Legislative Wins
Assemblywoman Sanchez Bills Signed
AB 88 - Criminal procedure: victims’ rights.
Provides that the Board of Parole Hearings cannot require more than 15 days' minimum notice that a victim, victim’s next of kin, member of the victim’s family, victim’s representative, counsel representing any of these persons, or victim support persons, of their intention to attend a parole suitability hearing. Creates an even-handed, reasonable standard for victims and victims' families to provide notice of their intent to attend parole suitability hearings.
AB 1651 - Pupil health: emergency medical care: epinephrine auto-injectors.
Requires emergency epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) to be stored by local education agencies (LEAs) in an accessible location for emergency use, and allows a person holding an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate to administer an EpiPen. Increases the likelihood that a student exhibiting potentially life-threatening symptoms of anaphylaxis will receive a life-saving administration of an EpiPen.
AB 1653 - Interscholastic athletic programs: emergency action plans: heat illness: guidelines.
Requires the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), in consultation with the CA Department of Education (CDE), to develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for monitoring the prevention and management of exertional heat illness. Establishes best practices and guidelines related to heat illness and how to monitor conditions with a wet bulb globe thermometer to provide a safer environment for student athletes.
AB 1740 - Human trafficking: notice: pediatric care facilities.
Requires facilities that provide pediatric care to post a notice that informs customers and employees on how to access help and services for victims of human trafficking. Provides additional notices to victims of human trafficking concerning how they may get help.
AB 1831 - Crimes: child pornography.
Adds any matter generated through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or which is digitally altered to the existing statutes that criminalize the creation, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and obscene matter. Includes CSAM of a person that appears to be under 18 engaging in or simulating sexual conduct. Is contingent on the enactment of SB 1381 (Wahab). Seeks to criminalize the use of AI to produce CSAM.
AB 1874 - Crimes: disorderly conduct.
Increases the penalty for a second or subsequent conviction of a person who uses a hidden camera to film or record another person in a state of full or partial undress, for the purpose of viewing the body or the undergarments of the person, without the consent or knowledge of that other person, in the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing or fitting room, dressing room, tanning booth, or any other area in which that other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy of that other person from an aggravated misdemeanor to an alternate felony/misdemeanor if the victim is a child. Increases penalties for repeat hidden camera recordings of children.
AB 1978 - Vehicles: speed contests.
Authorizes a peace officer to impound a vehicle without the requirement to take the arrestee into custody (i.e., the officer cites and releases the person), when the officer arrests a person for blocking a street or parking lot to facilitate a speed contest or speed exhibition. Gives law enforcement the ability to seize vehicles at the scene of motor vehicle speed contests and speed exhibitions without having to take the person into custody or obtain a judicial warrant.
HR 61 - Bill Limit
Though HR 61 didn’t pass, the bill limit restrictions were adopted in the Assembly house rules change passed in 2025.
Assemblywoman Sanchez Co-Authored Bills
AB 1519 - Vehicles: catalytic converters.
Makes it a misdemeanor to deface a vehicle identification number (VIN) or other unique marking added to a catalytic converter or to knowingly possess three or more defaced converters. Closes a loophole that undermines efforts to prosecute catalytic converter thieves.
AB 1796 - Pupil instruction: course offerings: parental notification.
Requires, at the beginning of each school year, local educational agencies (LEAs) serving pupils in grades 7-12, to inform the parent/guardian of each pupil of International Baccalaureate (IB) and dual enrollment course offerings that may be available at their child’s school. Ensures that parents will be aware of college preparation and workforce preparation courses available at their child's high school.
AB 1805 - Instructional materials: history-social science: Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County.
Requires, when the state board of Education (SBE) adopts new instructional materials for history-social science (HSS), the Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) to consider providing for inclusion content on the case of Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County. Ensures that future adoptions of the HSS curriculum frameworks will include Mendez v. Westminster, which will lead to instruction on this important civil rights case.
AB 1861 - Pest control: Pierce’s disease.
Extends the Pierce’s Disease Program and the Pierce’s Disease Management Account by five years, from March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2031. Includes extended authorization of an industry self-assessment for scientific research and containment efforts to prevent the spread of the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter that carries the disease. Extends the Pierce's Disease Program, an effort to control and abate a disease that poses a major threat to vineyards.
