Happy New Year!

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! I am filled with hope and resolve.

My wish for each of you is that this new year brings personal growth, inner fulfillment and good health.

As we welcome in 2026, I wanted to share four of the important new laws that I authored which take effect today.

• SB 293 (Generational Homeownership Protection Act), creates a clear pathway for families who lost or suffered damage to their homes in the 2025 Southern California wildfires to update property transfer records without financial penalties. This helps to protect homeowners who inherited their homes from facing unexpected financial hardships during recovery and reduces their risk of losing their homes altogether.
• SB 610 (Disaster Protections for Homeowners and Renters), establishes key protections for tenants and homeowners following a future disaster. It ensures renters are not forced to pay rent when their homes are unsafe or under evacuation orders, requires landlords to repair damage like smoke and ash so residents can return safely, and directs the state to work with mortgage lenders to help wildfire-impacted families get the relief they need to stay in their homes.
• SB 634 (Unhoused Service Providers Protection Act), protects the ability of charities and organizations to provide supportive services, including legal and medical services, as well as other basic survival resources like food, to unhoused people. This a commonsense law that ensures charities and mission-driven nonprofits can continue their vital work of helping those in need without fear of local governments outlawing their work.
• SB 848 (Safe Learning Environments Act), strengthens student safety in California schools by requiring updates to Comprehensive School Safety Plans with clear procedures for preventing, detecting, and addressing school employee sexual misconduct. It also broadens mandated reporting requirements, enhances employee training, and revises relevant provisions in law to ensure stronger protections.

Although 2025 clearly brought struggles and hardships, we persevered and moved forward together to begin building a brighter future. 

I will continue to work hard to represent you by listening, bringing you into the policy-making process, and responding to your needs.

It’s an honor to serve you. If you need assistance with state government services, please contact my office or visit my Senate website at: sd25.senate.ca.gov/