Assembly Judiciary Committee advances bills on medication abortion access, child-safety reporting, privacy and housing protections

The California Assembly Judiciary Committee on May 20 advanced a slate of bills addressing reproductive care access, online child-safety, privacy and consumer protections, and emergency tenant protections for people who rely on Social Security. Lawmakers heard substantive testimony from bill authors, advocates and industry witnesses and moved most measures forward to the appropriations or subsequent policy committees.

AB 54, authored by Assemblymember Krell, would reinforce legal protections for the supply chain and providers of medication abortion, including mifepristone and misoprostol, shielding manufacturers, distributors, clinicians and pharmacists from civil or criminal liability under certain conditions. Krell said, "California is a leader in reproductive freedom and a safe haven for individuals seeking care," and argued that ensuring medication-abortion supply-chain integrity helps preserve access. Tiffany Brokaw, deputy attorney general, told the committee AB 54 "would ensure continued access to medication abortion and shield providers and manufacturers from liability for transporting and administering such medication." Planned Parenthood and other reproductive-rights groups testified in support. Opponents, including Cynthia Laurie of California Family Council, urged rejection and cited safety concerns and a contested outside study; Laurie said, "There is nothing safe about what this bill promotes." The committee moved AB 54 forward for further consideration.

AB 1137, from Assemblymember Wicks, seeks to expand and strengthen reporting and enforcement tools for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on social platforms. Nicole, a parent who said her child’s abuse images were widely shared, described the harm to survivors and supported giving anyone (not just a depicted victim) the ability to report CSAM and requiring human review when automated hash‑matching does not find a known file. Ed Howard of the Children’s Advocacy Institute and other advocates urged the committee to adopt the bill to improve reporting pathways and prosecutions; industry witnesses including TechNet and platform representatives urged caution on audit and disclosure requirements, saying publicizing technical moderation details could help bad actors and that audit rules should be workable. The committee voted to move AB 1137 to appropriations.

AB 49 would restrict federal immigration-enforcement actions at or near school…