CALSAGA Is Fighting SB 1203 in the Capitol Until the Vote
With the Assembly floor vote on SB 1203 set for August 31, CALSAGA’s lobbying team has been in the Capitol rotunda, meeting face to face with legislators to make our industry’s case.
Kelly Jensen of Sloat Higgins Jensen and Associates, CALSAGA’s lobbying firm, has been walking the halls, sitting down with lawmakers and their staff, and laying out exactly what this bill would cost California’s security industry and the businesses that depend on it.
What SB 1203 Would Do
SB 1203, authored by Senator Smallwood-Cuevas, would add an estimated $2 billion a year to the cost of security services statewide. It layers new training mandates, paid training time, and recurring compliance requirements onto an industry that already meets some of the toughest licensing standards in the country, and it hands responsibility for that training to an entity with no demonstrated security industry expertise.
Roughly 360,000 licensed security professionals in California would be affected.
We support real training and professionalism for our workforce. That is not in question. What we oppose is a bill that drives up costs so far that businesses are pushed toward cutting security staff or leaning on cameras and technology that cannot step in during an actual emergency. Trained security officers provide something a camera never can: an immediate, capable human presence.
Why We’re Showing Up in Person
Letters and emails matter, and CALSAGA members have sent plenty of both. But in the final stretch before a floor vote, nothing replaces a direct conversation. That is why our lobbying team has made the rotunda a regular stop, working alongside partners including the California Business Properties Association to keep our opposition in front of every legislator who will cast a vote.
This is what advocacy looks like: showing up, making the case, and doing it again.
Where Things Stand
The bill is headed for an Assembly floor vote on August 31, with the possibility of another round in the Senate after that. CALSAGA remains firmly opposed. Our position has not changed with the amendments the bill has already picked up, because those changes have not meaningfully reduced the cost impact on our industry.
We will keep members updated as the vote approaches and as the bill’s path through the Legislature becomes clearer.
Want to help? Look up your Assembly member’s contact information and give their office a call before the August 31 vote. Need help making the ask? Our lawmaker outreach guide walks you through what to say.