CA SB 398
enactedElection crimes: payment based on voting or voter registration.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper
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Quick answers
Did CA SB 398 pass?
Yes. CA SB 398 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2025-10-02): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 246, Statutes of 2025.
What is CA SB 398 about?
Under existing law, it is a crime for a person to receive money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration if the person fails to sign the affidavit and include certain other information, including the name and telephone number of the person, company, or organization, if any, that has agreed to pay the money or other valuable consideration. This bill would make it a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration to another person with the intent to induce the person to vote or to register to vote, or where the payment is contingent upon whether the person voted or the person's voter registration status. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 SB 398?
Umberg is the primary sponsor of CA SB 398, joined by 2 cosponsors.
Description
Under existing law, it is a crime for a person to receive money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration if the person fails to sign the affidavit and include certain other information, including the name and telephone number of the person, company, or organization, if any, that has agreed to pay the money or other valuable consideration. This bill would make it a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration to another person with the intent to induce the person to vote or to register to vote, or where the payment is contingent upon whether the person voted or the person's voter registration status. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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
- 2025-02-14
- Latest action
- 2025-10-02 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 246, Statutes of 2025.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Umbergauthor
- Beckercoauthor
- Leecoauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2025-10-02
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 246, Statutes of 2025.
became-law
2025-10-02
Approved by the Governor.
executive-signature
2025-09-17
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
executive-receipt
2025-09-10
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2829.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-09-08
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
2025-09-08
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2993.) Ordered to the Senate.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-09-02
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-08-29
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (August 29).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-08-29
Coauthors revised.
2025-08-20
August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-07-16
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-07-03
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-07-02
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (July 2).
amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-06-05
Referred to Coms. on ELECTIONS and PUB. S.
referral-committee
2025-05-29
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
reading-1
2025-05-29
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1335.) Ordered to the Assembly.
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2025-05-23
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2025-05-23
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1199.) (May 23).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2025-05-16
Set for hearing May 23.
2025-05-05
May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2025-04-25
Set for hearing May 5.
2025-04-23
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 841.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-21
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-09
Set for hearing April 22.
2025-04-01
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 609.) (April 1). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-03-20
Set for hearing April 1.
2025-02-26
Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and PUB. S.
referral-committee
2025-02-18
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 17.
2025-02-14
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
introduction,reading-1,referral-committee
Versions
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Votes
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety]
2025-04-01 · pass · 5-0
Member-level votes (5)
- Choi: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Allen: yes
- Limón: yes
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-22 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (6)
- Gonzalez: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Seyarto: yes
Placed on suspense file
2025-05-05 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Wahab: yes
Do pass
2025-05-23 · pass · 6-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Caballero: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Dahle: other
3rd Reading SB398 Umberg et al.
2025-05-29 · pass · 38-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Grove: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Rubio: yes
- Jones: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Stern: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Pérez: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Laird: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Choi: yes
- Valladares: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Niello: yes
- Allen: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Becker: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
- Limón: other
- Reyes: other
Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety]
2025-07-02 · pass · 7-0
Member-level votes (7)
- Stefani: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Berman: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Solache: yes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-07-15 · pass · 9-0
Member-level votes (9)
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Haney: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Mark González: yes
Do pass.
2025-08-29 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Ta: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Fong: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Solache: yes
SB 398 Umberg Senate Third Reading By Berman
2025-09-08 · pass · 79-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Addis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Solache: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Zbur: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Patel: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Hart: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Soria: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Papan: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Davies: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Krell: yes
- Chen: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Bains: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Lee: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ta: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Macedo: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Ward: yes
- Fong: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Flora: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Nguyen: other
Unfinished Business SB398 Umberg et al. Concurrence
2025-09-10 · pass · 40-0
Member-level votes (40)
- Umberg: yes
- Grove: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Niello: yes
- Jones: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Cortese: yes
- Dahle: yes
- Alvarado-Gil: yes
- Limón: yes
- Seyarto: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Choi: yes
- Archuleta: yes
- Gonzalez: yes
- Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
- Grayson: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Hurtado: yes
- Arreguín: yes
- Laird: yes
- Cervantes: yes
- Rubio: yes
- McGuire: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Blakespear: yes
- Padilla: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Menjivar: yes
- Pérez: yes
- Strickland: yes
- Stern: yes
- Allen: yes
- Caballero: yes
- McNerney: yes
- Ochoa Bogh: yes
- Ashby: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Becker: yes
- Cabaldon: yes
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-30T00:14:54.409260Z
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