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Appropriations Committee advances multiple bills; suspense calendar dispensed
Summary
On April 22 the Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced multiple bills (including AB 2393, AB 1697, AB 2534, AB 1916, AB 1803, AB 1821, AB 1919), dispensed the suspense calendar and opened the room for public comment; many items were recorded as 'out on roll call.'
The California State Assembly Appropriations Committee on April 22 moved a package of measures and dispensed with the suspense calendar, advancing dozens of bills for further consideration.
Key outcomes listed by the committee and advanced on roll call included:
- AB 2393 (Addis): Establishes fixed statutory damages as an alternative measure for certain false imprisonment and false arrest claims and exempts peace officers, custodial officers, and public entities. Presenter: Addis. Motion advanced and item was on call.
- AB 1697 ("Mister Cholera"): Delays the implementation of AB 692 by one year to 01/01/2027, affecting application of prohibited "debt employment" contract provisions; presenters described minor court-related cost savings. Motion advanced.
- AB 2534 ("Mister Cholera"): Extends Domestic Violence Prevention Act restraining-order protections to attempted forced marriages; proponents said judicial-adoption costs are minor. Motion advanced.
- AB 1916 (Lee): Allows American Sign Language interpreters to participate in collective bargaining processes similar to certified court interpreters; sponsored by the California Federation of Interpreters. Motion advanced.
- AB 1803 (Lowenthal): Requires anti-hate-speech content to be included within existing workplace harassment-prevention training for businesses with five or more employees; the bill does not add training hours. Motion advanced.
- AB 1821 (Pacheco): Converts California Public Records Act timelines from calendar days to business days for complex requests to better align processing burden with working days; municipalities and county associations (including Cal Cities, League of California Cities, and the California State Association of Counties) testified in support and registered no significant state fiscal cost in the committee analysis. Motion advanced.
- AB 1919 (Pellerin): Provides election procedures for a citizen initiative to authorize continued funding for Santa Cruz Metro's Reimagine Metro program; proponents warned a prior $28.3 million one-time infusion will run out in 2026 and that failure to secure funding could reduce service and cause layoffs. Motion advanced.
The chair also read and deemed approved on the suspense calendar a long list of additional bills (a multi-dozen enumeration recorded by committee staff) and opened the room for public comment on those suspense-file bills before adjourning.
What this means: Bills advanced out of Appropriations will appear for later committee or floor consideration where formal roll-call vote tallies and amendments will be recorded. The committee recorded several items as "out on a roll call" and noted specific members not voting on certain items in the transcript.
