New California Laws 2026
employers contracting with a County Employees Re- tirement Law (CERL) retirement system for pension benefits for its employees from excluding some of its employees, except specified temporary, seasonal, intermittent, or part time employees, that the CERL excludes from membership. An act to add Section 31566 to the Government Code, relating to retirement. SB 303, Smallwood-Cuevas. Employment: bias mitigation training: unlawful discrimination. This bill provides that an employee’s assessment, testing, admission, or acknowledgment of their own personal bias that was made in good faith and solicited or re- quired as part of a bias mitigation training does not, by itself, constitute unlawful discrimination. An act to add Section 12940.2 to the Government Code, relating to discrimination. SB 346, Durazo. Local agencies: transient occu- pancy taxes: short-term rental facilitator. This bill enacts the Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025, which permits local agencies to enact ordinances to require short-term rental facilitators to provide spec- ified information on their platform’s rentals to the local agency. An act to add Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Sec- tion 50990) to Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code, relating to local government. SB 390, Becker. Community facilities district: in- clusion or annexation of territory: County of San Ma- teo. This bill allows Mello-Roos Community Facili- ties Districts in the regional shoreline of the County of San Mateo to include properties with specified easements without landowner consent. An act to amend Section 53312.8 of the Govern- ment Code, relating to local government. SB 409, Archuleta. Public contracts: county-owned buildings. Increases the threshold for alteration or repair work on county buildings that must be com- pleted by contract from $50,000 to $125,000 in coun- ties with at least nine million residents. An act to amend Section 20123 of the Public Con- tract Code, relating to public contracting. SB 428, Laird. State Auditor: permanent office. This bill requires the California State Auditor’s (CSA’s) office be in the City of Sacramento or within a two-mile radius of the State Capitol Building, in- stead of in the City of Sacramento only, as per exist- ing law, thus allowing the CSA’s office to be located in the City of West Sacramento. An act to amend Section 8544.4 of the Government Code, relating to the State Auditor, and making an appropriation therefor. SB 443, Rubio. Retirement: joint powers author- ities. This bill clarifies that a Joint Powers Author- ity (JPA) may offer the classic pension formula, as specified, to the JPA employees associated with a non- founding public agency who become employees of the JPA within 180 days of the non-founding public agency joining the JPA. The bill also authorizes the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency to offer a classic pension formula to eligible employees, as specified. Continued on page 48
SB 161, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. State employment: state bargaining units. This bill makes necessary statutory changes to codify and ratify a new memorandum of understanding (MOU), addenda to existing MOUs, side letter agreements and closure letters between the state and various state employee bargaining units (BUs). An act to amend Sections 19829.9854, 19829.9855, 19829.9856, 19851, 20683.77, 20683.78, and 22944.5 of the Government Code, relating to state employ- ment, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. SB 227, Grayson. Green Empowerment Zone for the Northern Waterfront area of the County of Con- tra Costa. This bill is an urgency measure that makes various updates to the administration of the Green Empowerment Zone (GEZ) for the Northern Water- front area of Contra Costa County. An act to amend Sections 7599.100, 7599.101, and 7599.103 of, and to amend, renumber, and add Sec- tion 7599.104 of, the Government Code, relating to local government, and declaring the urgency there- of, to take effect immediately. SB 251, Caballero. Claims against the state: ap- propriation. This bill appropriates $1.2 million from the General Fund (GF) to pay the following claims, settlements, or judgments against the state. Specif- ically, this bill makes the following one-timeappro- priations in 2024-25 from the GF to the Attorney General (AG): $617,277.81 for the payment of claims, settlements, or judgments against the state aris- ing from First Amendment Coalition v. Bonta (San Francisco Superior Court Case No. CFP-19-516545); $244,399.76 for the payment of claims, settlements, or judgments against the state arising from Linton v. Bonta (United States District Court, Northern District of California, No. 3:18-cv-07653-JD); and $359,813.73 for the payment of claims, settlements, or judgments against the state arising from X Corp. v. Bonta (United States District Court, Eastern District of California, No. 2:23-cv-09139-WBS-AC). An act relating to the payment of claims against the state, making an appropriation therefor, and declar- ing the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. SB 255, Seyarto. County recorders: notification. This bill requires every county, on or before January 1, 2027, to establish a program to notify the parties to a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust within 30 days of recordation of such a document. An act to repeal and add Section 27297.7 of the Government Code, relating to local government. SB 276, Wiener. City and County of San Francis- co: merchandising sales. This bill allows, until Jan- uary 1, 2031, the City and County of San Francisco to adopt an ordinance requiring a permit for the sale on public property of merchandise that it has deter- mined is a common target of retail theft. An act to add and repeal Section 53076.5 of the Government Code, relating to local government, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect imme- diately. SB 301, Grayson. County Employees Retirement Law of 1937: employees. This bill prohibits public
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