SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate has advanced 16 bills authored by Senator John Laird to the State Assembly ahead of the Legislature’s House of Origin deadline.

The legislation reflects a wide range of issues affecting communities across Senate District 17 and California, including protecting the environment, improving public health, supporting seniors and people with disabilities, conserving water, strengthening local infrastructure, expanding workforce opportunities, and helping local governments provide essential public services.

“I appreciate my colleagues in the Senate for advancing these bills to the Assembly,” said Laird. “These are practical bills. They address real issues facing communities across California.”

The bills authored by Laird that have advanced to the Assembly include:

1. SB 575 – Sea Otter Conservation Fund

Allows Californians to voluntarily contribute money for sea otter protection when filing their state taxes. The funding supports sea otter recovery efforts, scientific research, and protection of California’s coastal ecosystems. The bill restores a popular conservation program and gives people another opportunity to directly support marine wildlife conservation.

2. SB 917 – Farmers Market Wine Sales

Expands opportunities for California wineries to sell products at certified farmers markets, including wineries that do not grow all of their own grapes on-site. The bill also allows more wineries to offer tastings at a single market, helping support local businesses, agriculture, and regional tourism.

3. SB 922 – Road Repair Funding for Heavy Trucks

Clarifies local governments can continue charging fees to help cover road damage caused by heavy hauling vehicles providing public services, including garbage and waste trucks. The bill protects an important source of funding used by cities and counties to maintain and repair local streets and roads.

4. SB 931 – Diablo Canyon Community Funding

Extends funding support for communities affected by the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant through 2030. The program helps local governments pay for essential services including emergency preparedness, public safety, and local infrastructure.

5. SB 939 – CalPERS Retirement Buyback Reform

Updates the process for public employees purchasing retirement service credit through CalPERS by requiring payments to be made upfront instead of over time. The bill reduces financial risk for the retirement system and members alike, as well as improves long-term fiscal stability.

6. SB 952 – Clean Energy for the State Water Project

Helps the State Water Project meet California’s clean energy goals by making it easier to manage renewable energy procurement over time. The bill reduces costs and improves long-term planning while supporting cleaner energy use within California’s water system.

7. SB 963 – Coastal Permit Appeals Reform

Adds clearer timelines to the California Coastal Commission’s permit appeals process, helping projects move through the system more predictably and efficiently. The bill maintains existing environmental protections while improving transparency and certainty for communities, local governments, and applicants.

8. SB 1023 – Expanding Access to HIV Prevention Medication

Expands access to injectable HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), by helping clinics and healthcare providers get reimbursed more reliably by insurance companies. The bill reduces administrative barriers to providing care and helps more Californians access HIV prevention treatment.

9. SB 1038 – Transparency in CalPERS Audits

Improves transparency during CalPERS audits by requiring public employers to notify employee organizations throughout the audit process. The bill helps ensure workers are informed early about potential retirement benefits or financial issues that could affect them.

10. SB 1055 – Pajaro Flood Protection Projects

Helps speed up critical flood control and levee improvement projects in the Pajaro region by giving the local flood management agency more flexibility in how projects are built and contracted. The bill improves efficiency, reduces delays, and supports long-term flood protection for communities in the Pajaro River watershed.

11. SB 1078 – Santa Cruz County Local Funding Measure

Allows Santa Cruz County voters to consider a temporary local funding measure by exempting the county from the state’s existing local sales tax cap. The bill gives the county additional flexibility to support essential safety net services that have been impacted by HR1 funding cuts and aligns Santa Cruz County with similar exemptions granted to other California communities.

12. SB 1139 – Monterey Peninsula Water Conservation

Ensures existing water conservation rules are enforced on the Monterey Peninsula by clarifying the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District can enforce restrictions on watering decorative, nonfunctional grass with drinking water. The bill helps protect limited water supplies in a drought-prone region while maintaining existing exemptions for functional uses like agriculture and recreation.

13. SB 1207 – Supporting the California Conservation Corps

Strengthens and modernizes the California Conservation Corps (CCC) by expanding opportunities for corpsmembers to access retirement service credit. The bill also helps improve coordination with tribal conservation corps and supports the CCC’s long-term stability as it prepares for potential federal funding challenges.

14. SB 1253 – Swimming at Santa Margarita Lake

Allows recreational swimming at Santa Margarita Lake while maintaining protections for water quality and public health. The bill reflects modern standards for water treatment and oversight while expanding recreational access.

15. SB 1261 – Aging and Disability Services Continuity

Prevents disruptions to services for older adults, people with disabilities, and caregivers during administrative transitions within Aging and Disability Resource Connections that provide essential local support services. The bill ensures Californians can continue accessing important community services and resources without interruption.

16. SB 1288 – Faster Access to Inherited Financial Assets

Ensures family members, nonprofits, and other beneficiaries access inherited financial assets more quickly by requiring financial institutions to notify beneficiaries within 60 days after being informed of a person’s death. The bill reduces delays and simplifies the process for transferring funds and other nonprobate assets.

In addition to advancing his legislative package, Laird, who serves as Chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, also helped secure key healthcare-related budget actions this year, including:

• SB 106 – Reproductive Health Care Funding

Provides $90 million in emergency funding to help reproductive health clinics – including Planned Parenthood – continue providing care after recent federal funding cuts. The funding is intended to help prevent clinic closures and protect access to services such as cancer screenings, birth control, and family planning care across California.

• AB 108 – Emergency Hospital Stabilization Funding

Provides $25 million in emergency funding to help nonprofit and public hospitals that are at immediate risk of closing due to serious financial problems. The measure is intended to help keep critical healthcare services operating in vulnerable communities while the state works on longer-term solutions for struggling hospitals.

The Assembly will now consider the Senate bills during the second half of the 2026 legislative session.