Legislative Report

CSDVB Legislative Report - May 21, 2026

May 15th was a significant day at the State Capitol, as the fate of exactly 969 bills was determined by actions taken in both the Senate and the Assembly Appropriations Committees. The Senate held 90 of the 332 bills and the Assembly held 169 out of the 637 – nearly a quarter of the bills that were on the Suspense File. These fiscal committees voted to either move the bills to the Floor of their respective houses or to hold them on the Suspense File. Bills held on Suspense are ineligible for any further action and are dead for the year.

Bills that are estimated to cost the state $50,000 or more in the Senate and $150,000 in the Assembly are automatically put on the Suspense File and the decision on which bills are to be held is made by the leadership and Appropriations Committee Members and is a highly secretive process. The fate of each bill is not released until the day of the Appropriations Committee meeting and no testimony is taken. The Chair announces which bills are released in rapid-fire sequence and if a bill number is not called, the bill is held. The Appropriations Committee is truly one of the most powerful Committees in in both houses.

The CSDVB advocates regularly on your behalf before the following officials: Governor’s Office and his Senior Policy Staff on Procurement; CA State Senate and Assembly; Department of General Services; Department of Corrections; Prison Industry Authority; Department of Industrial Relations; Cal/OSHA; Labor Commissioner; Employment Development Department; Franchise Tax Board; and all other agencies, boards, and commissions whose actions affect our CSDVB Membership.

Below are the bills that are of interest to CSDVB’s Members including micro, small and disabled veteran enterprise businesses. We are actively watching all of the bills and will update the list and status of each bill monthly.

Business Regulation & Economic Development

AB 685 (Solache, D) Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Act.
Current Text: 01/12/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/14/2025
Last Amended: 01/12/2026
Status: 05/06/2026 - Referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D.
Location: 05/06/2026 - Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development
Summary: Current law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to advocate for causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Current law establishes the California Small Business Technical Assistance Program (SB-TAP) within OSBA, under the direct authority of the Small Business Advocate, for the purpose of assisting small businesses through free or low-cost one-on-one consulting and low-cost training by entering into grant agreements with one or more small business technical assistance centers. Under current law, OSBA administers the Capital Infusion Program (CIP) pursuant to the SB-TAP, as specified. This bill would establish the Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Act to provide assistance to small businesses. For this purpose, the bill would appropriate $26,000,000 from the General Fund to the Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The bill would require OSBA to administer the fund and to allocate moneys in the fund to both the CIP and the SB-TAP, and to OSBA for administrative purposes, as provided.

AB 2116 (Schiavo, D) California Consumer Financial Protection Law: commercial financing.
Current Text: 04/16/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/18/2026
Last Amended: 04/16/2026
Status: 05/15/2026 - Set for Hearing 5/18/2026
Calendar: 05/18/26 #170 A-SECOND READING FILE -- ASSEMBLY BILLS
Location: 05/15/2026 - Assembly SECOND READING
Summary: Existing law, the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL), establishes certain consumer protections relating to consumer financial products, practices, and services, including, among others, making it unlawful for covered persons or service providers, as defined, to, among other acts, engage in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices with respect to consumer financial products or services. Existing law establishes that the purpose of the CCFPL is to promote consumer welfare, fair competition, and wealth creation in this state by promoting, among other things, nondiscriminatory access to consumer financial products and services that are understandable and not unfair, deceptive, or abusive. Existing law authorizes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, under the direction of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, to prescribe rules regarding registration requirements applicable to a covered person in the business of offering or providing a consumer financial product or service, as defined, and rules requiring the payment of registration fees.
This bill would expand the purposes of the CCFPL to include the protection of small businesses from abusive financial practices, as specified. The bill would require the department to prescribe rules regarding registration requirements applicable to covered persons seeking to offer or provide commercial financing products, as defined and specified. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2028, prohibit a person from engaging in the business of offering to provide or providing commercial financing products without first registering with the commissioner.

SB 781 (Reyes, D) Small business.
Current Text: 07/14/2025 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/21/2025
Last Amended: 07/14/2025
Status: 08/29/2025 - Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(11). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 8/20/2025)(May be acted upon Jan 2026)
Location: 08/28/2025 - Assembly 2 YEAR
Summary: Current law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, led by the Small Business Advocate, and sets forth its powers and duties relating to advocacy on behalf of small business and providing small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Current law requires the advocate to, among other duties, collaborate with the Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services in their activities under the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, including promoting small business certification.
This bill would require the advocate to also collaborate with local agencies on the development and implementation of local strategies to increase small business participation in local procurement opportunities, as specified. In this connection, the bill would authorize a local agency, as defined, to establish a Small Business Utilization Program (SBUP) to increase small businesses’ participation in local agency procurement opportunities. This bill would require an SBUP, to facilitate the participation of small businesses in the provision of goods, information technology, and services to the local agency, to establish a small business certification process. As part of this process, the bill would require the SBUP, to the extent feasible, to include all of specified criteria, including, among other things, a minimum goal of 25% procurement participation for small businesses certification. The bill would authorize a local agency that establishes an SBUP to engage in specified activities to facilitate contract awards to small businesses.

