2026 Legislative Session: Key Developments in Government Finance and Administration Policy Area

Throughout the 2026 Legislative Session, CSAC has kept you informed about key legislative developments. With Governor Newsom’s final actions now complete, CSAC will publish a series of articles highlighting new laws and vetoed bills in each policy area. This week, our focus is on the Government Finance and Administration policy area, covering legislation on revenue and taxation, labor and employment, general government, artificial intelligence, elections, and more. 

For additional information, please contact Emma Jungwirth, Eric Lawyer, or Julissa Ceja Cardenas. 

Administration/General Government  

AB 387 (Alanis) (Chapter 502, Statutes of 2026)
Nevaeh Youth Sports Safety Act. Revises the requirement for a youth sports organization to ensure access to an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) during official practices or matches beginning January 1, 2028. It requires a public or private facility with permanent sports infrastructure to ensure that the youth sports organization has access to the AED. The law does not require or compel a public agency to purchase an AED. If an AED is not available at the facility, the youth sports organization is responsible for ensuring access to an AED. Read the coalition’s removal of opposition letter.  

AB 2224 (Hadwick) (Chapter 292, Statutes of 2026)
County recorders: fees. Makes several changes to the statutory fee restrictions for county recorders, including an increase to the maximum fee amount from $10 to $15 for the first page and $3 to $4 for each subsequent page. The bill also compels counties to adopt an electronic recording delivery system that allows for the elimination of outdated fees. Read the coalition support letter.  

AB 2341 (Fong) (Chapter 170, Statutes of 2026)
Local government: emergency response services: use of languages other than English. CSAC sponsored this measure to correct confusion created by AB 1638 (Chapter 587, Statutes of 2023) which required that a city, county, or city and county provide information related to an emergency in languages other than English spoken by members of their community. Late amendments to AB 1638 inadvertently required that all languages spoken in a county be translated, despite the intent of the bill to only require translations if a language is commonly spoken by at least five percent of a community with translation needs. AB 2341 ensures that emergency translations are delivered into languages spoken by at least five percent of speakers with translation needs – defined as those that speak English less than “very well,” providing vital clarity for public agencies. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

SB 1187 (Durazo) (Chapter 324, Statutes of 2026)
Open meetings. Removes specific prescriptive requirements established under SB 707 (Chapter 327, Statutes of 2025) for language accommodation. SB 1187 removed the requirement to translate agendas for board of supervisors meetings, eliminated the requirement to maintain a physical location for members of the public to post agenda translations, and repealed other accommodation of interpretation and language services requirements for those meetings. This measure directly addressed concerns raised by both local agencies and language access advocates and ultimately returns decision-making authority regarding language access services to local agencies. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

SB 1193 (Wahab) (Chapter 155, Statutes of 2026)
Discretionary funds: County of Alameda. Places several limitations on the appropriation of certain county funds by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and requires the board to post a log of appropriated discretionary funds at the end of each quarter on its website. Read the coalition request for veto letter.  

SB 1312 (Richardson) (Chapter 696, Statutes of 2026)
Cemeteries. Establishes a process for an endowment care cemetery to be declared abandoned by a county and have its title transferred to the county in which the cemetery is located and allows the county to transfer the care and maintenance of the cemetery to a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. The Governor also signed AB 929 (Connolly), which provides additional options for the County of Marin to transfer ownership of a specific cemetery to a California nonprofit organization in good standing or a cemetery authority. Read the coalition concerns letter.  

SB 1414 (Reyes) (Chapter 1037, Statutes of 2026)
County of San Bernardino Citizens Redistricting Commission. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, replaces San Bernardino County’s voter-approved redistricting process with a state-mandated independent redistricting commission. Read CSAC’s request for veto letter. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Workplace Technologies  

AB 1331 (Elhawary) (Chapter 851, Statutes of 2026)
Workplace surveillance. Restricts the use of specific workplace surveillance tools in bathrooms. CSAC negotiated amendments to protect worker privacy and address our remaining security concerns. Read the Governor’s signing message. 

AB 1883 (Bryan) (Chapter 853, Statutes of 2026)
Workplace surveillance tools. Restricts public agencies from using “workplace surveillance tools” that include emotional recognition or neural data collection. Amendments offered by our coalition of local government advocates that would have fully addressed our concerns while preserving the purpose of the bill were not taken. Read the coalition request for veto letter here and the Governor’s signing message here. 

