SB 403 is sponsored by Wahab, Aisha (Democratic) and Bains, Jasmeet (Democratic).

Where can I track SB 403?

Track SB 403 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

California 2023-2024 Regular Session Status: To Executive 2 D cosponsors

SB 403 — Discrimination on the basis of ancestry.

Last action January 25, 2024 — Veto sustained.

✓
Introduced
✓
In Committee
✓
Passed Senate
✓
Passed Assembly
5
To Executive
6
Enacted

This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

Vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom (Democratic) on January 25, 2024.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. This bill would define "ancestry" for purposes of the act to include, among other things, caste, as defined. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or specified other characteristics, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and states that the purpose of related existing law is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor. This bill would additionally include ancestry as a protected characteristic in that policy statement and would define "ancestry" and "caste" for purposes of those provisions. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , establishes the Civil Rights Department to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment, as prescribed. The FEHA declares the public policy of the state that it is necessary to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, and recognizes and declares to be a civil right the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, based on specified characteristics, including ancestry. The FEHA makes certain discriminatory employment practices based on those characteristics unlawful. This bill would define "ancestry" for purposes of the FEHA to include, among other things, caste, and would also define "caste" for purposes of those provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by AB 524 to be operative only if this bill and AB 524 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Bill Text

Enrolled 09/07/23 - Enrolled Current pdf September 07, 2023
Amended 08/24/23 - Amended Assembly pdf August 24, 2023
Amended 07/10/23 - Amended Assembly pdf July 10, 2023
Amended 06/15/23 - Amended Assembly pdf June 15, 2023
Amended 04/17/23 - Amended Senate pdf April 17, 2023
Amended 03/22/23 - Amended Senate pdf March 22, 2023
Introduced 02/09/23 - Introduced pdf February 09, 2023
SB403 View text html

Action History

January 25, 2024
Veto sustained.
January 25, 2024
Stricken from file.
October 07, 2023
In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending.
October 07, 2023
Vetoed by the Governor.
September 11, 2023
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
September 05, 2023
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 31. Noes 5. Page 2364.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
August 29, 2023
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
August 28, 2023
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 55. Noes 3. Page 2833.) Ordered to the Senate.
August 24, 2023
Ordered to third reading.
August 24, 2023
Read third time and amended.
August 17, 2023
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
August 16, 2023
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 1.) (August 16).
July 10, 2023
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
July 06, 2023
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (July 5).
June 15, 2023
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
June 15, 2023
Referred to Com. on JUD.
May 11, 2023
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
May 11, 2023
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 34. Noes 1. Page 1047.) Ordered to the Assembly.
May 09, 2023
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
May 08, 2023
From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
May 01, 2023
Set for hearing May 8.
April 26, 2023
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0. Page 893.) (April 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
April 17, 2023
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
April 14, 2023
Set for hearing April 25.
March 29, 2023
Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
March 22, 2023
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
February 22, 2023
Referred to Com. on RLS.
February 10, 2023
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 12.
February 09, 2023
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 7 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Wahab, Aisha Democratic

Co-sponsors (1)

Bains, Jasmeet 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.

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

Unfinished Business SB403 Wahab et al. Motions Concurrence

September 05, 2023

Passed 31 Yea · 5 Nay · 4 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Unaffiliated	10	0	0	1
Democratic	19	1	0	2
Republican	2	4	0	1
Total	31	5	0	4
% of votes cast	78%	13%	0%	10%

How each member voted (40)

Member	Party	Vote
Roth	—	Yea
Atkins	—	Yea
Portantino	—	Yea
Newman	—	Yea
Min	—	Yea
Eggman	—	Yea
Glazer	—	Yea
Dodd	—	Yea
Bradford	—	Yea
Skinner	—	Yea
Wilk	—	Not Voting
Allen, Benjamin	Democratic	Yea
Archuleta, Bob	Democratic	Yea
Ashby, Angelique V.	Democratic	Yea
Becker, Josh	Democratic	Not Voting
Blakespear, Catherine S.	Democratic	Yea
Caballero, Anna M.	Democratic	Yea
Cortese, Dave	Democratic	Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena	Democratic	Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A.	Democratic	Yea
Hurtado, Melissa	Democratic	Yea
Laird, John	Democratic	Yea
Limón, Monique	Democratic	Yea
McGuire, Mike	Democratic	Yea
Menjivar, Caroline	Democratic	Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie	Democratic	Nay
Padilla, Stephen C.	Democratic	Not Voting
Rubio, Susan	Democratic	Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola	Democratic	Yea
Stern, Henry I.	Democratic	Yea
Umberg, Thomas J.	Democratic	Yea
Wahab, Aisha	Democratic	Yea
Wiener, Scott D.	Democratic	Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie	Republican	Not Voting
Dahle, Megan	Republican	Nay
Grove, Shannon	Republican	Nay
Jones, Brian W.	Republican	Nay
Niello, Roger W.	Republican	Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie	Republican	Yea
Seyarto, Kelly	Republican	Nay

