Bill Talk: Which city bills survived the annual fiscal culling?

Aug 19, 2026

By Cal Cities Staff

Last week, the appropriations committees in both houses met for their twice-yearly bill buzzsaw. The opaque suspense file process is a chance for lawmakers to consider the fiscal weight of financially significant bills — and arguably the political ramifications of bringing politically contentious issues to the floor for a full vote.

For cities at least, August’s results left little in the way of actual suspense. Several of Cal Cities’ priority bills were either held in May or have already advanced to a final floor vote. But the day did see some high-profile data center, pension, and e-bike bills continue their journey to the floor.

Bills that make it to the floor typically advance to the Governor’s desk. But that doesn’t mean that everything is settled. A few bills do die on the floor, and there’s a good chance that we could see some new proposals introduced in the final weeks of session — including a bailout for private utilities that would leave cities and wildfire survivors footing the bill.

One bit of housekeeping: This is the last Bill Talk for 2026. For the latest legislative news, subscribe to Cal Cities Advocate or contact your regional public affairs manager.

-Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor

Environmental Quality

The appropriations committees quietly held several environmental quality bills for the week, including SB 1326 (Wahab). The bill would have expanded CEQA tribal consultation, increasing cities’ litigation risk and delaying development projects. Cal Cities opposed the measure unless amended.

However, two other tribal bills made it through. AB 2218 (Kalra) creates a statewide water tribal policy; AB 1881 (Ramos) allows tribes or tribal members to sue the state and any state actions on public lands that impact their religious freedom. It also sets the standard that a tribe can veto those actions. Cal Cities opposes the measures; state policy implementation impacts cities that coordinate, receive funding, and are permitted by the state.

Several Cal Cities supported bills did make it through the suspense buzzsaw, including two bills that would help cities with landfill fires from vapes — AB 762 (Irwin) and AB 2667 (Hadwick). AB 2739 (Soria) also sailed through. Cal Cities supports the bill, as it seeks to improve safe drinking water and system financing.   

Most of Cal Cities’ priority data center bills also made it through suspense day. Cal Cities supports AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan), a bill that provides more energy usage information to cities when siting data centers. AB 2469 (Papan), which would stop cities from approving data centers unless the applicant includes specific water supply information, also passed off suspense. This information is helpful, but conditioning permits like this will create new challenges for cities. Cal Cities is opposed unless amended on AB 2469.

Now that the suspense is over, Cal Cities’ top environmental issue for the end of session is a forthcoming wildfire package from the Governor that will likely limit cities’ ability to recover from utility-caused wildfires. Cal Cities is asking its members to weigh in with strong opposition.

Other priority bills include:

  • AB 1642 (Harabedian) Wildfires: contamination standards
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed)
  • AB 1761 (Rogers) Electricity: calculation methodology: data disclosure
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed)
  • AB 1812 (Aguiar-Curry) Solid waste: compostable products
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Held)
  • AB 2385 (Petrie-Norris) Local reconstruction agencies
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Held)

- Melissa Sparks-Kranz, legislative advocate

Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations

AB 1383 (McKinnor) passed off the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. The bill — opposed by Cal Cities due to its long-term costs — expands pension benefits and rolls back crucial provisions of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act.

In contrast, AB 1961 (Ahrens), which also passed, could create a meaningful benefit for cities. The bill strengthens tools to prevent and respond to workplace violence without imposing new mandates or costly programs. As cities struggle to manage increasing hostility and threats directed at public employees, AB 1961 would provide practical support to help them keep their workers safe.

In more good news for cities, Senate Appropriations held AB 1564 (Ahrens). Cal Cities opposed the bill because it would have restricted employers’ ability to conduct internal investigations, making it harder for cities to address misconduct, protect employees, and maintain safe workplaces.

Other priority bills include:

  • AB 1883 (Bryan) Workplace surveillance tools

    Cal Cities Position: Oppose unless amended (Status: Passed with amendments)

  • AB 2656 (Petrie-Norris) Public employees: notice: artificial intelligence performing service within scope of work

    Cal Cities Position: Oppose (Status: Passed)

  • SB 947 (McNerney) Employment: automated decision systems.

    Cal Cities Position: Oppose (Status: Passed)

  • SB 951 (Reyes) Employment: technological displacement: notice. 
    Cal Cities Position: Oppose unless Amended (Status: Passed with Amendments)

- Johnnie Piña, legislative advocate

Housing, Community, and Economic Development

The Cal Cities housing portfolio had mixed results in the final suspense hearing of the year. Most of Cal Cities’ priority measures — supported and opposed — passed off suspense.

The committee held AB 906 (Gonzalez, M.), a bill that would have required cities to dramatically expand the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) section of their housing elements and potentially plan for more housing beyond their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) number. Cal Cities supports the goals of AFFH, but increasing the complexity of an already complex process will not provide the clarity and certainty that cities need in the housing element review process.

Unfortunately, the Assembly Appropriations Committee held AB 2002 (Solache), a bill that would have created a fund to help local governments with various housing element planning activities. Cal Cities supported the measure, as it would have provided much-needed resources to cities. The 7th RHNA Cycle begins in the next couple of years for vast swaths of the state.

AB 1621 (Wilson) also passed out of committee. Opposed by Cal Cities, the measure generally prohibits local governments from requiring more than two rounds of review for a housing project’s building permit application. This could increase litigation and appeals by applicants challenging permit denials, especially if the denial is based on non-health and safety issues — including environmental regulations that cities must enforce under state and local law.

