All nine Ramos bills in critical Appropriations Committee approved

SACRAMENTO—Children and youth, mental health services, public safety, and clarifying Native American rights and protections authored by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-45) are moving forward in the legislative process today after passage from the Assembly Appropriations “suspense file.” 

Ramos stated, “This 2026 package focuses on my priorities since election to office – families, public safety and correcting past inequities against California Native Americans.”

Measures moving forward from the Assembly Suspense file are:

• AB 1592, California Indian Heritage Center Support Organization: Authorizes the California Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into an agreement with the California Indian Heritage Center (CIHC) Support Organization to help facilitate the Department’s ongoing efforts to build the CIHC facility. Sponsor: Jamul Indian Village of California 

• AB 1681, Victim Notification: Protects crime victims’ rights by ensuring victims receive timely notifications about an offender’s release, parole hearings, escapes, or special parole conditions. Measure would eliminate the need for victims to navigate a separate, burdensome process during an already traumatic time. Sponsor: California District Attorneys Association, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office 

   

• AB 1769, Tribal Articulation: Facilitates seamless transfer of course credits (articulation) for students attending tribal colleges to California higher education systems public postsecondary educational institutions. AB 1769 would call on California’s higher education systems to develop and implement transfer agreements regarding to ensure effective and efficient progress of students attending tribal colleges seeking transfer to another institution to minimize coursework duplication. Co-sponsors: Table Mountain and California Indian Nations College 

   

• AB 1841, California Native American Day: Designates California Native American Day as a paid holiday for all state employees. This bill builds on a 2021 Ramos measure, AB 855, that established a paid holiday for judicial employees. Sponsor: California Native Vote Project

• AB 1881, California Indian Freedom Act of 2026: Strengthens protections for California Native Americans to engage in their religious practices and access to sacred sites on state public lands while also requiring state agencies to respect Indigenous cultural traditions. Sponsor: Indigenous Justice 

• AB 1889, Criminal Protective Orders: Authorizes the court to issue a criminal protective order (CPO) that is valid two years after the defendant’s release if the original CPO is expired. CPOs are routinely issued in cases involving domestic violence, human trafficking or acts of sexual assault to discourage offenders from contact with victims and witnesses. Co-sponsors: Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office 

• AB 2018, California Missing Persons Program Update: Clarifies and expands California’s ability to take full advantage of improvements in forensic technology to identify human remains and find missing persons. Sponsor: Attorney General Rob Bonta 

• AB 2115, State Apology to California Native Americans:  Establishes a formal apology from the California State Legislature to California Native Americans for historical policies of violence, displacement and cultural suppression and requires the installation of a commemorative plaque in the State Capitol. Sponsor: Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians 

• AB 2187, Tribal Public Contracts: Adds California’s federally recognized tribes and their auxiliary tribal enterprises to the list of entities exempt from the state’s bidding requirements for procurement and contracting. Sponsor: Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians

Other Ramos bills progressing through the legislative process are:

• AB 308, Mobile Crisis Response Teams or units: Encourages county behavioral health directors to develop trainings for mobile crisis response teams focusing on protocols for individuals with autism, behavioral health issues, or other developmental disabilities. Co-sponsors: Autism Society Inland Empire and Autism Heroes 

• AB 1579, Children’s Crisis Pilot Program: Amends existing law to expand upon allowable program types for residential crisis services within the Children’s Crisis Pilot Program to allow more flexibility to meet the needs of foster youth across the state. Co-sponsors: Just Advocates and California Alliance of Child and Family Services. 

• AB 1581, Indigenous Student Undercount: Addresses the severe undercount of Indigenous students in California schools. The American Institutes for Research reports that up to 70% of Indigenous students are not represented in data reporting or analysis in the United States or California. Underreporting results in fewer resources and opportunities for Native American students. Sponsor: Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians 

• AB 1586, School Safety & Opioid Overdose Prevention Act: Requires School Resource Officers to receive opioid overdose prevention training every two years. Sponsor: Association of Alcohol & Drug Program Executives 

• AB 1824, Indian Child Welfare Act: Clarifies and strengthens compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and California ICWA in probate guardianship and conservatorship proceedings by placing clear, enforceable requirements directly in the Probate Code. Changes would eliminate confusion, prevent avoidance and ensure probate courts consistently apply ICWA protections that already exist under state and federal law. Sponsor: California Indian Legal Services, California Tribal Families Coalition and Morongo Band of Mission Indians

• AB 1948, Concealed Carry Weapons Permits: Extends the duration of the newly issued carry concealed weapons licenses from two years to three years. Sponsor: San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus 

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Assemblymember James C. Ramos proudly represents the 45th Assembly district that includes the Cities of Fontana, Highland, Mentone, Redlands, Rialto and San Bernardino. He is the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature. Ramos chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Public Safety and the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs.