The following list summarizes top priority bills for the California Chamber of Commerce and their status as of July 2, when the Legislature began its summer recess.
Within each subject area, the list presents bills in order of priority with the highest priorities at the top.
The Legislature returns from summer break on August 3 and is scheduled to begin its final recess on August 31.
CalChamber will publish a second status report in October, showing the final status of priority legislation after the Governor has completed action on the bills.
September 30 is the last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature before September 1 and in his possession on or after September 1.
Bills signed by the Governor will become law on January 1, 2027. Urgency, tax and budget-related measures go into effect immediately upon being signed. In those cases, the date the Governor signed the bill is noted.
Each fall, CalChamber publishes a record of legislators’ votes on key bills affecting the California business climate. Generally, the bills selected for the vote record have appeared in one of the status reports. This year’s vote record is scheduled to be published on October 23.
Status of legislative action on bills as of July 2, 2026. Dates listed are the date the bill was assigned to a committee, the latest date of committee action, the next hearing date or when the bill reached the Senate or Assembly floor, unless action is stated.
Click here for pdf version of Status Report
Air Quality
| Grants California Air Resources Board (CARB) Sweeping New Authority to Regulate Indirect Sources Statewide. AB 1777 (Garcia; D-Rancho Cucamonga) Authorizes broad, undefined statewide regulation of facilities that attract mobile sources of emissions, driving new compliance costs across key sectors and increasing prices for goods and services. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Inactive File 5/28/26 |
| New Permitting Barriers for Job-Creating Projects in Disadvantaged Communities. SB 1075 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Creates new permitting barriers and opportunities for frivolous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) litigation for commercial and industrial projects in disadvantaged communities, increasing uncertainty for job creation and risking tax-base erosion. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Appropriations 7/2/26 |
| Increases Consumer Fuel Choice and Lowers Transportation Costs. AB 2046 (Ransom; D-Stockton) Creates a clear pathway for E85 conversion kits, enabling drivers to access lower-cost fuel options and reduce exposure to gasoline price volatility. Support | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
Antitrust
| Massive Expansion of Antitrust Law. AB 1776 (Aguiar-Curry; D-Winters) Would create the largest expansion of antitrust law in world history. Would leave every business of every size in California vulnerable to massive legal liability. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Sweeping Change to State’s Antitrust Law. SB 1074 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Would have a chilling effect on the development of digital tools used by California consumers and small businesses. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Failed passage in Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies and Consumer Protection 4/20/26; Failed Deadline |
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
| CEQA Expansion. AB 2170 (Boerner; D-Encinitas) Proposes to eliminate CEQA exemptions and ministerial review processes if certain types of projects are sited near "overburdened communities" and forces all environmental review documents to be translated into other languages, thereby exposing lead agencies and project applicants to new litigation liability. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| CEQA Expansion. AB 2569 (Hart; D-Santa Barbara) Significantly expands CEQA environmental impact report requirements, which will increase litigation exposure and costs for a permitting process that already causes some of the longest and most costly project delays in the country. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| Accelerated Building Plan Approval. Tenant Improvements. AB 1693 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Streamlines permitting for tenant improvements at retail locations, while ensuring compliance with all applicable building, health, and safety requirements. Support/ Cost Cutter 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| CEQA Expansion. AB 40 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Substantially expands CEQA with new substantive environmental impact report (EIR) requirements for certain types of land uses, including ports, rail, warehouses, and the broader goods-movement infrastructure. The bill also bars EIR certification over significant air quality impacts unless enforceable mitigation is demonstrated, without defining the threshold, geographic scope, or how transportation-related impacts would be measured. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Local Hospital Projects. AB 2231 (Ahrens; D-Sunnyvale) Ensures access to critical care through a narrow CEQA exemption for two hospital projects. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Vehicles Miles Traveled (VMT) Mitigation Program Certainty. AB 2552 (Ávila Farías; D-Martinez) Affirms that a contribution to the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Implementation Fund constitutes full and complete mitigation for the transportation impacts addressed by that contribution. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 4/29/26 |
| Permit Streamlining for Data Centers. SB 887 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) Would set onerous requirements that data centers must meet in order to qualify for permit streamlining, and prohibits them from receiving a categorical CEQA exemption. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
Climate Change
| Drives Up the Cost of Energy Through a Punitive Strict Liability Framework for Climate Damages. SB 982 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Requires a targeted group of energy companies to absorb substantial costs for climate-related damage regardless of fault, enforced through actions brought by the Attorney General, costs that will be reflected in higher prices for energy and everyday goods. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Failed passage in Senate Insurance 4/22/26 |
| Wildfire Mitigation Affordability Act. SB 894 (Allen; D-Santa Monica) Establishes state-backed loan loss reserve for financing home hardening and defensible space property improvements. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
Crime
| Electrified Security Fences. AB 1622 (Blanca Rubio; D-Baldwin Park) Removes the sunset date of January 1, 2028, on provisions of law governing the installation of electrified security fences. Support. | Senate Consent Calendar 7/1/26 |
Education
| Apprenticeship Fairs. AB 296 (Davies; R-Laguna Niguel) Encourages much-needed apprenticeship programs across California by encouraging school districts to notify nearby apprenticeship programs if none exist in the school’s district. Also provides that apprenticeship fair attendance can count towards necessary community service hours. Support. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 1/22/26; Failed Deadline |
| Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program. AB 805 (Fong; D-Alhambra) Creates new Career Apprentice Bridge Program to improve and support youth apprenticeships through collaboration between State Department of Education, Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and the Division of Apprenticeship Standards. Support. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/29/26 |
| Career Technical Education Grants. AB 1694 (Carrillo; D-Palmdale) Ensures long-term grant funding for career technical education (CTE) programs by requiring grants be renewed for additional years subject to certain terms and recovering funding if recipients fail to implement the program as proposed. Support. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/29/26 |
| Pupil Achievement Gap: Accountability Report. AB 2149 (Garcia; D-Rancho Cucamonga) Requires an annual report be prepared as part of the budget process and presented to the Legislature and Governor on California’s progress in closing the achievement gaps. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Pupil Achievement Gap: State Operations and Support. AB 2225 (Patel; D-San Diego) Requires the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to contract with a qualified nonprofit organization to convene a working group focused on California’s achievement gaps, subject to certain conditions. This working group would then set specific benchmarks for school districts, county officials, and charter schools to close student achievement gaps. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Work-Based Learning Opportunities. AB 2466 (Fong; D-Alhambra) Extends existing deadline for California Community College Chancellor to revise work-based learning policies, pursuant to needs on the ground, and expand potential uses of already-allocated funds to include direct aid to students or employers. Support. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/22/26 |
| Pupil Achievement Gap: State Dashboard. AB 2514 (Ransom; D-Stockton) Creates a working group to develop a state dashboard publicly summarizing the state’s achievement gap and progress toward closing achievement gaps. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Public Contracts: University of California Executives: Conflicts of Interest. SB 1141 (Wahab; D-Hayward) Originally included overly broad requirements making contracting with University of California extremely difficult. Removed opposition after April 7, 2026, amendments to narrow the bill and ensure that businesses could predict the bill’s application to their contracts. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 5/11/26; Failed Deadline |
Elections and Fair Political Practices
| Prohibits Business Participation in Politics. AB 1984 (Rogers; D-Santa Rosa) Prohibits all businesses from engaging in election activities. Oppose. | Assembly Banking and Finance 3/2/26; Failed Deadline |
| Expands Disclosure Requirements for Campaign Advertisements. SB 900 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Requires the top five contributors to a committee be listed on mass mailing campaign advertising. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Transfer of Initiative and Referendum Title and Summary Responsibilities. SB 1225 (Niello; R-Fair Oaks) Transfers the responsibility of preparing the title and summary of initiatives and referendums from the Attorney General to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Support | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 5/4/26; Failed Deadline |
| Transfer of Initiative and Referendum Title and Summary Responsibilities. SCA 3 (Niello; R-Fair Oaks) Transfers the responsibility of preparing the title and summary of initiatives and referendums from the Attorney General to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Support. | Held in Senate Appropriations 5/14/26 |
| Duplicative Disclosure Requirements. SB 1369 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Requires paid signature gatherers to verbally disclose, to each prospective signer and prior to presenting a petition, that they are being compensated to circulate the petition. Oppose. | Assembly Floor 7/2/26 |
Energy
| Removes Key Legal and Regulatory Safeguards that Protect Ratepayers in Utility Takeover Decisions. SB 875 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Weakens established safeguards in utility takeover decisions by limiting judicial and regulatory review, exposing ratepayers to higher costs and increased system risk. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Failed passage in Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications 4/21/26 |
| Limits Use of Technology by Utilities. SB 1011 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Places significant burdens on utilities’ use of automated decision systems, which would impact systems already in widespread use to manage distribution systems as well as critical systems used to provide rapid emergency responses. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Inactive File 5/28/26 |
| Improves How the Legislature Evaluates the Cost of Energy Policy Decisions through Independent Ratepayer Impact Review. AB 2124 (Pacheco; D-Downey) Supports more cost-effective policymaking by creating a framework for independent evaluation of proposed legislation that imposes costs on utility customers, helping identify unnecessary or duplicative programs and reducing future rate pressure. Support/Cost Cutter 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Risks Driving Data Center Investment Out of California with Intrusive Data Reporting Requirements. AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) At a time when states are competing for investment in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, AB 1577 imposes sweeping facility-level reporting requirements that could push new data center projects and the economic activity they support out of California. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Creates New Barriers to the New Large Electric Loads California Needs. AB 2383 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Places new data centers into a specially regulated customer class and dictates the terms of their electricity service. These rigid requirements could discourage the load growth California needs to reduce electric rates by spreading fixed system costs across a broader customer base and greater electricity usage. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Imposes Corporate Transaction-Triggering Bonding Requirements That Could Freeze Investment and Redevelopment of California Wells. AB 2461 (Hart; D-Santa Barbara) Ties potentially significant bonding obligations to changes in ownership or control, making routine acquisitions and restructurings more costly and uncertain and discouraging investment in California energy assets. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Aligns Asset-Transfer Rules with California’s Decommissioning Goals. AB 2716 (Ávila Farías; D-Martinez) Severely limiting oil well transferability has weakened business valuations and financial stability without producing better cleanup outcomes. AB 2716 replaces that counterproductive approach with a framework designed to facilitate responsible transfers and timely remediation. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Duplicates Existing Restrictions on Ratepayer-Funded Political Activity. SB 327 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Investor-owned utilities are already barred from recovering political and advocacy expenses from ratepayers. SB 327 duplicates those prohibitions while creating additional compliance costs and increasing regulatory uncertainty. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/15/26 |
| Imposes Costly Energy Infrastructure Mandates and Operational Restrictions on Large Electricity Users. SB 886 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) Imposes costly regulatory mandates on large-load electricity users that undermine operational control and discourage new industrial and decarbonization investments in California, including special rate structures and requirements to install massive onsite battery storage systems, participate in mandatory demand response programs, and allow grid operators to dispatch privately financed battery energy storage. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
| Micromanages Core CPUC Responsibilities in a Way That Creates More Process, Not Necessarily More Affordability. SB 905 (Becker; D-Menlo Park) Dictates how the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) must approach decisions about authorized returns, capital financing, performance incentives, and grid investment. It does so in a way that risks unintended consequences for financing, reliability, and customer rates. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
| Undermines Ability of CPUC and Investor-Owned Utilities to Respond to Unforeseen Costs. SB 1098 (Pérez; D-Pasadena) Restricts the use of memorandum and balancing accounts which are essential tools for addressing costs that cannot reasonably be predicted in a general rate case, including wildfire mitigation, emergency response. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
| Directs CPUC to Evaluate Data Center Rate Structures. SB 1168 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Opposition removed following June 15 amendments that transformed this bill from a data center energy use surcharge to a requirement that the CPUC assess rate structures and other mechanisms intended to ensure data centers pay a reasonable share of the transmission, distribution, generation, and procurement costs associated with serving their electricity demand. Neutral. | Assembly Appropriations 6/24/26 |
| Creates More Regulatory Process, Not Greater Affordability. SB 1233 (Allen; D-Santa Monica) Requires utilities and the CPUC to produce additional financial comparisons, disclosures, and findings which will increase administrative complexity without guaranteeing savings for customers. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/15/26 |
