AB 2156: Holidays: Farmworkers Day. - California

02/18/26 - Introduced → 03/20/26 - Amended Assembly · 4 edits · Mar 20, 2026

MODERATE

AB 2156 was significantly expanded to add a new topic alongside its original DMV/REAL ID provisions. The amendment adds language renaming California's March 31 state holiday from 'Cesar Chavez Day' to 'Cesar Chavez Farmworkers Day' in both the list of state holidays and the Governor's annual proclamation requirement. A new urgency clause was added for the holiday change, citing the proximity of the 2026 date as the reason for immediate effect. The original DMV State-to-State Verification Service provisions were retained with minor renumbering.

SCOPE

New sections amend Government Code Section 6700 to rename March 31 from 'Cesar Chavez Day' to 'Cesar Chavez Farmworkers Day' in the state's list of holidays, and amend Section 6717 to require the Governor to annually proclaim March 31 as 'Cesar Chavez Farmworkers Day' rather than just 'Cesar Chavez Day.'

The bill's scope expanded from a single-topic bill (DMV data sharing for REAL ID verification) to a two-topic bill that also addresses state holiday naming. The legislative counsel's digest was updated to reflect both subjects.

TIMELINE

A new urgency clause (Section 3) was added stating the act must take effect immediately due to the proximity of the holiday for the 2026 calendar year, separate from the existing urgency clause tied to Budget Act implementation for the DMV provisions.

TECHNICAL

Senator Limon was added as a co-author, and an extensive list of Assembly Member and Senator coauthors was added, indicating broad bipartisan support for the amended version.

03/26/26 - Chaptered → 03/26/26 - Enrolled · 2 edits · Mar 26, 2026

MINOR

This diff shows no substantive policy changes between the Chaptered and Enrolled versions of AB 2156. The differences are entirely formatting and procedural: removal of the official chaptered law header, addition of chamber passage dates (Assembly March 23, Senate March 26), addition of signature lines for the Chief Clerk, Secretary of the Senate, and Governor, and reformatting of page layout. The bill's content - renaming Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in Government Code sections 6700 and 6717 - is identical in both versions.

TECHNICAL

Replaced the official 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGICAL MATERIAL' header and Chapter 7 designation with chamber passage dates (Assembly March 23, 2026; Senate March 26, 2026) and signature blocks for the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, Secretary of the Senate, and Governor.

Removed the approval/filing date line ('Approved by Governor March 26, 2026. Filed with Secretary of State March 26, 2026') and replaced it with a blank signature line for the Governor's approval date.

03/26/26 - Enrolled → AB2156 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes occurred between these two versions. The diff reflects the standard transition from an enrolled bill to a chaptered law: the bill was assigned Chapter 7, and the Governor's approval date (March 26, 2026) and filing date with the Secretary of State were filled in. The underlying policy content - renaming March 31 from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day in Government Code sections 6700 and 6717 - is identical in both versions.

TECHNICAL

Bill was assigned Chapter 7 upon gubernatorial approval on March 26, 2026, and filed with the Secretary of State the same day. This is a standard procedural step that occurs when a bill becomes law.

03/20/26 - Amended Assembly → 03/26/26 - Chaptered · 4 edits · Mar 26, 2026

MODERATE

AB 2156 was significantly narrowed between the amended assembly version and the final chaptered law. The original bill contained two separate policy components: renaming March 31 from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day, and expanding DMV data-sharing exceptions for the REAL ID State-to-State Verification Service. The final enacted law contains only the holiday renaming; all Vehicle Code section 1653.5 provisions regarding DMV social security number disclosure for inter-state verification were removed entirely.

Scope change

The bill's scope was dramatically reduced from covering two distinct policy areas (state holiday naming and DMV/REAL ID inter-state data verification) to covering only the state holiday naming change. The DMV data-sharing component was entirely stripped from the final enacted law.

SCOPE

All provisions amending Vehicle Code section 1653.5 were removed. This included the expansion of exceptions allowing the DMV to disclose applicant social security account numbers and ineligibility information to participate in the State-to-State Verification Service operated by AAMVA for REAL ID compliance.

The urgency justification referencing implementation of Budget Act of 2025 provisions relating to the DMV and State-to-State Verification Service was removed. Only the holiday proximity justification remains.

DEFINITION

March 31 is now designated as 'Farmworkers Day' instead of 'Cesar Chavez Day' in both Government Code section 6700 (state holidays list) and section 6717 (governor's annual proclamation requirement).

ENFORCEMENT

The sunset/inoperative clause that would have made the DMV data-sharing provisions inoperative upon a final judicial determination of unconstitutionality was removed along with the rest of the Vehicle Code provisions.

Holidays: Farmworkers Day.

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