SB 1194 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Immigration Legal Fellowship Project.

Summary

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, subject to an appropriation, to provide grants to qualified nonprofit organizations through contracts, in order to provide certain immigration-related legal services to persons residing in, or formerly residing in, the state. Under existing law, those grants are aimed at obtaining certain immigration remedies and benefits, assisting with the naturalization process and an appeal arising from the process, or providing legal training and technical assistance. This bill would establish the Immigration Legal Fellowship Project within the department for the purpose of expanding access to high-quality immigration legal services by supporting legal fellowships for qualified individuals who provide immigration legal services under the grant programs described above. The bill would require the department to award grants or enter into contracts with nonprofit entities to operate legal fellowships that include specified components, including, among other things, the recruitment, placement, coordination, and hosting of legal fellows. The bill would authorize the department to establish eligibility criteria, application requirements, and funding priorities for the program. The bill would require the department to include specified information relating to the use of funds appropriated for the purposes of the project in reports and updates provided to the Legislature regarding other immigration-related programs. The bill would provide that the implementation of these provisions is contingent on an appropriation for these purposes.

Issues: ✓ Immigration

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Assembly Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Aug 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

08/20/26 - Enrolled → SB1194 · 1 edit

MINOR

No substantive policy changes occurred between these two versions. The diff reflects only a change in document format: the first version is the formal enrolled bill with Senate and Assembly signature blocks and a Governor approval line, while the second version is a web page rendering from the California Legislature website that includes navigation menus, search tools, and bill-tracking features. The actual legislative text of Section 13309 (the Immigration Legal Fellowship Project) is identical in both versions.

TECHNICAL

The document changed from a formal enrolled bill format (with signature blocks, page numbers, and Governor approval line) to a web page display format (with site navigation, search boxes, and bill-tracking links). No changes to the operative legal text.

02/19/26 - Introduced → 03/24/26 - Amended Senate · 6 edits · Mar 24, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was substantially expanded from a mere statement of legislative intent into an operative law that actually establishes the Immigration Legal Fellowship Project within the State Department of Social Services. The amended version adds new Section 13309 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, requiring DSS to award grants or contracts to nonprofit entities to operate legal fellowships with specific components including recruitment, training, and technical assistance. This transforms the bill from a placeholder expressing future intent into a functional program with reporting requirements and defined eligibility criteria.

Scope change

The bill shifted from a non-operative statement of intent (expressing only that the Legislature intended to enact future legislation) to an operative statute that immediately creates a new program with binding requirements on DSS, subject to appropriation. The scope expanded from aspirational language to concrete operational mandates including grant-making authority, fellowship structure requirements, and legislative reporting obligations.

SCOPE

The bill now actually establishes the Immigration Legal Fellowship Project within DSS (renamed from 'Program' to 'Project'), rather than merely stating legislative intent to do so in the future.

REQUIREMENT

DSS is required to award grants or enter into contracts with nonprofit entities to operate legal fellowships that must include, at minimum: recruitment/placement/coordination/hosting of fellows, training/mentorship/supervision, and technical assistance for effective service delivery.

ELIGIBILITY

Defines 'qualified individual' as a licensed attorney or a recent law school graduate, and 'nonprofit entity' as one meeting IRS 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(5) requirements plus existing state program requirements under Section 13301.

ENFORCEMENT

DSS must report to the Legislature on use of appropriated funds, including number of fellowships funded, geographic regions served, types and languages of legal services provided, implementation timeline, and barriers to service delivery.

FISCAL

Implementation is explicitly contingent upon a legislative appropriation, and the fiscal committee review requirement changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has direct fiscal implications requiring committee analysis.

DEFINITION

The initiative was renamed from 'Immigration Legal Fellowship Program' to 'Immigration Legal Fellowship Project,' and the bill title was made more specific by referencing the addition of Section 13309 to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

Floor votes · Senate May 19, 2026 · Assembly Aug 19, 2026

How they voted

30–9

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

May 19, 2026

D Democratic30

30 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican10

9 Nay 1

90% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

upper

Aug 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

lower

Aug 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 3.) (August 13).

lower

Jun 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 3.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Jun 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (June 16). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

lower

Jun 1, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on HUM. S. and JUD.

lower

May 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 9. Page 4355.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

May 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 4268.) (May 14).

upper

Apr 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1. Page 3955.) (April 20). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Apr 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HUMAN S. (Ayes 11. Noes 1. Page 3869.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on HUMAN S.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on JUD. and HUMAN S.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Coms. on HUMAN S. and JUD.

upper

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Feb 19, 2026

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 5 co-sponsors