CTDA Capitol Report

Bills to Watch Before the May 29 Deadline

The Legislature is working toward a May 29, 2026, deadline for each house to pass bills introduced in that house, also known as the House of Origin deadline.

Towing & Storage

SB 1112 – Vehicles: towing companies and storage facilities – Concerns as originally introduced. Amendments requested to exempt consensual tows where vehicles towed to a licensed BAR auto tire repair shop. This bill allows vehicle owners, lienholders, or insurers to use small claims court to determine whether a vehicle was wrongfully towed or stored, or if storage fees are excessive. It also prohibits businesses from participating in or profiting from unauthorized towing practices and imposes fines of up to four times the amount charged for violations. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

Vehicle Glass Repair Shops

SB 988 – Motor Vehicle Glass Act – Concerns as Originally introduced. Amendments Requested and accepted by author which clearly define glass repair shops. This bill would, among other things, impose new disclosure and documentation requirements on glass repair shops, including advance notice about advanced driver assistance systems, calibration needs, written confirmation of calibration results, and itemized invoices and receipts. The bill would also limit when repair shops can contract for insured work, requiring a filed insurance claim, a claim or referral number, and a good-faith cost estimate before services are provided. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

Lubricant Waste

AB 2245 – Lubricant Waste: Packaging: Producer – Concerns. This bill, known as the Lubricant Waste and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act of 2026, creates a producer responsibility program for lubricants waste and packaging associated with lubricant products. The bill requires producers to register with a producer responsibility organization to provide convenient collection and management systems for covered products at no cost to residents. The bill also exempts packaging associated with lubricant products from the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

ADA Lawsuits

SB 84 – Disability access: construction-related accessibility claims – Support. This bill would require small businesses (50 or fewer employees) to be given notice of alleged accessibility violations and 120 days to correct them before a lawsuit for statutory damages can proceed. It also limits liability if violations are timely corrected and prevents plaintiffs from bypassing these requirements by recharacterizing claims under federal disability law. Status: Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Illegal Dumping

SB 1218 – Illegal Dumping. Support in Concept. This bill builds on existing laws that penalize illegal dumping by requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to refuse renewal of a vehicle’s registration if the registered owner or lessee has received a notice of a delinquent illegal-dumping violation. In effect, it adds a vehicle registration consequence to enforce payment or resolution of illegal dumping penalties. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 1230 – Illegal Dumping. Support in Concept. This bill would increase the fines for the dumping of waste matter. For a second conviction, the fine would increase from not less than $500 and not more than $1,500 to not less than $1,500 and not more than $3,000. For a third or subsequent conviction, the fine would increase from not less than $750 and not more than $3,000 to not less than $3,000 and not more than $5,000. Status: Senate Appropriations Committees.

AB 2310 – Illegal dumping. Support in Concept. This bill makes it a crime to transport construction debris—such as waste matter, rocks, or asphalt—for the purpose of illegal dumping, with repeat violations (four or more) subject to misdemeanor penalties. It also prohibits transporting commercial quantities of such materials for illegal disposal, while clarifying that simply carrying these materials does not, by itself, justify a stop or arrest. Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Electric Vehicle Batteries

SB 615 –Electric Vehicle Batteries – Watch. This bill, among other things, requires that automotive repair dealers who remove electric battery from a vehicle for repair, remanufacturing, or recycling must ensure that the battery is disposed of properly, adhering to the end-of-life requirements specified in the legislation. Status: Assembly Floor – Inactive File.

Employment

AB 1883 – Workplace Surveillance – Concerns. This bill would regulate the use of workplace surveillance tools and an employer’s use of worker data and prohibit an employer from using certain workplace surveillance tools, including a workplace surveillance tool that incorporates facial, gait, or emotion recognition technology. Status: Senate Appropriations Committees.

AB 1898 – Workplace AI Surveillance – Concerns. This bill would require an employer to provide a written notice to an employee that a workplace AI tool, was used to assist the employer in making employment-related decisions or to surveil the workplace. The bill would also require notice to be given to a worker and would require an employer to maintain an updated list of all workplace AI tools currently in use and to provide the list to workers annually. Status: Senate Appropriations Committees.

Vehicle Emissions

SB 1392 – Smog Check; Exemption: Collector Motor Vehicle – Watch. This bill is a reintroduction of last’s SB 712 “Jay Leno” bill. The bill would redefine collector motor vehicle to mean a vehicle that is at least 35 years old, is used primarily in shows, parades, charitable functions, and historical exhibitions and is not used as the owner’s primary mode of transportation and is insured as a collector motor vehicle. The bill would exempt a collector motor vehicle manufactured before the 1981 model year from the requirement to obtain a smog check certificate of compliance. The bill would extend the applicability of this exemption by one model year each year, beginning on and after January 1, 2028, until the final extension takes effect on and after January 1, 2032, that would exempt a collector motor vehicle manufactured before the 1986 model year from the requirement to obtain the certificate of compliance. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

Career Technical Education

SB 1222 – Career Technical Education Technical Assistance – Watch. This bill would establish the Career Technical Education Technical Assistance and Equity Pilot Program, a 3-year pilot program related to technical assistance in CTE, with a focus on equity and inclusion. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to designate, a county office of education to serve as the lead agency for administering the program. The bill would also require the Superintendent to designate 2 pilot regions to receive intensive technical assistance services, as provided. The bill would appropriate $4,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation to the lead agency for purposes of implementing the pilot program for the 2026–27 fiscal year. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

Other Bills of Interest

AB 1421 – Road Usage Charge – Watch. This bill would require the California Transportation Commission to conduct research and develop recommendations related to a road user charge or mileage-based fee system. The Commission would be required to submit a report with its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2027. Status: Senate Transportation Committee.

AB 1865 – Text message advertisements – Watch. This bill would prohibit the transmission of text message advertisements to recipients between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. PST, regardless of whether the recipient has consented to receive such messages. The bill would also authorize a recipient who receives a text message advertisement in violation of this timing restriction to bring a civil action against a transmitter who knew, or should have known, that the advertisement violated this prohibition. Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 2564 – Surveillance Pricing – Watch. This bill would prohibit a retailer from engaging in surveillance pricing. The bill would define “surveillance pricing” to mean offering or setting a customized price for a good for a specific consumer or group of consumers, based, in whole or in part, on personally identifiable information collected through electronic surveillance technology. Status: Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1069 – Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Devices – Watch. The bill seeks to reform CARB application process to streamline approvals for aftermarket emission products seeking clearance to be sold in the state. It establishes a clear review timeline requiring the board to determine whether an aftermarket-part exemption application is complete within 30 days and to approve or deny the application within 60 days after it is deemed complete. Status: Senate Appropriations Committee.

CTDA will continue monitoring these measures and working to protect the interests of California tire dealers as legislation moves through the Capitol.