Assembly appropriations suspense hearing advances 435 bills amid tight budget, chair says many measures will not move forward this year

The Assembly Appropriations Committee held a suspense-file hearing May 23, 2025, and moved 435 bills to the Assembly floor as either "do pass" or "do pass as amended," the committee chair said, while noting the state’s difficult budget situation means many otherwise meritorious measures will not advance this year.

Committee chair (unnamed) opened the session by thanking committee staff and Republican staff and said the May Revision and federal uncertainty contributed to a constrained budget outlook. "We are in very difficult, budget environment this year. So consequently consequently, many good bills are gonna fall by the wayside today," the chair said.

The chair described the committee's process for the large suspense file and said the hearing agenda was organized alphabetically by author, with bills from the Assembly Policy Committee listed at the end. The chair also announced that the committee would post the suspense-file results on the Assembly Appropriations Committee website following the hearing (apro.assembly.ca.gov).

Miss Dixon, serving as vice chair for the hearing, acknowledged the volume of work and agreed to proceed: "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. Let's go." A quorum was established and the committee proceeded through the agenda.

Procedural action and outcome

At the start of the hearing the chair asked for a motion on the first item, AB 405 (by Assemblymember Addis). "We have a motion and a second," the chair said, and then used a procedural substitution to apply that motion and second broadly across the suspense-file items. The chair stated, "Without objection, we will substitute the motion second for all due pass or due pass with amendments on the rest of the suspense file." That procedural substitution was used as the committee worked through the list of bills.

The hearing transcript records dispositions for hundreds of bills: many were recorded as "do pass," "do pass as amended," or designated a two‑year carry; others were held in committee. The chair summarized the day’s final tally: "The committee moved 435 bills to the assembly floor, either as due passed or due passed with amendments." The transcript does not record a roll-call vote tally for that single omnibus substitution motion; individual bill actions in the transcript are recorded as dispositions (do pass, do pass as amended, holding committee, two‑year bill) rather than individual roll-call vote totals in most entries.

Examples from the hearing record

- The first bill called, AB 405 (Addis), was confirmed as a two‑year bill during the hearing. - AB 510 (Addis), described in the transcript as "Hold in Committee," was recorded as held.

The transcript lists dozens of additional bills and their recorded dispositions by author and bill number; many entries in the hearing text are brief notations of disposition rather than extended debate or votes on the floor.

Why it matters

The Assembly appropriations suspense-file process is designed to balance policy proposals against the state's fiscal capacity. Committee members and the chair framed many of the day’s dispositions as the product of hard choices made in light of the May Revision and overall fiscal constraints. The decisions determine which bills receive funding-related referrals or proceed to the Assembly floor for further consideration this legislative year.

What the record shows and what it does not

The transcript records the committee’s procedural approach, the chair’s opening remarks about budget constraints, Miss Dixon’s temporary role as vice chair for the hearing, and the committee’s statement that 435 bills were moved to the floor as "do pass" or "do pass as amended." For most individual items the transcript supplies only the bill number, author, and disposition (for example, "do pass as amended," "holding committee," or "two‑year bill"). The transcript does not provide complete roll-call tallies for the omnibus substitution or for each individual bill within the hearing text.

Next steps

The chair said amendments and language for the bills moved will be published on the California Legislative Information website and that the committee will post the full suspense-file results later the same day on apro.assembly.ca.gov. Bills moved off the suspense file will next be eligible for floor consideration per Assembly procedures.