Capitol Briefs: The bill intro deadline and more Epstein fallout

Today is the deadline to introduce new bills and lawmakers have been rushing to finish off their 2026 legislative packages. And the heat keeps building on L.A. Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step aside over is connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Wasserman Watch: Sexual abuse survivors joined Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and area state lawmakers this week in calling for Casey Wasserman to be removed as head of the 2028 Olympic Games, saying his relationships with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are disqualifying.

“The fallout from Mr. Wasserman’s poor judgment has already damaged the credibility of LA28, with artists and staff at his own agency reportedly calling for his removal and high profile artists severing ties with him,” wrote Caroline Heldman, professor of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at Occidental College and the president and CEO of Stand With Survivors, in a Feb. 17 letter to organizers of the 2028 games in Los Angeles.

“Despite this, your Board recently decided that Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28, after a closed door review with outside counsel, sending the message that opaque legal assessments without real transparency or survivor input are being used to minimize serious ethical concerns and that powerful men in entertainment and sports are held to a different standard.”

Stand With Survivors along with a coalition of other survivor groups held a press conference in West Hollywood Park on Tuesday calling for Wasserman’s removal. Also at the event were two West Hollywood City Council members.

“Los Angeles is investing billions of public dollars, public space, and public trust into LA28, which means Angelenos have every right to demand leaders who reflect our values,” said Council Member John Erickson in a prepared statement. “When the Board’s Executive Committee shrugs off Casey Wasserman’s association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell and declares in a one paragraph statement that he ‘should continue to lead LA28,’ it sends a chilling message that status still buys you a different standard. Tomorrow we are drawing a line: you cannot market family friendly Olympic spectacle in the daytime and excuse ties to traffickers at night; LA28 must replace Wasserman or risk permanently staining these Games.”

It’s raining bills: A flood of new proposals have been coming in all week. Here are a few of the interesting ones we’ve been tracking:

AB 1776, authored by Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. This bill would expand the scope of activities prohibited by the Cartwright Act, California’s version of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act, to define a trust as a combination of capital, skill, or acts by one or more persons. Currently state law defines requires antitrust activities be a combination of capital, skill or acts by two or more people.

SB 1130, a proposal authored by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D–Colton) intended to strengthen privacy protections related to wearable recording devices, such as smart glasses. Under this bill wearers of such technologies would need the explicit consent before recording individuals or groups in a business and be barred from disabling or hiding recording indicator lights on those devises.

AB 2212, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), would require California’s colleges and universities to adopt clear policies addressing technology-facilitated sexual harassment (TFSH) such as cyberstalking and the use of deep fake artificial intelligence.

SB 957, a bill from Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Pasadena) that would require online dating services to adopt a safety policy that meets minimum standards for protecting users, submit that policy to the California Attorney General’s office and file an annual report detailing their compliance to the plan. Failure to do so could result in a $20,000 fine.

SB 1027, authored by Sen. Tony Strickland (R–Huntington Beach), a bill that would create a multi-agency task force to examine data, review enforcement challenges, and make recommendations on reducing street prostitution.  The task force would be required to issue a public report with findings and policy recommendations to the California Attorney General and the California State Legislature by January 1, 2028.

Gavin’s true Trump tales? Gov. Gavin Newsom’s memoir comes out in a few days. The tome “covers some very personal ground,” which we know because the governor himself is sending out text messages with that very teaser. Moreover, Newsom promises it “includes personal interactions with President Trump,” including “the invisible plane, the presidential toilet, the state secrets…or what should have been state secrets.” We are not sure which is the bigger draw – which state secrets Trump spilled to Newsom or true tales of the presidential toilet.

Speaking of Gavin: The governor didn’t do it via text message but he did sign legislation that will ensure the Bay Area Transit Service will get a $590 million loan to help stabilize the region’s struggling transit systems. BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit are hoping voters will also go along with a ballot measure in November that will authorize a regional sales tax hike to provide new operating funding going forward.

Capitol Weekly associate editor Brian Joseph contributed to this story.