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Legislative Watch

ACGOP•January 20, 2025•14 min read
Legislative Watch

Rev. 1/20/2025 - Please check this Legislative Watch page for your personal passion theme for Bills that could use your call or letter TODAY.

Checked all listed 2023-2024 Bills for Assembly 1/14/2025 and Senate bills 1/14/2025.

If you find 2025-2026 bills that should be on this web page, please contact anyone on our team.

TRACK BILLS and COMMENT: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Assembly Committees:              https://www.assembly.ca.gov/committees 
Senate     Committees:              https://www.senate.ca.gov/committees
STATE REPRESENTATIVE:       http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov
GOVERNOR:  govapps.gov.ca.gov  Phone: 916-445-2841 govapps.gov.ca.gov (You will see a form to complete; then a box appears for message.)

Bills marked: “Signed into Law” are a done deal. That specific bill is now a LAW.

We encourage initiatives to help correct bad State laws.  See web page of Initiatives for November 2024 ballots.

On THIS page, we only list active bills in which you can engage State legislators or committee chairs.   Once "Chaptered", bad bill signed into law.  Governor signed nearly all bad bills from prior Legislative Session, so try to influence bills prior to his desk.

  • A bill pending referral allows comment to author using legislative web site.   Too early to contact legislators.
  • A bill in committee is not ready for floor vote.  Instead, ask the listed committee to 'pass' or 'kill the bill in committee'.
  • Warning: Once examined by Appropriations in each house, time runs out!  There will be a motion for a floor vote or put on consent calendar in that house.   Sometimes the bill gets revisions ("Third Reading").

Read steps a Bill goes through before signed into law:  Legislation Steps.   

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THEMES

The bills here are sorted by Theme (Abortion, Climate, Drugs, Education, Elections, Guns, Housing, Reparations, Sexual Overhaul, Water, Taxation, Other) to let you contact your legislators referencing several related bills in two phone calls or two letters (one for State Senate bills and one for Assembly Bills).  

Assembly and Senate Contacts for your District

Letters and Calls

Write a very short letter in your own words summarizing your position on the theme to your legislator: “I ask for a 'No' vote on several bills (XX-1234, XX-2123, ...) because ….”.  Be polite, to the point, and convincing. You want to sway legislators but not alienate them.  Many instinctively react against your interests if you attack them.   Calls sometimes get legislator attention, especially when hundreds come in spread over several days. 

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Theme: Abortion

The Legislature continues to promote California as the destination for cheap and easy abortions, while lowering medical safety standards.  Taxpayers pay all costs. 

New for 2025:

AB45 - Privacy: health care data  (Bauer-Kahan) - Pending Referral - This bill makes it unlawful to geofence an entity that provides in-person health care services and to prohibit health care providers from releasing medical research information related to an individual seeking or obtaining an abortion in response to a subpoena or request if that subpoena or request is based on another state’s laws that interfere with a person’s rights under the Reproductive Privacy Act.

AB54 - Access to Safe Abortion Care - Pending Referral - This bill makes legislative findings about medication abortion, with a focus on mifepristone and misoprostol. The bill ensures access to a medication abortion.

AB67 - Attorney General: Reproductive Privacy Act: enforcement (Bauer-Kahan) - Pending Referral - Existing law prohibits a person from being subject to civil or criminal liability, or otherwise deprived of their rights, with respect to their pregnancy or their actions to assist a pregnant person exercising their reproductive rights. This bill authorizes the Attorney General, if it appears that a person is about to engage in any act constituting a violation of the Reproductive Privacy Act, to bring an action in the superior court to enforce compliance. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to make public or private investigations, publish information concerning violation of the Reproductive Privacy Act, and subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, take evidence, and require the production of documents or records that they deem relevant or material to the inquiry. This bill imposes a civil penalty not exceeding $25,000 upon any person or governmental entity that violates any provision of the act and a civil penalty for violation of the bill’s provisions.

AB260 - Sexual and reproductive health care - Pending Referral - This bill ensures that patients can continue to access care, including abortion, gender-affirming care, and other sexual and reproductive health care in California, and to allow patients to access care through asynchronous modes.

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Theme: Drugs 

💊 Fentanyl is a highly addictive and extremely lethal synthetic opioid. It is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

New for 2025:

SB6 - Controlled substances: xylazine - Pending referral - This bill adds xylazine to the list of Schedule III substance. If an animal drug containing xylazine that has been approved is not available in California, the bill creates an exception for a substance intended to be used to compound an animal drug. The bill excludes from the prohibitions on paraphernalia any testing equipment to analyze a substance for the presence of xylazine. By creating a new crime, the bill imposes a state-mandated local program.

