Assembly passes package of bills on police oversight, housing, energy and consumer protections

SACRAMENTO — The California State Assembly on May 20, 2025, passed a broad slate of bills on topics ranging from law‑enforcement oversight to housing, energy and consumer protections, moving dozens of measures out of the House of Origin with largely bipartisan votes.

The session’s most contested debate centered on Assembly Bill 847, which clarifies that local law‑enforcement oversight commissions may review police personnel files as part of their investigatory powers. Assemblymember Sharice Sharp Collins, the bill’s author, said the measure ‘‘clarifies existing law that law enforcement oversight commissions, which are already given subpoena power, can in fact review police personnel records to determine if law enforcement behaved appropriately and where discipline is required.’’ She told colleagues the bill also ‘‘adds an additional layer of protection by approving the commissions for closed sessions to further protect the confidentiality of any records.’’ The Assembly approved AB 847, 41‑13.

Why it matters: supporters framed AB 847 as a transparency measure to help civilian oversight bodies do investigations; labor groups representing officers raised privacy and due‑process concerns during debate.

Other notable measures the Assembly passed include:

- AB 1 (Connolly) — Insurance wildfire programs: requires the Department of Insurance to review the Safer from Wildfires regulations every five years beginning Jan. 1, 2030. Debate focused on the start date; Assemblymember DeMaio warned the 2030 start ‘‘delays relief’’ for homeowners facing rising premiums. Vote: 61‑0.

- AB 6 (Ward) — Missing‑middle housing code: directs the Department of Housing to allow small, three‑to‑ten‑unit ‘‘missing middle’’ projects to use residential building standards rather than the more burdensome commercial code, a change the author said could lower construction costs by as much as 30%. Vote: 61‑0.

- AB 325 / AB 3 25 (Madam Majority Leader Agriya Curry) — Antitrust and algorithmic price fixing: modernizes state antitrust law to address use of automated tools that enable collusion; the author said the bill includes safe harbors and other protections for legitimate business activity. Vote: 42‑15.

- AB 893 (Fong) — Campus‑adjacent housing: expands a streamlined ministerial approval pathway for mixed‑income developments on properties owned by campuses and universities and makes some affordable units eligible for students, faculty and staff. Vote: 56‑4.

- AB 593 (Wicks) — CalFresh data sharing: clarifies limited exemptions to data‑sharing restrictions to improve administration of the CalFresh program. Vote: 59‑0.

- AB 61 (Pacheco) — Energy program impact analysis: requires the Office of the Public Advocate to analyze the efficacy and cost impacts of legislative mandates affecting electric and gas utilities before policy committee votes. Vote: 58‑0.

- AB 258 / AB 2 58 (Connolly) — Fair funding: increases fairground funding from 0.75% to 2% of taxable gross receipts to be considered in the governor’s budget. Vote: 57‑1.

- AB 3 82 (Berman) — School‑zone speed limits: allows lowering school‑zone speed limits to 20 mph, with local flexibility and additional time to implement. Vote: 62‑0.

- AB 4 31 (Wilson) — Advanced air mobility: establishes a statewide framework and planning process for advanced air mobility infrastructure, including electric vertical takeoff‑and‑landing aircraft. Vote: 63‑0.

A pattern of votes and debate

Most measures drew short floor presentations by authors and limited floor debate. Several authors and supporters used their floor time to note bipartisan committee support; some members pressed for faster implementation dates on bills that establish review or reporting cycles (notably AB 1 and AB 6). A subset of bills that touched on law enforcement and labor policy drew longer debate and testimony from multiple members on both sides of the aisle.

Quotes from the floor illustrate the tenor of debate: on AB 847, Assemblymember DeMaio said civilian oversight ‘‘needs access to records to do their investigations’’ but urged care around training for commission staff; on AB 1, DeMaio again pressed that delaying implementation to 2030 was ‘‘a long way off’’ for homeowners facing immediate insurance pressures.

Formal outcomes and next steps

All bills passed the Assembly and were ‘‘passed and retained’’ on the Assembly floor where noted; measures now move to the Senate for consideration or to budget/appropriations steps as required. Several bills included explicit effective‑date or reporting deadlines in the author’s floor remarks (for example, AB 1’s five‑year review cycle beginning 01/01/2030 and AB 6’s effective date in 2029 as negotiated on the floor). Authors and sponsors told the Assembly they intend to work with interested members to refine timelines during the legislative process.

Votes at a glance (selected bills recorded on May 20, 2025)

- AB 847 (Sharp Collins) — police oversight; passage clarifying oversight commissions’ access to personnel files. Vote: Ayes 41, Noes 13 (measure passes). - AB 1 (Connolly) — Department of Insurance five‑year review of Safer from Wildfires regs (start 01/01/2030). Vote: Ayes 61, Noes 0 (measure passes). - AB 6 (Ward) — allow missing‑middle (3–10 units) to be built under residential code (author estimates up to 30% lower construction cost). Vote: Ayes 61, Noes 0 (measure passes). - AB 3 25 / AB 325 (Majority Leader Curry) — update antitrust law for algorithmic price‑fixing; includes safe harbors for good‑faith actors. Vote: Ayes 42, Noes 15 (measure passes). - AB 893 (Fong) — streamlined ministerial approvals for campus‑adjacent mixed‑income development; includes student/faculty eligibility for affordable units. Vote: Ayes 56, Noes 4 (measure passes). - AB 593 (Wicks) — CalFresh data‑sharing clarifications; bipartisan support in committee. Vote: Ayes 59, Noes 0 (measure passes). - AB 61 (Pacheco) — require cost/efficacy analysis of mandates affecting utilities by Public Advocate. Vote: Ayes 58, Noes 0 (measure passes). - AB 258 / AB 2 58 (Connolly) — expand fairground funding provision (governor’s budget). Vote: Ayes 57, Noes 1 (measure passes). - AB 3 82 (Berman) — lower school‑zone speed to 20 mph, with local flexibility. Vote: Ayes 62, Noes 0 (measure passes). - AB 4 31 (Wilson) — Advanced Air Mobility Infrastructure Act (statewide planning framework). Vote: Ayes 63, Noes 0 (measure passes).

What the floor record shows and what it does not

This account reflects floor presentations and recorded roll calls during the Assembly’s May 20, 2025, session. Floor remarks by authors and colleagues are quoted where attributed on the record; the Assembly’s roll calls provide the vote tallies cited above. The transcript records committee referrals, coauthor calls and some implementation dates announced by authors; it does not record every committee analysis, fiscal estimate or any action later taken in the Senate.

Next steps and items to watch

- Senate consideration: most bills that passed here will go to the Senate and, for fiscal measures, to the Senate Appropriations Committee before final floor action. - Implementation timing: several bills set review or implementation dates years out (e.g., AB 1’s 2030 review). Members pressed authors to consider accelerating timelines where constituents report urgent need. - Oversight and guidance: floor debate on AB 847 and AB 3 25 shows attention to implementation details (training for civilian commissions; safe harbors for small businesses). Those details will likely be refined in committee or conference negotiations.

The Assembly’s daily file contained dozens more bills; this roundup highlights floor‑presented measures that drew notable debate or question and lists vote results and the authors’ primary floor descriptions.

Ending

The Assembly concluded a lengthy floor session that passed a wide range of measures. Authors emphasized bipartisan cooperation on many items; where votes were closer, the floor debates reflected substantive differences over timelines, scope and administrative implementation.