SB 1240 (McNerney, D) Office of Nonprofit Empowerment.
Current Text: 03/25/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/19/2026
Last Amended: 03/25/2026
Status: 05/14/2026 - From committee: Do pass. (May 14). Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Calendar: 05/18/26 #294 S-SENATE BILLS -THIRD READING FILE
Location: 05/14/2026 - Senate THIRD READING
Summary: Existing law contains numerous provisions authorizing state agencies to award grants or contracts to nonprofit organizations to carry out various services and programs. Existing law authorizes a state agency that administers a grant program or contract to advance funds to a private nonprofit organization to which it has awarded a grant or contract, subject to certain limitations and requirements, as specified.
This bill would create the Office of Nonprofit Empowerment with the primary responsibility of overseeing and coordinating state policy in support of California’s nonprofit organizations. The bill would specify various duties and functions of the office, including providing guidance, resources, and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations on procurement and grantmaking laws, regulations, and best practices. The bill would establish the office within the state government, would place the office under the control of a director who would be appointed by the Governor.

Government Regulations & Contracts

AB 2272 (Caloza, D) State contracting: subcontractors: prompt payment.
Current Text: 04/16/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/19/2026
Last Amended: 04/16/2026
Status: 05/14/2026 - Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0.) In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 05/14/2026 - Senate Rules
Summary: The California Prompt Payment Act requires a state agency that acquires property or services pursuant to a contract with a business to make payment to the person or business on the date required by the contract and as specified, or be subject to a late payment penalty. Existing law requires state agencies to encourage claimants to promptly pay their subcontractors and suppliers, especially those that are small businesses. This bill would authorize a subcontractor or supplier performing work under a state contract to request payment status information from the awarding state agency regarding invoices submitted by the prime contractor, and would require a prime contractor to provide confirmation to the awarding agency, upon the agency’s request, regarding payments made to subcontractors.

SB 1044 (Reyes, D) Public contracts: Small Business Procurement and Contract Act.
Current Text: 02/11/2026 - Introduced HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/11/2026
Status: 05/14/2026 - From committee: Do pass. (May 14). Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Calendar: 05/18/26 #235 S-SENATE BILLS -THIRD READING FILE
Location: 05/14/2026 - Senate THIRD READING
Summary: The Small Business Procurement and Contract Act permits a state agency or the California State University to award a contract for goods, services, or information technology with an estimated value between $5,000 and $250,000 to a certified small business, including a microbusiness and a disabled veteran business enterprise, without complying with specified competitive bidding requirements. This bill would increase the maximum estimated value of a contract for goods, services, or information technology awarded pursuant to the act from $250,000 to $350,000.

SB 1366 (Rubio, D) Public Utilities Commission: report.
Current Text: 04/28/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/20/2026 (Spot bill)
Last Amended: 04/28/2026
Status: 05/14/2026 - From committee: Do pass. (May 14). Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Calendar: 05/18/26 #320 S-SENATE BILLS -THIRD READING FILE
Location: 05/14/2026 - Senate THIRD READING
Summary: Existing law requires each state agency, including the Public Utilities Commission, to provide the Director of General Services with an annual report on late payment penalties that were paid by the agency, as provided. This bill would require the commission to annually submit a report to the Legislature with information related to the payment of invoices, as provided.

Labor & Employment

AB 2095 (Lee, D) Employment discrimination: conviction history.
Current Text: 02/18/2026 - Introduced HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/18/2026
Status: 05/15/2026 - Set for Hearing 5/18/2026
Calendar: 05/18/26 #402 A-SECOND READING FILE -- ASSEMBLY BILLS
Location: 05/15/2026 - Assembly SECOND READING
Summary: The California Fair Employment and Housing Act makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer with 5 or more employees to include on any application for employment, before the employer makes a conditional offer of employment to the applicant, any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history, to consider the conviction history of the applicant until after the employer has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant, or to distribute information about an arrest not followed by conviction, referral to or participation in a pretrial or posttrial diversion program, or convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, expunged, or statutorily eradicated or any conviction for which the convicted person has received a full pardon or has been issued a certificate of rehabilitation while conducting a conviction history background check in connection with an application for employment, as specified.
This bill would include among those things that it is unlawful for an employer with 5 or more employees to do while conducting a conviction history background check in connection with an application for employment, asking any question that directly or indirectly seeks consent for a conviction history background check or requesting consent for or beginning a conviction history background check before providing the applicant with a list of all specific job duties of the position with which a conviction may have a direct and adverse relationship and potentially result in an adverse action, requiring a job applicant to cover the cost of a conviction history background check, or requiring any time before or after the conditional job offer, that an applicant self-disclose conviction history or provide the employer with any documentary evidence related to conviction history or rehabilitation, as specified.

AB 2150 (Haney, D) Employment: training requirements: opioid overdose reversals.
Current Text: 03/19/2026 - Amended HTML PDF
Introduced: 02/18/2026
Last Amended: 03/19/2026
Status: 05/15/2026 - Set for Hearing 5/18/2026
Calendar: 05/18/26 #405 A-SECOND READING FILE -- ASSEMBLY BILLS
Location: 05/15/2026 - Assembly SECOND READING
Summary: The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (OSHA) requires employers to comply with certain safety and health standards, as specified, and charges the division with enforcement of the act. Exiting law requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, before December 1, 2027, to submit a draft rulemaking proposal to revise specified regulations on first aid materials and emergency medical services to require first aid materials in a workplace to include naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to reverse opioid overdose and instructions for using the opioid antagonist. Existing law requires the standards board to consider for adoption revised standards for the standards described above on or before December 1, 2028. This bill would require an employer operating in this state that requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification training of its employees to also require those employees to take an online video module training on the use of naloxone to increase the rate of opioid overdose reversals, as prescribed. The bill would require the Emergency Medical Services Authority to oversee the training curriculum required pursuant to these provisions.

Contact

Coalition of Small &
Disabled Veteran Businesses
P.O. Box 2576
Fresno CA 93745

Email

Phone

info@csdvb.online

(279) 284-4170

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