Newsom signs bills easing Joshua tree permits and fees
One bill takes effect immediately, cutting the cost for homeowners to remove or trim up to 10 western Joshua trees. A second streamlines dead-tree permits and expands tribal access, starting Jan. 1, 2027.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Sept. 29 that revise California's protections for western Joshua trees, making it cheaper and simpler for homeowners to remove or trim the protected trees and expanding how Native American tribes can obtain them for cultural use.
Lower fees, effective immediately
Assembly Bill 1808, authored by Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, D-Palmdale, took effect immediately. It lowers mitigation fees for some single-family homeowners removing or trimming up to 10 western Joshua trees, from a range of $150 to $1,000 per tree down to $37.50 to $250, depending on the tree's size. The bill also reduces fees for certain public works projects.
The bill also folds commercial and industrial projects with up to 40 trees into a single local process, letting applicants seek the city's project approval and the Joshua tree permit at the same time. Some cities could already issue Joshua tree permits; the new law extends that to larger commercial and industrial projects.
Our desert can keep moving forward, and the Joshua Tree will still be standing for generations to come.
local communities to update critical infrastructure and homeowners to do the work on their home they've always dreamed of.Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, in a social media post, via the Desert Sun, on what the lower fees would allow
Simpler dead-tree permits and tribal access, starting Jan. 1
Assembly Bill 1663, authored by Assemblymember Greg Wallis, R-Bermuda Dunes, revises the Western Joshua Tree Conservation Act, the 2023 law that permanently protected the species. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
The law streamlines removal of dead or hazardous trees: someone acting on the owner's behalf can now submit the permit request, and the state no longer requires the owner or a desert native plant specialist to separately certify that the tree is dead. Property owners can already remove certain dead or hazardous trees without paying mitigation fees.
It also expands the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's authority to permit tribes to buy, sell, take and possess western Joshua trees for cultural purposes. Under the 2023 law, tribes could take and possess the trees with state approval but could not buy them.
Joshua Trees are part of what makes our desert home. A homeowner with a dead tree leaning on the house can now get a permit without extra hoops, and tribes have more room to use these trees in their cultural traditions.Assemblymember Greg Wallis, in a press release, via the Desert Sun
Our desert can keep moving forward, and the Joshua Tree will still be standing for generations to come.Assemblymember Greg Wallis, on the changes, via the Desert Sun
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