How AB 920 and AB 253 Are Forcing Cities to Evolve by 2028

Shawn Kahen
Comparison graphic: A messy stack of paper permits labeled 'Pre-2028' vs. a clean Civic Decode AI interface labeled 'Post-2028'

With the recent passage of AB 920 and AB 253, Sacramento has sent a clear message to every city hall in the state: The analog era is over. For decades, the permit process has been a black box—a maze of paper forms, manual reviews, and unpredictable timelines. But under these new laws, cities are now on a strict deadline. By 2028, local governments must fully digitize their permit workflows to better serve their citizens and streamline housing production. The stick is real. AB 253 adds teeth to these requirements, penalizing cities that drag their feet on approvals. The days of indefinite delays are numbered.

The Compliance Trap

For many cities, the race to 2028 will be a scramble for compliance. They will look for the quickest way to turn a PDF form into a web form. They will digitize their chaos, taking a broken manual process and turning it into a broken digital one. But at Civic Decode, we believe that simply "going digital" is setting the bar too low. Meeting the requirement of AB 920 is the floor, not the ceiling. If you digitize a confusing application, you still have a confusing application—it’s just on a screen instead of paper. That doesn’t solve the housing crisis, and it doesn’t help the frustrated homeowner trying to build an ADU.

Leapfrogging with Civic Decode

This is where we come in. We didn’t build Civic Decode just to help cities check a box for a state mandate. We built it to fundamentally transform how people interact with zoning and permitting. Our Permit Decoder doesn't just display forms; it understands them. By incorporating advanced AI, we guide applicants through the process in plain English (or any other language).

  • For the Applicant: Our AI ensures applications are complete before they are submitted, reducing the endless back-and-forth that clogs up city planning departments.

  • For the City: We integrate directly into our secure Civic AI Platform (or your city's existing backend platform), allowing staff to review compliant, pre-vetted applications faster than ever before.

Cities have a choice. They can spend the next two years patching together legacy software to barely meet the AB 920 deadline. Or, they can partner with Civic Decode to leapfrog the mandate entirely. We are offering a solution that is faster, smarter, and more secure than what the law requires. We aren't just helping you avoid penalties; we’re helping you build trust with your community. The law says you have to digitize by 2028. Let’s build an AI-based system that actually works for the future and beyond.