Governor Signs into Law 9 Stronger California 2025 Bills for Gender, Racial, and Economic Justice

October 14. 2025

For Immediate Release
Oct 14, 2025

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

The new laws, all 2025 priorities the Stronger California Advocates Network, guard against federal attacks on medicated abortion, trans people’s rights, and immigrant families and advance proactive policy reform, keeping California at the forefront in advancing policies supporting women and families

SACRAMENTO, October 14, 2025 – 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 2026, will protect against federal civil rights attacks and address the most 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.

The new laws place guardrails on ICE entering schools (AB 49); protect access to medical abortion (AB 260); make paid family leave benefits more inclusive to LGBTQI+ people and others who rely on chosen family for care (SB 590); expand deadlines for filing sexual assault claims (AB 250); and make California a Transgender State of Refuge, protecting the privacy of trans people’s heath care data from misuse by federal and out-of-state actors (SB 497).

Another bill, the Pay Equity Enforcement Act (SB 642), addresses loopholes in the California Fair Pay Act, which marks its 10th anniversary this year. It revises outdated gender binary language, strengthens existing pay transparency law, expands the statute of limitations for pay discrimination claims so workers have more time to pursue legal claims, and enables workers to recover more of their lost wages up to 6 years. This law is particularly important as the U.S. gender pay gap has widened for 2 years in a row for the first time since the data was first collected in the 1960s.

See the full 2025 Stronger California agenda here.

“As our rights face systematic attacks federally, these 9 new laws show that California continues to lead the nation with bold, innovative policies that protect women, trans people, workers, and immigrant families,” said Noreen Farrell, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates and Co-Chair of the Stronger California Advocates Network. “Californians deserve economic security, safe workplaces and schools, healthcare privacy, and the ability to care for loved ones without risking their livelihoods. California’s leadership in advancing these policies is more important than ever.”

“The gender wage gap costs California women billions in lost wages each year—money that could go toward rent, groceries, child care, and other essentials that families depend on,” said Jessica Ramey Stender, Co-Chair of the Stronger California Advocates Network and Policy Director & Deputy Legal Director of Equal Rights Advocates. “At a time when federal wage protections are under attack, SB 642 is a vital step forward to strengthen California’s equal pay laws. Ensuring women and all workers are paid fairly is not only critical for their individual financial stability, but also for the economic security and well-being of families across the state.”

Since its founding in 2015, the Stronger California coalition has helped pass 50+ laws and supported billions of dollars in state budget allocations to address the economic needs of California’s women, families, and communities.

For a complete list of all Stronger California wins, see here.

To speak with Noreen Farrell, Jessica Stender, or other Stronger California Advocates Network leaders, contact Blake Case at [email protected] or (601) 832-6079. 

Quotes from Leading Partner Organizations:

“It is more important than ever that people seeking abortion care have the protections they need as Donald Trump and anti-abortion extremists across the country are doing everything they can to take away our reproductive freedoms,” said Elizabeth Schoetz, Chief Campaigns & Advocacy Officer at Reproductive Freedom for All. “We are grateful to Governor Newsom and our champions in the California legislature for all their work to get AB 260 signed into law, which will preserve access to medication abortion and strengthen critical protections for patients and providers.”

“We applaud Governor Newsom for signing SB 578, which writes the California Workplace Outreach Program (CWOP) into our labor code,” said Rachel Deutsch, Campaign Director at California Coalition for Worker Power. “By partnering with trusted community organizations to educate workers on their rights, CWOP has become a critical part of California’s commitment to millions of people who labor in restaurants, farms, warehouses, and other industries where violations are common. Now more than ever, we must stand with immigrant workers, and SB 578 marks a long-term commitment to ensuring workers have safe and dignified workplaces.”

“Every person should be able to care for their loved ones in times of need,” said Katie Duberg, Political Organizing Director at California Work & Family Coalition. “SB 590 recognizes how Californians are already caring for each other, by ensuring that California workers who need to care for a chosen or extended family member can do so without risking their financial security. SB 590 makes our Paid Family Leave program more inclusive and equitable, especially for older adults, LGBTQ+ and immigrant Californians, all of whom are more likely to rely on chosen and extended family for care.” 

“No domestic violence survivor should be forced to choose between safety and economic security for herself and her children,” said Kel O’Hara, Senior Attorney at Equal Rights Advocates. “AB 969 ensures survivors can prioritize getting and staying safe without sacrificing access to critical resources. Due to the significant economic impacts of abuse, access to CalWORKs can mean the difference between safety and continued harm for domestic violence survivors and their children, many of whom cannot afford to escape abuse without the assistance of the social safety net. At its heart, AB 969 is about keeping vulnerable families together by giving them the resources they need to move forward from abuse. This law is an important step toward reforming the CalWORKs program to be more family centered and trauma-informed.”

“As Donald Trump and extremists across the country escalate attacks on reproductive freedom, bodily autonomy, and access to care for transgender people, California is taking the opposite approach — safeguarding sensitive health data and protecting patients and providers from harassment and intimidation,” said Craig Pulsipher, Legislative Director at Equality California. “Together, AB 82 and SB 497 deliver urgently needed protections that strengthen the state’s privacy laws and ensure every Californian can access essential healthcare without fear that their personal information will be weaponized against them. We are grateful to Governor Newsom for signing these bills and reaffirming that all Californians deserve safety, dignity, and the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions.”

“Each year, more than 800,000 victims of crime in California turn to victims’ services programs to access safety and start healing,” said Krista Colón, Senior Director of Public Policy and Communication Strategies at California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. “These survivors will not see an interruption to these services – mental health support after sexual assault, shelter after fleeing domestic violence, legal support after escaping human trafficking, and advocacy after child abuse – thanks to the $100 million intervention by the state to backfill federal funding cuts. Despite this win, the one-time nature of the funding means that programs must still navigate through uncertainty about the future funding stability. We urge state leaders to consider survivors as an ongoing priority in the California Budget in future years. We will continue to advocate for survivors until the state commits to sustainable funding for essential healing services.” 

“CalWORKs is our state’s foundation for helping families get back on their feet—with cash aid and supportive services like child care that help people stabilize and move out of poverty. That foundation is weakened by outdated, punitive policies that have punished, rather than empowered families—especially those led by Black and Latina mothers who already face systemic racism every day, only to encounter more of it in the very program that’s meant to help,” said Shimica Gaskins, President & CEO of GRACE/End Child Poverty California. “We are thrilled that this year’s budget includes an historic package of reforms to start building a system that centers families, is trauma-informed, and supports people to determine their path out of poverty. We’re deeply grateful for the leadership of Asm. Quirk-Silva and Sen. Durazo, and Governor Newsom for embracing these reforms. Now it’s time to follow the evidence and completely reimagine CalWORKs for the future our families deserve.”

About Equal Rights Advocates
Equal Rights Advocates fights for gender justice in workplaces and schools across the country. Since 1974, they have been fighting on the front lines of social justice to protect and advance rights and opportunities for women, girls, and people of all gender identities through groundbreaking legal cases and bold legislation that sets the stage for the rest of the nation.

About the Stronger California Advocates Network
The Stronger California Advocates Network is a coalition of 65 nonprofit and advocacy organizations working to advance policy reforms that address the intersecting obstacles women and families face to leading economically secure lives. Chaired by Equal Rights Advocates, the Network develops and advocates for the annual Stronger California Legislative Agenda to build a more equitable California economy.