Assemblymember Schultz’s Bills on the Assembly Floor

After nearly five months of work, the California State Assembly is quickly approaching the deadline to pass our measures over to the state Senate. I am so grateful for the many residents of the 44th Assembly District who have taken the time to interact with our office with questions, comments and concerns. 

Since December, I’ve been working on a package of bills to improve public safety, safeguard consumer health, improve access to affordable housing and keep post-production jobs in California.  

I’m happy to report that the following nine bills have made it to the Assembly floor. Here’s a brief summary of these measures:

AB 1546 – Vehicles: Driving Under the Influence. AB 1546 modernizes DUI penalties and strengthens accountability for repeat offenders in California by requiring that a third DUI within 10 years be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony and a fifth DUI be charged as a felony. This bill would additionally increase the license revocation period, ignition interlock device installation period and probation conditions for specific reoffenders as well. By expanding the ability of the criminal justice system to effectively and proportionally address DUIs, California can restore its leadership in drunk driving prevention and prioritize public safety across all communities. 

AB 1595 – Habeas Corpus. AB 1595 strengthens California’s criminal legal system by ensuring courts can correct wrongful convictions while preserving appropriate judicial discretion. By reducing unnecessary litigation and conserving limited court resources, it allows courts to focus on the merits of credible claims rather than procedural technicalities.

AB 1603 – Protecting California Agriculture from Toxic Chemicals. AB 1603 puts an end to the use of PFAS pesticides in California. The bill establishes incremental benchmarks to halt the use of the forever chemicals between 2027 and 2035, allowing state officials and agricultural industries time to adjust, along with clear guidelines regarding their use before the full ban takes effect.

AB 1787 – Dynamic Pricing for Electricity Tariffs. AB 1787 requires investor-owned utilities to offer dynamic, wholesale-based pricing and real-time data access during their next smart meter upgrade cycle to help electricity customers reduce costs.

AB 2266 – CPUC Power Procurement Process Streamlining. Determinations of how much energy is necessary to meet California’s power needs are currently performed via a patchwork of separately enacted clean energy programs. AB 2266 directs the CPUC to streamline these planning decisions into one cohesive workflow, to use consistent methodologies across all programs and to improve accountability through a yearly evaluation of the real-world impact of their calculations on actual energy purchases.

AB 2319 – Film and Television Post-Production Incentive Program. AB 2319 establishes a targeted post-production incentive to encourage film and television post-production work to remain in California, supporting high-quality jobs, preserving long-standing industry infrastructure and generating significant economic activity throughout the state.

This bill would allow qualified post-production expenditures incurred in California to be eligible for a tax credit, even when principal photography takes place outside the state, ensuring California remains competitive with other jurisdictions that already offer standalone post-production incentives.

AB 2478 – Kinship Family Approval. AB 2478 strengthens California’s commitment to placing children with family and other trusted adults when they cannot safely remain at home. Building on direction previously enacted by the legislature in AB 2830 (Rivas), the bill implements a streamlined Kinship Family Approval pathway, clarifies emergency placement rules and extends the eligibility of limited criminal record exemptions to a wider range of kin so that children can be placed quickly with safe caregivers familiar to them. 

By reducing administrative delays and strengthening family-first placement policies, AB 2478 helps ensure that children entering foster care can remain connected to the people and communities that matter most to them.

AB 2560 – Climate Acton Plan for Transportation Infrastructure. AB 2560 establishes the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) goals and authorizes the Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to update the CAPTI goals. The bill requires a project under specified programs to apply, where feasible, within the fix-it-first approach, the CAPTI goals as established or updated by CalSTA.

AB 2612 – Building Standards: Plug-in Photovoltaic Systems. AB 2612 requires the California Building Standards Commission and the Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to develop and adopt mandatory building standards that enable qualified photovoltaic systems to safely function as an energy source within residential and nonresidential electrical circuits. Beginning with the first triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code adopted after June 1, 2031, the bill directs state agencies to codify electrical circuit features and safety requirements to support plug‑and‑play solar technologies.

We have until Friday, May 29 to pass these bills out of the state Assembly and send them over to the state Senate.  

Those who have recommendations for bills or budget priorities or need help with state services should not hesitate to contact our district office. Our phone number is (818) 558-3043, and email address is Assemblymember.Schultz@Assembly.ca.gov.