Official roll call →

SB 403 Wahab Senate Third Reading By Connolly

August 28, 2023

Passed 55 Yea · 3 Nay · 22 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Democratic	43	0	0	4
Republican	1	2	0	10
Unaffiliated	11	1	0	8
Total	55	3	0	22
% of votes cast	69%	4%	0%	28%

How each member voted (80)

Member	Party	Vote
Holden	—	Yea
Maienschein	—	Yea
Villapudua	—	Yea
Ting	—	Yea
Jones-Sawyer	—	Yea
Wood	—	Yea
Friedman	—	Yea
Low	—	Not Voting
Essayli	—	Not Voting
Waldron	—	Yea
Santiago	—	Yea
Mathis	—	Not Voting
Rodriguez	—	Not Voting
McCarty	—	Not Voting
Rendon	—	Not Voting
Eduardo Garcia	—	Not Voting
Jim Patterson	—	Not Voting
Luz Rivas	—	Yea
Vince Fong	—	Nay
Wendy Carrillo	—	Yea
Addis, Dawn	Democratic	Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M.	Democratic	Yea
Alvarez, David	Democratic	Yea
Arambula, Joaquin	Democratic	Yea
Bains, Jasmeet	Democratic	Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca	Democratic	Yea
Bennett, Steve	Democratic	Yea
Berman, Marc	Democratic	Not Voting
Boerner, Tasha	Democratic	Not Voting
Bonta, Mia	Democratic	Yea
Bryan, Isaac G.	Democratic	Yea
Calderon, Lisa	Democratic	Yea
Carrillo, Juan	Democratic	Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina	Democratic	Not Voting
Connolly, Damon	Democratic	Yea
Fong, Mike	Democratic	Yea
Gabriel, Jesse	Democratic	Yea
Gipson, Mike A.	Democratic	Yea
Grayson, Timothy S.	Democratic	Yea
Haney, Matt	Democratic	Yea
Hart, Gregg	Democratic	Yea
Irwin, Jacqui	Democratic	Yea
Jackson, Corey A.	Democratic	Yea
Kalra, Ash	Democratic	Yea
Lee, Alex	Democratic	Yea
Lowenthal, Josh	Democratic	Yea
McKinnor, Tina	Democratic	Yea
Muratsuchi, Al	Democratic	Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie	Democratic	Yea
Ortega, Liz	Democratic	Yea
Pacheco, Blanca	Democratic	Yea
Papan, Diane	Democratic	Yea
Pellerin, Gail	Democratic	Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie	Democratic	Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon	Democratic	Not Voting
Ramos, James C.	Democratic	Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez	Democratic	Yea
Rivas, Robert	Democratic	Yea
Rubio, Blanca E.	Democratic	Yea
Schiavo, Pilar	Democratic	Yea
Soria, Esmeralda	Democratic	Yea
Valencia, Avelino	Democratic	Yea
Ward, Christopher M.	Democratic	Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah	Democratic	Yea
Wicks, Buffy	Democratic	Yea
Wilson, Lori D.	Democratic	Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez	Democratic	Yea
Alanis, Juan	Republican	Not Voting
Chen, Phillip	Republican	Not Voting
Dahle, Megan	Republican	Nay
Davies, Laurie	Republican	Not Voting
Dixon, Diane	Republican	Not Voting
Flora, Heath	Republican	Not Voting
Gallagher, James	Republican	Not Voting
Hoover, Josh	Republican	Nay
Lackey, Tom	Republican	Not Voting
Patterson, Joe	Republican	Not Voting
Sanchez, Kate	Republican	Yea
Ta, Tri	Republican	Not Voting
Wallis, Greg	Republican	Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

August 16, 2023

Passed 13 Yea · 1 Nay · 2 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Democratic	10	0	0	0
Republican	1	1	0	1
Unaffiliated	2	0	0	1
Total	13	1	0	2
% of votes cast	81%	6%	0%	13%

How each member voted (16)

Member	Party	Vote
Holden	—	Yea
Mathis	—	Not Voting
Wendy Carrillo	—	Yea
Bryan, Isaac G.	Democratic	Yea
Calderon, Lisa	Democratic	Yea
Fong, Mike	Democratic	Yea
Hart, Gregg	Democratic	Yea
Lowenthal, Josh	Democratic	Yea
Papan, Diane	Democratic	Yea
Pellerin, Gail	Democratic	Yea
Soria, Esmeralda	Democratic	Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah	Democratic	Yea
Wilson, Lori D.	Democratic	Yea
Dahle, Megan	Republican	Nay
Dixon, Diane	Republican	Not Voting
Sanchez, Kate	Republican	Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

