Walters: Political friction percolates over housing policy, workers comp payouts

Conflict between California’s state officials and its nearly 500 cities and counties — especially over money — is nothing new.

However, relations between state and local governments these days are arguably the worst in living memory, as illustrated by a couple of issues percolating in the final week of the 2025 legislative session.

Senate Bill 79, the latest of many state efforts to force local governments to accept high-density housing projects, is one point of contention. It would essentially exempt such projects that are within a half mile of public transit services from local oversight, regardless of the building site’s local zoning.

“This is exactly where we should be building more housing, right by our highest quality transit,” says state Sen. Scott Wiener, the bill’s author.

It