Speaker Rivas began the two-year 2025-26 Legislative Session by urging his Assembly colleagues to “chart a new path forward and renew the California Dream by focusing on affordability.”
Almost immediately after, California has faced unprecedented attacks from the Trump administration, including harmful cuts to programs that provide for working families and costly tariffs that continue to drive-up prices for families and businesses.
The Assembly has risen to meet these challenges and is altering the trajectory of this country’s affordability crisis while charting a course to continue addressing the biggest cost drivers for California families. This work is ongoing through year one of the Legislative Session, and will continue through next year, as well. Learn more, below:
Taking Action in 2026 to Stabilize Costs and Improve Affordability
Assembly Democrats again made affordability a central focus of this year’s legislative agenda — tackling some of the biggest challenges facing California.
That means taking on the daily cost-drivers for Californians:
- strengthening consumer protections
- stabilizing utility and water costs
- protecting Californians from predatory financial practices
- making it easier to build affordable housing
Assembly Democrats are also advancing solutions that help families manage unexpected expenses, protect small businesses, expand economic opportunity and ensure Californians can share in savings when costs come down.
In June, Assembly Democrats also challenged Trump’s H.R. 1 head-on, delivering a balanced, responsible, compassionate budget that rejects cuts to health care, lowers premium costs, protects access to food assistance, supports key safety net programs and invests in schools, child care, small businesses, and housing.
Assembly Democrats put affordability at the center of this year’s state budget, protecting families from rising costs while investing in the essential services Californians rely on every day.
As federal cuts threaten to make it harder for families to make ends meet, the budget takes action to keep coverage affordable, protect access to care, support families facing food insecurity and strengthen California’s safety net.
Key budget actions and investments include:
Protecting health care and keeping Californians covered
- $300 million to keep health coverage affordable for working families as federal cuts drive premiums higher.
- Protecting Medi-Cal and delaying harmful federal health care cuts.
- Rejecting Trump-initiated cuts to in-home supportive services for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.
- $190 million to help keep hospitals open and serving their communities.
Helping families afford basic needs
- $100 million for food banks to help address higher grocery costs.
- Investments in diaper banks and other programs that help families afford basic necessities.
- Protecting food assistance as federal changes threaten access to benefits.
- 25,000 new subsidized child care slots.
Investing in education and economic opportunity
- Highest per-pupil spending in California history.
- $2.4 billion ongoing for special education.
- $1 billion for community schools.
- $300 million for career technical education.
- $750 million for teacher recruitment.
This year’s focus on affordability work builds on the Assembly’s broader agenda: listening to what Californians are struggling with, targeting the costs putting the most pressure on families, and delivering practical solutions that can make a real difference in people’s everyday lives.
‘The Year of Housing’ – Landmark Reforms to Build More Homes and Approve Affordability Now
Housing is the No. 1 cost driver for California families, and putting California on a path toward building more housing was Speaker Rivas’ top affordability priority in 2025, “The Year of Housing.”
The Assembly prioritized housing for several reasons, including poll after poll indicating that families want and expect more reliable, affordable housing options, and studies that show households and individuals are increasingly spending more of their monthly income on their rent or mortgage.
All Californians deserve the opportunity to live near their jobs, in the communities they serve and help enrich. In the “Year of Housing,” the Assembly Democratic Caucus is taking a major step toward making that a reality.
This includes landmark housing policy that will alter the trajectory of housing affordability in California, leading to faster construction of new homes, more options for renters and future homeowners and more certainty — and less red tape — for people who want to build.
- Streamlining Housing Development: Passed legislation to fast-track housing construction by reducing regulatory barriers, modernizing CEQA, and cutting costs—at no fiscal cost to the state.
- Investing in Affordable Housing: Allocated $500 million for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and $120 million for multifamily housing developments.
- Combatting Homelessness: Invested $1.5 billion through the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program to provide shelter and services for unhoused Californians.
- Improving Project Approval Time: Empowered homeowners and developers to use licensed third-party professionals for plan checks when local agencies exceed 30-day review windows, speeding up the building process for small-scale housing.
- Holding State Agencies Accountable: Required state departments reviewing post-entitlement housing permits to meet the same deadlines already imposed on local agencies.
