Fall Legislative Update – Advancing Progress for Californians
Major Successes in First Legislative Year
Senator Jesse Arreguín joins Governor Gavin Newsom at a bill signing ceremony.
With this year’s legislation session having concluded, I am proud to update you on key accomplishments. Last Monday was the deadline for Governor Newsom to sign bills, and I am pleased to announce that he signed all of my bills which landed on his desk, a rare accomplishment for a first year member.
This was a challenging but productive year. The Legislature and Governor took quick action to help Southern California communities devastated by wildfires. In response to actions from the federal government, we stood with our immigrant neighbors against ICE raids and made real progress on improving affordability in California.
I was proud to chair two standing committees addressing issues of great importance to our district: Public Safety and Human Services.
As I said at the beginning of the year, my priorities were addressing the state’s housing crisis, addressing crime and improving safety, defending our residents from the new federal administration and protecting our safety net. I am proud that we made progress in addressing these critical priorities.
Here is a summary of the bills the Governor signed into law:
Protecting Immigrant Communities
California is home to the largest immigrant population in the nation, with over one in four residents being foreign-born and almost half of children having at least one immigrant parent. While immigration is an essential part of California’s livelihood, actions from the federal administration are actively disrupting and harming our communities. In support of immigrant communities, I led two resolutions (SJR 9 / SJR 8) expressing support for our immigrant community by denouncing the mass raids that are happening and calling for updates to the Immigration Act to allow for a pathway for citizenship, just like we did with bipartisan support in the 1980s.
My first ever state bill signed into law was SB 81. This creates nonpublic areas in healthcare facilities that cannot be accessed without a valid judicial warrant. It also provides further protections to patient privacy by having their immigration status be a part of their confidential medical record.
Solutions to Housing and Homelessness
The Legislature continues to make progress on addressing housing affordability. The first state bill I ever introduced, SB 9, was around housing. Specifically, this bill will help local jurisdictions conform to state Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) standards, helping promote the development of ADUs that now account for 1 in 5 new units of housing in the state. Other housing bills that I championed that the Governor has signed are SB 489, which provides better guidance for navigating complex permitting for housing development, and SB 786, which helps local jurisdictions comply with Housing Element laws.
Our state is heavily investing in solutions to homelessness. Thanks to Prop 4, we have new funding available, with $6.4 billion to be allocated for behavioral health and homeless services. Just recently, $21 million was allocated for the creation of a treatment facility in Oakland, and I will continue to advocate to secure more funding for such services throughout the district.
Creating a Safer California
As the chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, we made implementing Prop 36 a priority. This measure which increases criminal penalties for retail theft and drug offenses passed in every county of the state. We are implementing the will of California voters, having allocated $100 million for the implementation for Prop 36. At the center of this is the need to advance substance abuse and mental health treatments, which half of these funds will go to, with the other half helping give resources to our judicial system including public defenders to implement this law.
I have several public safety bills that have been signed into law, including SB 704, which places regulations on firearm barrels. This bill requires that this firearm component can only be sold by a licensed firearms dealer, which will help reduce the proliferation of ghost guns that are increasingly used by criminals. SB 524 will require police reports to disclose if such reports were written with the assistance of artificial intelligence. I also helped secure funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program, which supports community-based gun violence prevention programs, and $1 million for the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO) program.
I joint-authored SB 627 with my colleague Senator Wiener, which prohibits certain law enforcement from wearing masks or concealing their face to attempt to hide their identity. We have seen countless times how unidentifiable armed agents have taken people off the streets into unmarked vans. We need accountability and transparency to prevent acts of violence.
Securing Funding for Public Transit
The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities to our transit agencies, with BART facing a $380 million deficit by 2026 and AC Transit $60 million if no additional funding is provided. That is why I championed efforts to create short-term state funding for the Bay Area’s transit agencies. This was confirmed with the passage of SB 105, which gives the Department of Finance until early January to finalize the terms of loans. In the long-run, I coauthored SB 63 with Senator Wiener to place a revenue-generating measure on the November 2026 election that will also improve transparency and accountability.
Advancing Climate Action
This year began with some of the most destructive fires in the state’s history, with the Eaton and Palisades fires destroying thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area. In response, the State Legislature approved $2.5 billion in support for relief and rebuilding. We also presented a package of over a dozen bills to address wildfire safety, prevention, and response. An additional $1.5 billion from Prop 4, passed by voters last year, and $4 billion from cap-and-invest are also being funded, greatly expanding CAL FIRE’s workforce and creating the largest aerial firefighting fleet in the world.
One of the biggest environmental accomplishments this year is the extension of our state’s landmark cap-and-invest program. Now extended through 2045, over the next 20 years the program will provide consumers $63 billion in credits to electricity bills, including an average of $61 per household in this month’s billing cycle, and around $60-90 billion for a wide variety of environmental and infrastructure projects, including affordable housing.
Supporting Working Class Families
I also serve as the Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, which is even more critical at a time when the federal government is cutting vital services for working-class families. That’s why I introduced a resolution calling for Congress to prevent cuts to the SNAP program that 5.4 million Californians facing food insecurity rely on. I also hosted a forum to discuss food insecurity, which helped prevent cuts to our CalFood and CalFresh programs, in addition to the expansion of our summer food programs for students eligible for free meals during the school year.
Other bills I’ve led that have been signed into law were SB 617, which will provide additional resources to workers who became unemployed from mass layoffs, and SB 792, which decreases income requirements to qualify for childcare programs. SB 304 will help revitalize Oakland’s Jack London Square and promote the local economy by making it easier to lease vacant commercial spaces and create public-serving amenities.
Special Election on November 4
Be sure to cast your ballot by November 4.
California voters have been mailed ballots for the upcoming special election on November 4. There is one statewide proposition on the ballot. If you have not yet registered to vote or need to update your registration, today (October 20) is the general deadline to register to vote in this election. If you miss this deadline, same-day voter registration is available for eligible citizens. If you are unsure of your registration status, you can check it here.
If you choose to vote by mail, it is encouraged you vote early to ensure that your ballot is postmarked in a timely manner. Ballots that are postmarked after November 4 will not be counted. You can drop off your ballot anytime between now and Election Day at a designated drop off location. To find a location near you, Alameda County residents can click here and Contra Costa County residents click here. Voting stations will be open on Election Day and several days beforehand.
You can track your ballot to see its delivery status, including when your ballot is received and accepted by local election officials through the state’s secure ballot tracker website. If you are having issues with your ballot, or need additional information, contact your county registrar (Alameda or Contra Costa).