Update on TCP's 2026 Legislative Sponsored Bills

The California legislative season ends September 30, when a bill is either vetoed or signed into law by the Governor. While none of the bills TCP sponsored this year were signed by Gov. Newsom, many bills we supported through partners and coalitions have become law. The following bills are some of TCP’s legislative priorities from 2026. (See here how ALL IN for Safe Schools’ policy agenda fared this year.)

 Health Coverage and LGBTQ+ Youth Crisis Support

• AB 2161 (Bonta): A Health4All coalition priority bill supported by TCP that is an important step toward helping eligible families keep their health coverage. 
• AB 1540 (González): Establishes a pathway to restore the critical “Press 3” option on the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth across California.

 Youth Mental Health and Behavioral Health Workforce

• AB 96 (Jackson): Removes the high school diploma requirement for Medi-Cal’s Peer Support Specialist certification, broadening  workforce access for former foster youth with lived experience.
• AB 1626 (Gabriel): Requires the state to develop a model for youth athletics behavioral and mental health training for people who serve as coaches in youth sports organizations. 
• AB 2429 (Rubio): Revises requirements for early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) services reimbursement, allowing services to be more flexible and tailored to the individual needs of children. 
• AB 1646 (Bryan): Requires that all youth confined in a juvenile facility have the right to engage in certain types of consensual physical contact with visitors during in-person visits and limits physical contact only when there are significant safety concerns. 

Protecting Immigrant Families

• AB 1633 (Haney): Establishes a first-in-the-nation 25% tax on the gross income of for-profit corporations that operate private immigration detention facilities in California to support vital immigration-related services for families across the state.
• AB 1655 (Bryan): Protects vulnerable households by ensuring that a child or family member who is detained in a federal immigration facility is deemed “temporarily absent” from the home, preventing families from losing basic needs support under the CalWORKs program.
• AB 1806 and AB 1807 (Gabriel and Carrillo): AB 1806 requires the California Attorney General to conduct independent investigations into any incidents where a federal immigration officer shoots a civilian and empowers state prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against officers who violate state law. AB 1807 bars federal immigration authorities from using state-owned property as staging areas to process, detain, or support civil immigration enforcement operations.