BY NIESHA FRITZ
It’s the final lap of California’s 2025-26 legislative session and pressures are mounting as we race toward that August 31 checkered flag. Everyone is eager to win, no one is slowing down at the curves and stress levels are high.
The end of session always reminds me of a NASCAR race – the speed, the intensity, the bump-and-runs that move an opponent out of position. When I worked in the Capitol, I joked about getting our team headsets like pit crews use to communicate. Not exactly sanctioned apparel by the Standing Rules of the Senate, but the efficiencies were appealing to this fan of both racing and politics.
This year’s lead group of bills are tackling some of the state’s most pressing issues, from tech regulation to climate funding. Recent Appropriations hearings whittled down the list of SBs and ABs a bit, sending more than 200 bills to the garage and bolting amendments onto others like a set of new tires during a pit stop.
A high-profile bill to expand California’s antitrust laws is advancing, albeit with significant amendments. Also moving down the track are bills to expand community colleges’ ability to offer bachelor’s degrees, restrict public employment for law enforcement officers and contractors who took part in federal immigration enforcement and shore up social media and online privacy protections for children and teens. A handful of wildfire bills also are moving forward as discussions intensify over a late-breaking proposal to restrict utility liability for wildfires, one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest priorities to emerge as he nears the end of his final term. Not to mention the numerous budget issues still dangling.
The field is set for a climactic end of session, but as we race to the finish line, it’s important to hold onto what makes the California Capitol community so unique – our relationships. The friendships forged across party lines. The ability to stretch to find a solution. The policy may not make it, but the people standing alongside, or even across from you, will. The lobbyist working every angle to secure the deal; the policy analyst running interference on bill language; the comms pro weaving the story together.
We counsel our clients that one of the most important things to do in a crisis is to lead with mission and with compassion. And at this point in the legislative cycle, when every day holds a new pressure, empathy and kindness matter more than ever.
Not everyone will make it to victory lane this session, but when the race is over, everyone will recall who helped them off the track.