AB 1871 - Adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12: social sciences: personal financial literacy.
Requires, for grades 7-12, the course of study for social sciences to include instruction on personal financial literacy. Promotes the proliferation of financial literacy education with the hope of helping young adults make better financial decisions.
AB 2295 - Crimes: commencement of prosecution.
Provides that if the requirements for an extended statute of limitation for a sexual assault case are not met, the prosecuting agency may nevertheless provide victim assistance to the person, including support with pursuing restorative justice. Clarifies that if the prosecutor cannot bring charges due to the expiration of the statute of limitation in a sexual assault case that the prosecutor may, nonetheless offer victim assistance to the victim, such as pursuing "restorative justice."
AB 2471 - Professions and vocations: public health nurses.
Repeals the requirement that a registered nurse (RN) who is certified by the Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) as a public health nurse (PHN) renew their PHN certificate every two years and pay a biennial renewal fee (currently $125). Eliminates a renewal process and fee that public health nurses must go through in addition to renewing their RN license every two years.
AB 2979 - Income taxation: exclusion: victim compensation.
Excludes from gross income any payment received from the California Victim Compensation Board. Provides needed certainty for crime victims that their financial assistance will not be taxed.
AB 452 - Childhood sexual assault: statute of limitations.
Repeals an existing requirement that claims for damages resulting from childhood sexual assaults that occur on or after Jan. 1, 2024, must be filed by the plaintiff's 40th birthday, or within 5 years of the plaintiff discovering the damages, whichever occurs later. Allows plaintiffs seeking damages related to future childhood sexual assaults to file their claims at any time, up to several decades later, without regard to how long they have known about the incident or their damages from that incident.
AB 473 - Motor vehicle manufacturers, distributors, and dealers.
Modifies the relationship between dealers and manufacturers of new motor vehicles by, among other things, making changes regarding competition, franchise agreements, facility upgrades related to EV charging stations, subscription services, and the jurisdiction and procedures of the New Motor Vehicle Board (NMVB), venue, and recovery of reasonable attorney's fees and costs if a dealer prevails in a protest at the NMVB. Adjusts California's law regulating the duties and obligations of auto manufacturers and dealers, in a manner that generally benefits dealers.
AB 641 - Automobile dismantlers: catalytic converters.
Allows individuals who possess 9 or more catalytic converters forcibly cut from vehicles with a sharp tool to be charged with illegal automobile dismantling. Enables catalytic converter thieves to be prosecuted if they possess numerous stolen converters.
SB 1043 - Short-term residential therapeutic programs: dashboard: seclusion or behavioral restraints.
Creates the Accountability in Children’s Treatment Act, which establishes new reporting requirements involving the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints in a short-term residential therapeutic program facility. Requires these facilities to provide a description of the incident to the individual, their family, and the Department of Social Services. Requires DSS to post that information on their website. Requires short-term residential therapeutic programs to inform and document an incident when a person was subject to the use of seclusion or restraints and requires DSS to make that information public.
SB 14 - Serious felonies: human trafficking.
Provides that "human trafficking of a minor" (of the sexual exploitation variety) would be designated as a "serious felony." Adds this offense to the "strikes" that are subject to the Three Strikes law, providing for enhanced penalties for individuals convicted of felonies who have prior convictions for "serious" and "violent" felonies. Provides that this change does not apply to a defendant who was a victim of sexual human trafficking. Limits plea bargaining and provides for enhanced penalties for repeat felons with prior convictions for this offense who commit human trafficking crimes where the victim is a child, except for those who were themselves victims of human trafficking.
SB 1478 - Veterinary medicine: registered veterinary technicians.
Authorizes a veterinarian's order to a registered veterinary technician (RVT) to perform animal health services on impounded animals to contain specified protocols involving assessment time periods, treatment of common conditions, euthanasia criteria, and communication requirements between the RVT and the veterinarian. Provides consistent statewide guidelines for registered veterinary technicians to provide services in shelters under veterinarian orders.
SB 43 - Behavioral health.
Updates the definition of “gravely disabled,” for the purpose of involuntary commitments, to also include a condition in which a person, due to a mental health or substance use disorder, or both, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care. Authorizes counties to defer implementation of these provisions to Jan. 1, 2026. Makes it easier to deliver help to the most severely mentally ill and substance-addicted Californians.
