AB 53 — Native American tribes: fish and wildlife: conservation and mitigation lands.
Last action — In committee: Held under submission.
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1Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed Assembly
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4Passed Senate
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced December 02, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
LowHow often bills like it became law.
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Introduced
Current position in the legislative process.
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2 sponsors
1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 D).
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 5 recorded votes so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
In plain language
The bill allows federally recognized tribes to receive conservation grants and enter contracts for habitat management.
This bill expands existing conservation programs in California to include federally recognized Native American tribes. It permits these tribes to apply for grants and loans for projects related to wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.
What this means for you
- Environment: This means increased collaboration with tribes on important conservation projects, potentially improving ecosystem management.
Summary
(1) Existing law requires the Wildlife Conservation Board to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Riparian Habitat Conservation Program with the purpose and goal of protecting, preserving, and restoring riparian habitats throughout the state, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board to authorize the department to award grants and loans for the purposes of the program to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to authorize the department to make those awards to federally recognized tribes. (2) Existing law establishes the Inland Wetlands Conservation Program under the board with the purpose and goal of carrying out the programs of the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture. Existing law authorizes the board to make grants or loans for the purpose of wetland and associated upland habitat acquisition, restoration, or enhancement to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to make those grants or loans to federally recognized tribes. (3) Existing law authorizes the department to enter into contracts or other agreements with nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts for the management and operation of department-managed lands. This bill would authorize the department to also enter into those contracts or other agreements with federally recognized tribes.
Bill Text
- Amended 07/02/26 - Amended Senate Current pdf July 02, 2026
- Amended 06/11/26 - Amended Senate pdf June 11, 2026
- Amended 02/24/25 - Amended Assembly pdf February 24, 2025
- Introduced 12/02/24 - Introduced pdf December 02, 2024
- AB53 View text html
Action History
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In committee: Held under submission.
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In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.
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Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (July 1).
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Re-referred to Com. on N.R. & W.
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Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
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Withdrawn from committee.
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From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.
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Referred to Coms. on REV. & TAX. and M. & V.A.
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In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
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Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 70. Noes 0. Page 1776.)
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Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
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From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (May 23).
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Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 1627.)
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In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
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In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
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From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (May 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
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Coauthors revised.
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In committee: Set, second hearing. Referred to REV. & TAX. suspense file.
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In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
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Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.
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From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. Read second time and amended.
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Referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.
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From printer. May be heard in committee January 2.
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Read first time. To print.
Sponsors
- Blanca Pacheco · Cosponsor
- James C. Ramos · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
- Ramos, James C. Democratic
Co-sponsors (1)
- Pacheco, Blanca Democratic
Not signed on (120)
120 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 120 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Cabaldon, Christopher | Democratic | Yea |
| Cervantes, Sabrina | Democratic | Yea |
| Grayson, Timothy S. | Democratic | Yea |
| Richardson, Laura | Democratic | Yea |
| Wahab, Aisha | Democratic | Yea |
| Dahle, Megan | Republican | Yea |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 86% | 0% | 0% | 14% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Allen, Benjamin | Democratic | Yea |
| Becker, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| Cabaldon, Christopher | Democratic | Yea |
| Laird, John | Democratic | Yea |
| Stern, Henry I. | Democratic | Yea |
| Grove, Shannon | Republican | Yea |