July 05, 2023

Passed 9 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Democratic	7	0	0	0
Unaffiliated	1	0	0	1
Republican	1	0	0	1
Total	9	0	0	2
% of votes cast	82%	0%	0%	18%

How each member voted (11)

Member	Party	Vote
Maienschein	—	Yea
Essayli	—	Not Voting
Connolly, Damon	Democratic	Yea
Haney, Matt	Democratic	Yea
Kalra, Ash	Democratic	Yea
McKinnor, Tina	Democratic	Yea
Pacheco, Blanca	Democratic	Yea
Papan, Diane	Democratic	Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez	Democratic	Yea
Dixon, Diane	Republican	Not Voting
Sanchez, Kate	Republican	Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading SB403 Wahab et al.

May 11, 2023

Passed 34 Yea · 1 Nay · 5 Other

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Unaffiliated	11	0	0	0
Democratic	20	0	0	2
Republican	3	1	0	3
Total	34	1	0	5
% of votes cast	85%	3%	0%	13%

How each member voted (40)

Member	Party	Vote
Eggman	—	Yea
Glazer	—	Yea
Dodd	—	Yea
Bradford	—	Yea
Skinner	—	Yea
Roth	—	Yea
Atkins	—	Yea
Portantino	—	Yea
Newman	—	Yea
Min	—	Yea
Wilk	—	Yea
Allen, Benjamin	Democratic	Yea
Archuleta, Bob	Democratic	Yea
Ashby, Angelique V.	Democratic	Yea
Becker, Josh	Democratic	Not Voting
Blakespear, Catherine S.	Democratic	Yea
Caballero, Anna M.	Democratic	Yea
Cortese, Dave	Democratic	Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena	Democratic	Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A.	Democratic	Yea
Hurtado, Melissa	Democratic	Yea
Laird, John	Democratic	Yea
Limón, Monique	Democratic	Yea
McGuire, Mike	Democratic	Yea
Menjivar, Caroline	Democratic	Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie	Democratic	Not Voting
Padilla, Stephen C.	Democratic	Yea
Rubio, Susan	Democratic	Yea
Smallwood-Cuevas, Lola	Democratic	Yea
Stern, Henry I.	Democratic	Yea
Umberg, Thomas J.	Democratic	Yea
Wahab, Aisha	Democratic	Yea
Wiener, Scott D.	Democratic	Yea
Alvarado-Gil, Marie	Republican	Yea
Dahle, Megan	Republican	Not Voting
Grove, Shannon	Republican	Not Voting
Jones, Brian W.	Republican	Nay
Niello, Roger W.	Republican	Yea
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie	Republican	Yea
Seyarto, Kelly	Republican	Not Voting

Official roll call →

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

April 25, 2023

Passed 11 Yea · 0 Nay

Party	Yea	Nay	Present	Not Voting
Unaffiliated	2	0	0	0
Democratic	8	0	0	0
Republican	1	0	0	0
Total	11	0	0	0
% of votes cast	100%	0%	0%	0%

How each member voted (11)

Member	Party	Vote
Min	—	Yea
Wilk	—	Yea
Allen, Benjamin	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
Wiener, Scott D.	Democratic	Yea
Niello, Roger W.	Republican	Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights labor education

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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 403 do?: Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. This bill would define "ancestry" for purposes of the act to include, among other things, caste, as defined. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or specified other characteristics, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and states that the purpose of related existing law is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor. This bill would additionally include ancestry as a protected characteristic in that policy statement and would define "ancestry" and "caste" for purposes of those provisions. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , establishes the Civil Rights Department to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment, as prescribed. The FEHA declares the public policy of the state that it is necessary to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, and recognizes and declares to be a civil right the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination, based on specified characteristics, including ancestry. The FEHA makes certain discriminatory employment practices based on those characteristics unlawful. This bill would define "ancestry" for purposes of the FEHA to include, among other things, caste, and would also define "caste" for purposes of those provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by AB 524 to be operative only if this bill and AB 524 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Who sponsors SB 403?: SB 403 is sponsored by Wahab, Aisha (Democratic) and Bains, Jasmeet (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 403?: This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “To Executive” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 403?: Track SB 403 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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At a glance

Identifier: SB 403
Jurisdiction: California
Session: 2023-2024 Regular Session
Type: Bill
Introduced: February 09, 2023
Status: To Executive
Prime sponsor: Wahab, Aisha

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