November 2025 Advocacy Update

Legislative activity for 2026 is fully wrapped up as of October 13, which was Governor Newsom’s deadline to sign or veto all bills sent to him in the last two weeks of session. Of the 917 bills on his desk, Newsom signed 794 and vetoed 123, making his veto rate 13.4%.  This is lower than his 15.7% average veto rate over the prior 6 years of his term. 

Now that all bills have been dispensed with, the focus in Sacramento is on Prop 50, which will shift the authority to redistrict the state’s congressional lines from the independent redistricting commission to the Legislature until 2030.  It is one of the most expensive ballot initiatives in state history, with over $200 million having been raised.  The “Yes” campaign is vastly out-raising the “No” campaign, and recent polling shows 57% of likely voters support the initiative.  If it passes, Republicans are poised to lose five congressional seats. However, may other states are also gerrymandering their congressional lines, so it is very possible that Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives after next year’s midterms. 

Prop 50 has elevated Governor Newsom’s profile nationally and it has long been speculated that he is considering a 2028 presidential bid.  That rumor moved one step closer to reality in late October when Newsom announced he will consider a presidential run after the 2026 midterm elections. He is termed out of office in 2026, and the race to succeed him is crowded.  Katie Porter had some negative media recently, and if U.S. Senator Alex Padilla enters the race, he would be the presumed frontrunner. 

Specific to CCBN, most of the bills we had concerns with this year either died or were tabled until 2027.  The only bill we opposed that made it to the Governor was SB 825 (Limon), which will allow DFPI to enforce UDAP violations. Although the bill specifies that state-chartered banks are exempt from the CCFPL, the bill removed the exemption from UDAP enforcement, which is concerning for community banks which are already regulated by the FDIC and UDAP. CCBN and others in our coalition requested that the Governor veto the bill, but given that he is the face of the “anti-Trump” movement and the bill was introduced in response to the weakening of the CFPB, it is not surprising that he signed it. It will go into effect January 1, 2026.

November and December will be quiet in Sacramento. Activity will ramp up again with legislators return to the capitol on January 5, 2026.