Proposals still moving in the Legislature include a number of California Chamber of Commerce-supported bills that will help small businesses and others with matters such as family leave, permits and skills needed by future workers.
Support Bill List
Some of the support bills that are still active include:
• AB 2011 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) – CalChamber Sponsored: Makes permanent the Civil Rights Department small employer family leave mediation program, benefitting both workers and small employers.
• AB 2876 (Berman; D-Palo Alto) – CalChamber Sponsored: Allows California to take a step forward in fostering an artificial intelligence-literate population and future workforce by teaching artificial intelligence (AI) literacy in schools. Requires the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider adding media literacy and AI literacy standards the next time the State Board of Education adopts the instructional materials for the English language arts/English language development curriculum framework.
• AB 2371 (Juan Carrillo; D-Palmdale): Streamlines local permitting processes for electrified security fences, assisting businesses in being able to quickly install devices that protect against loss.
• AB 2550 (Gabriel; D-Woodland Hills): Modernizes and streamlines building standards to help small businesses turn outdated locations into working businesses.
• AB 2179 (Davies; R-Laguna Nigel): Raises awareness of apprenticeship programs and other job opportunities for Californians who are preparing to graduate from high school.
• AB 1886 (Alvarez; D-San Diego): Preserves the Builder’s Remedy. The Builder’s Remedy is a provision in the Housing Accountability Act, first enacted in 1990, that — when a local jurisdiction is out of compliance with state housing element law — allows housing development project applications to be submitted that bypass most local land use and zoning as long as the project includes 20% of the units affordable to lower-income households or 100% of the units affordable to moderate-income households.
• SB 26 (Umberg; D-Santa Ana): Helps to fund additional mental health professionals as part of the State’s efforts to help those Californians dealing with mental health issues and address issues of homelessness and public safety.
• SB 1152 (Limón; D-Goleta): Helps to deploy newest technology of backup generators so Californians can remain connected during emergencies.
• SB 1420 (Caballero; D-Salinas): Creates a carbon-focused “qualified clean hydrogen” definition, sets a rigorous standard for hydrogen used in transportation, and expands hydrogen production by including these facilities in the recently reauthorized Environmental Leadership Development Program.
• SB 1432 (Caballero D-Salinas): Extends the January 1, 2030 deadline by which hospitals are required to be capable of continued operations following a major earthquake, until January 1, 2038. Gives rural hospitals and critical access hospitals an abeyance from this same seismic compliance deadline until such time that adequate funding is made available to these hospitals.
• SB 1244 (Newman; D-Fullerton): Allows more school districts to operate dual enrollment programs with local community colleges, easing the pathway for more students to pursue career technical education or transfer to a four-year college via California’s existing community colleges.