Other priority bills include:

  • AB 2166 (Carrillo) Multifamily housing development: offsite housing factories: backstop financing
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed)
  • SB 750 (Cortese) California Housing Finance and Credit Act
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed with Amendments)

- Brady Guertin, legislative advocate

Community Services

Cal Cities’ Community Services portfolio fared well overall this week in appropriations committees. The Cal Cities-sponsored SB 490 (Umberg) and SB 329 (Blakespear) are both moving forward after passing off the suspense file. The measures respond to a state audit that found the state failed to thoroughly investigate complaints against residential alcohol and drug treatment facilities.

Cal Cities supported two homelessness prevention measures, and one of those, AB 1924 (Gabriel), advanced. The measure requires the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to develop a statewide homelessness prevention strategy with guidance for local agencies. Unfortunately, AB 1899 (Caloza), which would have created an Office of Youth Homelessness Prevention, was held.

Lawmakers also held SB 866 (Blakespear), a homelessness reporting bill that Cal Cities opposed for most of the year. Although the bill was amended at the end of June to address significant city concerns, it still would have imposed new reporting requirements on cities without providing additional funding to address significant city concerns.

Other priority bills include:

  • SB 1314 (Menjivar) Smoke shops: locations and sale of nitrous oxide

    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Held)

  • AB 2007 (Bauer-Kahan) Youth programs: identifying information of youth

    Cal Cities Position: Concerns (Status: Passed)

  • AB 2344 (Haney) Animal abuse: forfeiture

    Cal Cities Position: Oppose (Status: Passed)

  • AB 1914 (Schiavo) General plan elements: child care
    Cal Cities Position: Oppose (Status: Held)

- Caroline Grinder, legislative advocate

Revenue and Taxation

It was a relatively uneventful day in the appropriations committees for Cal Cities’ Revenue and Taxation portfolio. However, a notable bill, AB 2640 (Hadwick), unanimously passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Supported by Cal Cities, AB 2640 prevents the state from clawing back reimbursement funds from a city while still owing that same city money for other state-mandated costs. This is a common-sense fix that protects local budgets and gives cities more flexibility over how state reimbursement disputes are resolved. (A previous iteration of the bill did not fare as well in 2025.)

Two other Cal Cities-supported bills have already made their way to the Assembly Floor: SB 1005 (Caballero), a bill that provides guidance for local agencies impacted by the end of penny production, and SB 1172 (Hurtado), which places guardrails around consultant compensation in tax-sharing agreements. The Cal Cities-sponsored SB 922 (Laird) is already on the Governor’s Desk. The bill helps maintain funding for local roads and services.

Other priority bills include:

- Ben Triffo, legislative advocate

Public Safety

Most of Cal Cities’ major public safety and fire measures survived the suspense file, including two Cal Cities-sponsored bills: AB 1941 (González, M.) and SB 758 (Umberg). AB 1941  strengthens penalties for organized metal theft. SB 758 bans the sale of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) at tobacco retailers — excluding grocery stores — to combat the illegal use of this popular and dangerous product. 

SB 1013 (Cervantes), which would restrict the use of automatic license plate readers, passed with technical amendments. Cal Cities still opposes the bill unless amended to address the data retention timelines that threaten criminal investigations.

Other priority bills include:

  • AB 1934 (Bennett) State Fire Marshall: home hardening certification program implementation plan

    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed as amended)

  • AB 2076 (Lowenthal) The Parent’s Accountability and Child Protection Act: online marketplaces: nitrous oxide

    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed)

  • SB 747 (Wiener) Civil rights: deprivation of federal constitutional rights, privileges, and immunities

    Cal Cities Position: Oppose (Status: Passed as amended)

  • SB 936 (Blakespear) Nitrous oxide: sales
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed)

  • SB 1157 (Archuleta) Juveniles: secure youth treatment facilities: less restrictive programs
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Held)

  • SB 1266 (Stern) Crimes: theft
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Held)

  • SB 1301 (Allen) Residential property insurance: nonrenewal
    Cal Cities Position: Support (Status: Passed as amended)

- Jolena Voorhis, legislative advocate

Transportation, Communications, and Public Works

A key Cal Cities-supported e-bike bill, SB 1167 (Blakespear), advanced out of appropriations and onto the Assembly floor. The measure strengthens e-bike labeling and advertising requirements, updates classifications, improves consumer disclosure requirements, and ensures higher-powered vehicles are appropriately regulated.

Senate Appropriations reviewed both AB 1859 (Ortega) and AB 1198 (Haney) — a public works proposal previously vetoed by both Governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. This year, the proposal returned as separate bills. The committee held AB 1859, but approved AB 1198.

AB 1859 would have granted joint labor-management committees’ access to public works job sites and imposed legal penalties for noncompliance, increasing cities’ litigation exposure and project costs. Cal Cities had an oppose unless amended position on the measure.

AB 1198 retroactively applies new prevailing wage determinations to public works contracts. This would create unpredictable costs that could force agencies to reduce project scope, delay construction, or cancel projects. Cal Cities, which opposes the measure unless amended, is urging the author to narrow the bill’s scope to specific long-term projects and preserve public contracting stability.

In non-appropriations news, AB 1786 (Harabedian), which provides cities with an alternative, more holistic evaluation method for public works contracts, advanced to the Senate floor. Cal Cities supports the measure. Cal Cities remains opposed to the Governor’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel tax credit proposal. The tax credit could increase fuel costs while diverting significant revenues meant for local and state transportation infrastructure. The proposal has not yet manifested into a bill.

Other priority bills include:

- Damon Conklin, legislative advocate

Next steps

There are just two weeks left in the legislative session, which ends on Aug. 31. To learn how you can make your voice heard on these bills before and after they head to the Governor’s desk for approval, contact your regional public affairs manager.