Three CFA-sponsored bills made it to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk during the 2026 legislative session. The bills focused on job protections from AI, contact information for higher education governing boards, and accountability for restrictions on campus speech and protest.  

Here are the two bills Newsom signed:  

  • SB 928 (authored by Senator Sabrina Cervantes): Protections for CSU Faculty from AI Encroachments  
  • The bill will enact guardrails to prevent CSU faculty jobs from being replaced by AI. This bill will define that faculty members (professors, lecturers, librarians, counselors, and coaches) be human and require that an instructor of record for a course be human. 
  • The bill ensures that ALL faculty are protected, including instructional and noninstructional positions, as well as full-time, part-time, probationary, tenured, temporary, and extension for credit positions. 
  • It helps preserve academic integrity and ensure that students receive instruction from human educators who connect with them and invest in their growth.  
  • AB 2523 (authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong): Public Accessibility in Higher Education Governing Boards  
  • This bill will require the CSU and California Community Colleges to post professional contact information online for members of the respective governing bodies. It would also request the University of California (UC) do the same.   
  • The bill will make it easier to contact the CSU Board of Trustees. Trustees are public servants in this capacity and should be accessible to the public.     

This is the bill that Newsom vetoed:  

  • AB 2551 (authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary): Feedback Forum and Demographic Data Regarding Time, Place, and Manner (TPM) Policy 
  • The bill sought to require the CSU to hold a forum on or before December 31, 2027, to gather feedback on how TPM restrictions are being enforced. The bill also would have mandated the CSU Board of Trustees’ annual report to the Legislature to include demographic data on students reported for alleged code of conduct violations connected to these policies. 

While we are grateful that Newsom signed two very important bills into law, we are disappointed that he vetoed a bill that would have served as a vital step in reforming the CSU’s troubling TPM policy. By vetoing the bill, he allows the continued assault on free speech during a time of rising fascism.  

You can see what happened with all of our CFA-sponsored and co-sponsored bills this legislative session at this live status report here. 

We thank our members, CSU students, and legislative partners for advocating for these bills. We pledge to continue fighting for legislation that protect jobs, hold CSU management accountable, and protect the right to free speech.

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