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Theme: Education

New for 2025:

SB64 - Education expenses: School Choice Flex Account Act (Grove, Rep) - Pending Referral - This bill establishes the School Choice Flex Account (SCFA) Trust, as a fund within the State Treasury to be administered by the SCFA Trust Board. The bill would authorize certain children eligible to be enrolled in K to 12, inclusive, to establish an SCFA or Special Education Flex Account (SEFA), based on parent or guardian income. The bill would, beginning with the 2031–32 school year, authorize every child eligible to be enrolled in K to 12, inclusive, to establish an SCFA or SEFA. The bill would credit a deposit amount to the account of every eligible student enrolled in an eligible school for tuition and certain school expenses.

SCA1 - Educational expenses: school choice flex accounts and special education flex accounts (Grove, Rep) - Pending Referral - Constitutional Amendment - The California Constitution prohibits public money for support of any sectarian or denominational school or any school not under the exclusive control of the officers of the public schools. This measure, notwithstanding the constitutional provisions referenced above or any other provision of the California Constitution, authorizes the state, and every agency or political subdivision, to disburse funds pursuant to an agreement between the state and a parent or legal guardian of an eligible child for tuition and education-related expenses associated with attending a private school serving students K to 12, inclusive, irrespective of religious affiliation, as provided by statute, and provide tax or other public benefits to private schools serving students K to 12, inclusive, irrespective of religious affiliation, to further the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement.

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Theme: Elections

The ACGOP contact for this theme is Jackie Cota.  See Election Integrity Project (California) website for analysis letters here: https://www.eip-ca.com/opposition_letters/ 

Year 2024 ACA13 >>> ON NOVEMBER 2026 BALLOT <<< Voting thresholds - This constitutional amendment raises voter mandate from 50% to 67% for constitutional amendments by citizen initiative.  It is specifically aimed to kill the HJTA Proposition proposed for November 2024. - Per Senator Glazier’s aide 9/7 that ACA 13 is shelved in committee and probably won’t be voted on this session. - They LIED.  Moved out of Appropriations five days later 9/12 and passed by Senate on 9/14 - Quietly held on Consent Calendar until 11/1, Signed onto Ballot 11/2/2023

New for 2025:

AB25 - California Voter ID and Election Integrity - Pending Referral - This bill requires a government-issued ID to vote, verifying the citizenship of voters, maintaining accurate voter lists, incentivizing timely counting of ballots, and enhancing the signature review process.

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Theme: Gun Control

New for 2025:

SB15 - Gun violence prevention - Pending Referral - Existing law authorizes a court to issue a temporary gun violence restraining order prohibiting a person from possessing a firearm or ammunition if there is reasonable cause to believe that a person poses a significant danger of harm to themselves or to another person by having a firearm. This bill enacts legislation relating to gun violence prevention. Affects identical sentence as AB256.

AB256 - Crimes involving firearms - Pending Referral - Existing law generally regulates the manufacture, distribution, transportation, and importation of specified firearms.  This bill enacts legislation relating to crimes involving firearms. (as opposed to "gun violence protection").  Affects identical sentence as SB15.

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Theme: Housing**- Unknown Pending Bills for 2025**

Year 2024 SB7 - Signed into Law - Homeless Housing Obligation Act: Planning and zoning: annual report: housing for extremely low-income households --Requires “homeless” to be included as an income category for purposes of the regional housing needs, requiring each council of governments to revise the income categories used in regional housing needs allocations, and would impose a state-mandated local program.

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Theme: Reparations to Black Residents 

See 4/2/2024 article at https://www.kqed.org/news/11981271/track-the-success-of-californias-14-reparations-bills-for-black-residents  - This shows that the State is not focused upon real policy to rebuild California with industry, skilled jobs, agriculture and getting rid of illegal drugs, homelessness and crime. - Mindy P

Year 2024 SB1050**: California American Freedmen Affairs Agency: racially motivated eminent domain - Unfinished Business** - Compensation for land taken by eminent domain. 

Year 2024 SB1089**: Signed into Law - Food and prescription access: grocery and pharmacy closures.** - Require advance notice for grocery and pharmacy closures.

Year 2024 AB1815**: Signed into Law - Discrimination: race: hairstyles.** - Prohibit discrimination based on hair texture and style.

