SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez (R-Indio) today announced his 2026 legislative bill package, a slate of proposals focused on improving affordability for working families, taking care of our veterans, and strengthening public safety across California.
“Our communities deserve leadership that focuses on real solutions not political talking points,” said Assemblyman Gonzalez. “Families in our district are feeling the pressure of rising costs, advocacy for our veteran community and concerns about public safety. This bill package is about addressing those challenges head-on and delivering meaningful results.”
The 2026 legislative package reflects priorities raised by constituents throughout the 36th Assembly District from Indio to Anza, Needles to Blythe, throughout all of Imperial County and aims to reduce financial strain on households, improve life for veterans, and ensure safer communities.
The 2026 bill package includes the following measures:
AFFORDABILITY:
AB 1745: Gas Tax Suspension
SUMMARY: This bill is a reintroduction of AB 1058 (Gonzalez, 2025) and it would suspend the gas tax for a year.
AB 2192: Agriculture Sales and Use Tax
SUMMARY: This bill extends the current state sales and use tax exemption for agricultural equipment to include applicable local taxes and requires the state to reimburse local governments for any resulting revenue losses.
AB 2016: Veterans’ Retirement Income
SUMMARY: This bill would exempt 100% of veterans’ retirement income from taxes.
AB 2022: Veterans’ Property Taxes`
SUMMARY: This bill would exempt property owned by disabled veterans and is the main residence of veterans from property taxes.
AB 2522: Over-the-Counter Medication tax
SUMMARY: This bill would exempt over-the-counter medication from state sales tax.
HEALTHCARE/DISABILITY:
AB 2355: Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) Value Based Strategy
SUMMARY: This bill would require the DHCS value-based strategy, which was funded in the 2025 budget, to include working with relevant stakeholders including hospital officials, local healthcare representatives, and physicians. The working group established at DHCS would work with hospitals to ensure that their financials are in order, and they are prioritizing and focusing on the most important needs.
AB 2283: State Public Guardian
SUMMARY: This bill would, upon appropriation, create the position of the State Public Guardian to assist the counties with their duties as public guardians or public conservators.
AB 2324: Youth Caregiver Career Pathway
SUMMARY: This bill would create a career pathway for and provide additional support for youth caregivers. Additionally, this bill would add youth caregivers as a work based learning opportunity, enabling youth to get educational credit for their caregiver experience.
LABOR:
AB 2082: Rural Farmworker Women’s Health Act
SUMMARY: This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to work with local nonprofits to provide hygiene products to women farmworkers.
AB 1762: City of Indio CalPERS
SUMMARY: This bill would allow the City of Indio to implement a new employee benefit structure that would give the City of Indio more control over its budget and would create more cost-saving opportunities. This structure is subject to collective bargaining with employee unions.
TRANSPORTATION:
AB 1145: Tristin’s Bill
SUMMARY: This bill would have created a study to look at increasing enforcement on Highway 74. We will now be implementing recommendations from the Riverside County Study.
AB 1855: Riverside County Transportation Commission CEQA Exemption
SUMMARY: This bill would create a CEQA exemption for the Coachella Valley Rail Project, ensuring that passenger rail that meets certain criteria is not held up in constant environmental and judicial review.
AB 1756: City of Needles Off Highway Vehicle (OHV)
SUMMARY: This bill would continue to allow the City of Needles to designate combined use highways so that OHVs can be used on them. This ability currently sunsets in 2028 and this bill would provide an extension until 2034.
PUBLIC SAFETY:
AB 634: Gas Station Heroin
SUMMARY: This bill restricts the sale of tianeptine aka gas station heroin and adds civil penalties.
AB 2701: Domestic Violence Registry
SUMMARY: This bill would create a registry for domestic violence offenders, similar to the Sex Offender Registry. This registry would create a registry for the most serious domestic violence offenders.
ENERGY:
AB 2163: Lithium Valley
SUMMARY: This bill would require state agencies, when making decisions and budget allocations for California’s energy future, to consider the energy potential and high energy capacity of Lithium Valley, including all future energy development and output in the region.
“In Sacramento, it’s easy to pass bills. What’s harder is passing bills that actually improve people’s lives without creating unintended consequences,” Gonzalez said. “My priority is simple: protect taxpayers, support local communities, and ensure state government is accountable to the people it serves.”
The 2026 legislative session runs through August, with committee hearings scheduled throughout the spring.
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