Senate committee hears redistricting package to put new congressional maps before voters if other states redraw mid‑decade; AB 604 moves to Appropriations

Senators in the California State Senate Elections Committee on Constitutional Amendments heard several hours of testimony on a legislative package — ACA 8 (a proposed constitutional amendment), SB 280 (funding and election administration changes) and AB 604 (proposed congressional maps) — that would let California hold a one‑time special election on Nov. 4 to approve new congressional maps only if other states enact mid‑decade congressional redistricting.

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, chair of the committee, opened the hearing by framing the measures as defensive and conditional: "We are in a defining moment, a time of choosing," she said, and described the package as a way for California "to stand as a firewall against the abuse of power." Senator Cabaldon, presenting ACA 8, told the committee the plan would give voters a transparent, ballot‑box decision if other states move to redraw seats mid‑decade.

Why it matters: Supporters said the bills are a narrow, time‑limited response to what they described as an unprecedented partisan effort in other states to redraw congressional maps in time to affect the 2026 midterms. Opponents — including former and current commissioners who served on the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) — said the package would sideline the independent CRC process that Californians approved by ballot and that the legislature—s proposed maps were produced with far less public engagement than the commission—s process.

What supporters said

- Senator Cabaldon said ACA 8 would "allow voters to enact maps" only if another state adopts congressional maps that take effect between Aug. 1, 2025 and Jan. 1, 2031, unless required by a court order. He and other proponents described the measure as a…