Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan Moves 19 Ambitious Bills to the State Senate

Sacramento, CA –Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer Kahan (D-Orinda) has successfully achieved passage of 19 bills from the California State Assembly to the State Senate.

As the Chair of the Select Committee on Reproductive Health, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has championed abortion rights with AB 352 and AB 254, which will protect those who receive or provide abortions by preventing data revealing a patient’s abortion from crossing state lines. Both bills are Legislative Women’s Caucus priorities and AB 352 is a Planned Parenthood sponsored bill. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has continued to lead in the efforts to make California a sanctuary state for abortion and gender affirming care in the face of the attacks to reproductive rights.

“The Supreme Court completely abandoned equal protections for pregnant people. It’s now up to states like California to fight for them,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan.  “With more patients fleeing to California for care, AB 254 and AB 352 ensure abortion information stays private so patients are protected - wherever they are.”

As the Chair of the Water Parks and Wildlife Committee, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has authored several water reform bills to ensure water access and sustainability in the face of climate change. AB 460 strengthens the State Water Board’s ability to act swiftly to prevent harm to the environment, public health, and water resources caused by illegal or wasteful uses of water.  In the coming years, experts foresee increasing demands for water without the resources to sustain them.  To protect water rights from being flipped for profit, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has also authored AB 1205, which prevents private entities from hoarding water rights as investments.

“Water is a human right,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. “We cannot allow speculators or illegal diverters to exploit our system when this critical resource is running out. It’s our job to ensure the taps stay on and water access remains secure and sustainable.”

Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has also championed several environmental protections and bills promoting access to the outdoors. AB 618 reforms the camping reservation system to make sites easier and more equitable to book, and AB 267 removes harmful chemicals from camping tents. AB 363 and AB 1042 continues the Assemblymember’s work to save the bees, butterflies, and our food supply by requiring the Department of Pesticide Regulation to sufficiently evaluate and regulate harmful pesticides in home use and in seed treatments.

Worker protections have always been essential to equity, and Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan has prioritized this issue with two bills. First, AB 1076 would prevent harmful and illegal noncompete clauses from being included in worker’s contracts. These clauses hurt the most vulnerable workers by misleading them into staying in jobs for longer. The second labor bill authored by the Assemblymember is AB 521, which came directly from women in the trades in District 16. The bill will require OSHA to revisit its regulations to provide restrooms for women on construction sites.

In addition, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan’s AB 301, AB 923, AB 1369, AB 1643, AB 862, and AB 1008 are all over in the Senate. These bills will increase oversight of body-armor ownership, improve flood protections, expand treatment options for terminally ill patients, reform the juvenile justice system, ensure local accountability for recidivism reductions, and protect the endangered Joshua trees.

“This legislative package represents the issues that matter most to my district. Water, environmental protection, reproductive rights, and worker protections are critical to my diverse and thoughtful constituency,” said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. “I’m so proud of the incredible legislation we’re moving forward this year, and I’m looking forward to a path through the Senate.”

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