Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael P. Callagy, County Executive
Connie Juarez-Diroll, Chief Legislative Officer
Subject: Quarterly Legislative Presentation and Acceptance of the March 2026 Informational Report on the 2026 State and Federal Legislative Sessions
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept the presentation of the March 2026 quarterly informational report on the 2026 state and federal legislative sessions.
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BACKGROUND:
The 2026-2027 state and federal legislative sessions resumed on January 5, 2026, and January 3, 2026, respectively.
On January 1, 2026, nearly 800 new laws went into effect in California. Shortly after, California legislators returned to Sacramento to kick off the second year of the Legislature's two-year session. The deadline for members of the California State Legislature to introduce new bills was February 20, 2026. While many newly introduced bills this year include substantive language, many, nearly 600, are currently "spot bills" or placeholders. Spot bills, essentially, give bill authors more time to work on bill details and are amended before or during policy committee hearings, as committees cannot vote on legislation for at least 30 days after a bill's introduction. The Assembly and Senate spot bill deadlines are March 16, 2026, and March 25, 2026. Additionally, all other bills introduced in the first year of the two-year session that failed to meet legislative deadlines are now dead and cannot be acted upon by either house. As we continue to sort through the wide range of legislative proposals, the Legislature's collective focus does not differ substantially from 2025, including policy areas that address quality of life and the cost of living for Californians, like affordable housing, childcare, access to healthcare, and energy costs. Policy committees will convene until April 24, 2026, the deadline for a bill's referral to fiscal com...
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