subject to subdivisions (
b) and (c). (2) (
A) If there has been an excessive delay pursuant to subparagraph (
A) or (
B) of paragraph (1), and a local agency determines that no entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services, pursuant to subdivision (b), an applicant may retain, at the applicant’s sole expense, a private professional provider to check the plans and specifications for their compliance with the requirements imposed pursuant to this part and by local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part. (
B) The private professional provider shall be chosen from a list of qualified private professional providers that a local agency may choose to establish. (
C) If no list of qualified professional providers exists, the applicant may choose their own private professional provider who meets the qualifications specified in paragraph (8) of subdivision (j). (
e) An applicant who retains a private professional provider shall notify the city or county of the applicant’s intent to retain a private professional provider no later than five business days after either of the following, as applicable:
(1) Provision of the estimated timeframe in subparagraph (
A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(2) The time period in subparagraph (
B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (
d) elapses. (
f) If a private professional provider performs the plan-checking function, all of the following shall apply:
(1) The private professional provider shall prepare an affidavit, under penalty of perjury, stating both of the following: (
A) That the plans and specifications do or do not comply with the requirements imposed pursuant to this part and local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part. (
B) The private professional provider performed the plan-checking function.
(2) The applicant shall submit to the city or county a report of the plan-checking function. The report shall include all of the following: (
A) The affidavit described in paragraph (1). (
B) If the plan and specifications do not comply with the requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, modifications to the plans and specifications that are necessary to comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part and the local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part. (
C) Additional information required by the city or county.
(3) Within business days of receiving the report pursuant to paragraph (2), the city or county shall consider the report and based on the report shall do either of the following: (
A) Issue the nonresidential building permit if the plans and specifications comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part. (
B) Notify the applicant in writing that, according to the report prepared by the private professional provider, the plans and specifications do not comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, if the plans and specifications do not comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part.
The notice shall specify the requirements for the plans and specifications to comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part. (4)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>If the city or county does not issue the nonresidential building permit or notify the applicant within business days pursuant to paragraph (3), and the affidavit provided pursuant to paragraph (1) states that the plans and specifications comply with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part and local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, the plans and specifications shall be deemed compliant with the other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, and the nonresidential building permit shall be deemed approved.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(5)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The local agency shall be deemed in compliance with the requirements of
Article 3 (commencing with
Section 65940) of
Chapter 4.5 of Division of Title of the Government Code as those requirements pertain to the nonresidential building permit.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(6)</xhtml:p>"?>
(4) The applicant shall enter into an agreement to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the local agency and its agents, officers, and employees from any claim, action, or proceeding brought against the local agency or its agents, officers, or employees relating to any property damage or personal injury arising from construction in accordance with the plans checked by a private professional provider pursuant to this section. (7)</xhtml:p>"?>
(5) Notwithstanding
Section 815.6 of the Government Code, a public entity or public employee is not liable for an injury caused by their discretionary or ministerial acts or omissions relating to the issuance or denial of any nonresidential building permit pursuant to this section. (g)
(1) If the city or county notifies the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (
B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (f), the applicant may resubmit corrected plans and specifications to the city or county to check the corrected plans and specifications.
(2) If an applicant resubmits corrected plans and specifications, the resubmitted plans and specifications shall be subject to the same timelines of a new application as specified in subdivision (f). (
h) A city or county may adopt requirements that do either of the following, provided that the requirements do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the use of a private professional provider pursuant to this section:
(1) Limit the size of an eligible nonresidential building to no less than 10,000 square feet.
