Legislative Update: End of Session

On Saturday, the 2025 Legislative Session officially adjourned.

As your State Senator, I want to share an update on some of the most significant and debated bills that made their way through the Legislature this year.

The following bills have made it to the Governor’s desk, and he has until Monday, October 13th to sign them, veto them, or take no action, allowing the bill to go into law without his signature.

Senate Bills: 

• SB 72 (Caballero) requires California to set long-term water supply targets and update the state’s Water Plan every five years to ensure safe, reliable water for cities, farms, and the environment.
  Click here to view my Support letter
   
• SB 79 (Wiener) requires cities to approve high-density housing near transit stops, overriding local zoning control.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter
   
• SB 221 (Ochoa Bogh) expands the crime of stalking to include threats against a person’s pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse.
  Click here to view my Support letter
   
• SB 380 (Jones) requires the Department of State Hospitals to study the feasibility of transitional housing for Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) in the conditional release program to help reduce long delays in placement and improve public safety.
  Click here to view my Support letter
   
• SB 414 (Ashby) strengthens oversight and accountability for charter schools by updating audit and funding rules, extending renewal standards, and supporting authorizers through new grants and oversight programs.
  Click here to watch my Floor Speech
   
• SB 571 (Archuleta) adds harsher penalties for looters who impersonate emergency personnel and makes it a crime to impersonate first responders during evacuation orders.
  Click here to view my Support letter
   
• SB 627 (Wiener) makes it a crime for law enforcement officers to wear facial coverings while performing their duties, except in specified circumstances.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter

 
Assembly Bills: 

• AB 309 (Zbur) extends authorizations for physicians and pharmacists to furnish hypodermic needles without prescription for personal use to persons over the age of 18.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter
   
• AB 495 (Rodriguez) expands the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit to include nonrelative extended family members, allowing them to make school-related medical and educational decisions for a child.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter
   
• AB 587 (Davies) requires the California Student Aid Commission to include one public member with knowledge or experience in accessing Veterans’ educational benefits.
  Click here to view my Support letter
   
• AB 699 (Stefani) removes financial information on local tax and bond measures from the ballot label and shifts it to a separate voter guide.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter
   
• AB 1084 (Zbur) streamlines gender-related name changes by eliminating objections for adults, limiting parental objections for minors, and reducing court oversight.
  Click here to view my vote
   
• AB 1207 (Irwin) extends California’s Cap-and-Trade program to 2045 under the new name ‘Cap and Invest,’ eliminates the natural gas climate credit for households, shifts costs onto electricity customers, and ends free allowances for industry after 2030.
  Click to watch my Floor Speech
   
• AB 1127 (Gabriel) expands the definition of “machinegun” to include any convertible pistol equipped with certain mechanisms, restricting sales though conversion is already illegal.
  Click here to view my Veto request letter

If you'd like to make your voice heard on any of the bills above, contact the Governor's office by phone: (916) 445-2841 or send a comment through the website.  


Notable bills that did not pass:

• AB 84 (Muratsuchi) imposes new restrictions and requirements for charter schools, adding stricter audits and funding-determination thresholds, tighter contracting and authorizer oversight, and a cap that limits small districts’ ability to authorize non-classroom based charter schools, threatening their operations.  
   
• AB 470 (McKinnor) allows the CPUC to approve requests from telephone companies to relinquish their ‘carrier of last resort’ obligation to provide landline service in designated ‘well-served’ areas, shifting customers to alternative voice services.
   
• AB 908 (Solache) requires the California Department of Education to annually review school board–adopted instructional materials to ensure compliance with diversity requirements.
   
• AB 954 (Bennett) requires Caltrans to assess the feasibility of incorporating bicycle highways into the Interregional Transportation Strategic Plan (ITSP).
   
• AB 1018 (Bauer-Kahan) creates new rules for artificial intelligence decision-making tools, requiring testing, disclosures, and audits that would be costly for small businesses.
   
• AB 1231 (Elhawary) expands pretrial diversion from misdemeanors to a wide range of felonies, giving courts broad discretion to divert defendants even with repeat offenses or new non-violent crimes.
   
• SB 672 (Rubio) gives offenders sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed under the age of 25 the opportunity for parole eligibility after 25 years of incarceration.

Thank you for this opportunity to be of service.