Appropriations Committee advances hundreds of bills; moves to protect medication abortion, clarify towing rules and propose housing funding amendment

May 14, 2025 — The California State Assembly Appropriations Committee met in a regularly scheduled hearing that covered 327 bills and approved a wide slate of measures for further action, front‑loading proposals on reproductive health, housing finance and homeless assistance, groundwater law, vehicle towing rules and protections for students at schools.

AB 260, a bill to shield medication abortion (mifepristone) access and to provide legal protections for providers, drew one of the more detailed presentations and cosponsor testimonies. Assembly Majority Leader Aya Curry, the bill’s author, said the measure is “an important proposal to protect and safeguard safe and legal, reproductive health care here in California” in response to federal and out‑of‑state restrictions after Dobbs. Angela Pontes of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California testified in support, saying AB 260 “safeguards access to medication abortion in California by protecting against federal interference with the current practice of medicine in this state.” The committee advanced AB 260 out of Appropriations on a roll call.

The committee also advanced AB 1022, which would remove statewide authority to immobilize or tow vehicles solely to collect unpaid parking fines. The bill’s sponsors and supporters argued campus and local towing programs are costly and ineffective at collecting underlying debts; Rebecca Miller of the Western Center on Law and Poverty described the practice as imposing “devastating financial and emotional toll[s]” on low‑income Californians. Sponsors noted that existing towing authorities for safety or permit enforcement would remain in place and that several UC campuses say they already do not tow solely for unpaid tickets. The committee moved AB 1022 forward on a roll call.

On housing and homelessness, the committee heard a presentation-only item, ACA 4 (the “Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act”), that would add a constitutional dedication of 5% of…