1. Budget Negotiations Continue — Extenders Passed
This week, the state legislature passed two extender bills to keep the state government open through April 27th. Legislators are scheduled to be back on Monday to pass another extender to ensure that CSEA members are paid on time. As for budget negotiations, there are no new updates. The governor, senate, and assembly are working to settle their differences regarding auto insurance as well as environmental and immigration reforms.
2. Legislature Passes Bill Blocking Outsourcing During Hiring Freezes
This week, the state legislature passed legislation that would prohibit outsourcing of state jobs in the case of a hiring freeze. This legislation ensures that a hiring freeze cannot be used to keep jobs vacant and then outsourced. The legislation will be acted on by the governor in the coming months.
3. National Work Zone Safety Week
This week was National Work Zone Safety Week. CSEA continues to push for the passage of significant work zone safety legislation, including expanding the Work Zone Camera Program to cover all state roads, elevating criminal penalties for assaulting a transportation worker, and increasing penalties for speeding in a work zone and failing to move over. These measures would create stronger systems of accountability and ensure that reckless behavior in work zones is addressed appropriately. We encourage our members to be active in this issue and send an email to their assemblymember to include highway worker protections in the state budget by using this link.
4. Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer Steps Down
This week, U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chaez-DeRemer stepped down. Keith Sonderling, the current deputy labor secretary, will serve as acting secretary in her absence. He previously served in the Department of Labor as the Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2020 to 2024 and in the Wage and Hour Division from 2017 to 2020.
5. Next Week
The State Legislature is scheduled to meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Another extender must be passed on Tuesday to ensure that state employees on the Institution payroll are paid on time.
6. CSEA Legislative Toolkit
We’re encouraging members to get the word out about our legislative successes. Click the icons below for informational documents that you can print, share, and post on social media to spread the news. You can also check out our summary of the 2025 legislative session.
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