Legislature Passes SB 1387, Putting California One Signature Away From Becoming the First State to Recognize Jewish Identity as an Ethnicity in Law

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Legislature today gave final approval to Senate Bill 1387, putting California one signature away from becoming the first state in the nation to recognize Jewish identity as an ethnicity, in addition to a religion, in state law. In the final hours of the 2025-26 legislative session this evening, the Assembly passed the bill 62-0, with 17 abstentions, and the Senate concurred in the Assembly's amendments 38-0, with 2 abstentions. (Note: both final vote counts are subject to change slightly before midnight). SB 1387 now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom's desk.

Authored by Senator Henry Stern (D-Sherman Oaks) and sponsored by Jewish California, SB 1387 ensures that Jewish ethnicity is captured when the state collects ethnicity data, so that hate crime, health, and education data can account for Jewish Californians. In the Pew Research Center's Jewish Americans in 2020 study, 52% of American Jews said ancestry is essential to what being Jewish means to them and 55% said culture, while 36% said religion. Yet California's data systems have never reflected that reality.

Participation is voluntary, and the bill adds an option without removing or altering any existing religious-category data. All published data is aggregate, and the bill bars the information from being used to create a registry of individuals, or for law enforcement or immigration enforcement. The requirements take effect January 1, 2029, with the first reports published beginning January 1, 2030.

SB 1387 drew national attention, including coverage in The New York Times.

"SB 1387 makes sure that we are seen and included when the state counts ethnic communities, a national first," said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California (formerly JPAC). "Good data makes good policy, and this bill means hate crime reports, health surveys, and education data will finally reflect who we actually are. We're grateful to Senator Stern for his leadership, to the California Legislative Jewish Caucus for their support, and to the 59 Jewish organizations that stood behind this bill."

The bill now goes to Governor Newsom, who has until September 30 to sign or veto legislation passed this session.

Learn more at our SB 1387 website: https://www.jewishcal.org/sb1387

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All six Jewish California-sponsored bills are now on Governor Newsom’s desk. Follow the status of all Jewish California bills at our Policy Agenda Tracker: https://tracker.jewishcal.org/