SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s special session came to an end Monday after the California Legislature approved $50 million to fund court battles against the Trump administration and to support legal services for immigrants.
The governor is expected to quickly sign the legislation without much pageantry, seeking to tone down the California vs. Trump narrative his special session set in motion while the state is dependent on federal aid to recover from the Los Angeles County wildfires.
“Let me be blunt, right now, Californians are being threatened by an out-of-control administration in Washington. Increasingly, our own residents are being threatened by actions taken by the Trump administration and it’s our duty to rise to the moment,” said Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who was met by a long applause on the Assembly floor Monday.
The Assembly approved both bills Monday afternoon. The Senate approved the legislation last month.
Democrats at the state Capitol passed the bills nearly three months after Newsom initiated the special session, saying “the freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack” in the days following President Trump’s victory in November.
The decision was largely symbolic and sent a message across the country that Newsom was preparing to lead the return of the Democratic “resistance” to Trump’s conservative policy agenda.
But since his aggressive announcement, the governor has attempted to soften his stance and strike a delicate balance between defending the state and working cooperatively with the president.
After the fires ignited in Los Angeles, Newsom expanded the special session to include wildfire aid and fast-tracked $2.5 billion for affected communities. Despite Newsom initially saying the legal funding must be approved before the inauguration, lawmakers delayed final approval of the money for court battles until this week.
Several Republicans joined Democrats to vote in favor of the wildfire funding. But they said adopting the money for legal fights sent the wrong message and wasn’t a “sign of good faith” after the governor and president met on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport last month and pledged to work together on recovery.
“I think this is incredibly tone deaf to be moving forward with these bills at this time when we have residents who still are not in their homes, we’re fighting not only fires now, but mudslides, and we should be focused on wildfire recovery, relief and prevention,” said Assembly member Bill Essayli (R-Corona) during a hearing in the lower house at the state Capitol last week.
Democratic lawmakers defended the funding for legal challenges, pointing to Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, federal deportation sweeps and the attempt to pause federal funding as examples of the need to bolster the state’s defense.
“I am more afraid now than I have probably ever been in my entire life about what I’m seeing coming down from the federal government,” said Assembly member Nick Schultz, a Democrat who represents Burbank and Glendale. “So, I’m supporting the governor’s proposal because somebody has to stand up. Other than California, and the 21 other states, and a few nonprofits that have joined the fight, who else will stand up against unchecked executive power?”
The legislation augments the 2024-25 state budget and authorizes the Newsom administration to give the California Department of Justice up to $25 million to defend California against enforcement and legal actions taken by the federal government.
The increase is in anticipation of more of the legal fights between the state and the Trump administration that played out during the president’s first term and have already resumed. California Atty. General Rob Bonta joined nearly two dozen other states this week in a lawsuit against the administration’s attempt to freeze federal financial aid, which a judge temporarily halted in response to a separate suit.
The legislation sets aside another $25 million largely to provide legal services for “vulnerable Californians,” including immigrants, who could face deportation, eviction, wage theft, domestic violence and other risks as a result of federal actions.
The money will be dispensed to the California Department of Social Services, in the form of grants to the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission and to nonprofits through the the California Access to Justice Commission.
The Assembly had planned to pass the bills last week, but delayed the vote after Republicans questioned whether the funding for immigrants could end up supporting people with criminal records. Lawmakers submitted a letter with the bill clarifying that the funding was not intended to provide services for people convicted of violent or serious felonies.
Times staff writer Anabel Sosa, in Sacramento, contributed to this report.