| Risks Accelerating Refinery Closures. SB 1259 (Blakespear; D-Encinitas) Requires every refinery to prepare detailed decommissioning and remediation plans years before any decision to close has been made. Requiring operators to estimate uncertain future liabilities and publicly engage in retirement planning could discourage investment, impair financing, and reinforce the closure pressures the bill seeks to address. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Risks Increasing Near-Term and Mid-Term Gas Rates Through Accelerated Depreciation. SB 1359 (Stern; D-Los Angeles) Requirement for CPUC to consider depreciation schedules for gas infrastructure may lead to accelerated depreciation that front-loads billions of dollars in infrastructure costs onto current customers. Many of those customers cannot readily electrify and would face higher bills to address uncertain future demand projections. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/29/26 |
Health
| Discourages Artificial Intelligence in Health Care. AB 2575 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Requires health care facilities to provide workers disclosures when using AI tools in a health care setting, if requested. Imposes unworkable liability provisions on health care entities and developers if using AI-enabled tools. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Artificial Intelligence in Health Care. AB 1979 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Imposes overly broad, disruptive oversight requirements on health facilities using AI tools. Prevents unlicensed individuals from using AI tools. Includes unworkable liability provisions. Recent amendments relieve burdensome oversight requirements and replace liability requirements with more reasonable liability/oversight. Neutral/Former Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Government-Run Health Care. AB 1900 (Kalra; D-San Jose) Forces all Californians into a new untested state government health plan, with no ability to opt out while eliminating Medicare for California seniors and increasing taxes at least $250 billion a year on workers, income, jobs, goods and services. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Never assigned to policy committee 4/24/26 |
| Increases Health Care Costs. AB 225 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Prevents a health care facility from charging a facility fee. Prevents a health care service plan from reimbursing a facility for a facility fee. Oppose. | Assembly Health 6/3/26; Failed Deadline |
| Prohibits Cost Sharing. AB 298 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Increases premiums for California’s employers and employees by restricting insurers from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, or copayment for in-network health care services provided to an enrollee under 21 years of age. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | Dead 1/23/26 |
| Prescription Drug Cost Driver. AB 577 (Wilson; D-Suisun City) Increases prescription drug costs for employers by banning brown bagging and augmenting white bagging practices for injectable and infusible medications. Oppose. | Dead 1/23/26 |
| Health Care Premiums Increase. AB 1629 (Haney; D-San Francisco) Requires dental plans to pay a noncontracting provider directly for covered services if they submit an assignment of benefits. Providers would be disincentivized to contract, driving up the cost of dental plans for employers and consumers. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Health Care Coverage for Rare Disease Medication. AB 1887 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Prohibits prior authorization, step therapy, or other utilization review of Food and Drug Administration-approved prescription drugs indicated for the treatment of a rare disease. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Risks Safety of Hospital Staff and Patients. AB 1922 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Prohibits the use of mechanical security restraints on incarcerated hospital patients, unless patient attempts to flee. Oppose. | Assembly Public Safety 3/2/26; Failed Deadline |
| Updates Distressed Hospital Loan Program. AB 1923 (Soria; D-Merced) Allows for the re-evaluation of administered loans of the Hospital Emergency Loan Program, the program providing loans to prevent the closure of a hospital or facilitate the reopening of a closed hospital. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Health Plan Disclosure Requirement. AB 1929 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Requires carriers participating in the American Health Benefit Exchange to annually disclose material investment holdings for public posting. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Requirements for Retailers Selling Dietary Supplements. AB 2030 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Introduced an overly broad definition of dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building, unintentionally capturing products that consumers use for general wellness, including vitamins and minerals. Required retailers to lock up covered products or otherwise restrict consumer access. Based on the author’s April 7 amendments addressing our concerns, opposition was removed. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Limits SNAP Benefit Purchases. AB 2171 (Patterson; R-Rocklin) Prohibits Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from being used to purchase sweetened beverages and foods. Oppose. | Assembly Human Services 4/23/26; Failed Deadline |
| Establishes Hospital Mandate Cost Analysis Program. AB 2353 (Pacheco; D-Downey) Establishes the Center for Health Provider Policy Impact to assess and evaluate the impact of state and federal policies on hospitals. Support. | Senate Health 6/10/26; Failed Deadline |
| Employer Medi-Cal Tax Fund. AB 2729 (Bonta; D-Alameda) Establishes the Employer Responsibility for Medi-Cal Trust Fund. Authorizes funding sources to consist of new taxes and deposits, including employer penalties, to be specified in the Budget. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 5/19/26 |
| Regulates Mental Health AI Tools. SB 903 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) Seeks to regulate consumer-based AI tools and clinical-based AI tools for mental health services. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Lowers Prescription Drug Costs. SB 1094 (Weber Pierson; D-Sam Diego) Allows a pharmacist to substitute a brand-name biologic drug with a lower cost biosimilar alternative. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 7/2/26 |
| Health Care Service Plan Mandate. SB 1309 (Susan Rubio; D-Baldwin Park) Requires a health care service plan to cover follow-up screening and diagnostic services for lung cancer without cost-sharing. CalChamber submitted a letter of concerns about the potential increased costs to employer-sponsored health care. However, the additional cost to employers would be minimal, therefore, CalChamber removed our concerns and is Neutral. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 7/1/26 |
Housing and Land Use
| Residential Buildings: Oil Well Disclosures: Methane Mitigation Systems. AB 1725 (Caloza; D-Los Angeles) Would require rental property owners and sellers of real property to provide written disclosures regarding the presence of active, idle, orphaned, or abandoned oil wells within 300 feet of a property, along with warnings about potential health and safety risks. The bill would also require housing providers to install, monitor, and maintain methane gas detection systems, conduct ongoing inspections, and submit compliance certifications. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 5/14/26. Failed Deadline |
| Coastal Development Permit Streamlining. AB 1740 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Would reduce unnecessary delays and costs by exempting certain activities and developments in the City of Santa Monica from the requirement to obtain a Coastal Development Permit. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Construction Defects. AB 1903 (Wicks; D-Oakland) Reduces construction defect litigation and ensures homeowners receive faster repairs. Support. | Senate Housing 6/3/26; Failed Deadline |
| Building Standards: Cost of Compliance Estimate Requirement for Adoption. AB 2044 (Petrie-Norris; D-Irvine) Enhances transparency and predictability in the building standards process by prohibiting adoption of new standards without cost estimates and underlying assumptions accompanying proposed standards before adoption. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Residential Property: Transfers: Institutional Investors. SB 880 (Wahab; D-Hayward) As gutted and amended on June 11, aimed to provide what the author termed as "guardrails for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644)" currently pending presidential signature. As drafted, it could have had large impacts on build-to-rent developments and would have created a lengthy notice and sale process of single-family homes listed for sale by an institutional investor. This bill went far above the requirements of the proposed federal legislation and undoubtedly would have slowed home sales as well as led to the eventual shrinking of the rental home market. It was opposed by the California Building Industry Association, who testified in opposition, as well as the California Chamber of Commerce, National Rental Home Association, and the California Apartment Association. Oppose. | Failed passage in Assembly Judiciary 6/30/26; Failed Deadline |
