California 20252026 Regular Session Status: In Committee 2 R cosponsors

SB 986 — Major regulations.

Last action — May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

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

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

(1) Existing law, known as the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) , governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) . The APA requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative regulation to, among other things, assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals, and requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to prepare and submit to the Department of Finance for review, a standardized regulatory impact analysis, as provided. The APA defines "major regulation," for purposes of the act, to mean any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the OAL that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding $50,000,000, as provided. The APA provides exceptions for emergency regulations in the case of a situation that calls for immediate action to avoid serious harm to the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare. This bill would prohibit a major regulation from taking effect until submission to, and expiration of a 60-day review period by, the Legislature, except as provided for emergency regulations. The bill would, prior to the expiration of the 60-day review period, require the Legislature to hold an informational hearing on the major regulation. The bill would authorize the Legislature to reject a major regulation during the review period by adoption of a concurrent resolution, and would prohibit a major regulation that has been rejected from taking effect, as specified. If the Legislature does not adopt a concurrent resolution rejecting the regulation within the 60-day review period, the bill would require that the regulation become effective. (2) The APA requires every agency subject to its provisions to prepare, submit to the OAL with the notice of proposed action, as specified, and make available to the public upon request, specified information, including an initial statement of reasons for proposing the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation. The APA requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to satisfy additional requirements, including by requiring the state agency to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis in the manner prescribed by the Department of Finance, as specified. The APA requires the OAL to review all regulations adopted, amended, or repealed and submitted to it for publication in the California Code of Regulations Supplement and for transmittal to the Secretary of State and make determinations using all of the specified standards, including necessity. This bill would require every agency subject to its provisions to also submit the above-described specified information to the Legislature and would remove the condition that the information be prepared, submitted, and made available upon request. The bill would require the notice of proposed action to include a determination of whether the regulation is a major regulation, as specified, and would require the standardized regulatory impact analysis for a major regulation to address, among other things, the estimated effect on state revenue.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. May 14 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

  2. Set for hearing May 14.

  3. April 27 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  4. Set for hearing April 27.

  5. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  6. Withdrawn from committee.

  7. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  8. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 14. Noes 0. Page 3865.) (April 14).

  9. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on G.O.

  10. Set for hearing April 14.

  11. Referred to Coms. on G.O. and JUD.

  12. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 8.

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

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

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.

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 as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Judiciary]

Passed 14 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 4000
Democratic 10001
Total 14001
% of votes cast 93%0%0%7%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Ashby, Angelique V. Democratic Yea
Blakespear, Catherine S. Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Not Voting
Richardson, Laura Democratic Yea
Rubio, Susan Democratic Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola Democratic Yea
Wahab, Aisha Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety taxation finance environment healthcare labor education
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 986 do?
(1) Existing law, known as the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) , governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) . The APA requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative regulation to, among other things, assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals, and requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to prepare and submit to the Department of Finance for review, a standardized regulatory impact analysis, as provided. The APA defines "major regulation," for purposes of the act, to mean any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the OAL that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding $50,000,000, as provided. The APA provides exceptions for emergency regulations in the case of a situation that calls for immediate action to avoid serious harm to the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare. This bill would prohibit a major regulation from taking effect until submission to, and expiration of a 60-day review period by, the Legislature, except as provided for emergency regulations. The bill would, prior to the expiration of the 60-day review period, require the Legislature to hold an informational hearing on the major regulation. The bill would authorize the Legislature to reject a major regulation during the review period by adoption of a concurrent resolution, and would prohibit a major regulation that has been rejected from taking effect, as specified. If the Legislature does not adopt a concurrent resolution rejecting the regulation within the 60-day review period, the bill would require that the regulation become effective. (2) The APA requires every agency subject to its provisions to prepare, submit to the OAL with the notice of proposed action, as specified, and make available to the public upon request, specified information, including an initial statement of reasons for proposing the adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation. The APA requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to satisfy additional requirements, including by requiring the state agency to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis in the manner prescribed by the Department of Finance, as specified. The APA requires the OAL to review all regulations adopted, amended, or repealed and submitted to it for publication in the California Code of Regulations Supplement and for transmittal to the Secretary of State and make determinations using all of the specified standards, including necessity. This bill would require every agency subject to its provisions to also submit the above-described specified information to the Legislature and would remove the condition that the information be prepared, submitted, and made available upon request. The bill would require the notice of proposed action to include a determination of whether the regulation is a major regulation, as specified, and would require the standardized regulatory impact analysis for a major regulation to address, among other things, the estimated effect on state revenue.
Who sponsors SB 986?
SB 986 is sponsored by Seyarto, Kelly (Republican) and Strickland, Tony (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 986?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 05, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 986?
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