California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 1 D cosponsors

SB 95 — Sellers of travel: travel consolidators: fraud.

Last action — Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed Assembly
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced January 23, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Prognosis

Stalled 28% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 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.

Summary

Existing law regulates sellers of travel, as defined, and requires a seller of travel to annually register with the Attorney General. Existing law, unless an exception applies, requires a seller of travel to establish a trust fund to deposit money received from persons for travel services and prohibits the seller of travel from withdrawing money from the trust account except for specified purposes, including to make refunds to the passenger. Existing law exempts a seller of travel from the requirement to establish a trust account under specified circumstances, including if the seller of travel is a participant in a Consumer Protection Deposit Plan or uses a Consumer Protection Escrow Plan and meets specified requirements. Existing law imposes an obligation on a seller of travel either to provide the air or sea transportation or travel service purchased by the passenger or to make a refund within a certain period of time, except as specified. Existing law establishes the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation to provide restitution to a person aggrieved, as defined, and provides for payment of claims from the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund established by the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation. This bill would specify the term "seller of travel" includes a travel consolidator, as defined. The bill would require an air carrier to refund a person who purchased a ticket or voucher for air transportation from a seller of travel if the person is a victim of fraud committed by the seller of travel, the air carrier had actual knowledge of the seller of travel's fraudulent business practice, and the person was unable to procure a refund from the seller of travel within a reasonable time. If the seller of travel is not registered, the bill would specify that the sale is voidable by the purchaser. Because a violation of the provisions regulating sellers of travel is a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and would therefore impose a state-mandated local crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

  2. May 23 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  3. Set for hearing May 23.

  4. May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  5. Set for hearing May 5.

  6. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 833.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  7. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  8. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 10. Noes 0. Page 679.) (April 7). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  9. Set for hearing April 22 in JUD. pending receipt.

  10. Set for hearing April 7.

  11. Re-referred to Coms. on B. P. & E.D. and JUD.

  12. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  13. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  14. From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 23.

  15. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"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.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 13 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 11000
Republican 2000
Total 13000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (13)
Member Party Vote
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Arreguín, Jesse Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Niello, Roger W. Republican Yea
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary]

Passed 10 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 2001
Democratic 8000
Total 10001
% of votes cast 91%0%0%9%
How each member voted (11)
Member Party Vote
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Arreguín, Jesse Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Niello, Roger W. Republican Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety finance civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 95 do?
Existing law regulates sellers of travel, as defined, and requires a seller of travel to annually register with the Attorney General. Existing law, unless an exception applies, requires a seller of travel to establish a trust fund to deposit money received from persons for travel services and prohibits the seller of travel from withdrawing money from the trust account except for specified purposes, including to make refunds to the passenger. Existing law exempts a seller of travel from the requirement to establish a trust account under specified circumstances, including if the seller of travel is a participant in a Consumer Protection Deposit Plan or uses a Consumer Protection Escrow Plan and meets specified requirements. Existing law imposes an obligation on a seller of travel either to provide the air or sea transportation or travel service purchased by the passenger or to make a refund within a certain period of time, except as specified. Existing law establishes the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation to provide restitution to a person aggrieved, as defined, and provides for payment of claims from the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund established by the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation. This bill would specify the term "seller of travel" includes a travel consolidator, as defined. The bill would require an air carrier to refund a person who purchased a ticket or voucher for air transportation from a seller of travel if the person is a victim of fraud committed by the seller of travel, the air carrier had actual knowledge of the seller of travel's fraudulent business practice, and the person was unable to procure a refund from the seller of travel within a reasonable time. If the seller of travel is not registered, the bill would specify that the sale is voidable by the purchaser. Because a violation of the provisions regulating sellers of travel is a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances, this bill would expand the scope of a crime and would therefore impose a state-mandated local crime. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Who sponsors SB 95?
SB 95 is sponsored by Umberg, Thomas J. (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 95?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced January 23, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 95?
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