Stronger California: Celebrating Recent Wins for Our 2025 Policy Agenda

At a time of increasing federal attacks and rollbacks, the Stronger California Advocates Network is pushing forward toward a progressive vision of the future. The 2025 Stronger California Policy Agenda sets forth critical legislative priorities that protect Californians, even as hard-won civil and constitutional rights are threatened at the federal level.

As of July 2025, 11 Stronger California bills are one key step closer to becoming law, having passed votes in their house of origin and moved on to the second house. These 11 bills advance gender, racial, and economic justice and range from strengthening workers’ rights and protections for the LGBTQ+ community to protecting immigrant families and supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

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Four of the bills that recently passed out of their first house aimed to ensure fair pay and workplace justice. One such bill is SB 642 (Limón), the Pay Equity Enforcement Act, which further strengthens California’s Fair Pay Act and ensures that workers can effectively enforce their rights under the law. Another bill, AB 250 (Aguiar-Curry), the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act, protects survivors of sexual violence by holding accountable both perpetrators and any entities that attempt to cover up an assault. This bill discourages workplaces from covering up sexual assault by providing survivors with a two-year window to file any claim for damages suffered as the result of a sexual assault that was covered up.

Other Stronger California priority bills are aimed at protecting populations who are under federal attack, including immigrant students and survivors of gender-based violence. AB 49 (Muratsuchi), the California Safe Haven Schools and Child Care Act, prohibits ICE officers from entering a school without approval, while AB 969 (Rodriguez) makes it easier for domestic violence survivors to successfully request the CalWORKs accommodations they need to maintain critical supportive benefits.

These 11 bills advance gender, racial, and economic justice and range from strengthening workers’ rights and protections for the LGBTQ+ community to protecting immigrant families and supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Lastly, several of the bills are aimed specifically at protecting health and reproductive rights. AB 260 (Aguiar-Curry), for instance, strengthens state laws to expand access to medication abortion, while AB 82 (Ward) protects transgender and nonbinary Californians’ ability to safely and privately access essential healthcare, limiting the sharing of sensitive patient health data.

We are optimistic about the passage of these bills and the vision of progress they represent. To help these bills and others like them become law, and ensure that California will keep moving forward, visit the Stronger CA Action Center to learn how to email your lawmakers.

About the Stronger California Advocates Network

Stronger California is a historic collaboration of 65+ advocacy organizations and coalitions working toward advancing the economic security and civil rights of women and families in California. Since 2014, the Stronger California Advocates Network has supported the passage of 57 bills and billions of dollars in budget allocations aimed at combatting poverty, achieving fair pay and working conditions, expanding access to affordable childcare and family friendly workplaces, and providing accessible comprehensive healthcare.