Senate clears wide package of bills, appointments and awareness resolutions in packed floor session

The California Senate on May 23, 2025 approved a broad slate of legislation, two awareness resolutions and multiple gubernatorial appointments during a lengthy floor session that produced a mix of unanimous and recorded roll-call outcomes.

Notable approvals included resolutions recognizing GM1 gangliosidosis awareness day (SCR 33) and ALS Awareness Month (SR 42); confirmation votes for several governor appointments; and more than two dozen bills spanning housing, transportation, public health, local government and business. Many of the measures were placed on unanimous roll-call and passed with no recorded opposition; a handful attracted recorded opposition as noted below.

Votes at a glance (selection of file items considered and final outcomes recorded on the floor):

- SCR 33 (Padilla) — Designated May 23, 2025 as GM1 gangliosidosis awareness day. Outcome: adopted (roll call recorded on floor as ayes; counted in roll). Vote: not specified on the transcript summary.

- SR 42 (Choi) — Recognized May as ALS awareness month. Outcome: adopted (unanimous voice/roll call; ayes recorded). Vote: not specified on transcript summary.

- Appointment: Catherine Rivera to Cannabis Control Appeals Panel (file item 1_20). Senators questioned the panel’s workload and salary; record of the roll call shows members recorded ayes and noes in the roll but specific final tally was not summarized on the floor as a single consolidated number in the transcript excerpts. Outcome: confirmed (floor roll call recorded).

- Appointment: Victoria Hassid, reappointment to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (file item 1_21). Outcome: confirmed (roll call recorded; roll lists ayes and noes in transcript entries).

- SB 8 (Ashby) — Extended workers’ compensation and disability protections to Sacramento County park rangers. Outcome: passed by unanimous consent/roll call (ayes 38, no 0 as recorded on the floor).

- SB 480 (Archuleta) — Allowed automated driving system marker lamps on autonomous vehicles starting Jan. 1, 2026. Outcome: passed (unanimous consent/roll call; ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 491 (Laird) — Required CEC chair to report to the Legislature annually for accountability. Outcome: passed (unanimous consent/roll call; ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 765 (Niello) — Designated the giant garter snake as the official state snake. Outcome: passed (unanimous consent/roll call; ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 27 (Umberg) — Allowed courts to combine certain hearings for care courts; included an urgency clause for immediate effect. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 on measure and on urgency as recorded).

- SB 340 (Laird) — Clarified that by-right approval for emergency shelter services extends to wraparound services. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 395 (Weiner) — Authorized low-cost alcoholic beverage licenses for a struggling area of downtown San Francisco. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 394 (Allen) — Addressed water theft and increased local penalties. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 760 (Allen) — Adjusted political reform act reporting to allow greater flexibility for elected officials making public appeals for nonprofit donations in disasters. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 820 (Stern) — Restored some medication options for jailed people with severe mental illness (narrow scope related to misdemeanor detention). Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 83 (Umberg) — Required the Department of Health Care Services to post summaries of treatment-center violations online. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 741 (Blakespear) — Extended coastal emergency permit exemptions to a coastal rail corridor for disaster response. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 276 (Wiener) — Gave San Francisco tools to address resale of stolen goods on streets; included urgency. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded on measure and urgency).

- SB 611 (Richardson) — Restored legal clarity to speed approved housing projects and limit delays; declared an urgency. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 757 (Richardson) — Authorized local governments to abate trash on vacant lots and recover abatement costs; included hardship waiver provisions. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 227 (Grayson) — Expanded the green empowerment zone to include additional cities and extended authorization to 2040. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded on urgency and measure).

- SB 390 (Becker) — Closed a Mello-Roos loophole affecting certain shoreline properties in San Mateo County. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 753 (Cortese) — Modernized local government authority to recover and return abandoned shopping carts to retailers. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 346 (Durazo) — Required short-term rental platforms to provide data to local governments for enforcement of local ordinances. Outcome: passed (ayes 38, no 0 recorded).

- SB 21 (Durazo) — Allowed limited unit reductions when converting deed-restricted single-room-occupancy housing to larger units with services. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call; transcript shows ayes recorded).

- SB 371 (Cabaldon) — Adjusted insurance obligations for transportation network companies to address fare costs. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call; transcript shows ayes recorded).

- SB 510 (Richardson) — Curricular clarification to promote accurate African American history instruction. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call; transcript shows ayes recorded).

- SB 543 (McNerney) — Clarified ADU (accessory dwelling unit) laws to reduce local conflicts and speed construction. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 845 (Perez) — Expanded high school youth apprenticeship policy per the career education master plan. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 486 (Cabaldon) — Adjusted CEQA requirements for UC and CSU campuses and required regional planning coordination. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 754 (Durazo) — Required manufacturers to test disposable menstrual pads and tampons for certain metal contaminants and disclose results. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 62 (Manjavar) — Codified potential DMHC changes to essential health benefits pending federal approval (IVF, hearing aids, durable medical equipment). Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 324 (Menjivar) — Changes to CalAIM implementation to encourage local partnerships and reduce paperwork burdens. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 508 (Valladares) — Amended the David Hall Act telehealth access for certain out-of-state providers; outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

- SB 489 (Arreguin) — Require public agencies that play roles in housing approvals to post application requirements online to improve coordination. Outcome: passed (ayes recorded on roll call).

Several items were adopted by unanimous consent or unanimous roll call (commonly recorded as "ayes 38, no 0" or "ayes 39, no 0" in the clerk's roll-call entries). A small number of high-profile items drew recorded opposition (for example, the Nancy Skinner confirmation recorded as 29-10 and certain resolutions where recorded ayes were 28). The clerk's roll-call entries recorded the votes; specific per-member vote records are part of the official Senate journal and roll-call record.

What this means

Most measures advanced the administration's and Legislature's priorities for housing streamlining, disaster response, local government transparency, consumer protection and workforce development. Several bills included urgency provisions to take effect immediately. A handful of confirmations and bills prompted sustained debate about costs, oversight and regulatory authority; the most contested floor item was the confirmation of Nancy Skinner to the California Energy Commission, which passed 29-10.

Next steps

Passed bills will move to the Assembly (if sent from the Senate) or to the governor for signature as required by law. Appointments confirmed by the Senate will be communicated to the appropriate agencies for implementation.