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Prepared by Precision Advocacy
This report summarizes three recent state actions with direct implications for Orange County: the statewide emergency proclamation for the developing 2026-27 El Niño, a 13-bill election package, and seven new laws governing data-center development and operation.
The most immediate County priorities are to identify winter-preparedness projects that may require expedited state approvals; coordinate election implementation across the Registrar of Voters, County Counsel, and law-enforcement agencies; and prepare permitting, licensing, and cost-recovery procedures for the new data-center disclosure and water-planning requirements. Key implementation details will depend on additional state guidance, including the administration's October 16 permitting recommendations and forthcoming direction from the Secretary of State and Public Utilities Commission.
Governor Issues Statewide Emergency Proclamation for 2026-27 El Niño
Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide emergency proclamation on September 21 in response to the developing 2026-27 El Niño and the risk of atmospheric rivers, flooding, debris flows, and other damage from potentially substantial winter precipitation. The proclamation applies throughout California, including Orange County, and is intended to allow state agencies to begin preparations before storms occur rather than waiting for individual disasters.
The action responds in part to two separate requests submitted to the governor. One letter from Orange County requested a statewide state-of-emergency proclamation to support advance preparation for the coming winter storm season. A separate statewide coalition letter requested an emergency executive order providing specific regulatory and operational relief for flood-control, drainage, and emergency-maintenance work. The September 21 proclamation addresses portions of both requests but does not grant all of the relief sought in the emergency-maintenance letter.
The proclamation directs state agencies to begin coordinated planning and outreach with local governments in anticipation of potentially significant winter storms. Among its principal provisions, it:
- Streamlines state contracting requirements for agencies obtaining materials, goods, and services needed for disaster preparedness and response.
- Directs state agencies to prioritize environmental permit applications for flood-preparedness projects.
- Directs the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and California Natural Resources Agency to evaluate potential suspensions of environmental permitting requirements and submit recommendations by October 16.
- Directs state agencies to coordinate with local, federal, and tribal governments and other entities on preparedness, response, and recovery activities.
- Initiates statewide preparation for the possibility of atmospheric rivers, flooding, debris flows, and substantial precipitation associated with the developing El Niño.
Because the proclamation covers the entire state, Orange County does not need to obtain a separate county-specific state declaration to benefit from these statewide directives. A later local emergency proclamation could nevertheless be necessary if actual storms cause damage and the County needs to activate additional emergency authorities or pursue disaster reimbursement.
The proclamation substantially addresses the request for early statewide emergency action. It recognizes the developing risk, applies statewide, activates state coordination, and provides contracting flexibility for state agencies. It therefore represents an important advance-preparation measure rather than a declaration issued only after a particular storm or local disaster.
It only partially addresses the separate request for an emergency-maintenance executive order. The coalition sought more immediate and specific relief to allow counties, cities, flood-control agencies, and other local entities to complete time-sensitive maintenance and flood-prevention projects before winter storms arrive.
Most significantly, the proclamation directs agencies to prioritize environmental permit applications, but it does not presently suspend environmental permitting requirements for flood-preparedness projects, as the coalition requested and as the state previously authorized in 2023. Instead, CalEPA and the Natural Resources Agency must recommend by October 16 whether particular requirements should be suspended.
The proclamation also does not yet provide the requested permitting relief for post-flood emergency recovery projects or fully authorize the capture of high winter flows for groundwater recharge. Additional executive action would therefore be needed to satisfy those portions of the statewide emergency-maintenance request.
CSAC Assessment and Continuing Advocacy. CSAC described the proclamation as an important initial step but emphasized that substantially more work remains. Its principal outstanding priorities are:
- Formal suspension of environmental permitting requirements for qualifying flood-preparedness projects.
- Streamlined permitting for projects needed following a flood or other winter-storm emergency.
- Additional authority and regulatory flexibility to capture high winter flows for groundwater recharge.
CSAC is continuing to work with the governor’s office on these requests. The October 16 agency recommendations will be an important next point for determining whether the administration will provide broader permit suspensions or other operational relief before the winter storm season.
For Orange County, the proclamation provides an immediate statewide framework for coordination with state agencies and may expedite state review of flood-control, drainage, debris-removal, and other preparedness projects. It should also improve state readiness to obtain supplies and services needed for disaster response.
The practical benefit will depend, however, on how agencies implement the direction to prioritize permits and whether the administration subsequently suspends specific environmental requirements. Prioritization may accelerate review, but it does not eliminate the underlying permit process or guarantee that time-sensitive maintenance projects can be completed before severe weather arrives.
