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Here is today's California Legislature Weekly for Wednesday September 23rd. California’s election system is the biggest area of newly enacted policy this week, with three Senate bills chaptered on Friday, September nineteenth. Senate Bill 1420, covering vote-by-mail ballots and early voting, became law as an urgency measure, so it took effect immediately. Senate Bill 1418, on preserving election materials, also took immediate effect. And Senate Bill 1360 updates requirements involving translation of election materials. Together, the measures put ballot access, multilingual voter services, and election-record rules at the center of the final wave of this year’s bill signings. County election officials will be the key implementers as they apply the new requirements. [1]
Transportation and local revenue also saw a consequential enactment. Senate Bill 1408 became law Saturday, September twentieth, authorizing provisions related to a transactions and use tax for the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. The law adds a time-limited section to the Revenue and Taxation Code. Measures of this kind can shape how a region finances transportation priorities, although the available bill summary does not specify the projects, election process, or tax terms involved. The practical details will matter to Contra Costa County residents, local officials, transit users, and transportation planners.
A third significant development is Senate Bill 1349, also chaptered Saturday. It directs the Legislative Analyst’s Office to assess tax expenditures and produce reports and recommendations. Tax expenditures include the credits, deductions, exemptions, and exclusions that reduce tax revenue. The measure is significant because California’s tax code contains a large number of such preferences, many of which can be difficult to evaluate against their original goals. More structured analysis could give legislators a stronger basis for deciding which incentives should continue, be revised, or expire.
The Governor’s veto decisions are equally notable. Forty-eight bills were vetoed in the reporting period. Among them, Senate Bill 954 would have created a California Environmental Quality Act exemption for advanced manufacturing facilities. Its rejection means such projects will not receive the proposed streamlined environmental-review route through this legislation. Senate Bill 1180, concerning the California Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund, was also vetoed, as was Senate Bill 1077, which addressed CalFresh during federal government shutdowns. Those measures remain pending possible legislative consideration of the Governor’s vetoes.
The overall picture is the closing stage of the legislative cycle. In the past week, 218 measures became law while 48 were vetoed. The session tracker now lists 1,921 bills enacted and 171 vetoed. Rather than major floor-vote activity, the consequential work is now executive action and implementation: election administrators preparing for new rules, regional agencies assessing new authority, and state departments translating a large volume of freshly chaptered laws into practice. [2]
Thank you for listening to California Legislature Weekly from The Daily FM. See you tomorrow!
- California Legislature — weekly bill activity
...t to amend Sections 17024.5, 17052, 17077, 17085, 17091, 17156.1, 17201.3, 17225, 17260, 17276, 17276.1, 17276.3, 17276.4, 17276.7, 17276.21, 17276.22, 17276.24, 17302, 17551, 17560.5, 17737, 18622.5, 18624, 18666, 19311, 23051.5, 236… - SB1420 — Vote by mail ballots and early voting. — became law Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 342, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-19) About: An act to amend Section 9084 of, and to add Section 3016.6 to, the Elections Code, relating to elections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. - SB1418 — Preservation of election materials. — became law Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 341, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-19) About: An act to amend Sections 15550, 15551, 17601, 17602, 18564.5, and 18568 of the Elections Code, relating to elections, and decl
- California Legislature — weekly bill activity
California state legislature — bill activity from 2026-09-16 to 2026-09-23. This week — signed into law / became law: 218, vetoed: 48. Signed into law / became law (218): - SB1445 — Healing arts. — became law Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 237, Statutes of 2026. (2026-09-14) About: An act to amend Sections 115.10, 802.5, 1621, 1724, 1750.1, 2564.79, 4202.6, 4826.3, 4980.36, 4980.41, 4980.43.2, 4980.72, 4980.78, 4980.81, 4990.26.1, 4996.17.1, 4996.17.2, 4996.23.1, 4999.32, 4999.33, 4999.46.2, 4999.60, 4999.62, 7026.12… - SB1443 — Elementary and secondary education: omnibus. — became law Last ac...