(2) Specify the eligible types of businesses or occupancy. (h)</xhtml:p>"?> (
i) Nothing in this
section shall be construed to prohibit a city, county, or city and county from providing a self-certification program under terms that are different from those set forth in this
section to the extent that the local program does not conflict with the requirements of this section. (i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>This
section shall not apply to any of the following buildings:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Health facilities.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Public buildings.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Buildings of any type of construction or occupancy that have floors used for human occupancy located more than feet above the lowest floor having building access.</xhtml:p>"?> (
j) For purposes of this section: (1) “Applicant” means a person who submits an application. (2) “Application” means an application for a nonresidential building permit. (3) “Enforcement agency” means the building department or building division of a local agency. (4) “Excessive delay” means the enforcement agency of a local agency has taken, or estimated they will take, either of the following: (
A) More than business days after submittal of a complete application for a nonresidential building permit to complete the structural building safety plan check of the applicant’s set of plans and specifications that are suitable for checking. (
B) Including the days actually taken in subparagraph (A), more than days to complete the checking of the resubmitted corrected plans and specifications suitable for checking after the enforcement agency had returned the plans and specifications to the applicant for correction. (5) “Health facility” has the same meaning as defined in
Section 1250. (6) “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county. (7) “Nonresidential building permit” means a building permit for a nonresidential tenant improvement to a nonresidential building that meets all of the following conditions: (A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A new nonresidential construction of a building with no floors used for human occupancy located more than feet above ground level.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A nonresidential addition to, remodeling of, or tenant improvement to a nonresidential building, other than a hotel or motel, which</xhtml:p>"?> (
A) The building is one to three stories, inclusive, in height, with no floors used for human occupancy located more than feet above ground level. (
B) The building is a Group B (Business) Occupancy, as defined in the California Building Code (Part of Title of the California Code of Regulations), with an occupant load not exceeding persons. (
C) The building is not a health facility or a public building. (8) “Private professional provider” means a professional engineer licensed pursuant to the Professional Engineers Act (Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 6700) of Division of the Business and Professions Code) or an architect licensed pursuant to the Architects Practice Act (Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5500) of Division of the Business and Professions Code) who is currently certified as a nonresidential plans examiner by the International Code Council, currently certified as a plans examiner by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, or currently certified by another state, national, or international association that the local agency recognizes as an acceptable certification for nonresidential building plans examiners employed by the city or county. The private professional provider shall not have a financial interest in the nonresidential building permit or in preparing the plans and specifications. (
k) Nothing in this
section shall be construed to authorize the displacement of public employees. The use of a private professional provider pursuant to this
section shall be strictly temporary in nature and shall not exceed the time required to complete the review of the tenant improvement application. A local agency shall not reduce, eliminate, or fail to fill budgeted civil service positions within the building department as a result of the use of private professional providers pursuant to this section. (k)</xhtml:p>"?> (
l) This
section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2037, and as of that date is repealed.
SEC. 3.
Section is added to the Health and Safety Code , to read: 19837. (
a) The governing body of a local agency may authorize its enforcement agency to contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform plan-checking functions. (
b) A local agency need not enter into a contract or employ persons if it determines that no entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services. (
c) Entities or persons employed by a local agency may, pursuant to agreement with the local agency, perform all functions necessary to check the plans and specifications to comply with other requirements imposed pursuant to this part or by local ordinances adopted pursuant to this part, except those functions reserved by this part or local ordinance to the legislative body. A local agency may charge the applicant fees in an amount necessary to defray costs directly attributable to employing or contracting with entities or persons performing services pursuant to this
section which the applicant requested. (
d) When there is an excessive delay in checking plans and specifications submitted as a part of an application for a nonresidential permit, for a building, other than a hotel or motel, which is one to three stories, inclusive, in height, as determined by the local agency, the local agency shall, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function subject to subdivisions (
b) and (c). (
e) When there is an excessive delay in checking plans and specifications submitted as a part of an application for a nonresidential permit for the remodeling or tenant improvements of a building, other than a hotel or motel, which is one to three stories, inclusive, in height, as determined by the local agency, the local agency shall, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function subject to subdivisions (
b) and (c). (
f) For purposes of this section: (1) “Enforcement agency” means the building department or building division of a local agency. (2) “Excessive delay” means the enforcement agency of a local agency has taken either of the following: (
A) More than days after submittal of a complete application to complete the structural building safety plan check of the applicant’s set of plans and specifications that are suitable for checking. For a discretionary building permit, the time period specified in this paragraph shall commence after certification of the environmental impact report, adoption of a negative declaration, or a determination by the local agency that the project is exempt from Division 13 (commencing with
Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. (
B) Including the days actually taken in subparagraph (A), more than days to complete the checking of the resubmitted corrected plans and specifications suitable for checking after the enforcement agency had returned the plans and specifications to the applicant for correction. (3) “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county. (
g) This
section shall become operative on January 1, 2037.
SEC. 4.
Section is added to the Health and Safety Code , to read: 19838. (
a) The governing body of any county or city, including a charter city, may adopt an ordinance prescribing fees for filing applications pursuant to this chapter, but the fees shall not exceed the amount reasonably required by the local enforcement agency to issue permits pursuant to this chapter, and shall not be levied for general revenue purposes. The fees shall be imposed pursuant to
Section of the Government Code. (
b) If a governing body of any county or city, including a charter city, prescribes fees for a nonresidential building permit, pursuant to paragraph (1), the city or county shall prepare a
schedule of the fees for a nonresidential building permit and post the
schedule on the county’s or city’s internet website.
SEC. 5.
Section is added to the Health and Safety Code , to read: 19839. (
a) This
section shall only apply to a nonresidential building or structure classified under
Chapter of the California Building Code (Part of Title of the California Code of Regulations) as belonging to any of the following occupancy groups: A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4, A-5, B, E, F-1, F-2, M, S-1, S-2, or U. (
b) Within business days of receiving a notice of the completion of the permitted work authorized by a nonresidential building permit issued for a project subject to this section, the building department of every city or county shall conduct an inspection of the permitted work.
SEC. 6. The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 2, 3, 4, and of this act amending, repealing, and adding
Section of, and adding Sections and to, the Health and Safety Code address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in
Section of
Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, Sections 2, 3, 4, and of this act apply to all cities, including charter cities.
SEC. 7. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act or because costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of