This year, Californians for Safety and Justice was a lead sponsor in more than a dozen legislative and budget campaigns focused on the people who too often bear the greatest burden of crime and the justice system: survivors, low-income communities and people living with old conviction records.
Together with survivors, community partners and advocates across California, we helped secure new laws that expand support for survivors, strengthen record clearance, eliminate harmful fees and advance fairness in the justice system. We also fought for critical state investments in trauma recovery, violence prevention and reentry.
These victories build on more than a decade of work to advance a vision of public safety rooted in what communities need to be safe and thrive. Since our founding, Californians for Safety and Justice has helped win 60 bills advancing safety and justice in California.
Learn more about the bills and investments we won for 2026:
Expanding opportunities for people with old conviction records
SB 1342, authored by Senator María Elena Durazo, strengthens California’s record-clearance system by removing barriers that can prevent people who are eligible for relief from receiving its full benefits. The new law addresses loopholes involving outdated charges and dismissed felonies and makes it easier for Californians to obtain documentation showing they have received record relief, helping more people move forward with greater access to employment, housing and economic stability.
Eliminating harmful criminal administrative fees
AB 2428, authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, eliminates remaining criminal administrative fees that disproportionately burden low-income Californians and communities of color. The law continues California’s progress toward ending fees that can burden people and families with debt simply because they have come into contact with the justice system.
Strengthening fairness in criminal court proceedings
AB 1917, authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, closes a loophole that allowed prosecutors to reinstate charges previously dismissed by a judge at a preliminary hearing without first seeking court approval. Under the new law, prosecutors must ask the court before adding those charges back, strengthening transparency and helping ensure that criminal charges are supported by sufficient evidence.
Expanding bereavement protections for survivors
SB 1149, authored by Senator María Elena Durazo, expands California’s bereavement leave protections by allowing survivors of violent crime to take leave following the death of a member of their chosen family.
Investing in healing, violence prevention and reentry
We helped secure significant investments in programs that help survivors heal, prevent violence and support people returning home from incarceration in the 2026–27 state budget, including:
- $12.5 million in one-time General Fund funding for Trauma Recovery Centers, helping sustain California’s statewide network of treatment and support for survivors of violence for the next two years.
- $60 million for the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund to support CalVIP, which invests in community-based violence intervention and prevention efforts.
- $67 million in General Fund support for Pre-Release Community Correctional Reentry Centers, securing continued support for 14 community reentry program sites.
- An estimated $89.1 million in Proposition 47 savings for 2026–27, which will be invested in programs addressing mental health and substance use, recidivism reduction, truancy prevention and services for victims.
Each of these victories represents another step toward the approach to public safety that invests in healing, removes barriers to stability and gives communities the resources they need to thrive.
The work ahead: Fighting for young survivors of gun violence
The T.H.R.I.V.E. Act (AB 2247), authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary and co-sponsored by CSJ and Youth ALIVE!, passed both houses of the Legislature but was vetoed by Governor Newsom.
THRIVE would have established a first-of-its-kind public health approach to gun violence by providing free mental health services to children and young people who have been harmed by or witnessed gun violence.
For young survivors, access to care in the immediate aftermath of violence can be critical to healing and interrupting cycles of trauma and harm. And throughout this campaign, young people told us over and over again that access to mental health care was a life-changing intervention. Without THRIVE, these interventions remain inaccessible and costly to most Californians.
We are deeply disappointed that THRIVE did not become law this year. But this campaign also built momentum, elevated the voices of young survivors and made clear the urgent need for California to address gun violence as a public health issue.
So while we are taking a moment to celebrate what we won, we know the work continues. We’ll keep fighting alongside survivors, young people and our partners to build on this year’s progress and to make sure every Californian has the support and opportunity they need to be safe, heal and thrive.