Here are some of the bills our legislative committee will bring to the Executive Board and then the membership this month. We hope you will all be excited to vote to endorse these important bills. Links are included for those who want a deeper dive into the details of these bills.
Criminal Justice Reform/Reparations
AB 7 (Bryan) Postsecondary education: admissions preference: descendants of slavery—would authorize priority admissions for descendants of American chattel slavery to higher education institutions.
ACA 6 (Wilson) Ending slavery in California—would create a ballot measure to abolish slavery in any form. Currently, the California Constitution prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. AB 7 and ACA 6 are both part of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) Road to Repair 2025 bill package. Here is the Los Angeles Times coverage of the CLBC bill package. CLBC’s press release includes this quote from Vice Chair Isaac Bryan:
“This year, as we do every year, we will fight to repair the harms of the past and create new ladders of opportunity for Black Californians…The President of the United States has spent his first month in office fighting to erase, disempower, and defund federal efforts to improve the conditions of life for Black people. Here in California, we are prepared and willing to stand up and fight back…”
Environment/Utilities & Energy
SB 684 (Menjivar) and AB 1243 (Addis) The Polluters Pay Superfund Act of 2025. Requires fossil fuel polluters to offset the costs pushed down on the taxpayer for the damage caused and enhanced by their products. Press release.
Housing/Renters Rights
AB 246 (Bryan) State of emergency: residential rent increases: County of Los Angeles: price gouging: enforcement by district attorney. This would put into place a 1-year ban on increase in excess of the rental on January 7, 2025. The bill limits fines to $10,000 and under. See a report on rent gouging after the Eaton and Palisades wildfires here.
AB 11 (Lee) Social Housing—will establish a state authority with the goal of developing social housing to tackle California’s chronic housing shortage. Press release.
AB 590 The Social Housing Bond—will place a bond measure on the November 2026 ballot to provide $950 million in funding dedicated to creating social housing in California. Press release.
Elections/Democracy
SB 242 (Umberg, Allen, Lee) Political Reform Act of 1974: public campaign financing: California Fair Elections Act of 2026—will place the California Fair Elections Act on the November 2026 ballot to allow public funding of campaigns in any city, county, district, and the state.
SB 242 requires:
• Publicly-funded candidates abide by expenditure limits.
• That candidates meet strict criteria to qualify (such as requiring candidates receive small dollar contributions or vouchers from a specified number of adult residents).
SB 242 prohibits:
• The use of public funds to pay for legal defense or fines.
• Use of public funds or private donations to repay personal loans after the campaign ends.
• Public funding from discriminating based on party or against challengers in favor of incumbents.
• And SB 242 bans public campaign funds from coming from money earmarked for education, transportation, or public safety.