| Mitigation Fee Act. SB 1036 (Grayson; D-Concord) Would reduce impact fees by requiring the local agency to offset the fee amount to account for changes to an existing use, so the fee amount is only attributable to the incremental impact on public facilities or services from the new development. Support. | Signed—Chapter 54 |
| CEQA Streamlining. SB 1370 (Stern; D-Los Angeles) Consolidates and expedites state permitting for qualifying wildfire mitigation projects (hazardous vegetation removal, fuel breaks, defensible space, prescribed fire, and vegetation management) through a coordinated joint review process administered by the California Natural Resources Agency and CalEPA. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 7/2/26 |
Immigration
| Requirements for Law Enforcement When Renting Vehicles. AB 1650 (Caloza; D-Los Angeles) Requires law enforcement agencies to identify themselves in rental vehicles, including the use of decals, or be subject to enforcement actions from public prosecutors. Prior opposition removed when amendments removed liability for rental car companies and shifted obligations to the renting agency, among various clean-up amendments. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Punishment for Contracting with Federal Government. AB 2465 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Makes any business that contracts with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or Customs and Border Patrol ineligible for any state-provided benefit, subsidy, grant, or loan, or any tax credit, even if the contract was not directly associated with immigration detention or was helpful to the detainees. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Loss of Federal Grants and Loans If Contracting with ICE. SB 1171 (Caballero; D-Merced) Makes any business that contracts with the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ineligible for any grant or loan from California agencies’ programs, even if the contract was not directly associated with immigration detention or was helpful to the detainees. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
Insurance
| Duplicative Privacy Regulation for Insurance Industry. SB 354 (Limón; D-Santa Barbara) Creates duplicative privacy regulations applicable to the insurance industry, when the landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) applies to the industry and already regulates the topic. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
Labor and Employment
| Creates Barriers to Technology Investment and Job Growth. AB 2027 (Ward; D-San Diego) Its sweeping provisions effectively prohibit creating or improving technology used in the workplace, impacting everything from simple scheduling tools to life-saving technology developments in health care. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| Significantly Limits Ability to Consider Criminal History in Employment. AB 2064 (Sharp-Collins; D-San Diego) Exposes California employers to costly litigation and liability by adding "criminal history" as a protected class under both the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act, stripping businesses of the ability to make reasonable hiring and customer-service decisions based on an individual’s past criminal conduct. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| Expands Fair Chance Liability and Restricts Employer Hiring Discretion. AB 2095 (Lee; D-San Jose) Creates problematic changes to the Fair Chance Act, including a presumption that an applicant may not be denied a position if they have completed a sentence or possess a certificate or license for the position, regardless of the facts or circumstances of any prior convictions. Oppose Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Inactive File 5/28/26; Failed Deadline |
| Drives Up Agricultural Labor Costs and Threatens California Farm Competitiveness. AB 2646 (Krell; D-Sacramento) Threatens the H-2A program, which many agriculture employers rely on to fill labor shortages, by creating a minimum wage of $19.75 for any H-2A worker or worker performing comparable work in that same county. This will drive up agricultural costs at a time when the industry can least afford it. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Restricts Use of Automated Decision Systems in Employment. SB 947 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Imposes impractical requirements on employers of every size related to automated decision systems, which will discourage the use of such tools and subject employers to costly penalties and onerous new compliance procedures. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Appropriations 7/2/26 |
| Discourages Innovation Through Broad AI Layoff Mandates. SB 951 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Significantly expands Cal/WARN type requirements to include impacts on hiring or staffing as a result of technology and includes problematic enforcement provisions that allow uninterested, third parties to file claims. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Onerous Notice Requirement. AB 1898 (Schultz; D-Glendale) Requires public and private employers of all sizes to issue a voluminous number of notices regarding even the most routine technologies and for those notices to include confidential and proprietary information. The bill also effectively gives all employees and independent contractors veto power over the employer deploying new technology. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| Right to Cure. SB 84 (Niello; R-Fair Oaks) Provides businesses with time to cure an alleged Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violation to curb frivolous litigation. Support/Cost Cutter 2025. | Assembly Judiciary 6/16/25; Failed Deadline 7/1/26 |
| Pension Investments. AB 1439 (Garcia; D-Rancho Cucamonga) Bars CalPERS/CalSTRS from investing in or financing California development projects that lack government-defined "labor standards protections," using public pension funds as leverage to impose labor mandates on private projects. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/22/26 |
| Union Rep Privilege. AB 1564 (Ahrens; D-Sunnyvale) Bars public employers from questioning or compelling disclosure of "confidential" employee-union communications, codifying a one-sided Public Employment Retirement Board (PERB) precedent that shields union representation activity from employer scrutiny even in workplace investigations. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| University of California and California State University Contracting. AB 1582 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Makes it an automatic unfair labor practice for UC and CSU to delay or interfere with contracting-out arbitration, stripping public higher-ed employers of practical flexibility to manage outsourcing decisions and exposing them to new PERB litigation risk. Oppose. | Senate Judiciary 6/17/26; Failed Deadline |
| Workplace Surveillance. AB 1883 (Bryan; D-Los Angeles) Bans a sweeping range of AI-driven workplace tools using a vague "capable of" standard that could sweep in ordinary security cameras and biometric safety systems, conflicts with existing Cal/OSHA (SB 553) requirements, and exposes employers to $500-per-employee, per-violation penalties. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Menopause. AB 1940 (Calderon; D-Whittier) Adds menopause to Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) definition of "sex," creating a new, low-threshold category of sex discrimination and accommodation claims outside FEHA’s existing disability framework, and inviting a fresh wave of litigation without adequately defining what conditions or accommodations trigger liability. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| New Liability Related to Website Accessibility. AB 2190 (Wallis; R-Bermuda Dunes) Creates new liability for employers by lowering standard of proof for website disability claims. Also attempts to offer new defense for certain employers, but such defenses are not presently usable as drafted. Oppose. | Assembly Inactive File 5/21/26; Failed Deadline |