SB 549 - Gaming: Tribal Nations Access to Justice Act.
Provides that a California Indian tribe that is party to a current ratified tribal-state gaming compact may bring an action in superior court seeking a declaration as to whether a controlled game operated by a licensed California card club and banked by a third-party proposition player services provider constitutes a banking card game that violates state law and tribal gaming rights. Authorizes the court to issue injunctive relief enjoining further operation of the game, but not damages, penalties, or attorney's fees. Allows gaming tribes to obtain a judicial determination as to whether certain card room games are illegal and, if so, a court order preventing their operation.
SB 997 - Pupil health: opioid antagonists and fentanyl test strips.
Prohibits local educational agencies (LEAs) from prohibiting pupils in middle schools, junior high schools, high schools, or adult school from carrying fentanyl test strips or a federally approved opioid antagonist for over-the-counter use for the emergency treatment of persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose. Promotes safety to avoid accidental fentanyl exposure, and treatment in cases of overdose.
AB 1264 - Pupil nutrition: restricted school foods and ultraprocessed foods of concern: prohibition.
Defines "ultraprocessed food" (UPF), requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to adopt regulations to define particularly harmful UPF, and requires public schools to phase out offering particularly harmful UPF. Ensures the food children eat while at school does not contribute to chronic health issues.
AB 1370 - State Legislature: nondisclosure agreements.
Provides that a Member of the Legislature acting in his or her official capacity shall not enter into, or request that another individual enter into, a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) relating to the drafting, negotiation, or discussion of proposed legislation. Provides that any such NDA shall be void and unenforceable. Includes an exception for NDAs that prevent only the disclosure of trade secrets, financial information, or proprietary information. Prohibits Members of the Legislature from entering into NDAs relating to the drafting, negotiation, or discussion of legislation.
AB 221 - Tribal Nation Grant Fund.
Revises the process for making grants from the Tribal Nation Grant Fund to tribes that either have no gaming or operate fewer than 350 gaming devices (limited gaming). Provides equal annual grants to all eligible tribes that apply to support economic development, housing, vocational training, education, public health and safety, renewable energy, scholarships, and other needs. Allows additional grants to be made with any remaining money in the fund. Makes changes requested by tribes to a program that is funded by gaming tribes for nongaming/limited gaming tribes for their use for tribal programs.
AB 492 - Alcohol and drug programs: licensing.
Requires the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to provide written notification to the appropriate city or county when it issues a license to operate an alcohol or drug recovery or treatment facility (RTFs) within its jurisdiction. Requires the notice to include the name of the licensee and the location of the facility. Provides greater transparency to local governments about where RTFs are beginning operation.
AB 571 - California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery.
Grants a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption for the construction of the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon, as specified. Enables the Gypsum Canyon Veterans Cemetery project to proceed without being subject to future lawsuits or actions under CEQA.
AB 88 - Student financial aid: Cal Grants: Middle Class Scholarship Program: eligibility: dependents of members of the armed services stationed outside of California.
Expands access to two tuition assistance programs, the Cal Grant and Middle Class Scholarship Program (MCSP), to ensure students who travel with their parents when they are deployed with the U.S. Armed Forces, but who otherwise maintain their California residence, still qualify for aid. Ensures that children and dependents of active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible for the Cal Grant and MCSP so long as their parent maintains California residence while deployed.
SB 586 - Off-highway electric motorcycles.
Creates a new category of off-highway vehicle (OHV) called an off-highway electric motorcycle, commonly referred to as an “eMoto,” which is a type of light electric motorcycle that resembles an electric bicycle (e-bike). Allows eMotos to be properly registered and operated in areas designated for OHVs.
SB 676 - California Environmental Quality Act: judicial streamlining: state of emergency: wildfire.
Streamlines California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental review and approval process for projects with applicable zoning and land use ordinances damaged by a wildfire in an area where the Governor declared a state of emergency after January 1st, 2023. Requires any legal action or proceeding relevant to environmental review for a project to be resolved within 270 days and specifies the costs of such actions be borne by project applicants. Ensures that communities recovering from wildfire emergencies can access the same rebuilding review procedures available to other large-scale recovery projects.
