Assembly advances $10 billion housing bond and dozens of bills in fast-paced May 20 session

The California State Assembly on May 20 considered and voted on a broad package of bills ranging from a proposed $10 billion housing bond to measures on school food, wildfire response and public-safety tools, automated speed enforcement in work zones, and expansions of health and social services.

The most high-profile item was AB 7 36, the Affordable Housing Bond of 2026, introduced by Assemblymember Laura Wicks (Oakland). Wicks said the bond would place $10 billion on a future ballot to finance deeply affordable rentals, permanent supportive housing, home-ownership assistance and rehabilitation projects; she described tens of thousands of shovel-ready units that could be built with additional funding. The Assembly voted to place the measure before voters (vote recorded in the chamber as: Ayes 61, Noes 11 on the measure’s urgency and on the measure; final tally on the floor noted as I 61 No 11 for urgency and measure).

The floor also acted on several other notable policy items: - AB 12 64 (school meals and ultra-processed foods): Assemblymember Phil Gabriel introduced a bill to direct state scientists to define and phase out a subset of “particularly harmful” ultra-processed foods from school meals. Gabriel framed the measure as science‑based and aimed at improving child health; the Assembly passed the bill (Ayes 53, Noes 1 as recorded on the floor).

- AB 2 89 (automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones): Authored by Assemblymember…