| Staffing Agency Registration. SB 1032 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Creates a costly new statewide licensing and surety-bond regime for staffing agencies, barring businesses from using any unregistered agency and exposing employers to private lawsuits and injunctions if their staffing partner falls out of compliance. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Security Guard Act. SB 1203 (Smallwood-Cuevas; D-Los Angeles) Overhauls private security guard licensing by expanding mandatory paid training to 42 hours, hands control over training curriculum to a union rather than industry experts, and raises administrative fines to $10,000 per violation, driving up compliance costs and hiring bottlenecks across the security industry. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) Apprenticeship. SB 1227 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) Creates an apprenticeship pipeline into DIR’s chronically understaffed labor law enforcement divisions, helping fill the 25%+ vacancy rates. Benefits employers by making labor law enforcement more consistent, timely, and predictable. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 6/24/26 |
| Civil Rights Department Payroll Reporting. SB 1237 (Blakespear; D-Encinitas) Stacks a fifth consecutive year of pay-data penalty increases onto employers, raising the maximum penalty for a subsequent failure to file from $200 to $1,000 per employee, on top of SB 464’s newly mandatory, no-good-faith-exception enforcement scheme that took effect just this year. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 6/24/26 |
| Medi-Cal Enrollments. SB 1284 (Smallwood-Cuevas; D-Los Angeles) Revives a public "naming and shaming" list identifying California’s largest employers by number of workers enrolled in Medi-Cal, reframing employer-provided jobs as a public cost to be publicized rather than acknowledging that Medi-Cal eligibility reflects state income thresholds employers don’t control. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/24/26 |
| AI Workforce Study Panel. AB 2545 (Schiavo D-Chatsworth) Establishes a 14-member Employment Development Department (EDD) advisory panel, including employer representatives, to study gaps in California’s AI-workforce data collection and report policy recommendations to the Legislature by 2028, after which the panel sunsets with no ongoing employer obligations created. Position changed from oppose unless amended to neutral on April 15 with the incorporation of employer representatives on the panel. Neutral | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Creates New Penalty and Revises Wage Claim Procedures. AB 1234 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Imposes up to a 30% penalty on all orders issued by the Labor Commissioner, which penalizes employers that exercise their due process rights, and also makes other burdensome changes to the existing claims process. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | On Senate Inactive File since 9/3/25. |
| Restricts Workplace Safety and Security Tools. AB 1331 (Elhawary; D-Los Angeles) Undermines workplace safety in every California workplace by effectively prohibiting the use of surveillance technology in the workplace, including security cameras, cybersecurity systems, and anti-theft devices. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | On Senate Inactive File since 9/13/25. |
Legal Reform and Protection
| Litigation Risks for Offering Discounts. AB 2564 (Ward; D-San Diego) Exposes companies who offer discounts to potential liability for offering basic, consumer-friendly discounts if they fail to fit into the bill’s three, limited, allowable forms of discounts. Also infringes on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by creating new disclosure obligations that businesses must comply with in order to use personally identifiable information to offer discounts, despite the CCPA already having such standards for rewards programs. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Senate Floor 6/29/26 |
| New Federal Subpoena Response Requirements for Healthcare Information. AB 1854 (Krell; D-Sacramento) Requires state businesses to, if receiving a federal subpoena for healthcare-related information, refuse to comply with federal subpoenas unless the subpoena meets certain requirements, and the responding business delays its response and provides notice to the attorney general. Notably, the bill does not shield businesses from potentially violating federal law by complying with its requirements. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| New Federal Subpoena Response Requirements for Healthcare Information. AB 1930 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Requires state businesses to, if receiving a federal subpoena for healthcare-related information, refuse to comply with federal subpoenas unless the subpoena meets certain requirements, and the responding business delays its response and provides notice to the attorney general. Notably, the bill does not shield businesses from potentially violating federal law by complying with its requirements. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Unlawful Restrictive Covenants: Grocery Stores and Supermarkets. AB 1857 (Aguiar-Curry; D-Winters) Makes void and unenforceable any covenants, restrictions, or contracts which prohibit property from being used as a grocery store or supermarket in the future. Prior opposition removed due to amendments to clarify and limit certain terms. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Text Message Advertisements. AB 1865 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) Prohibits use of text message advertisements outside of the hours between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., even if such advertisements are prompted by user interaction or included in a digital receipt. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 5/6/26; Failed Deadline |
| Restaurant Equipment Accelerated Permitting. AB 1915 (Gabriel; D-Woodland Hills) Creates a streamlined permitting pathway to allow qualified contractors to self-certify routine equipment installations. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Bans Sale of Nitrous Oxide in Online Marketplaces. AB 2076 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Prior version of bill considerably expanded liability for online marketplaces. Opposition removed when bill was more narrowly tailored to banning the specific harmful product at issue — nitrous oxide — among other changes. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Overbroad Notice of Federal Hotel Guests. AB 2721 (Carrillo; D-Palmdale) Requires hotels to publicly post the presence of any federal agency reservations on their premises, regardless of the agency involved or purpose of the visitation. Risks inviting protests and walk-outs, making employees less safe and operations difficult. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| New Surveillance and Recordkeeping Obligations for Retailers Related to Immigration Enforcement. SB 1103 (Pérez; D-Pasadena) Requires all large retailers to act as public surveillance of federal agents by collecting and storing any surveillance data of potential immigration enforcement actions near their premises and providing such documentation to the Attorney General rapidly upon request. Also requires retailers to post their policies related to interacting with immigration enforcement on their websites. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Grant New Enforcement Authority to City Attorneys for Antitrust Laws. SB 1365 (Allen; D-Santa Monica) Gives the city attorneys of large cities the ability to bring lawsuits against businesses using the Cartwright Act, despite the Attorney General and district attorneys already being able to pursue such cases and no clear lack of enforcement necessitating city attorneys being given such authority. Also substantively changes price gouging laws related to housing. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Potentially Unlimited State of Emergency Pricing Controls. SB 493 (Becker; D-Menlo Park). Allows any military action abroad, regardless of whether a declaration of war occurs, to trigger anti-price gouging laws in California based upon an opinion from the attorney general. Given the past history of federal military engagements abroad, would permit a near permanent state of emergency and correlated price limitations. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
Privacy and Cybersecurity
| CCPA Whistleblower Incentives. AB 2021 (Schiavo; D-Chatsworth) Creates a financial incentive for individuals to bring forward claims of violations under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), effectively deputizing employees and consumers as private attorneys enforcing the CCPA. This Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)-like litigation diverts agency resources and circumvents the deliberate enforcement structure created in the CCPA. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection 3/2/26; Failed Deadline |