Year 2024 AB1986**: Signed into Law - State prisons: banned books** - Limit book bans in state prisons.

Year 2024 AB3089**: Signed into Law - Chattel slavery: formal apology.** - Formal apology for slavery and systemic discrimination.

Year 2024 AB3131**: Signed into Law - California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program: Strong Workforce Program: positive consideration for applicants in historically red-lined communities**. - Target economic support to formerly red-lined communities.

New for 2025:

AB57 - Home Purchase Assistance Program: descendants of slaves - Pending Referral - Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Agency to make loans to finance affordable housing and to administer a home purchase assistance program for low- and moderate-income home buyers. This bill reserves a portion of the moneys in the program for descendants of slaves.

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Theme: Sexual Overhaul

Scott Wiener promotes many bills hostile to traditional faith beliefs, traditional sexual morals, and parental authority.  Read carefully any bill bearing his name.  He has MANY like-minded peers.

Year 2024 SB957- Signed into Law - Data collection: sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status (Wiener) 

Year 2024 *SB1414 - Signed into Law- Crimes: solicitation of a minor. (Grove, Rep) - Requires annual registration for those convicted of solicitation for sex (not just actual molestation).*  

**Year 2024 AB1810 - Signed into Law - Incarcerated persons: menstrual products -**This bill is both anti birth sexual identity and a financial drain.  Asks Californians to deny basic biology because it calls for feminism and birth control products in both men and women’s prisons.  Males do not need female products.   Our State is so far in debt that we do not need this added expense in men’s prisons. 

New for 2025:

SB59 - Change of gender and sex identifier (Wiener) - Pending Referral - Existing law requires a petition for a change of gender and sex identifier (and/or name) ...  filed by a person under 18 years of age, and any papers associated, to be kept confidential by the court. Existing law limits data access solely to the minor, the minor’s parents, and their attorneys. This bill expands that confidentiality... regardless of the age of the person who filed the petition. This bill makes this provision retroactive.

SCR10 - National Human Trafficking Awareness Month (Grove, Rep) - Rules - Recognize January 2025 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.  January is nearly over.   

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Theme: Water 

New for 2025:

SB72 - California Water Plan: long-term supply targets - Pending Referral - This bill expands the advisory committee to include tribes, labor, and environmental justice interests. The bill updates the interim planning target for 2050 to consider future water needs for all usage sectors. The bill requires a discussion of the estimated costs and benefits of any project type or action that could help achieve water supply targets. The bill requires public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan.

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Theme: Taxation

New for 2025:

AB 245 - Property taxation: disaster victims - pending referral - The California Constitution provides that all property is taxable and assessed at the same percentage of fair market value, unless otherwise provided by the California Constitution or federal law.  This bill provides meaningful and automatic property tax relief for disaster victims, including fire disasters, in areas proclaimed in a state of emergency by the Governor.

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Theme: Other 

Year 2024 SB227- Unemployment: Excluded Workers Program - Unfinished Business - Establishes an “Excluded Workers Program” within the Employment Development Department (EDD) to provide income assistance to unemployed excluded workers who are not eligible for regular state or federal unemployment insurance benefits due to their immigration status. 

Year 2024 SB1381 - Signed into Law -Crime: child pornography - AB1831 must pass for this to be operative

Year 2024 AB1831 - Signed into Law - Crime: child pornography - SB1381 must pass for this to be operative

SIGNED LAWS FOLLOW-UP

Do not contact Legislators about signed laws.   Only a conservative legislature or expensive ballot initiatives for 2024 can possibly reverse the worst new laws.  

Year 2022 AB 101 - This signed law makes Critical Race Theory a requirement for high school graduation beginning with the 2029-2030 graduating class and requiring implementation of this curriculum in public and charter schools by 2025.  Since the classroom material does not have to be implemented until 2025, and the bill allows curriculum to be developed locally, parents and interested citizens should get involved by asking for a citizen’s committee to assist in the formation of that curriculum.

Visit Legislator Offices

  • Mondays - Thursdays: Visit Legislators in Sacramento - Elizabeth Kenney drives there.  Join forces and cover more offices in one trip.
  • Fridays: Visit legislators in their District offices in Alameda County

Legislative Watch Sources

Team Volunteers: Jackie Cota, Phyllis Couper, Marianne Haas, Susie Ferris-Inderkum, Tami Jenkins, Elizabeth Kenney, Mindy and Gerald Pechenuk, Jeanne Solnordal, Linda Harmeson, and at times:

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