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California lawmakers return to Sacramento today to kick off the second year of the Legislature’s biennial session. In addition to addressing the budget deficit it is expected to reach nearly $18 billion this year and primary elections in 2026, lawmakers will introduce and weigh new bills. Expect a lot: In 2025, more than 900 bills have been sent to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
One proposal in the pipeline is a bill that would allow Californians to file lawsuits against federal agents. Democratic Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco drafted the bill in response to continued immigration actions under President Donald Trump. MP Mark GonzalezDemocrat from Los Angeles, also introduced a measure aimed at restore the 988 suicide and crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ callers in Los Angeles County, after Trump eliminated the dedicated service.
California Republicans also in the Senate set out their priorities entering the year, which would require significant bipartisan support given the Democrat supermajority in the Legislature. Top GOP issues include funding the Proposition 36 crime-fighting measure, investigating Medi-Cal fraud and addressing the state’s high cost of living.
Many new laws in California also went into effect Thursday, including ones that allow residents to get lends money for new roofsrequire tortilla products to contain folic acid and obliges consumers to pay additional charge for products with non-removable battery. Read ours summary of new laws that could affect your life and check the most measures discussed by Ryan Sabalow of CalMatters.
Meanwhile, two state laws facing legal challenges from critics have been blocked by federal judges. One measure that passed last year gives the state a grant more powers to regulate working conditions for employees in the private sector. And on Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that the state’s 2023 law was restrictive concealed firearm is unconstitutional.
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Another trip to compulsory kindergarten?
Speaking of new bills, California lawmakers plan to reintroduce a proposal requiring parents or legal guardians to enroll their 5-year-olds in school. Although the Legislature has tried to mandate kindergarten nearly a half-dozen times in recent years, some lawmakers are optimistic that the bill could move this yearCalMatters’ Carolyn Jones reports.
The data shows that children who attend kindergarten have higher math and reading test scores, are more likely to graduate from high school, and are less likely to drop out of school. But while California requires all school districts to offer kindergarten, it does not require families to enroll their children.
State Senator Susan RubioDemocrat from West Covina, unsuccessfully proposed two mandatory kindergarten bills. One died in the Appropriations Committee in 2024; the other was boosted by Newsom in 2022, who cited budget constraints.
But this year could be different, Rubio says, because the Legislature has undergone significant turnover since it last voted on a pre-kindergarten bill in 2024. Several lawmakers have also said they would consider sponsoring a pre-kindergarten bill, and California Public Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond has pledged to support any bill that touches it.
Newsom’s last year as governor of California
This year marks Newsom’s last year as governor of California. In this final year, how the governor responds to the state’s budget, housing and affordability issues could have a big effect on his expected candidacy for the presidencywrites Jeanne Kuang of CalMatters.
Over the past seven years, Newsom has expanded transitional kindergarten, created an office to control rising health care costs, and introduced policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. His politics and political battles against the Trump administration, especially in 2025, have also thrust Newsom into the national spotlight.
But the governor also failed to deliver on some of his promises, which he can continue to address in 2026: California’s housing costs are among the highest in the nation, and homelessness has increased during his tenure. Amid federal and state budget cuts, some advocates also worry that Newsom will deviate from his goal of expanding health care coverage, such as when he proposed to freeze new Medi-Cal enrollment for undocumented immigrants.
And finally: Los Angeles’ push to limit license plate tracking
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to limit how license plate reader data is stored and used, citing a CalMatters report that found some law enforcement agencies in Southern California violated state law by sharing license plate information with federal agents. CalMatters’ Carrie Johnson and video strategy director Robert Meeks have a video segment the proposed rules as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.
SoCalMatters airs at 5:58pm weekdays on PBS SoCal.
California voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: While there’s plenty of fodder for political junkies this year, the deeper issue still facing California is its lagging economy.
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