California’s 2026 Legislative Session: Lessons Learned, and Why Prevention Institute is Staying the Course for Health Equity and Racial Justice in 2027

California wrapped its legislative session last month, and as Prevention Institute does every year, we’re sharing wins and looking ahead to key opportunities to advance an equity agenda in 2027. This year, our policy priorities were rooted in community health concerns central to our local power building partners and statewide legislative advocacy partners. We advocated for community-driven approaches to safety and wellbeing; healthy, equitable land use and housing; and alignment of public dollars with health equity and racial justice. 

The 2026 legislative session proceeded against the backdrop of expansive federal cuts to programs that sustain community health, threatening the gains our state has made in advancing health equity and racial justice in the past decade. Each of the legislative and budget priorities we advocated for help align statewide systems, making it easier for communities that face the most significant health and economic inequities to advance solutions tailored to their local needs. Long-term, our goal is for frontline communities to hold greater power in decision making and an equitable share of state resources to ensure all of California’s communities thrive.

We celebrate the passage of two of our priorities this year:

• Continued funding for the C.R.I.S.E.S. Act: A major step for community-based crisis response – Governor Newsom approved AB 1932 (Elhawary), renewing and strengthening the Community Response Initiative to Strengthen Emergency Systems (C.R.I.S.E.S.) Grant Pilot Program, which funds non–police emergency response teams and grows local alternatives to 911. This is a powerful victory and a testament to the communities, advocates, and organizations that have fought for crisis responses rooted in care, connection, and community leadership. These community-based responses provide people experiencing crises with trusted, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed care without unnecessarily involving law enforcement. They can build trust, encourage earlier access to support, and strengthen health and safety, particularly for communities that face heightened risks from police contact. The law strengthens community leadership by establishing community-based organizations as grantees and creating a stakeholder workgroup to help shape grant criteria. Passage is an important milestone, and funding and implementation will be the next challenge to ensure these community-based alternatives can be sustained and expanded.
   
• Codification of the Outdoors for All Act: A win for equitable park and green space development – Governor Newsom signed SB 1268 (Gonzalez) into law, which permanently establishes the Outdoors for All Initiative as a state priority. Outdoors for All launched in December 2021 to prioritize green space development and resource allocation in neighborhoods that have historically lacked access to nature. In California, these are largely redlined Black and brown communities who have experienced disinvestment in the built environment for generations and have not benefitted from the physical, mental, and environmental benefits of high-quality parks and readily available recreational opportunities. With the passage of SB 1268, the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), who administers parks and green space programs, is now required to consult with communities in the design of program implementation strategies and requires regular reporting on progress towards equity goals. This bill strengthens accountability and marks an important step in ensuring that the CNRA funds communities equitably and prioritizes Black and brown neighborhoods that deserve quality access to parks and green space.

Next year California will welcome newly elected state leaders, including a new Governor. With new leadership comes a pivotal opportunity to build on the momentum generated by equity advocates across the state by maintaining the gains we’ve made in recent years and leading toward a more equitable, just future. Below we share three priorities that could help the state make meaningful strides in strengthening community power, increasing access to resources, and improving the health, safety, and wellbeing of Californians. 

• Champion the Road to Repair– California’s role in upholding chattel slavery has contributed to race-based inequities that have, over generations, been embedded into the policies and practices that shape community environments, subjecting Black communities to concentrated disadvantage. We are committed to allying with Black-led organizations leading this movement and recognize reparations to descendants of chattel slavery as a key public health strategy to addressing race-based socioeconomic and health disparities. We call on the next Governor and the Legislature to enact recommendations of the California Reparations Task Force. We also urge the California Legislative Black Caucus, who have led legislative efforts on reparations, to continue championing “Road to Repair” legislative packages that will facilitate direct compensation and launch reparative programs that provide healing, redress, and repair for descendants.
   
• Protect funding for climate and equitable land use – California’s public funding for climate and environmental justice act as a catalyst—attracting additional infrastructure investments and shifting norms to ensure that our state builds equitable, sustainable communities. To sustain and expand these investments, state leaders should pass a Polluters Pay Climate Superfund that requires the largest fossil fuel polluters to pay their fair share for the damages caused by greenhouse gas emissions, helping ensure California has the resources needed to build its climate future. The incoming administration should also provide adequate funding for existing programs that support vital community development, including: Transformative Climate Communities, Active Transportation Program, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities, and the Urban Greening Program. 
   
• Advance revenue solutions so Californians can meet their basic needs – This year, the Legislature and Governor Newsom enacted a balanced budget that projects no deficit over the next two fiscal years. However, the Legislative Analyst's Office projects that California’s long-term structural deficit will persist, as ongoing spending continues to exceed revenue projections. To address this gap, the incoming governor and state legislators have an opportunity to protect low-and middle-income families by pursuing revenue solutions that ensure highly profitable corporations pay their fair share. One solution, championed by advocates this year, can be closing the Water’s Edge loophole, which currently allows corporations to reduce state taxes by shifting profits offshore. As future decisions are considered, incoming state leaders should reject austerity in favor of a state budget that protects and expands funding for programs that give all Californians access to quality housing, medical care, nutritious food, and environments that support health and wellbeing.

To learn more about Prevention Institute’s California Policy work, please reach out to Vince Leus at vince [at] preventioninstitute.org (vince[at]preventioninstitute[dot]org).