At a recent conference panel, four prominent state legislators talked about whether their bills are making the housing situation better -- and how the effectiveness of that legislation can be improved. 

Some important bills passed this year. But unless the Legislature is willing to take on CEQA directly, there may not be a whole lot more to do on the land use front to encourage more housing production.

Lots more housing bills, nibbling around the edges on CEQA, and some more parking reforms.

Amazingly, most bills targeting local governments' land use control over housing are still alive as the legislative session progresses.

UC Berkeley Terner Center Director Ben Metcalf discusses the center's analysis the efficacy of recently adopted housing laws. It's a mixed review. 

Even as cities strain under the weight of new housing regulations, legislators are trying new ideas and resurrecting old ones.

Nobody expected 2022 to be a big year for housing production laws in Sacramento. But everybody was wrong.

Generally speaking, however, 2022 is a legislative year of incremental change not sweeping reform.

With the intense battles over housing production years in recent years now past, the Legislature appears ready to take a more low-key approach to bills this year.

Beyond the new housing laws, this year's batch of land use legislation is led by laws addressing wildfires, climate change mitigation, and transportation.