- Preventing Cost Increases for Future Housing: Enacted a temporary moratorium (2025–2031) on new state and local residential building standards that could increase construction costs, ensuring more affordability in the development process.
And since those historic laws, the Assembly has not slowed its progress on housing affordability — advancing major investments in lower-cost home options, and expanding pathways to build homes near jobs and transit.
In June of this year, for instance, the Assembly took one of the boldest steps in California history, passing the $11.25 billion Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 — a generational investment that will fast-track construction and expand homeownership opportunities for veterans, military families, and working Californians. The bond will support tens of thousands of high-paying construction jobs and is designed to leverage federal tax credits and private financing so that every $1 invested by the state generates an estimated $4 in outside investment.
California Assembly Delivers Biggest Energy Affordability Solutions in Years
California lawmakers passed a historic package of six energy, climate and affordability bills this summer, which will deliver bigger rebates directly on family’s electricity bills.
The new laws also put California on a pathway to partnering with red and blue Western states to strengthen access to cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy, and continue to position the Golden State as a national leader in reducing pollution.
These are comprehensive energy affordability results, a historic accomplishment that will:
- Lower electricity bills for working families: Extending “Cap and Invest” is estimated to return $3 billion in Climate Credits every year to Californians on their utility bills, with higher rebates to Californians annually.
- Allow partnership between states across the West on cleaner, cheaper, more dependable energy: Integrating California’s grid with western states will save Californians upward of $1 billion every year on energy costs.
- Create new jobs: These solutions are estimated to create 287,000 jobs through 2045. Cap and Invest has already created 122,000 jobs , plus nearly 14,000 affordable housing projects, and over $9 billion to benefit neighborhoods hit hardest by pollution the program has already achieved.
- Make significant investments in affordable housing, cleaner buses, safer drinking water, wildfire prevention and healthier air.
- Protect vulnerable communities: The legislation strengthens environmental protections and ensures regulators can act quickly to crack down on polluters and protect public health. It also dedicates Cap and Invest proceeds to support climate change adaptation and the resiliency of disadvantaged communities.
- Stabilize gasoline prices and supply: These proposals secure the safe and affordable supply of transportation fuels to better shield families from sudden increases at the pump.
Defending California’s Taxpayers Against Trump’s Attacks
The Assembly has served as California’s frontline of defense against the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on the programs, people, businesses and institutions Californians rely on.
This year, for instance, Speaker Rivas and the Assembly acted fast to protect women’s reproductive health, keep clinics and Planned Parenthood doors open, and avoid reductions in services.
In February, California accelerated $90 million in critical funding to protect access to reproductive and women’s health care services statewide, ensuring Planned Parenthood centers remain open and able to provide essential care — including cancer screenings, contraception, STD testing and treatment, and safe abortion services — even as federal actions have forced clinic closures in other states.
Speaker Rivas and Assembly Democrats stood up against Trump’s cuts, threats and attacks by using every tool available to protect Californians and defend the institutions that serve them:
- State Litigation Fund: Approved a $25 million fund enabling the DOJ to pursue legal recourse when the federal government withholds emergency aid or takes unconstitutional action against California — including disaster relief, school funding, and health care.
- Legal services for vulnerable Californians: Provided hundreds of millions in legal assistance for immigrant communities and other vulnerable Californians, including veterans, people with disabilities, seniors, those facing eviction, and victims of domestic violence and wage theft.
- Holding ICE accountable: Enacted dozens of laws and continue to advance legislation to defend against Trump’s indiscriminate immigration raids, empowering state law enforcement to investigate federal agent killings, imposing new levies on detention centers, requiring disclosures when ICE is present in communities and preventing locals from assisting heartless immigration raids.
- Protecting Medi-Cal: The 2026-27 budget avoids and delays the most harmful cuts to Medi-Cal coverage, rejects the proposed asset test, and delays cuts to clinics, dental care, and In-Home Supportive Services.
- Protecting food assistance: The budget safeguards CalFresh and nutrition programs in the face of federal threats to SNAP funding.
- Election integrity investments: The 2026-27 budget includes new investments to safeguard and speed up elections — increased staffing, voter outreach and education, and measures to combat misinformation.
Putting More Money Back in Working Family’s Pocketbooks
In today’s economy, every dollar counts — and California’s Legislature is prioritizing real relief.