SB 947 (McNerney) (Chapter 859, Statutes of 2026)
Employment: automated decision systems. Regulates the use of automated decision-making systems, which include AI and other routine tools used for everyday work, when making employment-related decisions. This bill is the successor to SB 7 (McNerney) that was vetoed by the Governor last year. CSAC opposed both bills because they complicate the routine work of local governments. Read the coalition request for veto letter. 

SB 951 (Reyes) (Chapter 860, Statutes of 2026)
Employment: technological displacement: notice. Requires private sector employers to submit data to the Employment Development Department (EDD) regarding mass layoffs or cessation of hiring due in substantial part to adoption of AI or other automated technology. The bill also requires EDD to publish a summary of notices and submit a report to the Legislature on AI’s effects on business hiring practices and its impact on industries and occupations. This bill was amended to remove the requirements for public employers, along with the associated penalties. Read the coalition removal of opposition letter.  

SB 1159 (Cabaldon) (Chapter 863, Statutes of 2026)
Artificial intelligence: transparency and governance. For the purposes of the California Public Records Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act, and other related laws, this bill clarifies that the terms “person,” “interested person,” “participant,” “member of the public,” and any other similar terms under each act referring to those who may engage with governmental agencies, do not include AI systems, autonomous agents, robots, or other nonhuman entities, whether physical or digital. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

Public Records Act 

AB 1821 (Pacheco) (Chapter 899, Statutes of 2026)
California Public Records Act: agency response time. Updates the California Public Records Act response timelines from “calendar days” to “business days,” aligning deadlines with actual working days instead of weekends and holidays. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

Retirement  

AB 1439 (Garcia) (Chapter 365, Statutes of 2026)
Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards. Requests the UC Berkeley Labor Center to conduct a study of the labor standards protections of CalPERS and CalSTRS investments in real estate and infrastructure. The bill also requests both pension systems to provide data needed to conduct the study. Read the coalition request for veto letter. 

SB 1038 (Laird) (Chapter 152, Statutes of 2026)
The Public Employees’ Retirement System. Requires public agencies subject to a CalPERS employer audit to notify the exclusive representatives of affected employees within 10 working days of receiving notice of the audit. It also requires agencies to provide the CalPERS board and affected employee representatives with a list of employees impacted by a final audit report and to provide those representatives with a copy of the final audit report within 10 working days of receiving it. CSAC did not take a position on this bill.  

Liability  

AB 1908 (McKinnor) (Chapter 907, Statutes of 2026)
Settlement agreements: victims’ compensation funding. Clarifies that a county board of supervisors may adopt a resolution authorizing bonds and other forms of debt financing to satisfy the obligations of a victims’ compensation fund. Read the coalition request for signature letter.  

SB 577 (Laird) (Chapter 971, Statutes of 2026)
Public entities. Addresses public agency liability due to AB 218 (Chapter 861, Statutes of 2019), as well as general liability for cases when public agencies share a small portion of the fault. SB 577 includes provisions heightening evidence and knowledge standards for past claims brought by a claimant above age 40. The bill also improves joint and several liability, limiting public agency liability for economic damages to their share of fault, if their share of fault is fifteen percent or less. The bill also includes a variety of provisions aimed at prevention, including required adoption of assault prevention plans, requirements for recurring mandated reporter training, heightened state oversight and investigations roles, and opens certain personnel records held by the Office of Youth and Community Restoration. Read the Governor’s signing message here.  

Mandates  

AB 2640 (Hadwick) (Chapter 307, Statutes of 2026)
Commission on State Mandates: state mandates. Authorizes local government agencies, upon receiving a written notification of mandate reimbursement claim adjustments from the State Controller, to elect to offset any reduced reimbursement from other unpaid reimbursement claims (i.e., reducing the backlog of unpaid pending claims owed to counties that have accumulated over decades rather than withholding funds from future reimbursement claim payments). This change will provide local governments with financial relief instead of allowing the state to take back funds while still owing debts to that same local government. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

Labor  

AB 1578 (Jackson) (Chapter 526, Statutes of 2026)
State agency officials: training on responding to hate: local agency officials: anti-hate speech training.
Expands the mandatory sexual harassment and discrimination prevention training requirements for state and local elected officials to include an anti-hate speech component under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). CSAC did not take a position on this bill.  

