The measure passed on a 23-11 party-line vote in the State Senate. The proposed legislation has been sent back to the Assembly for its final vote of approval before being sent off to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The bill, formally known as AB 1840, would expand the eligibility requirement for the state’s first-time homebuyer loan program, the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation program, to allow undocumented immigrants who live in the state to use it.

The California Dream For All Shared Appreciation loan program launched in 2023 and helps qualified first-time homebuyers with down payments.

The program was initially created to help low-and middle-income individuals buy homes. Still, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), who introduced the bill, previously told KTLA that the program doesn’t address eligibility based on immigration status.

“The program hasn’t been clear about eligibility for undocumented individuals, and AB 1840 addresses that issue,” Arambula told KTLA in an emailed statement.

Republican California lawmakers have pushed back on the bill’s progression.

“This is outrageous. Democrat politicians care more about handouts for illegal immigrants rather than improving the quality of life for legal California citizens. I will strongly oppose this measure when it comes to the Assembly Floor this week,” Assemblyman Bill Essayli (R-Corona) said in a statement.

GOP Assemblymember Joe Patterson, who represents a largely suburban district north of Sacramento, during a committee meeting this summer said that he “just can’t get behind using our limited dollars for people who are in this country undocumented,” Politico reported.

Democrats who support the bill have said that those applying for a loan must have a taxpayer identification or social security number, emphasizing that the loans won’t be given to just anybody.

The bill would need to be signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom before it officially becomes law.

The current legislative session ends on Aug. 31 and Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign any bills passed by the Legislature.

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The leader of the California Senate said Monday she will step down from her leadership post, ending an historic run as the first woman and first openly gay person to lead the upper legislative chamber of the nation’s most populous state. Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, said she will step down next year. Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from the state’s North Coast region, will replace Atkins as the Senate’s president pro tempore. Atkins made the announcement at a news conference with McGuire and most of the Senate Democratic Caucus standing behind her.

The display of unity was in stark contrast to the leadership battle that embroiled the state Assembly last year, when new speaker Robert Rivas replaced former speaker Anthony Rendon. Atkins cannot seek re-election because of term limits and must leave the Senate at the end of next year. She said the caucus chose to announce the transition now because “a long, drawn-out successor campaign would not be in the best interest of the Senate nor the people who we were elected to represent.” “We have a lot of work to get through in the next few weeks,” Atkins said, referring to the chaotic final days of the Legislative session when lawmakers will vote on hundreds of bills. “This work does not mix well with internal caucus politics being at the top of everyone’s minds.”

The leader of the California Senate is one of the most powerful positions in state politics, acting as the body’s chief negotiator with the governor and the Assembly speaker on key legislation and the state’s more than $300 billion annual operating budget. Atkins is one of only three people in history to hold both top spots in the Legislature. She has led the Senate since 2018. Before that, she was speaker of the state Assembly from 2014 to 2016. McGuire was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He has been an outspoken critic of Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, whose equipment has sparked a number of massive wildfires that have killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes.

In 2019, McGuire took on former Republican President Donald Trump by authoring a law that required candidates for president to disclose their tax returns as a condition of appearing on the ballot in California. The part of the law that applied to presidential candidates was ultimately struck down by the courts. But the law still applies to candidates for governor. McGuire praised Atkins as “a California trailblazer” and pledged to carry on her work, including focusing on climate issues, housing and access to abortion. But McGuire made it clear Atkins was still in charge. “There is one leader, one leader at a time. And our leader here in the California state Senate is Toni Atkins,” he said. “The pro tem and I, we are unified in our transition.

And we can make this promise to each and every one of you. The next three weeks, getting these bills off the floor and into the governor’s desk is going to be smooth, successful and focused on the success of the Golden State.” McGuire is known throughout the state Capitol for his seemingly unending energy, often referred to by his nickname of the “Energizer Bunny,” according to veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli. McGuire was first elected to the Senate in 2014.

He has been an outspoken critic of Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, whose equipment has sparked a number of massive wildfires that have killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes. In 2019, McGuire took on former Republican President Donald Trump by authoring a law that required candidates for president to disclose their tax returns as a condition of appearing on the ballot in California. The part of the law that applied to presidential candidates was ultimately struck down by the courts. But the law still applies to candidates for governor. McGuire praised Atkins as “a California trailblazer” and pledged to carry on her work, including focusing on climate issues, housing and access to abortion.

But McGuire made it clear Atkins was still in charge. “There is one leader, one leader at a time. And our leader here in the California state Senate is Toni Atkins,” he said. “The pro tem and I, we are unified in our transition. And we can make this promise to each and every one of you. The next three weeks, getting these bills off the floor and into the governor’s desk is going to be smooth, successful and focused on the success of the Golden State.” McGuire is known throughout the state Capitol for his seemingly unending energy, often referred to by his nickname of the “Energizer Bunny,” according to veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli.

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Evan Symon | Contributor

Palm Springs City Councilwoman Lisa Middleton, the first transgender person elected to public office in Californian history, announced her run for the 19th Senate District this week, planning to face off against incumbent Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) next year.

Middleton, a graduate of USC did not enter politics until she was in her 60’s. She served as an employee of the State Compensation Insurance Fund for 36 years, and underwent gender transition to a woman in the mid-1990s. In 2017, she was first elected to the Palm Springs City Council and became the first transgender person to be elected to public office in Californian history. Middleton quickly gained a number of non-elected positions in the following years, including being selected for the Riverside County Transportation Committee, and being chosen by Governor Gavin Newsom for the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration in 2019.

In December 2021, Middleton became the first transgender Mayor of California, gaining the seat due to the Council’s 1-year rotating Mayor seat. Returning to the Council this past December, she was now free to look at other political options, leading to her decision to run for State Senate on Tuesday.

In her announcement on Tuesday, Middleton said she would focus on transportation and logistics issues, noting that older transportation networks and the growth of the warehouse industry in the Inland Empire were both problems needing to be addressed in Sacramento for the district.

“I think I can make a difference in Sacramento,” said Middleton. I plan to be a very pragmatic candidate and a problem solver and we’ve got some major problems that need to be solved. I would work to upgrade the Inland Empire’s transportation infrastructure. They are essentially on the same freeways and in the same transportation networks that existed when I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in Bell Gardens. As demand for large Inland warehouses continues, we need to start planning for this kind of growth. And that is going to require the state getting involved in that planning process.”

She also noted more broader support for hot button Californian issues, such as extreme weather emergency planning, and homelessness. On the later, she also noted that “We need to be much, much more involved in preventing people from ending up on our streets and providing the kind of support for those who have mental health issues and addiction issues so they do not spiral down into homelessness.”

A Strong GOP Opponent in the 19th

However, Middleton faces an uphill battle in the 19th district. While the former district in the area was generally more favorable to Democrats, the new boundaries, which stretch from the area outside of San Bernardino to North of the Salton Sea to the Nevada Border to the Northeast of Lancaster, has brought more GOP leaning voters into the fold. Amongst registered voters, the Democrats only have a slight 2% lead in the area. Even more, the incumbent, Senator Ochoa Bogh, has proven to be extremely popular in the area, having been the first GOP Latina voted to the state Senate in 2020, upsetting the Democratic candidate in the election.

“Ochoa Bogh is solid in a lot of areas there,” explained San Bernardino County pollster Sylvia Cortez to the Globe on Wednesday. “The Latino community is largely for her. Women are largely for her. Republicans are with her. And, most importantly, she tends to be more moderate, and that has gotten her a lot of support from voters without a party.

“Ochoa Bogh has also been controversy free, is close to education issues, and has really just been proving herself in the Senate. Middleton does have strong support in Palm Springs, and being transgender, can get a lot more voters who otherwise wouldn’t vote to look at the race. But it will be very hard to unseat Ochoa Bogh were we stand right now, especially with the new district boundaries making the area less blue from last time.”

Other candidates are likely to join the race in time for the primary later this year.

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