County departments and flood-control agencies should continue identifying projects that may require state environmental approvals, document any permitting or contracting barriers, and communicate urgent needs to the administration. The County should also monitor the recommendations and any subsequent executive orders to determine whether broader permitting, maintenance, groundwater-recharge, or post-disaster recovery authorities are granted.
Governor Signs Election Protection and Voting Access Package
On September 19, Governor Newsom signed a 13-bill legislative package designed to safeguard election systems, bolster voting access, and counter deceptive political communications across California. Driven in part by concerns over potential federal interference in the upcoming November 2026 election and following the high-profile seizure of election records in Riverside County earlier this year, the legislation introduces new operational mandates for local election officials and law enforcement agencies. For Orange County, the primary impacts center on stricter criminal penalties for tampering with election materials, a strict one-day state reporting mandate for law enforcement actions, enhanced polling place safeguards, expanded language assistance, and modified voting protocols.
To support local implementation of these new mandates, the 2026-27 state budget includes targeted funding for county elections offices. This includes $29 million for county staffing, technology, and equipment to accelerate ballot counting capacity, $5 million for county-level voter outreach, $5 million for statewide voter education through the Secretary of State, and $750,000 dedicated to addressing election misinformation and potential federal interference.
Ballots, Election Records, and Voting Systems
AB 282 (Pellerin) Seizure of Election Materials, makes it a felony to seize, cause, or assist in the seizure of ballots, election records, or certified voting technology before election results have been certified by the elections official. It also applies to a person with authority who directs someone under that person’s supervision or control to conduct such a seizure.
The measure is intended to protect the chain of custody and prevent election materials from being removed while canvassing and certification remain underway. It appears broad enough to reach unauthorized seizures by state, local, or federal personnel, although application in a particular case would depend on the legislation’s exceptions and the underlying legal authority for the action.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office opposed the bill, arguing that its categorical felony provisions could prevent officers from executing a judicially authorized search warrant and securing evidence of an election-related crime. Supporters maintained that the legislation was necessary to prevent disruption of election administration and preserve the chain of custody before certification.
AB 1664 (Jackson) Notice of Election-Related Investigations, requires a local agency, political subdivision, or elections official to notify the Secretary of State and California attorney general immediately, and no later than one calendar day, after learning of a warrant, subpoena, or active law-enforcement investigation involving the search, seizure, or retention of election records or certified voting technology.
For Orange County, this creates a rapid-notification obligation that will require coordination among the Registrar of Voters, County Counsel, Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney, and any other department that receives or becomes aware of an election-related warrant or subpoena.
Attorney General Rob Bonta and supporters of the election-protection package argued that immediate notice would allow the state’s chief elections and law-enforcement officials to protect election systems, preserve chain of custody, and respond to potentially improper searches or seizures.
The California State Sheriffs’ Association opposed the measure. It argued that requiring notice to the attorney general could allow the executive branch to interfere with a judicially authorized investigation and asserted that the attorney general’s supervisory authority over sheriffs and district attorneys does not extend to the judiciary.
SB 1418 (Cervantes) Custody and Preservation of Election Materials, expands existing law prohibiting the removal of voted ballots from an elections official’s custody. The new law makes it a crime to take protected election records, documents, certified voting technology, electronic data, or other materials and equipment necessary to conduct an election from the custody of an elections official. It also expands the categories of election materials that must be preserved when an election contest or criminal proceeding remains pending.
Attorney General Rob Bonta sponsored SB 1418. The attorney general argued that existing protections for voted ballots should extend to electronic records, certified voting systems, data, and other equipment necessary to conduct an election.
AB 282 and SB 1418 overlap but address different circumstances. AB 282 concentrates on seizures before certification, including orders issued by supervising officials. SB 1418 more broadly protects the custody of election materials and strengthens preservation requirements when litigation or criminal proceedings are underway.
Vote-by-Mail and In-Person Voting
SB 259 (Wahab) Interference with Vote-by-Mail Ballots, makes it a felony for a person with authority to direct someone under that person’s supervision to interfere with the delivery or return of a vote-by-mail ballot. The felony is punishable by up to four years in prison. It also makes it a misdemeanor for a person who has charge of a vote-by-mail ballot to interfere with its delivery to the voter.
The bill applies to both stages of the vote-by-mail process – delivery of a ballot to the voter and return of a completed ballot to the local elections official. County election procedures and training materials should reflect the expanded criminal protections.
