Jewish California Releases 2026 Legislative Scorecard: Six for Six on Sponsored Bills, 50 Legislators Earn 100%

Third annual scorecard shows how California lawmakers voted on the Jewish community’s top priorities in a year of firsts

CALIFORNIA – Jewish California (formerly JPAC), the statewide coalition of 46 Jewish organizations, today released its 2026 Legislative Scorecard, a record of how California’s 120 legislators voted on 13 bills tied to the Jewish community’s top issues and values. Every bill the coalition sponsored this year was signed into law. Fifty legislators, 21 senators and 29 Assemblymembers, earned a 100% score.

“With division and ignorance still on the rise, our community asked for a lot this year – and many legislators showed up for us,” said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California. “Six for six is the result of 46 organizations speaking with one voice and of lawmakers who voted with us across party lines. The scorecard is how we thank those who earned it, and how we respectfully ask for deeper partnership from those who have room to grow.”

Six sponsored bills, six signed into law. The bills include SB 1387 (Stern), which makes California the first state in the nation to recognize Jewish identity as an ethnicity in law and data collection; AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan), which creates safe zones around houses of worship; AB 1836 (Gabriel, Ward), which expands nonprofit security grants to protect community events; AB 395 (Gabriel) and AB 1763 (Lee), which protect religious observance in schools and public life; and AB 1853 (Pellerin), which sets content standards for the state Voter Information Guide after hate speech was mailed to 23 million households in the June 2026 Primary. Governor Newsom signed all six, and AB 2664 and AB 1836 were signed at a ceremony at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, the first bill signing he has hosted with Jewish California.

The scorecard scores how lawmakers voted on these six bills, plus an additional seven bills that Jewish California supported to counter hate and advance dignity and opportunity for all.

$165.25 million for nine programs. The state budget includes a generational commitment of $80 million, every year into the future, for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, along with funding for Holocaust survivor assistance, Holocaust and genocide education, refugee support and projects at five member organizations. The scorecard also highlights lawmakers who helped guide these budget advocacy efforts.

Defending recent wins. Jewish California also defeated two bills that would have undone protections for Jewish students and defended AB 715, the first-in-the-nation K-12 antisemitism prevention law, against a lawsuit. These efforts are highlighted in the scorecard, but not directly scored because they never came up for a vote in their harmful form.

Standouts. The scorecard recognizes lawmakers who went above and beyond – including Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate Leader Monique Limón, Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel and Senate Budget Chair John Laird – and helped secure the wins described above through efforts beyond just their votes.

“Jewish Californians asked for protection, recognition, and a seat at the table, and the Legislature responded,” said Bocarsly. “We are grateful to Governor Newsom and to every lawmaker who stood with us.”

How scores work. The scorecard counts every recorded committee, floor, and concurrence vote on 13 bills – except Appropriations votes. Votes on the six sponsored bills are weighted twice as heavily to represent our communal investment in those efforts. Abstentions are equivalent to no votes in Sacramento and are counted as such in our scoring, with exceptions for excused absences. Every legislator is scored under the same, objective metrics.

Jewish California does not endorse or oppose candidates. The scorecard is a record of votes on bills.

The scorecard is available at jewishcal.org/2026scorecard, and the coalition’s policy agenda tracker is at tracker.jewishcal.org.