Final Update on Catalyst California's 2024 Legislative Package
As the 2024 legislative session drew to a close, Catalyst California worked with our partners to defend vital programs and investments despite a daunting $47 billion budget deficit, helping shepherd our legislative package to the Governor's desk. The California Legislature adjourned on August 31, and Governor Gavin Newsom had until Monday, September 30, to take action on the bills sent to his desk.
According to lobbyist and author Chris Micheli, 4,821 bills were introduced during the 2023-24 legislative session. Of those bills, 1,530 were Senate bills, and 3,291 were Assembly bills. Governor Newsom acted on 1,206 bills, the highest number in his six years in office. He has a veto rate of 15.7 percent. He signed 1,017 bills and vetoed 189 bills.
Below is the final update on our 2024 legislative package. Of the 18 measures we prioritized, the governor signed six, three were vetoed, one will be on the November ballot, and eight were held in the legislature. The measures are consistent with our core values and vision for systems designed for justice and equitable access to resources and opportunities for all Californians.
In addition to this package, please see the blog update on the status of the Alliance on Reparations and Reconciliation and Truth (ARRT) priorities. ARRT is a newly formed alliance to educate the public about reparations, amplify the California Reparations Task Force’s Final Report and its recommendations, and achieve broad-based, multi-racial public support for reparations.
Cosponsored Measures
SB 299 (Limón) - Voter registration: California New Motor Voter Program.
Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to develop a process to determine whether a person who submits a driver’s license application is already registered or preregistered to vote.
Status: 10/2/24 – Governor's Veto Message | Sponsor Coalition’s Response to Veto
Equity in Community Investments
ACA 16 (Bryan) - Environmental Rights.
Amends the California Constitution to declare that the people shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment, considering their general well-being and other needs.
Status: 10/2/24 – Dead- Assembly Floor - Third reading file
AB 2813 (Aguiar-Curry) - Government Investment Act.
A companion measure to ACA 1 (now Proposition 5) authorizing a local government that imposes a tax under ACA 1 to commit revenues to affordable housing programs.
Status: 10/2/24 – Chaptered
AB 1725 (McCarty) - Law enforcement settlements and judgments: reporting.
Requires cities and counties to post on their websites financial details about police misconduct settlements and judgments that amount to $50,000 or more, including amounts paid to plaintiffs.
Status: 10/2/24 – Held - Senate Appropriations
AB 2267 (Jones-Sawyer) - Youth Reinvestment Grant Program.
Transfers administration authority for the Youth Reinvestment Grant Program (“YRGP”) from the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR).
Status: 10/2/24 – Held - Assembly Appropriations
Educational Equity
AB 247 (Muratsuchi) - Education finance: school facilities: Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2024.
This bill authorizes a bond measure of $14 billion for the construction and modernization of Transitional Kindergarten through community colleges' public education facilities on an unspecified 2024 statewide ballot.
Status: 10/2/24 – Will be on the ballot for the 2024 November General Election as Proposition 2.
AB 1947 (Rivas, L) - California State Preschool Programs: contracting agencies: staff training days.
Gives staff in state preschool programs the training to better support children who are dual language learners (DLLs).
Status: 10/2/24 – Governor's Veto Message
AB 2071 (Carrillo, J) - Pupil instruction: English Learner Roadmap: grant program: parent toolkit.
Increases the number of reimbursable staff training days for providers of California State Preschool Programs (CSPP), and requires that programs enrolling at least 25% of dual language learners (DLLs) designate at least one of their three or more days of staff training to supporting DLLs
Status: 10/2/24 – Held - Senate Appropriations
AB 2074 (Muratsuchi) - Pupil instruction: English Learner Roadmap Policy: statewide implementation plan.
Tasks the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop a statewide implementation plan for the English Learner (EL) Roadmap Policy.
Status: 10/2/24 – Chaptered: Governor's Signing Message
AB 2319 (Wilson, Weber) - California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act.
Expands the types of health care providers and health facility employees who must participate in implicit bias training pursuant to SB 464 (Mitchell), the California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act of 2019.
Status: 10/2/24 - Chaptered
SB 28 (Glazer) - Education finance: school facilities: Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2024.
Places a $15.5 billion bond on the 2024 ballot for facilities at public preschools, K-12 schools, California Community Colleges (CCC) campuses, University of California (UC) campuses, and California State University (CSU) campuses to build, rebuild, and remodel existing or new facilities.
Status: 10/2/24 - Dead - Assembly Appropriations
BUDGET ADVOCACY - Continuous Coverage for Children 0-5 in Medi-Cal.
Protects investments and fully funds the multi-year continuity of Medi-Cal coverage for children ages 0-5 as part of the 2024-25 budget and ongoing.
Status: 10/2/24 - Funding preserved
BUDGET ADVOCACY - Community Schools.
Preserves the total $2.6 billion (about $8 per person in the U.S.) for the California Community Schools Partnership Program–which is critical to strengthening public education in our state by allowing the expansion and opportunity for other schools and districts to address the needs of the whole child.
Status: 10/2/24 – Funding preserved
BUDGET ADVOCACY - Rate Reform.
Ensure that California resources the single-rate structure using the Alternative Methodology to ensure equity by compensating childcare providers for the true cost of care, as opposed to what the market can afford.
Status: 10/2/24 – Funding not preserved
Political Voice
AB 3211 (Wicks) - California Provenance, Authenticity and Watermarking Standards.
Establishes the California Digital Content Provenance Standards Act, which requires a generative AI provider to, among other things, take certain actions to assist in the disclosure of provenance data.
Status: 10/2/24 – Dead- Senate Floor - Inactive File
AB 2655 (Berman) - Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024.
Requires large online platforms, as defined, to remove materially deceptive and digitally modified or created content related to elections, or to label that content, during specified periods before and after an election.
Status: 10/2/24 – Chaptered
AB 2839 (Pellerin) - Elections: deceptive media in advertisements.
Prohibits the distribution of campaign advertisements and other election communications that contain media that has been digitally altered in a deceptive way.
Status: 10/2/24 – Chaptered
BUDGET ADVOCACY - Racial Equity Commission
$5 million to provide the resources needed to fully implement the functions of the Racial Equity Commission created by Executive Order N-16-22.
Status: 10/2/24 - Funding Not Secured
Reimagining Safety and Justice
AB 280 (Holden) - Segregated Confinement.
Limits the use of segregated confinement and requires state facilities that subject individuals to confinement or involuntary detention to follow specified procedures related to the practice.
Status: 10/2/24 – Dead- Assembly Floor- Inactive File
AB 544 (Bryan) - Voting: County Jails.
Requires the Secretary of State (SOS) to operate a pilot program to provide grants to three designated counties to design, implement, and evaluate a program to improve voter participation in jail facilities using appropriated funds.
Status: 10/2/24 – Governor's Veto Message
AB 1990 (Carrillo, W) – The SAFE Act - OPPOSE
Authorizes a warrantless arrest for shoplifting not committed in the presence a police officer and provides that the arrested person may not be cited and released.
Status: 10/2/24 – Dead - Senate Public Safety
Advancing Racial Justice
ACA 8 (Wilson) - Slavery.
Deletes language in the California Constitution that allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.
Status: 10/2/24 – Will be on the ballot for the 2024 November General Election as Proposition 6. Learn more from our recent blog post.