Bill Commons

CA AB 2592

enacted

Lobbyist ethics.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

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Quick answers

Did CA AB 2592 pass?

Yes. CA AB 2592 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-27): Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 479, Statutes of 2026.

What is CA AB 2592 about?

Existing law requires the legislative ethics committee of each house of the Legislature to conduct at least semiannually an orientation course on the relevant ethical issues and laws related to lobbying, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission. Existing law requires the committees to impose fees on lobbyists for attending these courses, as specified. This bill would, commencing on January 1, 2029, require the Fair Political Practices Commission to develop, maintain, and offer an orientation course for registered lobbyists on the relevant ethical issues and laws relating to lobbying, and on each house of the Legislature's policies against harassment, including sexual harassment, in connection with lobbying activities. The bill would require the course be developed with the legislative ethics committees and give the committees final approval over the content of the course that relates to the Legislature's polices against harassment. The bill would require the course be available on-demand through an online platform, internet webpage, or application. The bill would authorize the commission to impose a fee on a lobbyist for the course, as specified. The bill would update cross-references. The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires individual lobbyists to prepare certifications, as specified, for filing with the Secretary of State. The act also requires lobbying firms and certain lobbyist employers to register with the Secretary of State. A violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, and any person convicted of violating the act is prohibited from acting as a lobbyist for 4 years following the date of conviction, except as specified. This bill would prohibit a person who has been convicted of a crime of public corruption, as defined, from serving as a lobbyist for 12 years following the date of conviction. The bill would also void an existing lobbying certification in the event of such a conviction. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from accepting a lobbying certification from any person unless it includes a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the person has not been convicted of a crime of public corruption within the previous 12 years. Because these provisions would be part of the Political Reform Act of 1974 and a violation would therefore be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Who sponsors CA AB 2592?

Pacheco is the primary sponsor of CA AB 2592, joined by 2 cosponsors.

Description

Existing law requires the legislative ethics committee of each house of the Legislature to conduct at least semiannually an orientation course on the relevant ethical issues and laws related to lobbying, in consultation with the Fair Political Practices Commission. Existing law requires the committees to impose fees on lobbyists for attending these courses, as specified. This bill would, commencing on January 1, 2029, require the Fair Political Practices Commission to develop, maintain, and offer an orientation course for registered lobbyists on the relevant ethical issues and laws relating to lobbying, and on each house of the Legislature's policies against harassment, including sexual harassment, in connection with lobbying activities. The bill would require the course be developed with the legislative ethics committees and give the committees final approval over the content of the course that relates to the Legislature's polices against harassment. The bill would require the course be available on-demand through an online platform, internet webpage, or application. The bill would authorize the commission to impose a fee on a lobbyist for the course, as specified. The bill would update cross-references. The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires individual lobbyists to prepare certifications, as specified, for filing with the Secretary of State. The act also requires lobbying firms and certain lobbyist employers to register with the Secretary of State. A violation of the act is punishable as a misdemeanor, and any person convicted of violating the act is prohibited from acting as a lobbyist for 4 years following the date of conviction, except as specified. This bill would prohibit a person who has been convicted of a crime of public corruption, as defined, from serving as a lobbyist for 12 years following the date of conviction. The bill would also void an existing lobbying certification in the event of such a conviction. The bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from accepting a lobbying certification from any person unless it includes a statement signed under penalty of perjury that the person has not been convicted of a crime of public corruption within the previous 12 years. Because these provisions would be part of the Political Reform Act of 1974 and a violation would therefore be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Introduced
2026-03-19
Latest action
2026-09-27 — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 479, Statutes of 2026.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Pachecoauthor
  • Addisauthor
  • Kalracoauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-27

    Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 479, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. 2026-09-27

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. 2026-09-10

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  4. 2026-08-30

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.).

  5. 2026-08-30

    In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  6. 2026-08-30

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling.

  7. 2026-08-30

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  8. 2026-08-30

    Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6923.).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  9. 2026-08-24

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  10. 2026-08-20

    Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  11. 2026-08-13

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  12. 2026-08-13

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  13. 2026-06-29

    In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

    referral-committee

  14. 2026-06-16

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  15. 2026-06-10

    Referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

    referral-committee

  16. 2026-05-27

    In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1,referral-committee

  17. 2026-05-26

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  18. 2026-05-26

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 5335.)

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  19. 2026-05-18

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  20. 2026-05-14

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  21. 2026-05-06

    In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

    referral-committee

  22. 2026-04-20

    Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    referral-committee

  23. 2026-04-16

    Read second time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  24. 2026-04-15

    From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 15).

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,referral-committee

  25. 2026-03-23

    Re-referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.

    referral-committee

  26. 2026-03-19

    Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS.

    referral-committee

  27. 2026-03-19

    From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ELECTIONS. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  28. 2026-02-21

    From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

  29. 2026-02-20

    Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

Versions

  • 02/20/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-20Compare
  • 03/19/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-03-19Compare
  • 04/16/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-04-16Compare
  • 08/20/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-08-20Compare
  • 09/03/26 - Enrolled — 2026-09-03Compare
  • 09/27/26 - Chaptered — 2026-09-27Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare
  • AB2592Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-04-15 · pass · 8-0

    Member-level votes (8)
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Johnson: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Gallagher: yes

  • Do pass.

    2026-05-14 · pass · 15-0

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Dixon: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Mark González: yes

  • AB 2592 Pacheco Assembly Third Reading

    2026-05-26 · pass · 78-0

    Member-level votes (80)
    • Ellis: yes
    • Wicks: yes
    • Wilson: yes
    • Stefani: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Lee: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Zbur: yes
    • Garcia: yes
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Lackey: yes
    • Schultz: yes
    • Sharp-Collins: yes
    • Gallagher: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Sanchez: yes
    • Petrie-Norris: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Carrillo: yes
    • Castillo: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Kalra: yes
    • Jackson: yes
    • Papan: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Hadwick: yes
    • Valencia: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Haney: yes
    • Chen: yes
    • Mark González: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Bauer-Kahan: yes
    • Ransom: yes
    • Quirk-Silva: yes
    • Calderon: yes
    • Rogers: yes
    • Macedo: yes
    • Jeff Gonzalez: yes
    • Patterson: yes
    • Harabedian: yes
    • Flora: yes
    • Ortega: yes
    • Arambula: yes
    • Caloza: yes
    • Bennett: yes
    • Tangipa: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Lowenthal: yes
    • Elhawary: yes
    • Ward: yes
    • Patel: yes
    • Hart: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Ahrens: yes
    • Alanis: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Connolly: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • DeMaio: yes
    • Johnson: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • Ávila Farías: yes
    • Krell: yes
    • Aguiar-Curry: yes
    • Bonta: yes
    • Bains: yes
    • Hoover: yes
    • Boerner: yes
    • Irwin: yes
    • Schiavo: yes
    • Addis: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Rivas: yes
    • Pellerin: yes
    • Muratsuchi: other
    • Celeste Rodriguez: other

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-06-16 · pass · 5-0

    Member-level votes (5)
    • Umberg: yes
    • Allen: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Cervantes: yes

  • Placed on suspense file

    2026-06-29 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Grayson: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2592

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-29T12:49:49.701567Z

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