From lowering renting costs to raising wages and protecting paid leave, the Legislature has taken meaningful steps to ease financial burdens for working families. These commonsense reforms are about one thing: helping Californians keep more of what they earn while improving access to essential services.
Several new laws have gone into effect or been passed in 2025, including:
- Capping Security Deposits: Security deposits are now limited to one month’s rent, lowering move-in costs and making rental housing more accessible for millions of Californians.
- Expanded Paid Sick and Family Leave: Workers are now guaranteed at least five paid sick days, with key protections preserved for paid family leave.
- Higher Wages for Fast Food Workers: Many fast food employees now earn a $20 minimum wage.
- Investments in Families and Food Access: $52 million was secured for California’s food banks, alongside a cost-of-living adjustment for child care providers and a shift to enrollment-based, prospective pay.
- Curbing Banking Fees: Californians are protected from excessive and unfair banking fees, helping avoid unnecessary costs.
- Easier Subscription Cancellations: New laws make it simpler for consumers to cancel subscriptions and avoid hidden or recurring charges.
- Getting Back Security Deposits: New tenant protections help ensure renters get their security deposits returned fairly and on time.
- Rewarding On-Time Rent Payments: On-time rent now counts toward building good credit, helping renters build financial security.
- Streamlining ADU Construction: Building Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) is now faster and easier, creating more housing options for families and communities.
- Protecting Californians from Medical Debt: New consumer protections help prevent Californians from being buried in unfair or unexpected medical debt.
- Empowering Rideshare Drivers: More than 800,000 rideshare drivers now have the choice to join a union and negotiate for fair wages, benefits, and protections, creating the largest organizing effort in a generation.
- Lowering Rideshare Costs: Removes burdensome insurance requirements for rideshare drivers, while still ensuring strong protections against raising costs to riders.
- Increasing Rebates for Utility Bills: Delivers direct monthly bill credits during the highest-cost months so families see real relief on their electricity bills. These rebates will be bigger than in past years, and go into effect immediately this year.
- Saving Families Money on Food Delivery: Requires full refunds for undelivered or incorrect orders on food delivery be returned to the original payment method.
- Safeguarding Competitive Pricing: Protects consumers from price increases by making pricing algorithms subject to state antitrust law.
- Protecting Homeowners: Updates consumer protection laws to allow homeowners to cancel certain home improvement and home solicitation contracts by email or phone.
- Protecting Tenants: Prevents eviction of tenants if there are delays or reductions in Social Security benefits affecting their rent payments.
- Returning Security Deposits Electronically: Allows landlords return security deposits electronically when tenants choose that option.
- Improving Rental Car Transparency: Improves the online car rental process by increasing price transparency and ensuring consumers are aware whether they are renting a gas-powered or electric vehicle.
Oversight, Accountability and Making Sure Government Truly Works for Californians
Speaker Rivas has reshaped the Assembly into a Legislature focused not only on passing laws, but also on ensuring government delivers meaningful results for Californians.
To improve the quality and effectiveness of legislation, Speaker Rivas announced in 2024 that the Assembly would reduce the number of bills each member can introduce — lowering the number legislators can carry from 50 to 35. The result: lawmakers have introduced the lowest number of new bills in two decades, with bill introductions down nearly 13% compared to the previous session and 608 fewer bills introduced overall.
Building on that commitment to results, Speaker Rivas launched the Assembly’s first-of-its-kind Outcomes Review process to evaluate whether new laws are working as intended — because passing a new law isn’t the finish line, it’s just the beginning.
In 2026, 15 Assembly members are using this new tool to review how their legislation has been implemented, with public hearings covering affordable housing, farmworker housing, online charitable platforms, community solar, mortgage forbearance and insurance, and groundwater recharge. At the end of the legislative year, the process will result in a summary of findings and proposals for next steps.
In 2024, Speaker Rivas also created Budget Subcommittee 7 — an oversight committee dedicated to ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and efficiently. The subcommittee has held three consecutive years of oversight hearings on a variety of key issues, such as homelessness spending, leading directly to stronger oversight requirements, stricter accountability conditions on local governments, and enhanced public transparency for future homelessness funding.
Together, these reforms reflect Speaker Rivas’ belief that good government requires not only bold ideas, but also a commitment to measuring results, improving performance, and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively.