Governor Signs into Law 9 Stronger California 2026 Bills for Gender, Racial, and Economic Justice

October 2. 2026

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For Immediate Release
Oct 2, 2026

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

 

The new laws, all 2026 priorities of the Stronger California Advocates Network, guard against federal attacks and advance rights for immigrant workers, transgender patients, sexual violence survivors, and more

SACRAMENTO, October 2, 2026 – Today, the Stronger California Advocates Network celebrated 9 of its priority bills that were signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The new laws, which take effect January 2027, will address pressing needs of California women, workers, and families. 

The Stronger California Advocates Network is a coalition of 65 nonprofit and advocacy organizations, chaired by Equal Rights Advocates, that works closely with the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and other legislative champions to advance economic security for women and families.

The new laws will:

• protect immigrant workers from employers’ immigration-related coercive threats intended to silence them from speaking out about workplace abuses (AB 2495);
• support survivors by ending employers’ common practice of forcing workers to surrender their right to seek justice in court after sexual assault or harassment (AB 2155);
• create additional protections for transgender healthcare patients and their providers  (AB 1876 and AB 1930); 
• expand bereavement leave to include extended and chosen family (SB 1149);
• give public school teachers 14 weeks of paid parental leave (AB 65);
• expand access to abortion and reproductive healthcare by clarifying the definition of who can provide services (AB 1973); and more.

These wins join Stronger California budget victories earlier this year, including:

• giving public school teachers 14 weeks of paid parental leave (AB 65);
• $30 million to fund the California Worker Outreach Program (CWOP) for 3 years;
• $50 million to maintain funding for essential crime victim support services;
• $26 million to protect access to gender transition-related care and strengthen California’s network of providers serving transgender Californians;
• $30 million for the Uncompensated Care Fund, which will help ensure that providers can continue to deliver gender affirming and reproductive healthcare when federal funding is unavailable, restricted, or prohibited; and
• funding for more than 150,000 affordable child care spaces.

View the full Stronger California 2026 agenda here.

Since its founding in 2015, the Stronger California coalition has helped pass 75 laws and helped secure billions of dollars in state budget allocations to address the economic needs of California’s women, families, and communities.

 

Quotes from Leading Partner Organizations:

“No worker should be intimidated into silence by immigration-related threats from their employer after violations of their rights,” said Jessica Ramey Stender, Policy Director at Equal Rights Advocates, and Co-Chair of the Stronger California Advocates Network. “With AB 2495, California continues to lead the way in protecting our immigrant communities. Thanks to the lawmakers and advocates who championed this bill, all Californians can speak out against unsafe work conditions without fear.”

“At a time when the federal government is working to undermine access to medically necessary health care for transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex (TGI) people, California continues to fight back by protecting both patients and the providers who care for them,” said Tony Hoang, Executive Director of Equality California. “AB 1876 and AB 1930 strengthen California’s existing protections by safeguarding access to essential care and shielding patients and providers from politically motivated investigations targeting lawful health care. We are grateful to Governor Newsom for signing these Stronger California priorities and for supporting critical investments in gender affirming care in California.”

“It is time we stop punishing working families! AB 1755 (Sharp-Collins) strikes a nonsensical rule that makes two-parent CalWORKs applicant families ineligible for the program if the primary wage earner worked 100 hours or more in the previous month, even if they were income-eligible for the program,” said Rebecca Gonzales, Senior Policy Advocate with the Western Center on Law & Poverty. “This rule has only served to prevent needy families from accessing CalWORKs and we applaud the Governor for signing this bill.”

“Every worker should be able to take time to mourn the death of a close loved one, regardless of how their family defines itself.” said Kel O’Hara, Senior Staff Attorney at Equal Rights Advocates. “SB 1149 is another important step towards ensuring that California’s workplace laws reflect the reality of workers’ lives. Thank you to Senator Durazo for making our state’s bereavement leave policies more inclusive and to Governor Newsom for signing SB 1149 into law.” 

“AB 2624 comes at a time when it has become increasingly dangerous to work and serve our vulnerable immigratory communities. People working for an immigration service provider should be able to feel and be safe especially in their homes with loved ones,” said Aydee Rodriguez, 2025/2026 fellow for the Solis Policy Institute at Women’s Foundation California. “We thank Assemblymember Bonta for her unrelenting work to get this bill passed and signed into law.”

“AB 2155 will prevent employers from forcing workers into private arbitration when federal law specifically recognizes their right to seek justice in court,” said Mariko Yoshihara, Policy Director for the California Employment Lawyers Association. “Importantly, this bill will impact survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault, as well as workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce, where federal law does not allow claims to be forced into arbitration. California law will now align with federal law and provide greater protections for those workers who have been harmed.”

“PPAC is proud to be a co-sponsor of AB 1973 alongside our reproductive justice partners. AB 1973, authored by Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry, removes restrictive language in existing law to allow trained advanced practice clinicians, including nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants, to provide procedural abortion care. At a time when the federal administration is hellbent on restricting reproductive healthcare nationwide, AB 1973 builds on our collective work to bolster the California’s abortion provider network and ensure all people can access timely, high-quality, affordable abortion care in our state,” said President and CEO Jodi Hicks, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.   

 

To speak with Jessica Stender and other Stronger California Advocates Network leaders, contact Nazirah Ahmad at [email protected].