CA lawmakers can now spend unlimited campaign funds on security through 2028

In response to recent attacks on public officials, California lawmakers can, for the next three years, use unlimited campaign funds to protect themselves and their families.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 789 on Saturday, lifting a $10,000 lifetime cap on security spending for lawmakers that is part of the Political Reform Act of 1974. In 2029, the $10,000 per year cap would be reinstated.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, and co-author Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, introduced the bill following the politically motivated shootings of two Minnesota elected officials and their families in June.

Bonta told members of a state Senate committee that in light of recent political violence, the change “made sense.” She shared she’d been to several parades and rallies in the preceding weeks, adding: “If I had wanted to be able to have security there, personal security, to be able to ensure that I would have a greater sense of security, that could have cost me $10,000 right there.”

The spending would be from campaign accounts, which are funded by donations. The money could not be paid to a member of one’s family, including in-laws.

Bonta, who is married to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, said she has received threats before.

“I once stood in my front yard and received a text message that said, ‘You look great there,’” she told members of a state Senate committee on elections and constitutional amendments.

Bonta also cited a 2023 study by political action committee California Women’s List that found that 42% of women had experienced stalking at least once while they were campaigning, and nearly one in five reported it happening frequently or very frequently.

The California District Attorneys Association also weighed in in support of the bill, writing that “the safety of candidates, officeholders, their staff, and their families is of the utmost importance; security should not depend on an arbitrary dollar amount that has not kept pace with inflation or the current threat environment.”

There was no opposition to the bill.

Bonta had tried to change security provisions in the Political Reform Act before. In 2023, she authored a bill to authorize campaign spending on security for a candidate, their family and staff, but her effort was shot down by Newsom, who wanted more specificity about what “security expenses” would entail. In 2024, she successfully got the lifetime spending limit raised from $5,000 to $10,000, and eliminated a condition that a candidate needed to have experienced a threat to their physical safety to be able to spend the money.

Records analyzed by the Senate elections committee found lawmakers do not often use campaign funds for security purposes. Between September 2024 and July 2025, the Fair Political Practices Commission only received five filings for candidates or elected officials’ security expenses.

This story was originally published October 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM.