SACRAMENTO, California (Press Release)— Two priority bills led by Jewish California — the nation’s largest statewide coalition of Jewish organizations — cleared key Senate committees Tuesday, marking major steps toward protecting Californians of all faiths from harassment at their places of worship and preventing hate from being distributed under the seal of the State of California.
The Senate Public Safety Committee advanced AB 2664 (Bauer-Kahan) – the Safe Worship Zone Act – on a 5-0 vote with one abstention. Simultaneously, the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee advanced AB 1853 (Pellerin) – which bars hate speech from official voter guides – on a 3–1 vote with one abstention. The California Legislature requires a majority of all possible votes in order to pass. AB 2664 passed in its most challenging committee with one more vote than the required four, and AB 1853 passed its first hearing with the minimum three votes.
“These were two challenging and critical votes. They move us closer to ensuring that California will not stand by while families are harassed outside a synagogue, mosque, or church, or while hate is spread inside the state’s own voter guide,” said David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California. “We are grateful to the committee members who stood up for the right of every Californian to worship freely and to participate in our democracy without being targeted.”
AB 2664 — The Safe Worship Zone Act
Sponsored by Jewish California and authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), AB 2664 establishes a 100-foot “Safe Worship Zone” around the entrances of houses of worship, within which protesters may not approach congregants without their consent. The bill ensures that people can enter and leave religious institutions without being confronted, surrounded, obstructed, or intimidated.
Similar “bubble zone” laws have long been in place across the country and have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court as a proper balance between two First Amendment protections: the right to protest and the right to worship freely.
The need for the bill has grown more urgent as protests outside houses of worship have escalated. For example, during a December 3rd interfaith gathering of Jewish and Korean American leaders at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, protesters shouted antisemitic slurs and lit smoke bombs outside the synagogue that houses a preschool, an elementary school, and a social services center. Parents could not reach their children, and congregants could not access their place of prayer.
According to the California Attorney General, anti-Jewish bias events increased 220% in the past decade – a sharper increase than any other group. As a result, Jewish community members are increasingly scared to go to synagogue. According to a recent American Jewish Committee study, 26% of Jewish Americans do not feel safe attending Jewish institutions.
AB 2664 is backed by a large, diverse interfaith coalition including Muslim, Sikh, Baha’i, Christian, Armenian, African-American, Korean, and Hindu organizations.
AB 2664 will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee in August.
AB 1853 — Keeping Hate Out of Official Voter Guides
California’s Official Voter Information Guide for the June 2026 Primary — mailed to 23 million registered voters — included a candidate statement containing antisemitic conspiracy theories, white nationalist rhetoric, and links to websites filled with racist, homophobic, and other hateful content. The statement appeared under the seal of the State of California, indistinguishable from every legitimate statement around it.
AB 1853, authored by Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), was introduced last week in direct response to this incident.
The bill limits candidate statements in official state and county voter guides to information about a candidate’s own education, professional experience, public service, community involvement, and qualifications for office. It bars attacks on individuals or groups, links to external content, false or misleading claims, and hateful or discriminatory content – and it gives the Secretary of State and county elections officials clear authority to reject noncompliant statements. Any registered voter may seek judicial enforcement of these standards.
According to the California Attorney General, Jews are now the second most targeted group in California despite comprising just 3% of the state’s population. But hate targeting any community harms all communities. The candidate statement in question targeted Jewish people, people of color, and LGBTQ+ Californians alike.
Hate speech in a state-sponsored document spreads hate and sends a message that this speech is acceptable – putting the Jewish community and other vulnerable groups at greater risk of hate-motivated violence. This deep concern is why over 50 Jewish organizations signed on in support of this bill in less than 48 hours.
“California has long led the nation in standing up to hate. This bill ensures the official publications California sends into millions of homes strengthen democracy rather than undermine it. It is long overdue.” said Bocarsly.
AB 1853 will next be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee before the end of June.
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Preceding provided by Jewish California.