This year, California lawmakers went right up until the midnight deadline on Aug. 31 during a frenetic final week of legislative session, which ended with several hundred bills advancing to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, though several high-profile pieces of legislation failed to move forward due to a final vote or time constraints.
Artificial intelligence, retail theft, and reparations were all major themes. And despite the deadline, legislators aren’t done in Sacramento yet — Governor Gavin Newsom called last minute for them to reconvene soon for a special session to tackle high gas prices, though the state Senate says it won’t take part.
Here are some key takeaways from lawmakers’ actions this year.
AI and tech
Lawmakers passed a first in the nation bill establishing safeguards for AI development in the state. Senate Bill 1047 by San Francisco Democratic Senator Scott Wiener would require developers to adopt extensive safety protocols before training AI models costing over $1,000,000.
The bill was a rare example of agreement between the San Francisco Democrat Scott Wiener and OpenAI founder Elon Musk, but was the target of a hard-fought opposition campaign by a conglomerate of California tech companies including Google, Meta, and OpenAI.
Lawmakers also took on regulation of AI in workplaces throughout the state. Democratic Assembly member Liz Ortega of Hayward chairs the Assembly Committee on Labor Employment, which held an informational hearing on the subject earlier this summer.
“I … continue to hear horror stories about how this technology is impacting our youth and so I don't want to continue in that path where we don't put safeguards and regulations in place when it comes to artificial intelligence and the workplace,” Ortega said.
Assembly Bill 2286 by Democratic Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry of Winters would require driverless retail trucks to remain staffed by human safety operators. Newsom vetoed a nearly identical bill last session. Senate Bill 1220 by Democratic Senator Monique Limon of Santa Barbara would block the use of AI in state agency call centers to eliminate jobs. Assembly Bill 2602 by Democratic Assembly member Ash Kalra of San Jose would protect workers in the creative space, including Hollywood voice actors and other performers, by prohibiting AI from making digital replicas of their work without permission.
A bill to clarify liability for autonomous vehicles squeaked out of the Assembly with under a minute left in the session. Assembly Bill 1777 by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Phil Ting would require AV companies to staff emergency phone lines with a human operator to address incidents where AVs are involved in a traffic emergency. The bill would also allow peace officers to issue a “notice of autonomous vehicle noncompliance” to an AV company when one of its vehicles commits a traffic violation.
Criminal justice
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle felt pressure from constituents to make criminal justice reform a major theme of the session. Once Proposition 36 — which would stiffen penalties for drug and theft-related crimes — made it onto the November ballot, Democrats responded by quickly moving a package of crime bills to the governor, who signed them in mid-August.
That included Assembly Bill 2943, which makes it easier to aggregate similar crimes in charges.
“This bill makes California safer and does its best to maintain criminal justice reforms that have been so important,” bill sponsor and Assembly Democratic Caucus Leader Rick Chavez Zbur of Los Angeles told fellow lawmakers earlier this month.
Another, Senate Bill 905, makes it a crime to enter a vehicle, even if it’s unlocked. One more, Senate Bill 1144, adds verification requirements for third-party sellers on websites like Amazon.
A much-debated effort to allow those sentenced to life without the possibility of parole to petition for resentencing stalled in the Assembly when it wasn’t brought up for a vote during the final week of session. Senate Bill 94 by Democratic Senator Dave Cortese (D–San Jose) would have allowed some who have served at least 25 years a second chance at parole and was widely supported by civil rights and anti-recidivism advocates. The proposal drew a loud chorus of opposition from law enforcement throughout the state.
“We just need to figure out how to get a floor vote in the Assembly,” Cortese said. He committed to reintroducing the bill next session.
One of the relatively few Republican authored bills to advance to the governor was Senate Bill 1414 by Republican Senator Shannon Grove of Bakersfield. It would increase criminal punishment for the solicitation of a minor under 16-years-old from a misdemeanor to a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors would have the discretion to seek a longer sentence. A second offense would automatically be a felony.
Juvenile justice
A few juvenile justice bills also made it to the governor’s desk. They include Assembly Bill 1186, which would get rid of some fines that young people who are convicted of a crime have to pay. Lawmakers also passed Assembly Bill 1877, a bill that would automatically clear some juvenile court records when a young person turns 18.
Assembly Bill 2441, would have left it up to teachers to decide if they want to call law enforcement in certain situations with students, but it died on Saturday after being heavily amended.
