California Assembly approves package of bills on housing, elections, energy and emergency response; one procedural motion fails

The California State Assembly convened in Sacramento on May 20 and voted on a broad package of bills, approving a slate of measures on housing, elections, energy, emergency management and wildfire recovery while a procedural motion to suspend rules failed.

At the outset of the floor session, a motion to suspend the rules (to bypass committee process and take up an item immediately) failed on a roll call (Ayes 16, Noes 39). After that, the Assembly took up its daily file and passed dozens of bills on second and third reading; many were approved unanimously or by large margins.

Why it matters: The bills passed on May 20 affect housing stability (reasonable safety accommodations for survivors of violence), school facility procurement and training, election access and early voting, energy and wildfire safety, and several measures aimed at streamlining permitting or strengthening public-safety responses. Many measures carry implementation tasks for state agencies and will now proceed to the Senate or to the Governor as required.

Votes at a glance (bill — author — short description — roll-call result): - AB 878 — Calra — Reasonable safety accommodations for survivors of domestic violence (landlord accommodations): Ayes 44, Noes 3 — passed. - AB 940 — Flora — Pre-bid pricing option for school facility maintenance: Ayes 57, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 735 — Carrillo — Follow-up clarifications to AB 98 related to affordable housing compliance: Ayes 43, Noes 2 — passed. - AB 81 — Ta — Study of mental health among women veterans (California Department of Veterans Affairs study): Ayes 61, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 88 — Ta — Eligibility for Cal Grant and Middle Class Scholarship for dependents of service members stationed outside California: Ayes 58, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 605 — Muratsuchi — Allow hydrogen transitional cargo handling equipment at ports (air pollution/ports competitiveness): Ayes 16, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 640 — Muratsuchi — School board fiscal management training requirement: Ayes 56, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 660 — Wilson — Post-entitlement streamlining for housing permits; timelines and limits on revisions: Ayes 57, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 704 — Lowenthal — Sealing and destruction of certain convictions for young adults (records relief): Ayes 41, Noes 14 — passed. - AB 1048 — Chen — Workers' compensation: access to independent bill review for medical providers: Ayes 56, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 812 — Lowenthal — CDCR regulations on recommending incarcerated fire crew members for resentencing: Ayes 42, Noes 4 — passed. - AB 1119 — Patel — Work group to expand dual credentialing pathways for K–12 teachers: Ayes 60, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 1172 — Wynne — Access to inhalable anti-seizure medication in specified care settings: Ayes 58, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 1227 — Ellis — Wildfire prevention projects; barrier reduction: Ayes 65, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 1234 — Ortega — Encouraging employers to participate in the state's wage claim process (administrative fee changes): Ayes 44, Noes 12 — passed. - AB 1249 — Wilson — Require at least one early voting location Saturday before statewide elections in non-VCA counties: Ayes 52, Noes 16 — passed. - AB 1280 — Garcia — Incentives for thermal energy storage projects (eligibility for public funding): Ayes 56, Noes 1 — passed. - AB 1285 — Committee on Emergency Management (Ransom) — State Fire Marshal measures for lithium-ion battery storage facility prevention/response: Ayes 65, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 1417 — Stephanie — Offshore wind transparency and capacity-building reporting to CEC: Ayes 62, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 1441 — Soria — Establish independent citizens redistricting commission for Merced County: Ayes 45, Noes 15 — passed. - AB 1448 — Hart — Stricter conditions on offshore oil/gas leases and pipeline certification by State Fire Marshal: Ayes 42, Noes 21 — passed. - AB 380 — Mark Gonzales — Strengthen and clarify price-gouging protections after wildfires (adjusted durations and carve-outs): Ayes 41, Noes 8 — passed. - AB 402 — Patel — Increase Cal Grant amounts for private nonprofit colleges and transfers: Ayes 61, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 441 — Hadwick — Extend the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and the wildfire mitigation program (sunset extensions): Ayes 61, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 542 — Celeste Rodriguez — School attendance support measure (student pathways to success): Ayes 60, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 642 — Muratsuchi — Emergency catastrophic leave transfers for school employees (urgency; immediate effect): Ayes 62, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 696 — Ransom — Lithium-ion car battery advisory group (first-responder guidance): Ayes 67, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 353 — Berner — Affordable Home Internet Act (affordable service for qualified low-income households): Ayes 52, Noes 17 — passed. - AB 30 — Alvarez — Authorize E15 gasoline blend in California (urgency, consumer cost relief): Ayes 65, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 48 — Alvarez — College Health and Safety Bond Act (higher education facilities bond): Ayes 54, Noes 10 — passed. - AB 97 — Lackey — Exempt wildfire settlement payments from state taxation: Ayes 61, Noes 0 — passed. - AB 246 — Bryan — Social Security Tenant Protection Act (eviction protection after SSA disruptions): Ayes 42, Noes 10 — passed. - AB 891 — Zborr — Caltrans quick-build program to address vulnerable road-user safety on state highways: Ayes 51, Noes 16 — passed. - AB 1210/AB 1210 series (Lackey) — Post-release community supervision notice and other public-safety measures (including sideshow enforcement and fentanyl-related felony classification): multiple measures passed (various tallies as noted on the floor). - AB 1340 — Wicks — Choice for rideshare (TNC) drivers to organize and collectively negotiate: Ayes 44, Noes 14 — passed.

Several additional bills addressing public health, school finance, wildfire mitigation, hazardous-waste management, vaping disposal, court-recording options, and small county operational flexibilities were also approved; the roll-call tallies above reflect the counts announced during the floor session.

What was procedural: Early in the session the Assembly considered a motion to suspend the rules and immediately take up an item; that procedural motion failed (Ayes 16, Noes 39). Later the Assembly moved through its daily file and took up and passed many of the measures listed above. Where authors noted pending amendments or further negotiation, they said they would continue to work with stakeholders in the Senate or in subsequent committee steps.

Key follow-ups and agency duties: Several passed bills create duties for state agencies (for example, the California Department of Veterans Affairs, the California Energy Commission, the State Fire Marshal, and Cal OES) to produce studies, regulations, reports or technical guidance; those implementation timelines and funding details will be set as those agencies begin rulemaking or program design.

Next steps: Measures that passed will now proceed through the required legislative channels (transmittal to the Senate or to the Governor depending on the bill stage). The Assembly announced it will reconvene for floor session on Thursday, June 5 at 2 p.m.

Ending note: The floor session moved through dozens of bills in a single sitting; the roll-call results above are taken from the clerk’s tallies announced on the floor and recorded in the official floor transcript.