Former Berkeley Mayor and 7th State Senate District Sen. Jesse Arreguín was appointed Chair of the Senate Housing Committee earlier this month. Arreguín, who remains the Chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, will begin leading the committee Feb. 1.

Since voters elected Arreguín to the state Senate in November 2024, he has introduced three bills to facilitate housing development, all of which were signed into law.The bills remove barriers to accessory dwelling unit construction, require public agencies to publish housing development application criteria and clarify existing law on local government housing plans.

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