SB 884 (Umberg) Polling Places and Ballot Drop-Off Locations, extends the hours during which vote-by-mail ballot drop-off locations must be available and modifies the activities prohibited near polling places, for elections held or proclaimed in 2026 through 2029.
The bill also generally prohibits law-enforcement officers from making arrests within 200 feet of a polling place on Election Day. Exceptions apply to arrests for crimes against a person or property and crimes involving the disruption of voting. This will require clear advance coordination between the Registrar of Voters and law-enforcement agencies so officers understand the geographic restriction, its duration, and the circumstances in which enforcement activity remains permitted.
Opposition included the California Police Chiefs Association and California State Sheriffs’ Association. They argued that the 200-foot arrest restriction could create uncertainty during fast-moving public-safety incidents, require officers to delay lawful enforcement activity, and place local agencies between state election rules and federal law-enforcement operations.
SB 1420 (Richardson) Voting a Vote-by-Mail Ballot at a Polling Place, requires the Secretary of State to adopt uniform procedures allowing a voter to cast a vote-by-mail ballot at a polling place without presenting the ballot’s identification envelope. It also requires the state voter information guide to include information about early in-person voting opportunities.
The County will need to implement the Secretary of State’s regulations after they are issued, update poll-worker training, and ensure the procedures protect against duplicate voting while allowing an eligible voter to use a vote-by-mail ballot that is no longer accompanied by its original return envelope.
Voting Rights and Language Access
SB 1164 (Cervantes) California Voting Rights Act, revises and expands the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to provide additional protections against voter suppression and vote dilution. The legislation is intended in part to preserve state-level protections in response to uncertainty surrounding enforcement of the federal Voting Rights Act.
The measure may increase litigation and compliance exposure for counties, cities, school districts, and other political subdivisions. Counties and local agencies should review election procedures and districting practices for potential discriminatory effects, not only intentional discrimination.
SB 1360 (Cervantes) Translated Election Materials, expands language-access services and the types of election-related materials that must be translated. The measure will require county elections officials to review state language determinations, translated-material requirements, public-notice procedures, staffing, and quality-control practices.
For Orange County, implementation could involve additional translation, printing, outreach, website, signage, and poll-worker training costs. The practical effect will depend on the languages and materials covered by the final requirements and any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
The California Association of Clerks and Election Officials opposed the bill unless amended. Its concerns included the reliability of precinct-based language determinations, the absence of a clear threshold for the petition process, difficulties planning for languages triggered by small precinct populations, and the cost of translating ballots and voter guides and recruiting bilingual election workers. The Association requested a direct budget appropriation rather than requiring counties to seek reimbursement after incurring costs.
Campaign Communications and Deceptive Content
AB 502 (Pellerin) Materially Deceptive Election Communications, modifies existing restrictions on knowingly distributing campaign advertisements or other election communications containing materially deceptive content. The law addresses the circumstances in which altered content must carry a disclosure and the remedies available when deceptive material is distributed with malice.
The First Amendment Coalition opposed the measure based on concerns that restrictions on digitally altered campaign communications could affect constitutionally protected political expression. The bill’s application will likely depend on the statutory definitions of material deception, malice, disclosure, satire, and parody.
AB 686 (Berman) Election Deepfakes, extends from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2031, the prohibition on distributing materially deceptive audio or visual media with actual malice and with the intent to injure a candidate’s reputation or deceive voters into voting for or against a candidate, unless the content includes the required disclosure that it has been manipulated.
Unlike AB 502, which modifies the underlying restrictions, AB 686 principally extends the operation of California’s existing election-deepfake law.
AB 1130 (Berman) Paid Online Political Content, authorizes administrative, civil, or criminal penalties against a person paid by a campaign committee to publish online political content supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure when the person fails to disclose that the content is sponsored.
The bill expands enforcement options for existing paid-content disclosure requirements and is particularly relevant to compensated social-media influencers and other individuals who may not publish conventional campaign advertisements.
The Fair Political Practices Commission supported the bill, which strengthens its ability to enforce disclaimer requirements against paid online influencers and the campaign committees that compensate them.
Cybersecurity and Civic Engagement
AB 2281 (Berman) Election Cybersecurity Resources, requires the Secretary of State to determine whether additional state resources are needed to replace election-cybersecurity assistance previously provided by the federal government. It also authorizes the Office of Elections Cybersecurity to consult with academic researchers in developing best practices for protecting election systems.
Although the immediate duties rest with the Secretary of State, the assessment could affect the cybersecurity tools, technical assistance, threat intelligence, and funding available to county elections offices.