| Generative Artificial Intelligence: Training Data. AB 412 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) Requires a developer that makes a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) system or model available to Californians for use to, among other things, document both the copyrighted materials used to train the system model and the copyright owner of that material. Undercuts California’s status as an AI leader by imposing technically infeasible, unnecessary, and burdensome requirements that disadvantage smaller AI companies and startups. Undermines recently passed legislation with statutory penalties. Causes disclosures of proprietary or otherwise sensitive information, and interference with pending litigation. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Deletion of Personal Information of Elected Officials and Judges. AB 883 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Permits elected officials, judges, their authorized agents, and public attorneys to bring civil action against data brokers that have been accused of violating new data deletion regulations. Would enable plaintiffs to pursue actual damages; punitive damages, where a willful refusal to delete protected information is proven; as well as reasonable attorney’s fees, declaratory, and injunctive relief. By creating a new private right of action, opens the door to plaintiffs advancing frivolous claims with little evidence of actual injury. CalChamber concerned that these costs would be passed on to individuals in California, disproportionately affecting smaller businesses and startups across the state. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Information Practices Act of 1977. AB 1337 (Ward; D-San Diego) Undermines efforts to combat retail theft by sharply expanding the provisions of the Information Practices Act, adding operational complexities and new cost burdens. Oppose. | Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies and Consumer Protection 5/6/26; Failed Deadline |
| Personal Information. AB 1542 (Ward; D-San Diego) Interferes with businesses’ ability to complete transactions and takes away consumers’ control over their personal information by severely limiting sharing of information with third parties. Could expose small businesses and government programs to operational disruptions or account abuse. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Customer Service Chatbots. AB 1609 (Zbur; D-Hollywood) Creates a burdensome structure for human customer service support by businesses using automated customer service systems, resulting in significant costs to businesses and consumers while potentially diminishing service quality. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Regulation of Youth Digital Services. AB 1700 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Establishes new commission to set guidelines for overseeing youth online activities without evidence of a regulatory gap, creating uncertainty and a duplicative legal framework. Oppose. | Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection 3/19/26; Failed Deadline |
| Reporting Mechanism: Child Sexual Abuse Material. AB 1946 (Wicks; D-Oakland) While strongly supporting efforts to eradicate online sex trafficking, the bill language raises important questions regarding First and Fourth Amendment considerations, and sharp decreases in the current compliance timelines. Concerns. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Companion Chatbots: Children’s Safety. AB 2023 (Wicks; D-Oakland and Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) Identical to SB 1119 (Padilla). Sets framework for allowing youth access to AI tools. Contains inconsistently applied definitions, unclear audit standards, overly prescriptive requirements, a broad, hindsight-based liability standard, including a private right of action and punitive liability structure. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Social Media Platforms: Artificial Intelligence Models. AB 2169 (Lowenthal; D-Long Beach) Negatively impacts consumer privacy and security, raises First Amendment concerns, and imposes technically infeasible requirements on covered businesses. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 5/13/26; Failed Deadline |
| Age-Appropriate Access to Online Services. AB 2246 (Wicks; D-Oakland) Broadly replicates the Age Appropriate Design Code Act while omitting provisions deemed unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit, limiting businesses’ use of technology that helps them provide appropriate information to online customers while protecting privacy, advancing children’s safety and encouraging innovation. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Pupil Instruction: Computer Science: Content Standards and Instructional Materials. AB 2298 (Irwin; D-Thousand Oaks) Requires the inclusion of cybersecurity skills when relevant content standards are next revised and instructional materials are evaluated. Support. | Senate Floor 6/30/26 |
| Privacy Settings. AB 2561 (Valencia; D-Anaheim) Originally created privacy default settings that raised significant concerns over operational feasibility, unintended consequences for security and safety, and conflicts with existing privacy frameworks. Opposition removed due to April 23 amendments that addressed concerns, removed the most problematic provisions, provided greater clarity, and strengthened consumer protections in a more balanced way. Support. | Senate Floor 6/10/26 |
| Companion Chatbots. SB 300 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) Seeks to expand companion chatbot framework that was enacted just last year, in advance of any effort to assess whether the new framework is workable, effective, or appropriately calibrated to risk. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Sensitive Personal Information. SB 435 (Wahab; D-Hayward) Expands the scope of the California Consumer Privacy Act’s (CCPA) definition of sensitive personal information while ignoring the protections existing law already creates and the law’s careful balance between consumer privacy and the free flow of information. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 6/23/26 |
| Correct Abusive Lawsuits Related to Wiretapping Statute. SB 690 (Caballero; D-Merced) Prevents use of outdated wiretapping statute by plaintiffs’ attorneys to sue websites for use of widely accepted practices, such as cookies, which are legal and appropriate under other statutes. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| AI Standards and Safety Commission. SB 813 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Establishes AI governance and safety requirements for certain AI systems, and requires either a new California Artificial Intelligence Standards and Safety Commission or the AB 1709 e-Safety Advisory Commission to develop standards for the assessment of AI systems and models by AI auditors, develop procedures for determining whether to suspend or terminate the registration of an AI auditor, and develop criteria for determining if an AI auditor qualifies as an independent verification organization. Concerns raised over how the proposed framework would operate in practice, including how the commission would obtain the expertise and resources needed to fulfill its responsibilities, how auditor qualifications are to be established, how technical standards are developed and maintained, and how California-specific requirements would align with existing frameworks. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Connected Consumer Products. SB 898 (Weber Pierson; D-San Diego) Hurts the competitive viability of companies operating in California by forcing them to lock in end-of life strategies years in advance instead of pursuing cutting-edge designs or experimenting with new, potentially more sustainable materials. Raises liability concerns by providing a path for enforcement by private plaintiffs in addition to public prosecutors. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Consumer Privacy Requests: Deletion Request Records and Request Submission Methods. SB 923 (Becker; D-Menlo Park) Expands requirements for some businesses regarding removal of personal information, while ignoring that compliance can also be achieved when a business uses an opt-out mechanism. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 6/23/26 |
