A powerful California construction union is no longer fighting a bill that would ease barriers to the construction of tall apartment buildings near train and bus stations.

In the recurring legislative fight between affordable housing advocates and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.

Recent California laws were supposed to supercharge the construction of desperately needed housing. Critics say they haven’t even come close.

Speaker Robert Rivas seems to be laying the institutional groundwork for an aggressively pro-housing legislature next year.

The new law prevents cities from requiring new developments near public transit to set aside space specifically for parking.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has, for reasons practical and political, shifted toward an increasingly aggressive effort to enforce the state's laws to promote affordable housing.

SB 50 would have prevented cities from banning mid-rise apartments around public transit, but it failed to advance past a key committee.