AB 2103 (Irwin) Engaged California Program, establishes the Engaged California Program within the Office of Data and Innovation in the Government Operations Agency. The program is intended to create additional opportunities for residents to participate in state policy development and civic engagement.
This measure has fewer direct county election-administration implications than the other bills in the package, although its public-engagement work may involve coordination with local governments and community organizations.
Governor Signs Comprehensive Data Center Legislative Package
Governor Newsom signed seven bills establishing new requirements for the development and operation of data centers in California. The package responds to concerns regarding data centers’ substantial electricity and water demands, infrastructure needs, utility costs, and effects on surrounding communities.
Collectively, the measures require greater disclosure of anticipated resource use, establish new protections against shifting project-related electricity costs to existing customers, and provide local governments and utility providers with additional information when evaluating proposed projects.
Data Center Legislation
AB 1577 (Bauer-Kahan) Data Center Reporting, requires data centers with at least 10 megawatts of electrical capacity to report operational information to the California Energy Commission, including maximum electrical load, energy consumption, power-use efficiency, onsite generation, fuel consumption, energy storage, refrigerants, and participation in demand-response programs. Beginning with the 2029 Integrated Energy Policy Report, the Commission must assess data-center load trends and recommend measures addressing their effects on grid capacity, reliability, and greenhouse-gas emissions.
When applying for a discretionary local permit or entitlement, a data center must also provide the permitting city or county with its expected annual energy consumption, onsite generation, and average and maximum operational noise levels. Local agencies may use this information for land-use, infrastructure, energy-supply, and environmental planning.
Local-government and public-agency supporters included Cal Cities, cities of Monterey Park and Gilroy, and Santa Clara Valley Water District.
AB 2383 (Zbur) Electricity Rates and Generation Costs, requires the California Public Utilities Commission to establish specialized transmission, distribution, and generation tariffs for data centers. The tariffs must ensure participating data centers contribute toward wildfire mitigation and liability, electrification and reliability programs, and other costs generally paid by utility customers. Data centers must cover the incremental generation costs associated with their demand through mechanisms lasting at least 10 years, including collateral or prepayment requirements, minimum payments based on projected load, and fees when a project is canceled or terminates service early. Community choice aggregators and electric service providers must establish comparable generation tariffs by January 1, 2028. The Commission may set the applicable demand threshold below, but not above, 25 megawatts.
AB 2469 (Papan) Water and Workforce Information During Permitting, prohibits a city or county from approving a ministerial or discretionary permit for a new data center, or an expansion that increases peak water use, unless the applicant provides a water-supply assessment, projected water use, proposed efficiency measures, and, beginning January 1, 2028, a water-scarcity plan. The plan must address progressively severe drought conditions through measures such as reduced withdrawals, water reuse, curtailment of nonessential uses, thermal-load reductions, and temporary load shedding.
Applicants must also disclose anticipated workforce composition, job classifications, employment duration, wages and benefits, and the proportion of workers expected to reside within the county and California. The developer must pay the full cost of water conveyance, treatment, storage, and distribution improvements that the applicable water supplier determines are necessary.
CSAC, RCRC, and Cal Cities opposed the bill unless amended. Their principal concerns involved the state-mandated conditions placed on local approvals, application of the requirements to ministerial permits, additional processing and verification duties for cities and counties, and the absence of direct state reimbursement. The final legislation allows local agencies to charge fees sufficient to cover their administrative costs.
AB 2619 (Papan) Water-Use Disclosures and Drought Planning, requires that before seeking an initial city or county business license or equivalent permit, a data center operator must provide the water supplier and local government with a good-faith estimate of expected water use, the anticipated water source, and projected demand for the maximum day, maximum month, and average year. At license renewal, the operator must report actual water use during the preceding year, including onsite use by source and the facility’s cooling-system type.
The reporting requirements apply across three classes of data centers, ranging from facilities using less than two megawatts to hyperscale facilities using more than 25 megawatts or operating more than 10,000 servers. Urban water suppliers must also account expressly for data-center demand when preparing annual water-supply and drought assessments.
Santa Clara Valley Water District and the City of Gilroy supported the measure, along with the California Coastkeeper Alliance, California Initiative for Technology & Democracy, Planning and Conservation League, CleanEarth4Kids, and other environmental and water-conservation organizations. CSAC, RCRC, and Cal Cities did not have a position on AB 2619.
