On May 23, the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees held their respective Suspense File hearings—an essential phase in the legislative process where lawmakers determine which bills will proceed to a floor vote and which will be held in committee. The Suspense File mechanism allows legislators to evaluate the fiscal implications of proposed legislation within the broader context of the state's annual budget and legislative priorities.
CSDA closely monitored both hearings. The Chairs of the Appropriations Committees acknowledged the difficult budget environment this year, noting that many bills were either amended to reduce their costs, converted into two-year bills for future consideration, or held in committee altogether, meaning they will not advance in the 2025-2026 Legislative Session. Bills that did move forward were approved with either a “do pass” or “do pass as amended” recommendation.
Senate Bill 496 (Hurtado) Held in Senate Appropriations Committee
CSDA's co-sponsored measure, SB 496 (Hurtado) Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation: appeals advisory committee: exemptions, was one of the measures dispensed with by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The measure was held in committee and will not advance.
The bill would have added flexibility for local agencies seeking to comply with the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) regulations concerning medium and heavy-duty vehicle fleet electrification. The measure would have exempted vehicles used to respond to emergency situations or support those efforts, added greater flexibility to an existing infrastructure delay exemption, and created an exemption Appeals Advisory Committee.
Despite this setback, the measure gained significant traction in the Senate, having received unanimous votes in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee and Senate Transportation Committee. CSDA thanks the 173 special districts and others that submitted support letters in response to our Call to Action, and the special districts that provided support testimony. Those efforts helped to highlight the challenges posed by the regulation.
Assembly Bill 810 (Irwin) Made a Two-Year Bill
AB 810 (Irwin) Local government: internet websites and email addresses, seeks to require special districts, joint powers authorities (JPAs), and other local government entities to transition to .gov or .ca.gov internet domains. CSDA led a local government coalition opposed to the mandate. The measure was made a two-year bill by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, meaning it may be reconsidered later in the legislative session but will not advance this year.
Costly Employment Measure Held in Assembly Appropriations Committee
Among the bills held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee was AB 465 (Zbur) Local public employees: memoranda of understanding, a measure CSDA actively opposed due to its potential to create operational and financial challenges for special districts. AB 465 sought to require new provisions in Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) for represented workforces, including progressive discipline standards, binding arbitration for grievances, and paid time off for union representatives engaged in grievance-related duties.
Public Pensions in Focus
Pension reform has been a focus of the Legislature this year. Three important measures were dispensed with by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1383 (McKinnor) Public employees’ retirement benefits, would make changes to PEPRA applicable to public pension systems. CSDA opposed the bill, which proposed five major changes to existing law:
- Prospectively increase to pensionable compensation limits (generally applicable);
- Prospective reduction in the retirement age from 57 to 55 (safety);
- Adding an additional tier for 3% at 55, prospective, negotiable (safety);
- Allow local jurisdictions to make adjustments to their local formula in a prospective manner (generally applicable); and,
- Permit authorized employee representatives to bargain with the employer over the employee share of payment for the normal cost which is currently at least 50% (generally applicable).
CalPERS estimated additional costs in excess of $5 billion arising from the measure. AB 1383 was made a two-year bill by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 569 (Stefani) California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013: exceptions: supplemental defined benefit plans, was held by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The measure would have allowed a public employer to bargain over contributions for supplemental retirement benefits administered by, or on behalf of, an exclusive bargaining representative of one or more of the public employer’s bargaining units. AB 1067 (Quirk-Silva) Public employees’ retirement: felony convictions, would require a public employer to investigate and report potential crimes of former employees which would result in pension forfeiture, and would require that forfeiture. The measure was voted out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee with amendments to further specify when the public employer must continue the investigation.
While not appearing on the committee’s suspense files, two other pension bills of note for local government employers were introduced this year:
AB 1439 (Garcia) Public retirement systems: development projects: labor standards, would require a public pension system to: "not make additional or new investments of public employee pension or retirement funds in development projects in California or provide financing for those projects with public employee pension or retirement funds unless those projects include labor standards protections." Labor standards protections include prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, skilled and trained workforce, and developer commitments. CSDA adopted an oppose position on the measure due to its interference with the fiduciary responsibilities of pension boards of governance. The bill was made a two-year bill earlier this year.
SB 301 (Grayson) County Employees Retirement Law of 1937: employees, would require that a city or special district in a county retirement system shall not amend their contract with the system in a manner that provides for the exclusion of some, but not all, employees. This measure remains active.
Below is a selection of notable Assembly Bills that advanced from the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File:
Below is a list of notable Assembly Bills that were held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File as two-year bills:
Below is a selection of notable Assembly Bills that were held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File:
Below is a selection of notable Senate Bills that advanced from the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File:
Below is a selection of notable Senate Bills that were held in the Appropriations Suspense Committee:
Of note, SB 555 (Caballero) Workers’ compensation: average annual earnings, was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File as a two-year bill
A complete list of Suspense File results for the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees, respectively, may be viewed here and here. The Senate Appropriations Committee's separate two-year bill list may be viewed here.
June 6 is the final day for both houses to pass bills out of their houses of origin. CSDA will continue to actively monitor important bills that have passed the Appropriation Committees, as well as other non-fiscal bills. CSDA’s legislative advocacy team will collaborate with legislative offices, staff, coalition partners, and our members to ensure effective advocacy throughout the rest of the legislative session.
Information about CSDA’s priority bills can be found by logging into the CSDA Bill Tracking webpage and viewing the “Priority Legislation” bill report.
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