| Synthetic Performers. SB 1050 (Ashby; D-Sacramento) Contains overbroad definitions, rigid disclosure requirements and a litigation-driven enforcement structure to prevent deceptive advertising about the use of synthetic performers. In need of targeted amendments that focus the bill on circumstances where consumer protection is genuinely at stake, consistent with established advertising law principles, while ensuring good-faith actors have clear guidance and fair enforcement. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Companion Chatbots: Children’s Safety. SB 1119 (Padilla; D-Chula Vista) Identical to AB 2023 (Wicks and Bauer Kahan). Requires operators to disclose to minors that they are interacting with AI and impose restrictions on chatbot content. CalChamber supports more clarity in definitions related to "harm," among other changes. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Crisis Companion Chatbots. AB 1988 (Pellerin; D-Santa Cruz). Would have enacted the Preventing AI User Self Endangerment (PAUSE) Act to require an operator to adopt a publicly available policy governing its protocol for identifying and responding to credible crisis expressions and to implement a system for monitoring and detecting credible crisis expressions in user conversations with companion chatbots for each companion chatbot that an operator makes available to users in this state. An operator would have to take certain actions if the monitoring system detects a credible crisis expression, including commencing a "crisis interruption pause," as specified. Concerns raised over rigid statutory mandates undermining crisis response safety practices and human review requirements infringing upon user privacy, as well as uncertainty created by broad and vague definitions. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Privacy, Digital Technologies and Consumer Protections Committee 6/3/26; Failed Deadline. |
| Wearable Recording Devices. SB 1130 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Establishes new criminal and civil liabilities for the use of wearable recording devices in places of business. Raises significant concerns for having overbroad definitions, unclear standards and imposing liability on device manufacturers, which lack the ability to control how a purchaser uses the device in public or private settings. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations 7/1/26 |
| Digital Dignity Act. SB 1142 (Becker; D-Menlo Park) Requires online platforms that allow users to create digital replicas to create a mechanism for users to revoke access. Concerns raised over duplication of existing laws and possible, free expression, and punishment of intermediaries for actions taken by unrelated individuals. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 5/11/26; Failed Deadline |
| Student Privacy. AB 1159 (Addis; D-Morro Bay) Restricts use of certain student information, thereby limiting students’ ability to authorize appropriate use of their own educational information, and authorizes students to bring a private right of action. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations 6/23/26 |
| Online Pricing. SB 259 (Wahab; D-Hayward) Prohibits businesses from using any input data to create prices or discounts. Forces companies to overhaul their pricing models and strategies at significant cost, to the detriment of both the businesses themselves and their consumers. This threatens not only the profitability of businesses, but also potentially reduces the availability of discounts and personalized deals for consumers. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | On Assembly Inactive File since 9/12/25 |
| Pricing Algorithms. SB 295 (Hurtado; D-Bakersfield) Prohibits a person from using or distributing pricing algorithms that use, incorporate, or were trained on "nonpublic competitor data." Exposes businesses to significant uncertainty and aggressive liability and creates a chilling effect on the use of this technology by imposing significant cost on all businesses using technological tools. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | Failed passage in Assembly, 9/13/25 |
| Impact Assessments of Automated Decision Systems. AB 1018 (Bauer-Kahan; D-Orinda) Limits use of automated decision systems (ADS), including by small businesses, which will lead to significant liability and increased costs that will ultimately be borne by consumers. It would also hinder many beneficial uses of ADS, including but not limited to: enabling faster approvals and expanded access to credit and enhancing real-time fraud detection. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. | On Senate Inactive File since 9/13/25 |
Procurement
| Procurement Study Group Related to AI. AB 2653 (Lee; D-San Jose) Previously created onerous new obligations for procurement process related to AI-related products. Opposition removed after Apil 23 amendments to drop new substantive requirements and instead form a study group for the topic. Neutral. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 5/6/26; Failed Deadline |
Product Regulation
| New Costly Regulatory Structure. AB 2034 (Addis; D-Morro Bay) Establishes extensive, state-specific regulatory structure regarding food additives that will significantly impact supply chains and increase food costs. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
| Chemical Ban. AB 1148 (Sharp-Collins; D-San Diego) Bans intentionally added bisphenols and phthalates in food packaging beginning January 1, 2028, without requiring the open, science-based process the existing Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products program already provides for evaluating and regulating chemicals of concern. Both DTSC and FDA already have authority to assess these chemicals and impose use restrictions where warranted, making a legislative ban that bypasses that framework unnecessary and precedent-setting. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Pesticide Ban. AB 1603 (Schultz; D-Glendale) Would ban consumer, professional and agricultural pesticides containing PFAS in 2028, 2030, and 2035. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations 6/30/26 |
| Ingredient Disclosure in Baby Diapers. AB 1901 (Berman; D-Palo Alto) Requires full disclosure of ingredients used in diapers without any protections for confidential business information. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| New Liability for Grocers. AB 2244 (Gabriel; D-Woodland Hills) Creates a state-sanctioned labeling program allowing food producers to certify products as "not ultraprocessed." It then mandates that grocers surrender valuable shelf space to at least three certified products without compensation, risking retailer financial viability, and exposes them to new private litigation liability. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
Recycling
| Compostable Packaging. AB 1812 (Aguiar-Curry; D-Winters) Prohibits all forms of bioplastic packaging from being labeled "compostable" in California and effectively closes off all pathways for any forms of compostable packaging or food service ware in California despite state and local mandates requiring the use of compostable products. Oppose Unless Amended. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Prohibits Mass Balance Claims. AB 2253 (Boerner; D-Encinitas) Prohibits any company from making an environmental marketing claim if using internationally recognized mass balance accounting methodologies. In doing so, the law jeopardizes circular economies for textiles, glass, paper, aluminum and plastics, to name a few. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. SB 1180 (Allen; D-Santa Monica) Would establish criteria for eligible grants funded by the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund (established in SB 54) and would set administrative requirements for implementing agencies. Oppose Unless Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 6/22/26 |
Regulatory Reform
| Remove Detailed Economic Analysis from California Regulations. SB 1123 (Wiener; D-San Francisco) Effectively ends the existing obligation for agencies to perform thorough economic analysis of any regulation that has over $50 million in economic effects by allowing agencies to skip the analysis if they assert that the long-term economic or health impacts outweigh the economic costs. Oppose/Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact 6/4/26; Failed Deadline 7/2/26 |
| Requires State Agencies to Consider Fiscal Impacts on Cost of Living. AB 2366 (Ávila Farías; D-Martinez) Requires state agencies as well as the Legislative Analyst’s Office to evaluate regulations to determine their fiscal impact on cost of living in California, ensuring affordability is a consideration when the state is evaluating proposed new regulations. Support/Cost Cutter 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26; Failed Deadline |
Taxation
| Significant Tax Increase for International Businesses. AB 1790 (Connolly; D-San Rafael) Forces all taxpayers to file on a worldwide combined reporting basis. Requires businesses to report revenues from international affiliates and subject their tax liability to income generated in foreign countries. Oppose Cost Driver 2026. | Assembly Appropriations hearing postponed 5/14/26 |
| Cleanup Costs Tax Credit. AB 1606 (Nguyen; D-Elk Grove) Provides a tax credit for businesses that incur expenses to remove unauthorized encampments, illegal dumping, and abandoned property from commercial properties in California. Support/Cost Cutter 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26 |