SB 886 (Padilla) Grid Interconnection and Ratepayer Protection, requires the Public Utilities Commission, by January 1, 2028, to establish or update tariffs governing data-center interconnection and electric service. For data centers connecting directly at the transmission level, the tariff must assign responsibility for transmission upgrades and grid use to the data center, require disclosure of duplicate interconnection applications filed in other jurisdictions, and impose an early-termination fee if a facility leaves the system or fails to achieve its projected load within 10 years. Refunds of initial interconnection contributions will be tied to the facility’s actual load and the utility revenues it generates. Utilities must also publish maps identifying locations where large facilities can connect without significant transmission upgrades.
SB 887 (Padilla) CEQA Review and Judicial Streamlining, prevents data-center projects from relying on categorical exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act, subject to exceptions for certain publicly funded, public-safety, national-security, publicly owned, utility, and higher-education research facilities.
Data centers may qualify for judicial streamlining as environmental leadership development projects, but only if they satisfy extensive conditions. These include paying grid-interconnection and generation costs; avoiding increased in-state fossil-fuel consumption; providing four hours of zero-carbon energy storage sufficient to meet forecast peak demand; using recycled water or water-efficient cooling; transitioning within five years to hourly service from 100 percent zero-carbon electricity; and entering into an enforceable community-benefits agreement developed with affected communities.
Local-government and public-agency supporters included the cities of Imperial, Buena Park, Monterey Park, and Gilroy; County of San Diego; and Heber Public Utility District. Other supporters included The Utility Reform Network, Net-Zero California, Audubon California, electrical-worker organizations, California Nurses Association, Climate Action California, several regional climate organizations, the Brawley Chamber of Commerce, and Comité de Acción del Valle.
SB 1168 (McNerney) Data Center Rate Structures, directs the Public Utilities Commission to assess rate structures that would require data centers to pay a reasonable share of transmission and distribution costs, as well as their proportionate share of load growth and the energy procurement necessary to serve them reliably. The Commission must also consider how those rate structures could alleviate cost pressures on residential customers, including customers enrolled in the CARE and Family Electric Rate Assistance programs.
Unlike AB 2383 and SB 886, which prescribe tariff requirements, SB 1168 principally establishes broader policy direction for the Commission’s consideration of future rates.
Implications for Orange County. AB 1577, AB 2469, and AB 2619 will have the most direct effect on local permitting, licensing, and resource planning in Orange County. Together, the measures provide the County, affected cities, and local water suppliers with more information about electricity demand, operational noise, water sources and consumption, drought response, infrastructure requirements, and anticipated employment before or during the approval of a data-center project.
The clearest local-government concern involves AB 2469. CSAC, RCRC, and Cal Cities opposed its state-mandated permitting conditions and associated local workload, particularly its application to ministerial permits. Orange County and affected cities will need to determine which departments are responsible for receiving and reviewing the required information, coordinate with water suppliers, update application and approval procedures, and establish appropriate cost-recovery fees. Although the legislation authorizes fees sufficient to cover local administrative costs, it does not provide direct state reimbursement.
AB 2619 will also require coordination among local business-licensing programs, planning departments, and water suppliers. Because the bill requires information both at the initial licensing stage and during renewals, local agencies may need systems for receiving annual reports and transmitting or comparing information with the applicable water supplier. Urban water suppliers will separately need to incorporate data-center demand into their annual water-supply and drought assessments.
The package nevertheless preserves some important local authority. AB 2469 establishes information and planning requirements but does not compel a city or county to approve a project that satisfies them. SB 887 similarly preserves environmental review while offering judicial streamlining only to projects that meet specified energy, water, workforce, and community-benefit standards. Local governments therefore retain the ability to evaluate whether a proposed facility is appropriate for its location and whether its employment and economic benefits justify its demands on land, water, infrastructure, electricity, and surrounding communities.
The electricity measures primarily operate through the Public Utilities Commission and electricity providers but remain important to Orange County residents and businesses. AB 2383, SB 886, and SB 1168 seek to ensure that data centers pay for the generation, transmission, distribution, and grid improvements needed to serve their substantial loads rather than shifting those costs, or the stranded costs of canceled or underperforming projects, to existing customers.
Overall, the package gives local governments and water suppliers substantially more information and creates stronger developer responsibility for project-related infrastructure and resource demands. The principal next step will be implementing the new disclosure and approval requirements in coordination with affected cities and water suppliers while ensuring that authorized local fees fully account for the additional administrative workload.
Governor’s Press Releases
Below is a list of the governor’s press releases beginning September 16.
