Governor Cements Core of Hurtado’s 2026 Valley Taxpayer Protection Plan
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (October 1, 2026)— Three bills authored by Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) as part of her 2026 Valley Taxpayers Protection Plan were signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, advancing a central piece of Hurtado’s effort to strengthen transparency, accountability and protections for taxpayer dollars.
The Governor signed Senate Bills 401, 932 and 1172 on Sept. 30 as part of his final legislative actions on bills sent to his desk this session. The measures were previously advanced under the “Safeguarding Central Valley Tax Dollars through Oversight” pillar of Hurtado’s 2026 Valley Taxpayers Protection Plan.
“Every dollar matters, especially in communities where taxpayers expect government to make the most of limited resources,” Senator Hurtado said. “These laws put commonsense guardrails in place, strengthen transparency and make sure our laws work for the people they are intended for. Whether we are protecting local tax dollars, bringing greater clarity to our courts or giving people reasonable flexibility during an emergency, the goal is the same: government should be accountable, transparent and fair to the people it serves.”
The newly signed measures include:
SB 1172 — The Local Tax Savings Act
Protects local tax revenues by placing limits on compensation paid to consultants involved in local sales tax-sharing agreements. Under the law, consultant compensation tied to a specific agreement cannot exceed the lower of 5% of the tax revenue shared or $250,000. Additionally, payments generally cannot continue beyond three years or completion of the project phase benefiting from the agreement. The provisions apply to agreements entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2027.
The measure grew out of concerns that consultant arrangements connected to tax-sharing agreements could divert significant portions of locally generated revenue away from communities. Hurtado previously cited experiences in Central Valley communities including Shafter and Dinuba while advocating for greater safeguards surrounding these agreements.
“SB 1172 is an important step toward protecting local taxpayers and ensuring that public dollars remain in our local communities. These agreements can be valuable economic development tools, but they should operate with reasonable guardrails, transparency and accountability,” said Lance Lippincott, city manager of Shafter, the bill’s sponsor. “We thank Governor Newsom for signing this important legislation and Senator Hurtado for listening to the experiences of Shafter and other local communities.”
SB 932 — The Litigation Transparency Act
Strengthens transparency in civil proceedings involving assigned claims. When rights in a case have been assigned, SB 932 requires the assignee to identify the assignor — the original real party in interest — in the title of the first document the assignee files with the court.
“The key heading is transparency,” Naris Khalatian, Southwestern Law School Professor said. “SB 932 offers a clear disclosure rule while leaving the underlying claims and their merits to the courts. This bill will bring transparency into the world of assignments and allow the public and journalists to track and discover who is truly behind a litigant.”
The measure provides a straightforward disclosure requirement intended to make it clearer who originally held the rights being pursued in a civil action. SB 932 was approved by the Governor on Sept. 30.
SB 401 — The Public Service Reporting Act
Allows the Fair Political Practices Commission to extend filing deadlines by up to 60 days for individuals living in areas affected by a declared emergency when that emergency is reasonably likely to interfere with their ability to file on time. To preserve election-related disclosure requirements, the law does not allow those extensions for campaign statements or reports during the 90 days preceding an election.
Senator Melissa Hurtado is Chair of Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 on State Administration and General Government and currently represents the 16th Senate District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern Counties.
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