41 Bills. One Legislative Report. (2026)
Download the report or read details below.
California's 2025-2026 legislative session is over, and the Governor has acted on the bills that reached his desk. ANA\California tracked 41 priority bills. 35 were signed into law, 5 were vetoed, and 1 stalled in the Senate.
The pattern: nursing scope and nursing education moved forward. AI safeguards did not.
The Board of Registered Nursing was renewed through 2031. Nurse-midwives gained the ability to work in labor, delivery, and obstetric triage without physician supervision, within their scope. Training rules for abortion care were updated. Two bills that would have set guardrails on AI in clinical settings, AB 2575 and SB 903, were vetoed.
How to read this report
Signed means the Governor signed the bill.
Vetoed means the Governor vetoed it with a message.
Stalled means the bill did not pass this session.
Nursing: boards and scope of practice
SB 1302 (Wahab), signed. Renews the Board of Registered Nursing to 2031. Nurses may give medications ordered by NPs, nurse-midwives, and APRNs. Nursing schools must be posted online.
SB 1304 (Wahab), signed. Renews the Respiratory Care Board to 2031. LVNs may do more respiratory tasks in places like group homes and congregate living facilities.
AB 1696 (Stefani), signed. Nurse-midwives can work in labor, delivery, and obstetric triage without physician supervision, within their scope.
AB 1973 (Aguiar-Curry), signed. Updates who may provide abortion care and the training rules for NPs, nurse-midwives, and PAs.
AB 2575 (Ortega), vetoed. Would have let care workers override AI clinical advice and barred employer retaliation for doing so.
Nursing education: school oversight and clinical training
SB 1302 (Wahab), signed. School oversight: approved-school list posted online, inspections aligned with national guidelines, reduced clinical hours allowed during disruptions. Also listed under nursing.
SB 1271 (Reyes), signed. The Medical Board will survey licensed midwives about their ability to supervise student midwives, to plan for training capacity.
Healthcare: coverage, AI, public health, and safety
SB 503 (Weber Pierson), signed. Makers and users of clinical AI tools must work to find and reduce biased results.
SB 903 (Padilla), vetoed. Would have limited AI in therapy and barred AI therapy chatbots.
AB 1637 (Caloza), signed. Only the physician who wrote a patient's notes may change them, with limited exceptions.
AB 224 (Bonta), signed. The new 2027 benefits benchmark adds fertility services and durable medical equipment.
AB 1910 (Boerner Horvath), signed. The state will post guidance encouraging patients to raise pelvic floor concerns at postpartum visits.
AB 1974 (Stefani), signed. Police may hold firearms temporarily for safekeeping to help prevent suicide and violence.
SB 936 (Blakespear), signed. Bans retail sale of large or flavored nitrous oxide containers and inhalation devices.
AB 762 (Irwin), signed. Bans manufacture of disposable vapes from 2027 and sales from 2028.
AB 2244 (Gabriel), signed. Creates a voluntary Non-Ultraprocessed Certified food seal.
AB 1088 (Bains), stalled in the Senate. Would have regulated kratom.
Access to care: coverage, screening, and cost barriers
AB 1843 (Elhawary), signed. No prior authorization for medically necessary hepatitis C drugs.
AB 1906 (Aguiar-Curry), signed. Plans and Medi-Cal cover cervical cancer screening, including home test kits, at no cost to the patient.
SB 964 (Smallwood-Cuevas), signed. Dose changes need no prior authorization, and plans must answer within 72 hours.
AB 2292 (Ward), signed. Doctors may not charge fees to complete disability benefit forms.
AB 2160 (Rodriguez), signed. The state must clarify Medi-Cal coverage of lactation services by July 2027.
AB 2540 (Stefani), signed. Campus health centers must promote medication abortion, and community colleges must offer it by 2029.
SB 81 (Arreguín), signed. Hospitals and clinics must protect patients' immigration status information, train staff, and generally require a judicial warrant before enforcement enters non-public areas.
AB 2531 (Irwin), signed. Lets providers use equity-program grants to serve uninsured veterans.
SB 526 (Pérez), signed. Streamlines licensing for primary care clinics.
AB 2282 (Alanis), vetoed. Would have allowed a rural emergency stabilization unit in a Central Valley hospital district. Vetoed despite near-unanimous votes.
Social justice: immigration enforcement and civil rights
AB 49 (Muratsuchi), signed. Schools may not let immigration officers into non-public areas without a judicial warrant.
SB 98 (Pérez), signed. Schools and colleges must alert their communities when immigration enforcement is confirmed on site.
SB 627 (Wiener), signed. Makes it a crime for officers, including federal officers, to wear face coverings on duty, with exceptions.
SB 805 (Pérez), signed. Officers must display their agency and a name or badge number, and impersonating any officer is a crime.
AB 1876 (Addis), signed. Health plans may not discriminate by race, sex, gender identity, disability, and more.
AB 1854 (Krell), signed. Extends protections for legally protected reproductive and gender-affirming care.
AB 1940 (Calderon), vetoed. Would have added menopause conditions to sex-discrimination protections.
AB 2164 (Bauer-Kahan), vetoed. Would have protected out-of-state helpers of lawful care and limited extradition.
Environment: toxics, wildfire recovery, and disaster readiness
AB 1604 (Stefani), signed. Bans BPA in paper receipts from 2028 and other bisphenols from 2029.
AB 1901 (Berman), signed. Diaper makers must post every intentionally added chemical online by 2029.
SB 904 (Seyarto), signed. Speeds rebuilding after wildfire emergencies and requires electronic permit filing.
SB 837 (Reyes), signed. Aging and Disability Resource Connection programs must teach disaster readiness.
SB 1167 (Blakespear), signed. Separates e-bikes from mopeds, with battery safety and labeling rules.
Other
AB 1883 (Bryan), signed. Bars workplace AI tools that collect neural data or read workers' emotions, with exceptions.
AB 712 (Wicks), signed. Housing applicants who win enforcement suits recover fees, and agencies face fines.
The five vetoes
AB 2575 (Ortega): AI and clinicians' professional judgment.
SB 903 (Padilla): AI in mental health care.
AB 1940 (Calderon): Menopause and discrimination.
AB 2164 (Bauer-Kahan): Out-of-state care and extradition.
AB 2282 (Alanis): Rural emergency stabilization unit.
What this means for nurses
Scope of practice moved where nurses pushed. Nurse-midwives, NPs, and LVNs gained room to practice, and the BRN and Respiratory Care Board were renewed through 2031.
AI oversight is still unsettled. Bias reporting in clinical AI is now law under SB 503, but the bills that would have protected clinical judgment and therapy were vetoed. Expect this fight to return.
Implementation is the next opening. Agencies write the rules for SB 503, AB 2160, and AB 2540. Public comment is where nurses can shape what those laws look like in practice.
What you can do
Vote Tuesday, Nov. 3. Find your voting location
Contact your district representatives about the bills that affect your practice. Find your legislator
Subscribe to Legislative Watch for updates on implementation and the next session.
Sources: LegiScan, CalMatters Digital Democracy, CALegInfo, and Governor Newsom's announcements.
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