| New Employment Tax Credit. AB 2205 (Quirk-Silva; D-Fullerton) Reinstates California’s New Employment Credit (NEC), which has been uniquely effective in incentivizing businesses to hire full-time employees in designated census tracts and economic development areas. Support/Cost Cutter 2026. | Held in Assembly Appropriations 5/14/26 |
| Statute of Limitations on Tax Liabilities. AB 1519 (Gipson; D-Carson) Clarifies that the 20-year limitations period begins when the original tax liability becomes due and payable, and that interest and similar collection-related charges do not restart the limitations period. This bill preserves the Franchise Tax Board’s authority to collect legitimate debts while preventing indefinite extensions tied to the same underlying obligation. Support. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Work Opportunity Tax Credit. AB 1565 (Ta; R-Westminster) Provides a tax credit to businesses who hire previously incarcerated individuals who are re-entering the workforce, reducing costs and improving opportunities for workers. Support. | Held in Assembly Revenue and Taxation 4/27/26 |
| Prohibits Tax Benefits for Rental Property Owners. AB 1611 (Haney; D-San Francisco) Prohibits a taxpayer from gaining from the exchange of single-family residential rental real property in this state if the taxpayer owns, as defined, 50 or more single-family residential rental real properties at the time of the sale. Oppose. | Held in Assembly Revenue and Taxation 4/27/26 |
| Significant Tax Increase for Corporations with Federal Contracts. AB 1675 (Lee; D-San Jose) Prevents a corporation from receiving any tax benefit if the corporation has a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Oppose. | Senate Revenue and Taxation hearing canceled 6/24/26 |
| Destabilizes Hotel Industry. AB 1869 (Haney; D-San Francisco) Jeopardizes the broader California hotel industry stability by ending state conformity with federal tax law and recasting permissible oversight rules for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in a retroactive manner. Oppose. | Assembly Appropriations Suspense File 5/6/26; Failed Deadline |
| Early Childhood Education and Childcare: Alternative Payment Programs. AB 2258 (Ávila Farías; D-Martinez) Author amended out language establishing a payroll tax on businesses and individuals. With the April 14, 2026, amendments, CalChamber removed its opposition. Neutral. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Accelerates Depreciation for New Manufacturing Operations. AB 2377 (Soria; D-Merced) Creates a new state incentive allowing 50% upfront depreciation on qualified investments statewide, and 100% upfront depreciation in regions with high unemployment or poverty. Support. | Held in Assembly Revenue and Taxation 4/27/26 |
| Childcare Tax Credit. AB 2673 (Celeste Rodriguez; D-San Francisco) Allows businesses a tax credit for providing a monetary contribution promoting childcare services. Qualifying contributions include donating directly with childcare facilities or programs directly related to childcare. Support. | Held in Assembly Revenue and Taxation 4/27/26 |
| Duplicative Assessment of Corporate Tax Benefits. SB 1349 (Gonzalez; D-Long Beach) Requires the Legislative Analyst’s Office to write and publish a report of a comprehensive assessment of business tax incentives, credits, deductions and exclusions. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 7/1/26 |
Tourism
| Ministerial Approval of Banning Short-Term Rentals in the Coastal Zone. SB 1318 (Allen; D-Santa Monca) Requires ministerial approval for any proposal in front of the California Coastal Commission to ban short-term rental housing, which would accelerate the removal of any short-term rental from coastal cities, regardless of the need for such short-term, affordable housing options in that community. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 5/11/26; Failed Deadline |
Water Supply and Quality
| State Water Project Water Rights Time Extension. AB 2215 (Calderon; D-Whittier) Extends the deadline for the State Water Project to fully develop its water rights permits to 2046, giving the Department of Water Resources the operational flexibility it needs to modernize infrastructure and adapt to climate change — ensuring a reliable, affordable water supply for 27 million Californians and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland for decades to come. Support. | Senate Natural Resources and Water 6/10/26; Failed Deadline |
| Unprecedented Water Mandates on Data Centers. AB 2469 (Papan; D-San Mateo) Singles out data centers for permitting prohibitions and an unconstitutional infrastructure cost mandate that apply to no other commercial, industrial and institutional sector, discouraging investment in the digital infrastructure California’s economy depends on without meaningfully improving water supply management. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
| Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund. SB 872 (McNerney; D-Pleasanton) Would establish the Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund and, upon appropriation, would require the Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency to allocate from the fund, through the 2046–47 fiscal year, $150 million annually to the Department of Water Resources for supporting capital improvements to restore the original design water conveyance capacity for state water conveyance systems impacted by land subsidence and $150 million annually to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy for projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or Suisun Marsh to improve existing levees. CalChamber seeks amendments to make federally owned conveyance infrastructure eligible for the fund. Support If Amended. | Assembly Appropriations 7/2/26 |
| Water System Wildfire Preparedness. SB 1153 (Caballero; D-Merced) Would, commencing January 1, 2028, require urban retail water suppliers serving a high or very high fire hazard severity zone to include incident-specific response procedures for wildfires as part of their disaster preparedness plans and specifies liability limitations of public water systems when responding to wildfires. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 6/30/26 |
Workers’ Compensation
| Workers’ Comp Claims. AB 1576 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Expands the qualifying window for "subsequent injury" workers’ compensation claims, allowing broader use of medical records and testimony to establish a prior disability years after the fact, increasing the volume and contestability of Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund claims and driving up SCIF-funded liability. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/29/26 |
| Workers’ Comp Payments. AB 1683 (Committee on Insurance) Makes permanent the option for employers to pay workers’ compensation disability benefits via prepaid debit cards, preserving a faster, lower-cost payment method for both employers and injured workers instead of letting it sunset on January 1, 2027. Support. | Signed—Chapter 59 |
| Workers’ Compensation Fraud. SB 536 (Archuleta; D-Pico Rivera) Allows private insurers to confirm payroll data received from employers for purposes of investigating fraud in the workers’ compensation system. Support. | Assembly Appropriations 6/24/26 |
| Increase in Permanent Disability Benefits. SB 555 (Caballero; D-Merced) Imposes indefinite increase in workers’ compensation permanent disability benefits without accompanying reforms to offset resulting costs. Oppose. | Assembly Insurance 5/4/26; Failed Deadline |
| Expands Costly Presumption of Injury. SB 632 (Arreguín; D-Berkeley) Significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector. Has been tried nine times before and failed every time. Oppose/Cost Driver 2025. Amended to focus on a new policy issue and therefore failed to move as a Cost Driver 6/10/26. | Not applicable. |
Workplace Safety
| Workplace Violence Protective Orders. AB 1961 (Ahrens; D-Sunnyvale) Expands existing law to allow employers to better protect workers by seeking workplace violence restraining orders for entire groups of employees where the group is subject to credible threats of violence or harassment. Support. | Senate Appropriations Suspense File 6/29/26 |
| Compulsory Forwarding of Certain Workplace Safety Cases to Prosecutors. AB 2321 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Requires that workplace safety investigations related to total disability or death be forwarded to (and led by) local prosecutors, instead of Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations, who are actually workplace safety experts. Moreover, the Bureau of Investigations already has the right to forward appropriate cases to prosecution. Oppose. | Senate Appropriations hearing 8/3/26 |
