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Senate Appropriations Committee advances hundreds of bills on suspense file in largely roll-call session
Summary
The California Senate Committee on Appropriations met in Room 2200 of the Old Street Building for a suspense‑file, vote‑only hearing and advanced scores of Senate bills across dozens of policy areas by roll call. Most measures were approved with unanimous or near‑unanimous votes; a handful were held or opposed by a single member.
The Senate Committee on Appropriations held a vote‑only suspense‑file hearing in Room 2200 of the Old Street Building and on the committee livestream, advancing large numbers of bills across topics including environmental regulation, health care, education, housing, labor and public safety.
The committee chair opened the hearing noting the state faces “a significant budget deficit” and that the committee had to make difficult cost‑reducing choices; several measures were identified as two‑year bills to allow further work with stakeholders. The hearing proceeded alphabetically by author; members voted on measures already heard in prior committee sessions (no new testimony was taken).
Why it matters: the Appropriations Committee takes final committee votes on bills that have fiscal implications before they move to the Senate floor or are held for further work. Votes on the suspense file determine which measures remain eligible for action before the House‑of‑origin deadline or are carried into the next year.
Key procedural points and outcomes
- The hearing was explicitly a “suspense file” session — votes only, no new public testimony. The chair said measures that were not taken up were held under submission and remain eligible for action in January before the House‑of‑origin deadline.
- The committee repeatedly substituted a single roll call for many grouped items; for most bills the transcript records the committee announcing a recommendation (for example, “do pass,” “do pass as amended,” or “two‑year bill”) followed by a roll‑call tally (most commonly unanimous 6–0 or 5–1 where one senator — recorded in the transcript as Sayarto/Sciarto/Sayreto — voted no).
- Examples of votes recorded in the hearing: - SB 632 (example listing in transcript as SB 6 32) and other environmental and waste‑related bills were approved, often 5–1 or 6–0 depending on the item. (Individual roll‑call tallies are listed below in “Votes at a glance.”) - Several bills were announced as two‑year bills (held for further work), for example SB 501 (Household Hazardous Waste Producer Responsibility Act) was noted as a two‑year bill.
Votes at a glance (selected listing from the hearing)
The committee called roll on scores of bills. The transcript records the committee giving a recommended action (examples: “do pass,” “do pass as amended per author,” or “two‑year bill”) and then recording the roll call tally. Below are the bills, the committee action recorded for each in the hearing, and the roll call outcome as announced on the record (tallies shown exactly as spoken in the transcript where available):
- SB 495 (Insurance) — Do pass; vote recorded 5 to 1. - SB 501 (Household Hazardous Waste Producer Responsibility Act) — Announced as a two‑year bill (no vote taken at this hearing). - SB 601 (wastewater/discharge) — Do pass as amended per author; vote recorded 5 to 1. - SB 615 (vehicle traction/batteries) — Do pass as amended per author; substituted roll call indicated approval 5 to 1 with Senator Sayarto voting no (as announced). - SB 630 (motion picture tax) — Do pass as amended per author; vote recorded 5 to 1. - SB 663 (winter fires 2025 property tax exemption/reassessment) — Do pass; vote recorded 6 to 0. - SB 682 (PFAS) — Do pass as amended per author; vote recorded 5 to 1. - SB 749 (mobile home parks change of use) — Do pass; substitute roll call noted approval 5 to 1 with Senator Sayarto voting no. - SB 766 (auto retail scams/CARS Act) — Do pass as amended per author; vote recorded 5 to 1. - SB 812 (qualified youth drop‑in centers) — Do pass; vote recorded unanimous 6 to 0.
(Transcript records many additional bills and their recommended actions. See the committee’s posted hearing results and the addendum analyses for the full list and amended‑bill fiscal impacts.)
What the hearing did not do
- No new public testimony was taken; the meeting was limited to measures on the suspense file that had previously been heard.
- The committee did not adopt substantive policy changes on the floor beyond the amendments already described in prior analyses; when amendments were adopted they were summarized as “as amended per the author” and the committee directed staff to post an addendum analysis with the revised fiscal impacts.
What happens next
The committee chair said the hearing results and any addendum analyses for amended bills would be posted on the Senate Appropriations Committee website shortly after the hearing. Bills designated as two‑year measures will remain with the committee for further work and may be eligible for action in January prior to the House‑of‑origin deadline. Members repeatedly noted the fiscal environment and the need for additional stakeholder engagement on measures carried over.
Ending
The committee adjourned after completing the roll calls and posting instructions; the chair thanked members, staff and the public for participating in person and remotely. For the complete set of roll calls, the addendum analyses and the official tallies, the committee directed the public to the Senate Appropriations Committee website.
