Taking on the Crisis: Senator Wahab Advances Major Housing and Consumer Protection Bills
(Sacramento, CA) — As Californians continue to face soaring living costs, State Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab (D-Silicon Valley) is leading the charge with a sweeping legislative package aimed at affordability, housing stability, and consumer protections.
A total of thirteen bills from Senator Wahab’s pro-affordability package are awaiting a vote on the Senate Floor. Two bills have already advanced to the Assembly—including SB 259, which stops companies from charging you more online based on your device.
“My legislation puts money back in people’s pockets, stabilizes costs, and tackles California’s housing affordability crisis head-on,” said Dr. Wahab. “Californians are tired of being taken advantage of by corporate interests—and I’m proud to stand up and say: enough is enough.”
All Senate bills must clear the Senate Floor by June 6, 2025, to move forward in the legislative process.
Housing
SB 681 – Investing In Your California Dream-Senate Affordability Package
Tackles housing affordability through solutions for homeowners, renters, development and preservation.
SB 436 – Keeping Californians Housed Act
Extends the opportunity for tenants to pay their overdue rents and ensures landlords don’t incur costly court fees.
SB 522 – Post-Disaster Tenant Protections Act
Extends just cause protections to units in disaster areas- providing stability for renters.
SB 625 – Housing in Disaster Areas
Speeds up housing reconstruction in disaster zones with streamlined approvals.
SB 262 – Stable Housing is Pro-housing
Expands California’s pro-housing designation program to recognize more local efforts that support housing stability—helping smaller cities earn credit and keep residents rooted in their communities.
Pro-Consumer
SB 332 – Investor-Owned Utilities Accountability Act
Promotes affordability, protects ratepayers, increases utility accountability and explores alternatives to current energy providers.
SB 259 – Fair Online Pricing Act
Stops companies from charging you more online based on your device.
SB 384 – Preventing Algorithmic Price Fixing Act
Prohibits companies from using software that secretly works with competitors to raise prices.
Workforce
SB 261 – Wage Theft Judgments
Enforces wage theft judgments and helps workers recover their wages.
Public Safety
SB 701 – Signal Jammers
Bans signal jamming devices that block phones and emergency communications.
Women
SB 257 – The PARENT Act
Ensures health insurance companies covers maternity care for surrogates and makes pregnancy a qualifying life event.
SB 258 – Protect Disabled Spouses
Closes a legal loophole to protect disabled people from rape by their spouses.
Seniors
SB 433 – Assisted Living Rental Rate Protection
Stops senior homes (Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly) from charging residents more than the SSI rate.
SB 435 – RCFE Emergency Back Up Power
Requires senior care homes to have backup power for at least 72 hours during outages to protect residents.