Look West: How California Is Leading The Nation

Assemblymember Chris Ward (D–San Diego) held a press conference Tuesday at the State Capitol to announce the introduction of AB 1542, new legislation to strengthen protections for sensitive personal data; continued efforts to advance AB 322, a two-year bill to ban the sale of geolocation data; and renewed momentum for AB 1337, a two-year bill currently pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee to modernize public-sector privacy protections. The press conference brought together consumer advocates, civil rights organizations, and privacy experts to underscore the urgency of protecting Californians’ personal information from misuse, exploitation, and sale without consent. “Californians should not have to worry that their sensitive personal information is being sold to the highest bidder,” said Assemblymember Chris Ward. “From precise location data to deeply personal information, these bills work together to stop the sale of geolocation data, strengthen protections for sensitive information, and ensure governmen

February 10, 2026 Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo’s Legislation to Protect Veterans Signed Into Law Chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Celebrates Major Victory for California veterans SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, Chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, today announced that the Protecting Veterans from Predatory Practices Act (SB 694) was signed into law, strengthening California’s protections for veterans and service members seeking the benefits they have earned. The Protecting Veterans from Predatory Practices Act, authored by Senator Bob Archuleta and co-authored by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, was a top priority for Assemblywoman Schiavo. SB 694 stops illegal, deceptive and predatory practices by unaccredited companies who exploit veterans. These VA benefit claim sharks sometimes charge veterans as much as $20,000 for services that they can instead access for free from County Veteran Service Officers and other federally accredited organizations. “As Chair of the

Assemblymember John Harabedian’s (D-Pasadena) Mortgage Forbearance Act, has been signed by Governor Gavin Newsom.AB 238, the Mortgage Forbearance Act, provides essential relief to survivors of the Los Angeles Fires by allowing a pause on mortgage payments for up to a year. Fire victims entering into forbearance will not face any penalties or credit damage during the pause in payments. Importantly, the bill also prohibits lenders from requiring lump sum payments at the conclusion of the forbearance period, allowing homeowners to focus on rebuilding.“For months since the fires, survivors have been forced to make two housing payments: one for their temporary rental accommodations and another mortgage payment for a house that either doesn’t exist anymore or is uninhabitable due to smoke and ash damage. AB 238 will ease the financial burden that too many families are facing by allowing them to pause their mortgage payments for up to a year while they get back on their feet,” said Assemblymember Harabedian (D-Pasad

All year long we've been sharing the immigration stories of our Assembly Democrats, stories that remind us how diverse California really is. Each journey is different, but they all speak to a shared truth. No matter where we came from, we're all Californians. As we close out 2025 Look West looks back at the immigration journeys of Assemblymembers Jose Luis Solache, Jessica Caloza, Juan Carrillo, Celeste Rodriguez, Mike Fong, Alex Lee, Al Muratsuchi, Liz Ortega and Esmeralda Soria.

All this year Look West has been hearing the immigration stories of our Members. Each of their stories is unique but also prove, no matter where we came from or how we got here, we are all Californians now. On this episode, Assemblymember Jessica Caloza tells us about her immigration journey, how her Los Angeles Assembly district is responding to the federal anti-immigration actions and why she co-authored the Birthright Citizenship resolution, AJR5.

Food, Glorious Food…it’s more than just a way to stay alive. Food brings people together. Families gather for meals. Communities gather for picnics, block parties and potlucks. It’s also a way we explore each other’s cultures. Today, “Foodies” are a massive part of the social media world. There’s even an unofficial Foodie Caucus in the State Legislature. We brought a few of the Foodie Members together to sit down at a Sacramento area restaurant and talk about food, its importance to family, community and culture (and the ways the State Legislature helps keep food safe in California). Join Assemblymembers Jose Luis Solache, Stephanie Nguyen and John Harabedian for this tasty discussion.

Birthright citizenship is a fundamental right that has been enshrined in the Constitution for over 150 years. In the wake of the federal government’s assault on this core principle, Assemblymember Alex Lee authored legislation affirming the California Legislature’s commitment to birthright citizenship. Assembly Joint Resolution (AJR) 5 passed the Senate Floor on September 2, and heads to the Assembly Floor for a final vote. On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order to deny citizenship for children of non-citizen parents. The order, which remains blocked by legal challenges, would strip an entire class of people of the right to vote, work lawfully, access federal benefits, and many other basic rights. It is estimated that 153,000 children nationwide, including 24,500 in California, would see their right to citizenship eliminated if the federal government implemented the executive order. “Birthright citizenship is a bedrock of the American Dream,” said Assemblymember Lee. “We cannot let one Pr

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando) introduces her first bill in the 2025-26 legislative session, AB 495 – The Family Safety Plan Act, which will provide support to immigrant and mixed-status families by ensuring safety plans are in place in the event of immigration enforcement actions.“The threats from the federal administration have led to fear in many communities including mine,” said Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez. “We must do everything we can to safeguard families from separation and ensure children are supported. AB 495 is a critical tool that will preserve California’s families.”Forty-five percent of California children have at least one immigrant parent. An estimated 1 million children in California have at least one undocumented parent, and approximately 133,000 children in California public schools are undocumented. This bill protects children in immigrant families by ensuring that families have safety plans in place in case of immigration enforcement actions.A

Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson Advances Legislation to Lower Home Prices and Increase Housing Stock SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Dr. Corey A. Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) has taken decisive action to address California’s housing crisis by authoring AB 317, the First Time Homeowner Act, a bill designed to boost affordable housing production by eliminating unnecessary regulatory delays. The legislation passed the Assembly Floor last week with strong bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate. California faces a shortage of up to 2 million homes, driving the median price above $800,000. AB 317 directly addresses this by making it easier to build affordable starter homes, especially in underserved regions like the Inland Empire. AB 317 creates a targeted exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for modest, first-time homebuyer developments. It applies to homes 1,500 square feet or less, with no more than three bedrooms, priced under $400,000, and built specifically for first-time buyers

Bill would protect immigrant children from President-elect Donald Trump’s stated plan for mass deportationsTorrance, CA – Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), Chair of the Assembly Education Committee, introduced Assembly Bill 49, a bill that would protect immigrant children from actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who enter school sites or child care facilities. The bill would prohibit school or child care employees from allowing ICE officers to enter a school site or child care facility for any purpose without providing valid identification, a written statement of purpose, a valid judicial warrant, and approval from the school district's superintendent or director of the child care center. The bill also would require that if an ICE official meets the requirements to enter a school site or child care facility, their access would be restricted to school or child care facilities where students or children are not present."All children have a constitutional right to attend p

Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin fire recovery videoshttps://a42.asmdc.org/videosCalifornia Volunteers (Ca Service Corps)Josh Frydaycaliforniavolunteershttps://www.californiavolunteers.ca.gov/  

California’s Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and the Assembly Democratic Caucus are working to protect the people of California, its communities and economy by supporting the rights of immigrants. While the new federal administration has shown it has no respect for immigrants, Speaker Rivas and Assembly Democrats are listening to and supporting everyone in our communities. The immigration issue is particularly important in Central California. As part of the Look West Immigration Series Assemblymembers Esmeralda Soria and Liz Ortega join us for a conversation about their personal immigration stories, what rights you need to know and the work they are doing to help.

Not long ago women in the California State Legislature were rare. Today 58 of the 120 state lawmakers are women. That’s double what it was less than 10 years ago. In this episode of Look West, we sat down with the Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, at the Women Inspire exhibit in the California Museum in Sacramento. She talked with us about the impact near gender parity is having the legislature, the power of the Women’s Caucus and what her favorite thing is about having more women in office.

Five years ago, on March 19th, the Governor issued the stay at home order California needed to survive the Covid pandemic. Covid changed our lives. Some of those changes, like Zoom, are here to stay. Assembly Democrats legislative initiatives helped Californians survive the pandemic. On this episode we look back at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and talk with current lawmakers, including Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel, about their personal Covid stories, how it changed the way the legislature works and what needs to be done to prevent another pandemic.

California’s Assembly Democrats are pushing back against the Trump administration’s overreach when it comes to immigration. Even before the new administration took office, exactly one month ago today, Assembly Democrats have been providing immigration information and support to all Californians. Assemblymembers Juan Carrillo and Jose Luis Solache join us for a conversation about their personal immigration stories, what rights you need to know and the work they are doing to help.

The wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area and the 7.3 earthquake off the North Coast of California just over a month ago has put disaster preparedness back in the spotlight. State Assemblymember Chris Rogers knows quite a bit about disaster preparedness. He has hands on experience with wild fires, floods and earthquakes. His advice – prepare now, before the next fire, flood or earthquake.

Meet the other new Members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus in these two episodes:https://look-west-how-california-is-leading-the-nation-22f6dfb5.simplecast.com/episodes/freshman-class-filled-with-moms-dads-teachers-doctors-and-morehttps://look-west-how-california-is-leading-the-nation-22f6dfb5.simplecast.com/episodes/new-faces-join-the-assembly-democratic-caucus-in-2025 

Seventeen new faces have joined the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Joining the Caucus for the 2025-26 legislative session are several veterans of local government, advocates and attorneys, Moms and Dads, teachers and educators and more. Each new Member brings their own unique experience and background to the State Assembly. You met seven of the new Members in the last Look West episode. In this episode Look West caught up with five new Members as they were going through their orientation shortly after being elected. (Maggie Krell, Sade Elhawary, Jessica Caloza, Chris Rogers and Patrick Ahrens). You’ll meet five more in next week’s episode.

The incoming class of the Assembly Democratic Caucus includes 17 new faces. Joining the Caucus are several veterans of local government, advocates and attorneys, Moms and Dads, teachers and educators and more. Each new Member brings their own unique experience and background to the State Assembly. In the next three episodes of Look West we will meet them all. In this episode: Assemblymembers Mark Gonzalez, Rhodesia Ransom, Nick Schultz, John Harabedian, LaShae Sharp-Collins, Celeste Rodriguez and Anamarie Avila Farias.

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin proudly announces the signing of Assembly Bill (AB) 2839 into law, marking a significant advancement in the protection of electoral integrity and voter trust in California. This groundbreaking bipartisan legislation, authored by Assemblymember Pellerin and coauthored by 11 legislators, addresses the growing threat of deepfake technology that is used to manipulate and deceive voters with false information related to an election.AB 2839 specifically prohibits the distribution of digitally altered election communications—including mailers, robocalls, and video advertisements—that present false or misleading information pertaining to an officer conducting an election, an elected official, voting equipment, or candidates running for office. The bill acts to safeguard the democratic process from the harmful effects of deceptive deepfake materials by targeting materially deceptive content that is distributed 120 days before an election.The bill prohibits content that is likely to harm a