On June 6, the California State Legislature’s house-of-origin deadline passed, meaning it was the last day for either the Assembly or Senate to pass any bills originating in that house.

During this period, there were no policy committee hearings, and legislators were in floor session every day. The sessions went late into the night, with members voting on close to 1,000 bills. Typically, even the most controversial bills can be passed in their house of origin, only to be amended and/or killed in the second house.

Assembly and Senate committee hearings began this week. Bills are now in their second house, signaling the halfway point in the 2025 legislative session.

Here is California Credit Union League Current Priority Bill List; and you can also view below for recent house-of-origin outcomes regarding priority League bills:

• Assembly Bill 801 (Bonta) California Community Reinvestment Act — passed the Assembly with 45 “aye” votes, surpassing the 40 votes needed for passage. Although passage into the second house is not the outcome the League had hoped for. It was anticipated given that AB 801 is a priority bill for the California Legislative Black Caucus. The League’s primary objective was to keep the “aye” count as low as possible, and we successfully achieved that.
• Assembly Bill 1018 (Bauer-Kahan) Automated Decision Systems — passed the Assembly with 50 “aye” votes and 16 “no’s.” Thirteen members abstained from voting. The 13 abstentions, most of which were by the author’s fellow Democrats, is a red flag to the second house that the bill has problems. As part of a financial services coalition, we have offered the author amendments that would remove credit unions from the bill. We are hopeful that the lackluster support for the bill in the Assembly will motivate the author to negotiate on the League’s amendments and those of other organizations opposed to the bill.
• Assembly Bill 1331 (Elhawary) Workplace Surveillance — passed the Assembly 55-to-15 with nine members abstaining. To get the bill off the Assembly floor, the author committed to taking extensive amendments in the Senate. While the League will review any amendments offered, the League anticipates those amendments will not address credit unions’ concerns or those of a broad business coalition in opposition.
• Senate Bill 7 (McNerney) Employment: Automated Decision Systems — passed the Senate 27 to 10. It would regulate the use of automated decision systems in almost every employment related decision. It targets businesses of all sizes, across every industry, adding onerous and impractical regulations surrounding the management of employees.
• Senate Bill 238 (Smallwood-Cuevas) Workplace Surveillance Tools — passed the Senate with 27 members in support, and 10 opposed. It would require burdensome notice requirements that would be made public regarding an employer’s use of workplace surveillance tools. The League continues to oppose this bill.
• Senate Bill 310 (Weiner) Failure to Pay Wages: Penalties — failed to pass the Senate and has been shelved for this year. The author plans to work on amendments during the fall and bring the bill back in January. SB 310 would have undermined the decades in the making of the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) reform passed by the legislature in 2024 by creating a new private right of action for penalties under Labor Code section 210. Those penalties would have applied to nearly every claim pled in a typical wage and hour case and disregarded any good faith efforts made by an employer to comply.
• SB 766 (Allen) California Combating Auto Retail Scams (CARS) Act — This bill passed the Senate 27 to 9. In the Senate Appropriations Committee, it was amended to remove the private right of action from the bill.

On the budget front, Democratic lawmakers have reached a budget proposal to address California’s $12 billion deficit by relying on $7.8 billion in borrowing, $3.5 billion in spending reductions, and deferrals — rather than adopting many of Governor Gavin Newsom’s deeper cuts. The legislature aims to maintain funding for core social services while delaying or scaling back cost-saving measures proposed by the governor. The Legislature has until June 15 to pass the budget. The Budget Act of 2025 is in print in Assembly Bill 101 (Gabriel) and Senate Bill 101 (Wiener).

In other legislative news, Senate Democrats recently unanimously selected Senator Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) as the President Pro Tempore Designee. Current Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) terms out of the legislature next year. The transition will happen in early 2026; however, no exact date was provided. Limón will be the first woman of color in this position, and she terms out in 2028.

Please stay tuned for more updates coming soon, especially on AB 801, the California Community Reinvestment Act bill. As always, reach out with any questions.