On Monday, October 13th, Governor Gavin Newsom finished signing or vetoing all 917 bills that were sent to his desk by the Legislature in 2025. Two of CSEA’s sponsored bills reached the Governor this year—Assembly Bill (AB) 374, authored by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove), and AB 378, authored by Assemblymember Valencia (D-Anaheim).

Unfortunately, Governor Newsom vetoed AB 374, the Paystub Transparency Act, which would have required employers to provide classified school employees with an accurate statement of net wages earned, gross wages earned, total hours worked, rates of pay for those hours, and any deductions from gross pay. In his veto message, the Governor cited budgetary reasons.

In better news, however, Governor Newsom signed AB 378 into law. AB 378 expands eligibility for participation in the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program (CSESAP) to classified employees working for educational Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs).

“No school employee should struggle to make ends meet during the summer. AB 378 ensures that the dedicated classified employees who feed hungry students, transport them to school, and support their learning in the classroom can access California’s Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program no matter their employer-type,” said Association President Adam Weinberger. “I’m grateful to Governor Newsom and Assemblymember Valencia for supporting this expansion of the Summer Bridge program, which will provide much-needed relief to classified employees working for educational Joint Powers Authorities.”

AB 378 will take effect on January 1, 2026. Classified school employees at JPAs should encourage their governing boards to opt-in to CSESAP and contact their local Labor Relations Representative with any questions.

One of CSEA’s budget priorities was also included in Senate Bill (SB) 148, the budget bill signed by Governor Newsom. SB 148 will allow classified school employees working at community colleges to access food pantry services offered by the college’s Basic Needs Center. This law redirects funds unused by the Classified Community College Employee Summer Assistance Program to the community college Basic Needs Center food pantries so that both students and school employees with experiencing food insecurity can find support.

Besides advocating for the Governor to sign our sponsored legislation, CSEA also urges the Legislature and Governor to reject bad bills. This year, CSEA opposed 18 bills that threatened public education, classified employees’ rights, and working families. Of the 18 bills we opposed, 17 died! Our success in defeating bad legislation is in no small part thanks to direct action by CSEA members.

In response to our calls to action, CSEA members wrote a combined 13,775 letters to Governor Newsom encouraging him to veto Senate Bill (SB) 848 by Senator Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) and SB 414 by Senator Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento).

Regrettably, Governor Newsom signed SB 848 over our objections. We opposed the bill because it does not provide classified school employees with sufficient due process rights when it comes to allegations of egregious misconduct and because it doesn’t apply to independent contractors, substitutes, or temporary employees. In the next legislative year, CSEA will work on ways to mitigate the harmful effects of this bill.

SB 414 was the charter school industry’s attempt to write their own regulations and distance themselves from recent scandals that uncovered over half a BILLION dollars in fraud. Thanks to our advocacy alongside our union siblings at CTA and CFT, Governor Newsom vetoed SB 414. Together, our voices are louder and we are stronger.

Now that bill signing season has ended, California is turning our full attention toward the November 4th Special Election on Proposition 50—the Election Rigging Response Act. The Legislature reconvenes in Sacramento on January 5, 2026.