AB 1803 (Lowenthal) (Chapter 547, Statutes of 2026) 
Employment: sexual harassment training and education: anti-hate speech training.
Expands the mandatory sexual harassment and discrimination prevention training requirements to include an anti-hate speech component under FEHA. CSAC did not take a position on this bill. 

AB 1961 (Ahrens) (Chapter 910, Statutes of 2026)
Civil actions: protective orders: workplace violence. Protects employees from workplace violence threats and harassment by extending the authority of employers to seek a temporary restraining order to encompass all employees at the employer’s workplace or a location where a group of employees perform their primary job duties, including when no specific employee is named. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

AB 2179 (Patel) (Chapter 839, Statutes of 2026)
Workplace violence: restraining orders. Modernizes workplace violence restraining order proceedings by expanding remote appearance options and improving electronic filing access for protective-order-related documents. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

AB 2529 (Johnson) (Chapter 618, Statutes of 2026)
Civil claims: public entities and employees: declaration. Expands the requirements of claims filed under the Government Claims Act against a public entity or public employee to include a declaration that the claims are true and correct upon information and belief. Read the coalition request for signature letter. 

SB 1149 (Durazo) (Chapter 679, Statutes of 2026)
Employees: bereavement leave. Expands the definition of “family member” for the purposes of bereavement leave to include a “designated person,” defined as any individual related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship. This bill also authorizes an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period. CSAC did not take a position on this bill.  

SB 1244 (Allen) (Chapter 1020, Statutes of 2026)
Public Agency Benefits Intermediary Compensation Disclosure Act. Establishes disclosure requirements for the direct and indirect compensation that healthcare brokers, agents, consultants, and other service providers expect to receive in connection with contracts or agreements for consulting or brokerage services provided to California’s public agencies. Read the coalition support letter.  

Veterans  

SB 694 (Archuleta) (Chapter 1, Statutes of 2026)
Deceptive practices: service members and veterans. Aims to make access to services easier and safer by protecting veterans from predatory actors, commonly referred to as “claim sharks,” who exploit those seeking help. In California, veterans and their families can get assistance with their claims free of charge from County Veteran Services Officers, as well as other accredited veterans service organizations. Read CSAC’s request for signature letter.  

Revenue and Taxation  

SB 922 (Laird) (Chapter 148, Statutes of 2026)
Vehicles: local agency charges: use of streets or highways. CSAC co-sponsored the bill alongside the League of California Cities (Cal Cities) and RCRC to clarify and reaffirm long-standing local authority to recover street maintenance and repair costs caused by essential public services – including garbage, recycling, and green waste collection – through service-related fees and charges. Read the coalition request for signature letter.  

SB 1005 (Caballero) (Chapter 321, Statutes of 2026)
Local agency: payment: rounding amount. CSAC co-sponsored this bill which allows local agencies to round cash payments to the nearest five cents after the elimination of the penny, providing critical relief to local agencies who would be unable to provide exact change in cash. Read the coalition request for signature letter.  

VETOED 

AB 1383 (McKinnor) –  VETOED 
Public employees’ retirement benefits. Would have reduced the minimum retirement age for public safety members, established a new 3% at 55 bargainable benefit tier, and increased compensation caps for any highly compensated employee. Read the joint statement on the veto of AB 1383 here and the Governor’s veto message here.  

AB 1940 (Calderon) – VETOED
Unlawful practices: discrimination: menopause.
Would have expanded the definition of “sex” under FEHA to include perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, or other related medical conditions. CSAC did not take a position on this bill. Read the Governor’s veto message here.  

AB 2656 (Petrie-Norris) – VETOED
Public employees: notice: artificial intelligence performing service within scope of work. Would have required public employers to provide 45-day written notice to union representatives before developing, purchasing, or requiring the use of any generative AI to perform a service that is within the scope of work of a represented job classification. CSAC had significant concerns regarding the burdensome, costly obligations for local agencies. Read the coalition request for veto letter and the Governor’s veto message here.  

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