Asm. Wicks Announces New Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has appointed Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D–Oakland) to Chair the newly established Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, a body tasked with exploring and advancing modern, cost-efficient, climate-smart approaches to building new homes in California.

California is facing a staggering housing shortfall that continues to drive up costs and contribute to the state’s homelessness crisis. Over the past decade, the Legislature has dramatically expanded land zoned for housing and streamlined project approvals. But despite these major policy gains, the state still isn’t producing housing at the scale required to meet demand.

One reason: construction methods have not kept pace with innovation in other industries. While technology has transformed fields from communications to manufacturing, the majority of California homes are still built using the same labor- and time-intensive processes that dominated a century ago.

By contrast, successes in such countries as Sweden and Japan have shown that it is possible to bring down costs through widespread use of innovative methods such as the use of prefabricated parts and modular housing. Additionally, there is burgeoning potential to reduce costs through the use of new materials and construction methods, as well as the application of technology in the design and review process. California has long been a leader in innovation in many other sectors, and this is the perfect time to take leadership in innovation in housing construction as well.

The Select Committee will convene a comprehensive, public examination of why these innovative methods have not scaled and what the state can do to support responsible, effective adoption. The goal is to identify opportunities that reduce costs, expand affordability, and accelerate the delivery of housing across the state.

“California has made real progress in the work to open up land and speed approvals — but those gains won’t matter if we can’t bring down the cost of actually building homes,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland). “This Select Committee will dig into the innovations that can meaningfully lower construction costs and help us produce housing at the scale Californians need. By learning from practitioners, studying what’s working around the world, and further identifying the barriers holding us back, we can chart a path toward modernizing how we build housing in this state.”

Committee Scope and Activities

The Select Committee will hold two to three public hearings during winter 2025–2026 to evaluate:

• The potential of innovative construction techniques to reduce costs
   
• Opportunities to accelerate housing timelines
   
• Environmental and climate-aligned advantages
   
• Regulatory, labor, and financing considerations
   
• The risks, benefits, and barriers to expanding industrialized construction and related technologies at scale

Committee members will also have the opportunity to tour housing construction innovation facilities — such as modular factories, industrialized construction sites, and 3D-printing demonstration projects — to see firsthand how these approaches work in practice. 

“We’re never going to end our housing crisis by doing things the same way we’ve always done them,” said Assemblymember Josh Hoover (R-Folsom). “That’s why I’m excited to be on this Select Committee and help lead innovation that will help us build a lot more homes in California.”

The findings of the committee will be summarized in a white paper released in early 2026. The committee then plans to translate its findings into a package of legislative proposals in 2026 aimed at removing barriers and supporting responsible innovation in the construction phase of housing development.

“Californians deserve housing that is affordable, full stop. That means building faster, slashing red tape and embracing bold ideas,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. “Assemblymember Buffy Wicks is leading the charge, and I expect this committee to deliver affordable solutions, highlighting new construction techniques, while continuing to provide opportunities for homebuilders and good-paying jobs for construction workers.”

Select Committee Members

• Asm. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) - Chair
• Asm. David Alvarez (D-San Diego)
• Asm. Jessica Caloza (D-Los Angeles)
• Asm. Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale)
• Asm. Sade Elhawary (D-South Los Angeles)
• Asm. Mark González (D-Los Angeles)
• Asm. Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas)
• Asm. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco)
• Asm. John Harabedian (D-Pasadena)
• Asm. Josh Hoover (R-Folsom)
• Asm. Diane Papan (D-San Mateo)
• Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton)
• Asm. Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy)
• Asm. Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City)  

Learn More

The Select Committee will maintain a public website with hearing dates, agendas, materials, and resources.

What They’re Saying

“The Legislature has passed dozens of bills aimed at addressing California’s housing crisis — opening new sites to development, streamlining approvals, and directing critical funding to affordable housing production. But there is still more to do to close the state's million-plus unit shortage of affordable homes. With the revenue picture uncertain, now is a perfect time to look for creative new ways to speed up construction and bring down the cost of building the housing lower-income households desperately need. CHC applauds Speaker Rivas and Asm. Wicks for leading this effort." – Ray Pearl, Executive Director of the California Housing Consortium 

“Astronomical housing costs and homelessness are the most disruptive and destabilizing economic, social and political issues facing Californians. We applaud Speaker Rivas and Assemblymember Wicks tackling the issue with the urgency it deserves by establishing a special legislative committee to focus exclusively on this problem.“ – Danny Curtin, Director of the California Conference of Carpenters

"Our research shows that building innovation can meaningfully lower costs of housing and shorten timelines — but only when policy is aligned to let those solutions scale. A dedicated legislative effort creates the bridge between evidence and action that California urgently needs." – Ben Metcalf, Terner Center for Housing Innovation

“The U.S. construction sector's productivity has not just stagnated but actually fallen over the last 50 years. It is time for legislatures to rethink barriers to new and innovative construction practices, and I am looking forward to the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation shining a light on issues like codes, standards, permitting, inspection, and other regulatory hurdles that have not gotten attention in the past.” 
– Stephen Smith, Executive Director, Center for Building

“As a developer of both market rate and affordable housing, DM Development sees the great potential for factory-built housing to significantly reduce both the cost and time to build. We appreciate that the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation will be working to make that potential a reality.” – Mark MacDonald, Co-Founding Principal of DM Development (housing developer)

“Prefab modular construction promises a scalable, sustainable solution for adding meaningful housing inventory with project delivery timelines seeing up to a 50% reduction — but that's only half the battle. We're pleased that the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation will take critical steps to explore and improve upon active hurdles and impediments to new development at the state level, thereby unlocking the full potential of prefab modular construction.” – Dan Ferreira, CEO, US Offsite (modular housing manufacturer) 

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