Energy & Climate & Environment
AB 1624 - Public Lands Protection Act
AB 1624, the Public Lands Protection Act, makes clear that California's public lands are not up for grabs. This bill ensures that if federally owned public lands in California are ever sold or transferred to private ownership, they remain protected under California's local open-space and conservation designations. AB 1624 requires any new land owner to follow California's protective land-use and environmental laws before developing that land. This proactive approach prevents sensitive lands from being fast-tracked into logging, oil drilling, or other harmful or irreversible development, and helps safeguard California's natural, cultural, and recreational resources for future generations.
AB 2383 - Large Energy Users
As energy-hungry data centers expand across California, AB 2383 ensures that working families don't foot the bill. AB 2383 requires large energy users — like those powering AI and cloud computing — to pay their fair share, preventing costs from being shifted onto everyday ratepayers. It directs the state to create a new electricity rate structure that properly assigns costs, supports long-term grid planning, and strengthens reliability as demand grows. This bill will ensure timely and efficient planning as the state prepares for the emergence of unprecedented demand on the electrical grid, and will be critical in protecting ratepayers and advancing system-wide reliability.
AB 1740 - Modernizing Coastal Permitting in Urban, Transit-Rich Communities
When routine projects take years to approve, it slows housing, hurts small businesses, and stalls climate progress in communities that are already doing the right things. AB 1740 modernizes the Coastal Act to support local jurisdictions' climate action, transit and housing strategies by reforming the way the Coastal Act advances public access to the coast in highly urbanized transit-rich communities. In particular, the bill embraces smart climate strategies by incentivizing and supporting investments in transit, bike lanes and pedestrian transportation, rather than imposing unnecessary parking and road improvements. It does this by recognizing and empowering certain urbanized transit-rich communities to have the ability to approve housing, bike and pedestrian improvements, outdoor dining and certain building renovations and certain other minor projects without the need for individual coastal development permits. This bill applies only to a limited portion of the coastal zone — specifically urban, transit-rich areas without protected coastal resources such as wetlands, environmentally sensitive habitats, or coastal bluffs — while preserving the California Coastal Commission's authority to protect beaches and sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Public Safety
AB 2217 - Modernizing Crime Prevention Strategies
AB 2217 recognizes a simple truth: we can't arrest our way out of poverty, mental health challenges, or addiction. This bill expands proven programs that allow law enforcement to connect individuals committing low-level, non-violent offenses with services instead of jail. Building on the successful LEAD model, the bill broadens eligibility and enables officers to refer people directly to case managers or crisis care. Participants can access housing, mental health treatment, and substance use services — addressing the root causes of crime. This approach reduces recidivism, improves public safety, and uses law enforcement resources more effectively.
Consumer Protections
AB 1609 - Right to Human Customer Service
Customer service systems that rely heavily on chatbots and long hold times are leaving Californians frustrated and without the help they need. Automated platforms often fail to handle complex or nuanced issues, trapping users in repetitive loops, while phone systems can leave customers waiting for hours or disconnected without resolution. This can have serious consequences, from delaying access to health care to costing people time away from work to being unable to resolve basic needs. AB 1609 addresses this growing problem by guaranteeing consumers the right to speak with a real person in a timely manner, requiring transparency when AI is used, and setting clear standards to ensure customer service systems are accessible, responsive, and effective.
AB 2039 - Attorney Accountability & Whistleblower Protections
Attorneys are expected to meet the highest standards of ethics and professional conduct. Their role is to advocate for their clients and ensure they receive due process, but unfortunately some attorneys have chosen to violate ethical duties for personal gain. Recent reporting has highlighted a wave of inappropriate attorney conduct including allegations that attorneys paid recruiters to find them clients and paid individuals to be their clients. Unethical conduct results in claims being brought that are false or fraudulent which not only undermines our justice system, it also denies real victims their day in court by wasting the time and resources that should go to real cases. AB 2039 will increase accountability within the legal profession and ensure consistent enforcement of existing laws governing attorney misconduct. The bill does three key things: strengthens mandatory disbarment proceedings for attorneys who are guilty of paying or receiving compensation for client referrals, creates whistleblower protections for those who report attorney misconduct, and regulates attorney-client loans and financial advances. Together, these reforms will make sure attorneys are held accountable for misconduct and will reduce the number of fraudulent cases that take up time and resources in California courts.
