The Legislature kicked off its month-long summer recess on July 3rd and will be returning on August 3rd to a packed schedule ahead of the fiscal year’s final stretch. In the meantime, EDGE and our advocacy partners are hard at work preparing for the Suspense File hearings on August 13, when fiscal committees will decide which bills move forward and which stall. This is a critical moment for many of our priority bills, and we need your voice. Visit our Take Action page to sign on to our coalition letters of support before the hearing.
On June 29, Governor Newsom signed California’s 2026-27 state budget, delivering several wins for EDGE’s priorities, including investments in Credit for Prior Learning, Workforce Pell Grant implementation, and continued investment in dual enrollment and the Cradle-to-Career Data System. View our full enacted budget summary here.
Upcoming deadlines:
- August 13 – Appropriations Committee Suspense File hearings
- August 31 – Last day for bills to be passed; end of the 2026 legislative session
- September 30 – Last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills
For more information about our positions on specific legislation, please contact Valerie Johnson, Policy and Advocacy Manager, at vjohnson@caedge.org.
EDGE Bill Positions
SB 1054 (Cabaldon) Better Data, Better Coverage, Better California Act. This bill requires the Employment Development Department to collect and share hours-worked and occupation data from employers, helping protect hundreds of thousands of Californians from losing Medi-Cal and CalFresh benefits under new federal work reporting requirements, while also strengthening California’s workforce data infrastructure. Factsheet
Position: Co-Sponsor
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, hearing date 8/3/26
AB 1534 (Irwin) Workforce Pell Grants. This bill establishes a state approval process for short-term workforce programs seeking access to newly authorized federal Workforce Pell Grants, ensuring program quality and incorporating guardrails to protect students. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, hearing date 8/3/26
AB 1871 (Fong) College and Career Access Pathways – Dual Enrollment. This bill would reform the College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) Dual Enrollment Program to remove student-level barriers and expand participation. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File, hearing date 8/13/26
AB 2466 (Fong) Strong Workforce Program. This bill would authorize regional consortia to use Strong Workforce Program funds to support paid work-based learning for students and employers, with the goal of increasing employability and expanding job opportunities in high-demand fields. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file, hearing date 8/13/26
AB 1980 (Caloza) Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships Grant Program. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations, through the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, to establish the Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships Grant Program to increase equitable access to building and construction career pathways for women, nonbinary individuals, and other underrepresented groups. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File, hearing date 8/13/26
AB 2300 (Arambula) Workforce Development: Applicable Law. This bill modernizes the administrative framework for California’s workforce development system by exempting Employment Development Department grants to local workforce development boards from state contracting requirements and streamlining reporting, auditing, and guidance-issuance processes under the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee, hearing date 8/3/26
SB 1340 (Richardson) Small Business Contracts. This bill would require annual reporting on the share of state contracts awarded to small and micro businesses, making it easier to track whether agencies are meeting California’s goal of directing at least 25% of contracting dollars to small businesses. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, hearing date 8/5/26
SB 1006 (Padilla) Cal Grant B. This bill would have indexed the Cal Grant B awards to inflation so financial aid for non-tuition costs keeps pace with what students need to stay enrolled. Factsheet
Position: Support
Status: Held in the Senate Appropriations Committee on 6/14/26