September 23: Governor Newsom announces world-leading experts to deliver on his AI executive order, including advancing creation of a “kill switch”
September 22: Governor Newsom announces key step forward in California plan to link carbon markets with Washington State
September 22: As Trump undermines America’s alliances and energy security, Governor Newsom builds lasting global partnerships at Climate Week NYC
September 22: National leaders and lawmakers celebrate Governor Newsom’s signature on the most comprehensive data center laws in the nation
September 22: Governor Newsom delivers $886 million in utility bill relief, with millions of households receiving an average of $75 this summer
September 21: What they are saying: Strong support for California’s new laws to expand EV access, consumer choice, and cut dependence on oil
September 21: Ahead of Climate Week NYC, Governor Newsom announces California cut climate pollution again as economy keeps growing
September 21: Governor Newsom proclaims state of emergency to bolster statewide El Nino preparedness, protect California
September 21: Governor Newsom signs most comprehensive data center laws in the nation, providing communities more control on water, electricity, and land use
September 20: Governor Newsom issues legislative update 9.20.2026
September 20: California establishes Dolly Parton Day
September 20: Governor Newsom signs bills as Los Angeles readies for 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games
September 20: Governor Gavin Newsom signs legislation to accelerate California’s EV future, expand consumer choice, and strengthen energy independence
September 19: What they are saying: California leaders praise Governor Newsom’s democracy defending action ahead of November elections
September 19: Governor Newsom signs bill expanding fuel options to help Californians save at the pump, amid Donald Trump’s gas price crisis
September 19: Governor Newsom expands film and TV tax credits with new legislation, creates tax credit to support post-production jobs
September 19: Governor Newsom signs new laws to protect California elections from Trump interference
September 19: Governor Newsom signs bill to protect California’s sovereignty and guard against unauthorized military deployments
September 18: Governor Newsom issues legislative update 9.18.26
September 18: Governor Newsom announces appointments 9.18.2026
- Ian Vargas Polo, of Oceanside, has been appointed to the California Community Colleges, Board of Governors
- Katie Porter, of Irvine, has been appointed to the California Community Colleges, Board of Governors.
- Rachel Rosner, of Encino, has been appointed to the California Housing Partnership Corporation.
- Michael Duarte, of Kingsburg, has been appointed to the California Housing Partnership.
- Douglas McCauley, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Earthquake Authority Advisory Panel
- Dave Rand, of Agoura Hills, has been reappointed to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors
September 18: Governor Newsom announces Judicial Appointments 9.18.2026
- Governor Gavin Newsom announced his nomination of five Court of Appeal Justices:
- Brian Goldman to the First District Court of Appeal, Division Two;
- Adam Hofmann to the First District Court of Appeal, Division Four;
- Judge Alexander Giza to the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three;
- Judge Cindy Pánuco to the Second District Court of Appeal, Division Three;
- Judge Maria Daghlian Hernandez, to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three
- Thomas Nocella, of Orange County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Orange County Superior Court
- Chhaya Malik, of Alameda County, has been appointed to serve as a Judge in the Santa Clara County Superior Court
September 18: Governor Newsom proclaims California POW/MIA Recognition Day
September 18: Governor Newsom issues executive order to accelerate independent oversight and advance the creation of an AI kill switch
September 17: Governor Newsom announces appointments 9.17.2026
- Holly Pearson, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Counsel at the California Department of Technology
- Aubrie Fong, of Sacramento, has been appointed Community Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Officer at the California Health and Human Services Agency
- Steven Carnevale, of San Francisco, has been reappointed to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
- Alfred Rowlett, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
- Keyondria Bunch, of Encino, has been reappointed to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
- Rayshell Chambers, of Los Angeles, has been reappointed to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
- Esther Rivera, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Employment Training Panel
- Ricky Smiles, of Vista, has been reappointed to the Employment Training Panel
- Rebecca Bettencourt, of Modesto, has been reappointed to the Employment Training Panel
September 17: Governor Newsom proclaims Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
September 17: Governor Newsom delivers on pledge to provide new financing options for Eaton and Palisades survivors
September 17: Trump wants to send a check? Pay Americans back the $108 billion his Iran War cost them at the pump first
September 16: Governor Newsom announces appointments 9.16.2026
- Patrick Brown, of West Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Deputy Director at the Housing Development and Finance Committee
- Kevin Hixon, of Springville, has been appointed Deputy Director for Facility Support of the Division of Adult Institutions
- Rohit Chopra, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Governor’s Military Council
- Andrea Rosales, of Vacaville, has been appointed to the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training
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