Legislative update from Sacramento provided by Gonsalves & Son on August 12, 2026
The California Legislature has returned to Sacramento for the final four weeks of the 2025-26 legislative session. Lawmakers adjourned for summer recess on July 2, 2026, and reconvened on Aug. 3, 2026. With less than four weeks remaining before final adjournment, legislators are working through more than 1,200 bills that must clear the remaining fiscal and floor deadlines before the Legislature adjourns for the year on Aug. 31, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
There are several important legislative deadlines over the next three weeks. Aug. 14 is the final day for fiscal committees to meet and report bills to the floor. Beginning Aug. 17, the Legislature will be floor session only, during which regular policy and fiscal committees may no longer meet without a rule waiver. Aug. 21 is the final day to amend bills on the floor without a rule waiver. However, the Legislature may waive this deadline, as it frequently does during the closing days of session. The California Constitution requires a bill to be in print and published on the internet in its final form for at least 72 hours before it may be passed, making Aug. 28 the final day for amendments to bills that must be voted on before the Legislature adjourns at 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 31. Once the Legislature finalizes its work on Aug. 31 and passes the remaining bills to the governor, the focus will shift to the governor, who will have until Sept. 30 to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature.
The Legislature returned from summer recess with significant leadership changes underway in both the Assembly and Senate Republican caucuses. On Aug. 3, the Assembly Republican Caucus selected a new Republican leader, Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, succeeding Assemblymember Heath Flora, R-Ripon. Assembly Republican leader Macedo, a first-term legislator from the Central Valley, assumes the leadership post as lawmakers enter the final weeks of the legislative session and turn their attention toward the November general election.
On Aug. 11, Senate Republicans unanimously selected Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, to serve as their next leader. Niello will succeed current Senate Republican leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, following the November 2026 general election, with Jones continuing to lead the caucus through the election. Representing the 6th Senate District, which includes portions of Sacramento and Placer counties, Niello brings extensive state and local government experience to the position, having previously served in the state Assembly and on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. The transition will place Niello at the helm of the caucus as the Legislature begins a new two-year session in December.
Once the Legislature completes its work and the governor’s September bill-signing period concludes, attention will quickly turn to the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. All 80 seats in the California Assembly will be on the ballot, and 20 of the 40 state Senate seats will also be up for election. The outcome of these legislative races will determine the composition of the Assembly and Senate when the new Legislature convenes in December. It will also change the makeup of committees and leadership roles.
In addition, voters will elect a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, controller, treasurer, attorney general, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction. With Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term expiring, the gubernatorial contest will result in new leadership in the governor’s office beginning in January 2027.
California voters will also decide 14 statewide ballot propositions in November. The measures include five propositions placed on the ballot by the Legislature and nine measures that qualified through the initiative process. The ballot measures address a broad range of issues, including veterans and affordable housing, state budgeting and reserves, education and health care funding, public financing of campaigns, recall elections, middle-income homeownership, medical research, voter identification requirements, taxation of billionaires, state and local tax limitations, community health clinics, and CEQA reform.
The next several months will therefore be an especially active period in Sacramento. Again, the Legislature must complete its work by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 31, the governor will have through Sept. 30 to act on end-of-session legislation, and voters will head to the polls on Nov. 3. CCMF will continue to monitor these developments and keep members informed about legislative and political changes affecting California’s cities and the city management profession.
If you have any questions, or if you would like any additional information, please feel free to contact Gonsalves & Son at 916-441-0597.