Economic Development
AB 1693 - Accelerated Retail Building Plan Approval
Vibrant retail storefronts are essential to strong local economies, but unnecessary permitting delays can hold businesses back and keep storefronts vacant. AB 1693 reduces barriers to improving or opening a new retail storefront in California by requiring local building departments to allow a properly qualified outside certifier to review tenant improvements and certify those improvements for compliance with applicable building, health, and safety code. By reducing costly delays while maintaining health and safety standards, the bill helps small businesses adapt to changing conditions, attract customers, and grow. It's a commonsense approach that supports economic opportunity and revitalizes neighborhoods without cutting corners.
AB 2549 - Battery Recycling Reporting
Reporting requirements are critical to tracking progress and ensuring compliance with our state's environmental standards and laws. AB 2549 provides necessary improvements to California's Covered Battery-Embedded Product (CBEP) Program, which was established to help with the management and recycling of battery-embedded products. In order to advance California's environmental goals, this bill is essential for ensuring compliance with the CBEP program by streamlining the regulatory notification process to CalRecycle, while also achieving critical cost-savings to consumers, businesses and the state.
LGBTQ+ Civil Rights
AB 1930 - Defending Access to Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care
California has become a national leader in protecting access to reproductive health care and gender-affirming health care — which is simply health care that allows transgender people to live as who they truly are. However, recent actions by out-of-state actors have raised concerns about attempts to obtain private medical information or prosecute individuals involved in legally protected health care. AB 1930 strengthens protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care by requiring businesses to notify the California Attorney General before responding to subpoenas or inquiries related to legally protected health care. This allows the state to intervene to protect patients, providers, and sensitive medical information, safeguarding patients' and providers' safety and privacy. Decisions on health care should be made between patients, their families, and their doctors — not by any politician or outside actor.
AB 1967 - Strengthening Protections for Youth in Foster Care
No child in foster care should be left without support because of bureaucratic delays or technical barriers, especially when they are experiencing homelessness or fleeing unsafe or abusive situations. Youth in foster care, who are disproportionately LGBTQ+, Black, and Native American, also face disproportionately high rates of housing instability and homelessness. AB 1967 closes critical gaps in the foster care system by requiring timely, consistent responses when a young person directly seeks help and ensuring they can access extended foster care when they need it. The bill also removes unfair barriers that can block young adults who were once in foster care from reentering care, including when they are experiencing homelessness, simply because a former guardian is still receiving benefits without providing support. Youth in foster care are the responsibility of the state, and this bill ensures the system works for them, not against them, so that every young person has the support they need not just to survive, but to thrive and build a brighter future.
Supporting Workers
AB 2634 - High-Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) Funding
Unions are the backbone of a strong middle class — creating pathways out of poverty, raising wages, and improving lives for working people. AB 2634 builds on that foundation by strengthening High Road Training Partnerships (HRTPs) requirements to ensure workforce investments lead to good-paying, high-quality jobs. This bill requires that the HRTP Program prioritizes labor-management partnerships, focuses on low- and middle-wage workers, and directs funding to industries with real demand and strong job standards. AB 2634 also helps prepare California's workforce for major opportunities like the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
AB 2417 - Retirement Security for Part-Time Faculty
Gaps in information and access to retirement options can place community college faculty — particularly part-time educators — at a financial disadvantage. AB 2417 requires that Social Security be offered as a retirement option and directs the development of clear informational materials comparing common retirement plans. The bill ensures educators understand the implications of each option and can make informed decisions based on their individual circumstances. These changes promote transparency and improve long-term financial outcomes for faculty.
Health & Human Services
AB 1887 - Removing Barriers to Care for Rare Disease Patients
For families facing rare diseases, every delay can be devastating—and sometimes deadly. AB 1887 cuts through dangerous insurance barriers by eliminating prior authorization and "fail first" requirements for lifesaving, FDA-approved treatments for rare diseases. When a specialist has already determined the only effective therapy, forcing patients to wait is not just unnecessary, but reckless and dangerous. This bill restores decision-making to doctors and ensures patients get the care they need, when they need it.