Reflecting on Bills Passed 

After approximately nine months of work, the California State Legislature has concluded the 2026 legislative session. 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, protect public health, address the high cost of living and boost housing production. I’m happy to report that nine bills have been signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.  

Here’s a summary of a few of the bills:

AB 690 – Criminal Procedure: Indigent Defense Compensation. Creates statewide standards for contracts providing indigent defense services to ensure that all Californians receive equal access to quality legal services.

AB 939 – Housing Development: Density Bonuses – Affordability of For-Sale Units. Modernizes the law to expand affordable homeownership opportunities by eliminating unnecessary resale delays and clarifying compliance procedures for market-rate developers, non-profit affordable housing organizations and local governments. This ensures that homes reach qualified low-income buyers faster, reduces holding costs for developers and accelerates pathways to homeownership for low-income Californians.

AB 1546 – Vehicles: Driving Under the Influence. Modernizes DUI penalties and strengthens accountability for repeat offenders by requiring that a third DUI within 10 years be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony, and that a fifth DUI be charged as a felony. 

AB 1603 – Protecting California Agriculture from Toxic Chemicals. Increases transparency around PFAS-containing pesticides by requiring the Dept. of Pesticide Regulation to disclose if a pesticide contains PFAS, publish a list of all pesticides containing PFAS ingredients and make other public disclosures, including usage trends.

AB 1905 – Juveniles: Custodial Interrogation. Strengthens the protections in law for young people in custody by prohibiting law enforcement from using undercover officers or agents to obtain statements from individuals who were 17 years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense and 26 years of age or younger while in custody. With clear guardrails, this bill promotes fairness, reduces the risk of unreliable statements and supports the integrity of the judicial system.

AB 1917 – The Respect Judicial Decisions Act. Strengthens transparency and efficiency in criminal court proceedings by ensuring that charges brought against defendants are always evidence-based. This bill requires prosecutors to file a motion to add back any charges that a judge previously dismissed in a preliminary hearing. If such motions are granted, then these charges can be reinstated. 

AB 2266 – CPUC Power Procurement Process Streamlining. Directs the CPUC to streamline how it evaluates electricity-planning decisions across separately enacted clean energy programs and instead create one coordinated process. It would require the CPUC to use consistent methods when determining how much electricity California needs and improve accountability through yearly evaluations of the real-world impact of its calculations on actual energy purchases.

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

AB 2478 – Kinship Family Approval. Strengthens California’s commitment to placing children with family and other trusted adults when they cannot safely remain at home. This 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.

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