Although California’s 2025-2026 legislative session officially began last month, lawmakers will begin meeting regularly this week.
Democrats still hold a supermajority — or more than two-thirds of the seats — in both the assembly and senate. Republicans picked up three seats in the last election.
There will also be a record number of women in the Legislature — they’ll hold 59 of the 120 total seats.
“The legislative women's caucus, which has already been a very influential group, I think will grow in its power and its ability to help determine the fate of a number of pieces of legislation and often budget requests that are a priority for women's caucus members,” said longtime lobbyist and professor at McGeorge School of Law Chris Micheli.
The Legislature is also starting the new year with a lowered limit for filing bills. Previously, assembly members could file up to 50 bills and senators up to 40. Now, they’re both limited to 35.
A number of bills have been introduced during the first month of session and hundreds more will follow during the coming weeks ahead of the Feb. 21 introduction deadline.
Lawmakers start with the budget
Governor Gavin Newsom will unveil his proposed budget by Jan 10.
“The budget is, as they say this time every year, at the printer's, so I am intimately familiar with what's in it,” Newsom told reporters at a press conference in December. “But you'll appreciate [I] cannot share all that with you because we have a lot of stakeholders to engage, the legislature to engage before January 10th.”
While the governor’s initial budget signals his administration’s biggest priorities, it’s far from the final version which will be passed in June ahead of the new fiscal year. The January release serves as a blueprint that will take shape over the course of the next five months through legislative negotiations and public comment.
There’s already been some good news about the the state’s spending plan. California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office projects a balanced budget in 2025. It also warns that deficits are likely coming in the years after.
Additionally, the LAO said almost 10% of the state’s income tax withholding in the first half of 2024 came just from stock pay from four major tech companies, which means the state budget right now relies heavily on that sector.
Despite the balanced budget projection, there’s concern amongst lawmakers that the incoming Trump administration might cut federal funds like disaster relief that the state would have to make up.
“We’re privileged in the sense that we can protect our folks here in California,” Los Angeles Democratic Assembly member and Majority Whip Mark Gonzaléz said. “But the reality is that part of what California relies on is federal funding that we know or have been told is threatened to be cut.”
And that could mean cuts to state programs to make up the difference.
Affordability is already a keyword
One word was on repeat on the first day of the new session last month — affordability.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat from Salinas, called on lawmakers in his opening day speech to make that their focus this year..
“To my Democratic colleagues — this election was a clarifying moment, but I don’t feel discouraged, and I hope you don’t, either,” he said. “Focusing on affordability – affordability solutions – they are social justice solutions.”
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher from Yuba City also credited several Republican wins to voter frustration with the cost of living in California.
“They talked about the need for affordability, public safety, real solutions to homelessness,” he said in December.
Getting ready for Trump’s return to the White House
There’s another major theme emerging this year: Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and several Democratic legislators say California needs to get ready to push back on certain policies President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he might enact in his upcoming term.
Newsom called a special session days after the election. The goal is for legislators to secure money for the state to sue the Trump Administration if it imposes policies state leaders see as threatening to California’s more progressive approaches.
The bills would allocate up to $60 million for the state’s Department of Justice and potentially local governments for that use.
The money could be used to sue against moves to roll back protections for reproductive health care, LGBTQ+ citizens and the climate. It could also help protect natural disaster relief funds.
Newsom’s office and lawmakers say they aim to pass and sign the bills close to Trump’s Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Elections roundup
Apart from the perennial issues each legislative session, bills to tweak the state’s electoral process are common in years immediately after elections.
This year is following that trend with a number of election-related bills. Democratic Assemblymember Marc Berman of Palo Alto introduced legislation to speed up California’s vote tallying process, though specific details have yet to be released.
A bill that would require the vote tallying process to begin as soon as ballots are mailed out was introduced by Republican Assemblymember Juan Alanis of Modesto.
The controversial fight over voter ID will also continue this year. Newly-elected Republican Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego introduced legislation requiring voter ID statewide.
