As 2025 comes to an end and we head into 2026, the Legislature will reconvene on January 5th. I have no doubt that the hot topic then, as now, will be affordability. We are sure to be presented with a slew of “put-the-genie-back-in-the-bottle” ideas to make it seem as though the super majority has suddenly become the gatekeeper for affordability solutions.
Here is the reality: You cannot put the genie back in the bottle.
When the state of California mandated a 25% minimum wage increase for fast food and health care workers, the cost for those products and services went up. When we allow laws like the Private Attorney Generals Act to expose employers to multimillion-dollar lawsuits over minor, often technical infractions, expenses for those businesses go up, we pay more, and they go out of business. When we create regulations that restrict energy supply while our demand remains unchanged or rises, prices spike and stay high, affecting everything from transportation to groceries.
These aren’t theoretical outcomes; they’re predictable results. Bills have consequences, and the time to consider those consequences is before a bill is passed, not after.
Recently, Democrat members of California’s congressional delegation predictably voted against reopening the federal government, claiming health-care costs were too high and additional subsidies were needed. I served with several of these individuals during my time in the Assembly and Senate. A review of their voting records shows consistent and overwhelming support for the very policies that have created this unaffordable mess in California. Yet they now blame the affordability crisis on the current federal administration, ignoring their own long-term contributions to the problem.
My hope for this year’s legislative session is that we stop playing politics with our budgeting and spending and seriously consider the financial implications of the bills that come before us.
When we introduce or debate a bill, we must give due consideration to whether it will ease financial pressure on families and businesses or make life even less affordable.
We cannot accumulate more debt, add or expand more programs, pile on more regulations or continue to allow failed policies to harm our businesses and communities any longer. No more budget gimmicks to create the illusion of a balanced budget. No more hidden tax increases that get passed along to consumers. Why? Because we simply can’t afford it.
Families trying to keep their lights on, pay rent, put gas in their cars or food on their tables do not have the luxury of ignoring the consequences of bad policy decisions. They feel them immediately. This disconnect is especially clear in California’s broken fire insurance system, where homeowners are losing coverage or facing massive premium hikes because state policies have made it too costly for insurers to operate here. That is why I will be introducing legislation this session to finally address this failure and help restore affordable, reliable insurance options.
With a significant budget deficit looming, I suspect the supermajority will again reach for their usual solutions of borrowing more money and creating new, indirect taxes and fees that are less visible to the taxpaying public. These shortsighted solutions only deepen the affordability crisis. Lawmakers need to demonstrate more discipline, prioritize better, budget responsibly, pay down our debts and re-establish our dwindling reserves.
The list of things that need to be fixed in California is long, but with a little more discipline and focus and less politics, we can fix our problems.
I haven’t given up hope for our state, and neither should you. It’s high time for the Legislature to get its act together.
Kelly Seyarto represents the 32nd District in the California State Senate.