| Seyarto, Kelly | Republican | Not Voting |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic | 52 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Republican | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 70 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| % of votes cast | 89% | 0% | 0% | 11% |
How each member voted (79)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Ávila Farías | — | Yea |
| Addis, Dawn | Democratic | Yea |
| Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. | Democratic | Yea |
| Ahrens, Patrick | Democratic | Yea |
| Alvarez, David | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Arambula, Joaquin | Democratic | Yea |
| Bains, Jasmeet | Democratic | Yea |
| Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca | Democratic | Yea |
| Bennett, Steve | Democratic | Yea |
| Berman, Marc | Democratic | Yea |
| Boerner, Tasha | Democratic | Yea |
| Bonta, Mia | Democratic | Yea |
| Bryan, Isaac G. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Calderon, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Caloza, Jessica | Democratic | Yea |
| Carrillo, Juan | Democratic | Yea |
| Connolly, Damon | Democratic | Yea |
| Elhawary, Sade | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| Gabriel, Jesse | Democratic | Yea |
| Garcia, Robert | Democratic | Yea |
| Gipson, Mike A. | Democratic | Yea |
| González, Mark | Democratic | Yea |
| Haney, Matt | Democratic | Yea |
| Harabedian, John | Democratic | Yea |
| Hart, Gregg | Democratic | Yea |
| Irwin, Jacqui | Democratic | Yea |
| Jackson, Corey A. | Democratic | Yea |
| Kalra, Ash | Democratic | Yea |
| Krell, Maggy | Democratic | Yea |
| Lee, Alex | Democratic | Yea |
| Lowenthal, Josh | Democratic | Yea |
| McKinnor, Tina | Democratic | Yea |
| Muratsuchi, Al | Democratic | Yea |
| Nguyen, Stephanie | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Ortega, Liz | Democratic | Yea |
| Pacheco, Blanca | Democratic | Yea |
| Papan, Diane | Democratic | Yea |
| Patel, Darshana R. | Democratic | Yea |
| Pellerin, Gail | Democratic | Yea |
| Petrie-Norris, Cottie | Democratic | Yea |
| Quirk-Silva, Sharon | Democratic | Yea |
| Ramos, James C. | Democratic | Yea |
| Ransom, Rhodesia | Democratic | Yea |
| Rivas, Robert | Democratic | Yea |
| Rodriguez, Celeste | Democratic | Yea |
| Rodriguez, Michelle | Democratic | Yea |
| Rogers, Chris | Democratic | Yea |
| Rubio, Blanca E. | Democratic | Yea |
| Schiavo, Pilar | Democratic | Yea |
| Schultz, Nick | Democratic | Yea |
| Sharp-Collins, LaShae | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Solache, Jr., José Luis | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Soria, Esmeralda | Democratic | Yea |
| Stefani, Catherine | Democratic | Yea |
| Valencia, Avelino | Democratic | Yea |
| Ward, Christopher M. | Democratic | Not Voting |
| Wicks, Buffy | Democratic | Yea |
| Wilson, Lori D. | Democratic | Yea |
| Zbur, Rick Chavez | Democratic | Yea |
| Alanis, Juan | Republican | Yea |
| Castillo, Leticia | Republican | Yea |
| Chen, Phillip | Republican | Not Voting |
| Davies, Laurie | Republican | Yea |
| DeMaio, Carl | Republican | Yea |
| Dixon, Diane | Republican | Yea |
| Ellis, Stan | Republican | Yea |
| Flora, Heath | Republican | Yea |
| Gallagher, James | Republican | Yea |
| Gonzalez, Jeff | Republican | Yea |
| Hadwick, Heather | Republican | Yea |
| Hoover, Josh | Republican | Yea |
| Lackey, Tom | Republican | Yea |
| Macedo, Alexandra | Republican | Yea |
| Patterson, Joe | Republican | Yea |
| Sanchez, Kate | Republican | Yea |
| Ta, Tri | Republican | Yea |
| Tangipa, David J. | Republican | Not Voting |
| Wallis, Greg | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 93% | 0% | 0% | 7% |
How each member voted (15)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Arambula, Joaquin | Democratic | Yea |
| Calderon, Lisa | Democratic | Yea |
| Caloza, Jessica | Democratic | Yea |
| Elhawary, Sade | Democratic | Yea |
| Fong, Mike | Democratic | Yea |
| González, Mark | Democratic | Yea |
| Hart, Gregg | Democratic | Yea |
| Pacheco, Blanca | Democratic | Yea |
| Pellerin, Gail | Democratic | Yea |
| Solache, Jr., José Luis | Democratic | Yea |
| Wicks, Buffy | Democratic | Yea |
| Dixon, Diane | Republican | Yea |
| Sanchez, Kate | Republican | Not Voting |
| Ta, Tri | Republican | Yea |
| Tangipa, David J. | Republican | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (7)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Carrillo, Juan | Democratic | Yea |
| Garcia, Robert | Democratic | Yea |
| Gipson, Mike A. | Democratic | Yea |
| McKinnor, Tina | Democratic | Yea |
| Quirk-Silva, Sharon | Democratic | Yea |
| DeMaio, Carl | Republican | Yea |
| Ta, Tri | Republican | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does AB 53 do?
- (1) Existing law requires the Wildlife Conservation Board to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Riparian Habitat Conservation Program with the purpose and goal of protecting, preserving, and restoring riparian habitats throughout the state, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board to authorize the department to award grants and loans for the purposes of the program to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to authorize the department to make those awards to federally recognized tribes. (2) Existing law establishes the Inland Wetlands Conservation Program under the board with the purpose and goal of carrying out the programs of the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture. Existing law authorizes the board to make grants or loans for the purpose of wetland and associated upland habitat acquisition, restoration, or enhancement to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to make those grants or loans to federally recognized tribes. (3) Existing law authorizes the department to enter into contracts or other agreements with nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts for the management and operation of department-managed lands. This bill would authorize the department to also enter into those contracts or other agreements with federally recognized tribes.
- Who sponsors AB 53?
- AB 53 is sponsored by Pacheco, Blanca (Democratic) and Ramos, James C. (Democratic).
- What is the current status of AB 53?
- This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced December 02, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
- Where can I track AB 53?
- Track AB 53 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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