Reparations
The California Legislative Black Caucus started the legislative year with a suite of reparations bills, several of which passed. That includes Senate Bill 1050, which requires state officials to investigate claims of stolen land via eminent domain. Another, Assembly Bill 1986, calls for more transparency in state prison book banning.
Two high-profile bills that were not on that initial list, Senate Bills 1331 and 1403, were pulled on Saturday before receiving a final vote. State Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) had introduced both bills.
“The bills aren't where they need to be able to be brought up on our floor,” Assembly Member and Legislative Black Caucus Chair Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) told reporters on Saturday.
Upon hearing the bill wouldn’t receive a vote, dozens of protestors arrived at the Capitol to support the measures. Their chants filled the Capitol rotunda just outside the Assembly and Senate chambers.
None of the reparations bills filed this year called for making direct cash payments to descendants of enslaved people.
Health
The Legislature also sent several bills to the governor that call for insurance companies to cover more services.
That includes Senate Bill 729, which requires private insurance companies to pay for infertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization. It also makes LGBTQ+ families eligible for the care.
Menopause is also potentially joining the list. Assembly Bill 2467 would require most insurance plans to cover related care.
Additionally, lawmakers voted to preserve an Affordable Care Act provision in California that is facing legal challenges at the federal level. Assembly Bill 2258 requires insurers to cover home test kits for sexually transmitted diseases along with specified cancer screenings. It would cover additional preventative care, including PrEP and reversible contraception.
Environment
A plastic bag ban made it out of the state legislature once again. While California voters approved a plastic bag ban through Proposition 67 in 2016, this year’s legislation would prohibit the thicker film plastic bags that stores have used to circumvent the original ban in the years since. If signed, shoppers will only have the option of paper bags at store checkout.
Lawmakers took last minute action to set statewide standards for manufacturing warehouses and local circulation plans, with the goal of easing environmental harms for nearby communities with a manufacturing presence. Assembly Bill 98 was authored by Democratic Assembly members Juan Carrillo of Palmdale and Eloise Reyes of San Bernardino who represent districts with a large concentration of warehouses in the Inland Empire. The bill was gutted and amended during the final week of session, sparking tensions between legislators over last minute deals and a debate over local control.
An effort to grant local governments authority on oil and gas operations narrowly passed on the final night of session after failing a Senate floor vote earlier in the week. Assembly Bill 3233 by Assembly member Dawn Addis, a Democrat who represents San Luis Obispo, would allow cities and counties to limit oil and gas drilling within certain distances from neighborhoods and other sensitive areas.
Elections
Also during the last few days of session, lawmakers passed a bill to block local governments from enacting voter identification requirements for elections. Senate Bill 1174 by Democratic Senator Dave Min of Irvine was introduced after the city of Huntington Beach adopted a voter ID requirement last year. Democrats argued the practice disenfranchises voters in historically excluded communities while Republicans raised concerns about the potential for undocumented individuals to cast ballots.
Legislators also advanced Senate Constitutional Amendment 1 by Senator Josh Newman, a Democrat who represents the Fullerton area. The amendment, if passed by voters in 2026, would change California’s recall process for statewide representatives. It would remove the successor election from the recall process — voters would only select whether or not to recall the sitting representative. The policy came from a series of recommendations to the Legislature following the unsuccessful 2018 recall election of Governor Newsom. Newman himself was recalled from his Senate seat in 2018.
Special session
Also this weekend, the governor called a special session to address high gas prices late in the final day of session after lawmakers refused to move forward with his plan to put new requirements on oil refineries. Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire of Healdsburg said in a press release that the Senate would not convene for it. �
“The Senate Democratic caucus is one hundred percent united that we’re not going to come back for a special session,” McGuire said outside the Senate floor chamber shortly after the midnight deadline. “Here’s why, for weeks we have had the votes. For weeks we were calling for a vote. For weeks we had consensus within our caucus to be able to provide Californians with the relief they need immediately.”
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas of Salinas told reporters on Saturday night that while he supports the special session, he feels it would be irresponsible to rush legislation on the issue, especially if it leads to a deal coming together mostly behind closed doors.
“It’s about unintended consequences and ensuring that we’re minimizing the potential for unintended consequences,” he said.
The special session has to take place before Nov. 30, when the two-year session officially ends, but Rivas said to expect it much sooner.
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