Fighting to Build More Housing

• Senator Arreguín is making it easier to build new housing, by authoring SB 786, which closes legal loopholes that can create costly delays, and SB 489, which streamlines the permitting process. 
• Removed barriers for building ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), a key solution to our housing crisis, by authoring SB 9. ADUs account for 1 in 5 new housing units in California. 
• Working to make homes more fire safe, by authoring SB 1041, which will allow all Californians to access low interest loans to help wildfire-proof their homes. 
• Championing a $10 billion housing bond to fund creation of 45,000 new homes across California as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee.

Fighting to revitalize Downtown areas with new housing, and help create new homes for the middle class.

Standing up for Working Families

• Expanded access to childcare programs, by authoring SB 792, which increases eligibility for working families.
• Strengthened unemployment support for laid off workers, authoring SB 617, which requires employers to provide critical information on services available to employees impacted by mass layoffs.
• Negotiated a multi-million-dollar transit loan from the State to help save Bay Area public transit, and authored a ballot measure to fund affordable, accessible public transit in the Bay Area for future generations.
• Standing up for worker safety, authoring SB 1330, which increases penalties for attacks committed against essential front-line utility workers.

Fighting Back Against Donald Trump and ICE to Protect Our Diverse Communities

• Banned ICE agents from wearing facemasks to hide their identities in California, co-authoring SB 627, the No Secret Police Act, America’s first such law. Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security called Arreguín’s bill “despicable.”
• Protected hospital and health clinic patients from ICE, authoring SB 81, which bans healthcare providers from sharing patients’ immigration status with federal agents, and created ICE-free zones in hospitals and healthcare facilities.
• Ensured families and students are notified by schools when federal agents could conduct immigration raids, by co-sponsoring SB 98.
• Secured funding for legal defense for immigrants facing deportation.

Cracking Down on Illegal Guns and Increasing Gun Safety

• Authored America’s first law targeting 3D-printed ghost guns, co-authoring SB 704, which prohibits sales of firearm barrels unless conducted by a licensed firearms dealer. Previously, firearm barrels were unregulated and could be bought online or in a store without a background check, and were often used by criminals to modify untraceable ghost guns.
• Working to increase oversight on the importing of guns to California, authoring SB 948, which requires a firearm importer to obtain a firearm safety certificate and requires them to take a class on gun safety. The rightwing Townhall called this “another stupid gun control bill.”

Creating Safer, Cleaner, More Vibrant Communities

• Increased transparency and accountability in policing, authoring SB 524, which requires police to disclose when they use AI to write police reports, and to maintain a paper trail of body camera footage or audio used to create the report.
• Cracking down on illegal dumping, introducing SB 1218, which requires the DMV to refuse to renew vehicle registrations if an applicant has delinquent illegal dumping fines. 
• Helping attract new businesses to Oakland, authoring SB 304, which lifts land use restrictions at Jack London Square.

Elected to the Senate in 2024, Senator Arreguín represents District 7, which includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hercules, Oakland, Piedmont, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo.

He previously served for 8 years as the first Latino Mayor of Berkeley. Arreguín led the city through the first Trump term and the COVID pandemic. He oversaw Berkeley’s biggest housing boom in 50 years, the construction of its largest ever affordable housing development, and its biggest ever investment in tenant protections. His policies helped reduce unsheltered homelessness by 45 percent.

Arreguín strengthened Berkeley’s sanctuary city policies to protect our undocumented communities, partnered with Planned Parenthood to make Berkeley a sanctuary city for reproductive health and gender-affirming care, and created the United Against Hate campaign to fight back against hate groups. He helped hire more police officers while increasing police oversight, invested in violence prevention, and advanced reforms to shift mental health calls from police to trained social workers. And he combatted climate change locally with groundbreaking environmental leadership.

Senator Arreguin also previously served as President of the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area’s regional government, representing all 101 cities and 9 counties.

The son and grandson of migrant farmworkers, Senator Arreguín started fighting for justice at 10 years old, when he marched with Dolores Huerta for farmworkers’ rights. He’s been at it ever since.

A lifelong renter, he lives in Oakland. A proud alumni of UC Berkeley, he’s the first in his family to graduate college.