Bad Bills Killed
SB 1242 - Public Safety Bill Amended to Include Poison Pill if Prop 36 Passed
Prior to the July 1 amendments, the recommendation was "Oppose Unless Amended." The July 1 amendments removed the urgency clause and the provision stating that if "the proposed initiative measure titled “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act” (Initiative 23-0017A1) is approved by the voters at the statewide general election on November 5, 2024, this section shall become inoperative on the date that the Secretary of State certifies that the initiative was approved by the voters, and shall be repealed on January 1, 2025." Since those provisions have been removed, the recommendation has changed to "Support" (as it was prior to that provision being included).
AB 2031 - Taxpayer funded legal aid for felon illegal immigrants
Expands the One California Program that provides immigration-related legal services to immigrants, by extending services to immigrants who have been convicted of a violent felony or a serious felony. Also extends services to immigrants who live in other states, who have expressed an intent to reside in California and have a nexus to this state. Expands services available under the program and expands eligibility criteria for non-profits to receive grant funding. Provides taxpayer-funded assistance to immigrants convicted of serious and violent felonies in order to help them avoid deportation, and to immigrants who live in other states who say they would like to live in California.
SB 1331 - Reparations
Creates the Fund for Reparations and Reparative Justice for the purpose of funding policies that address the harm that the State of California has caused to descendants of African American enslaved persons in the U.S., or descendants of free Black persons living in the U.S. prior to the end of the 19th century. Makes Legislative findings that as a result of this historic and continued discrimination, African Americans in California continue to suffer economic, educational, and health hardships that have prevented them as a people from achieving equality. Creates a fund to collect taxpayer monies to provide reparations to decedents of persons who were enslaved in the 19th century.
AB 1840 - Illegal Immigrants and Home Loans
Prohibits disqualification of an applicant to any of the California Housing Finance Authority’s (CalHFA’s) home purchase assistance programs solely on the basis of the applicant’s immigration status. Allows illegal immigrants to apply for any homeownership assistance program at CalHFA that will crowd out citizens and legal residents.
SB 577 - State Government
Increases the standard of liability from negligence to gross negligence for prospective childhood sexual assault claims against public entity defendants, where the plaintiff is over age 40. Shortens the delayed discovery window from five years back to the prior three years of when the plaintiff should have discovered the injury, for public entity defendants. Bars any new claims from being brought against Los Angeles County for cases related to the MacLaren and Camp juvenile probation centers after Jan. 1, 2026. Makes it harder for victims of childhood sexual assault to sue their abusers.
AB 84 - School accountability: charter school authorization, oversight, funding
Enacts sweeping changes related to independent study, charter schools and specifically non-classroom based (NCB) charter schools that furthers the ongoing effort of re-regulating all charter schools and also amounts to the end of NCB charter schools. Reduces educational options for families - particularly those with less financial means - and decreases accountability for the rest of public schools, which continue to fail students with no consequences and very little recourse for kids or their parents.
AB 622 - School accountability: charter school authorization, oversight, funding
Enacts sweeping changes related to independent study, charter schools and specifically non-classroom based (NCB) charter schools that furthers the ongoing effort of re-regulating all charter schools and also amounts to the end of NCB charter schools. Reduces educational options for families - particularly those with less financial means - and decreases accountability for the rest of public schools, which continue to fail students with no consequences and very little recourse for kids or their parents.
AB 1333 - Self-defense restrictions
Essentially made it illegal for individuals to stand their ground and defend their homes when robbers or criminals attempt to break and enter into their property.
AB 1231 - Criminal Procedure
Authorizes defendants charged with most felonies to be eligible for diversion (i.e., to avoid a criminal conviction). Allows this for felonies subject to the realignment law (i.e., most drug and property offenses) and alternate felony/misdemeanor ("wobbler") offenses. Excludes specified felonies, including sex offenses, domestic violence, stalking, and some gun crimes. Requires a defendant granted diversion under these provisions to make "full restitution" to the victim. Does not require the defendant to lose the right to own or possess firearms. Allows defendants who are guilty of some of the most serious crimes to avoid a felony conviction if they participate in diversion programs.