AB 1896 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Public employment: disqualifications.

Summary

Existing law contains numerous provisions governing the qualifications, standards, and training of peace officers. Existing law specifies circumstances that disqualify a person from holding office or being employed as a peace officer, including, among other things, having been convicted of a felony. This bill, the GTFO Act, would, commencing January 1, 2028, disqualify from being a peace officer a person previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as defined, except as specified. Existing law requires each class of public officers or employees declared by law to be peace officers to meet specified minimum standards, including that they be 18 years of age or older, be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose a criminal record, and be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation. This bill would, for purposes of those background investigations, authorize a hiring agency to consider news articles, verified social media posts, filings of civil complaints, and other verified sources. This bill, for purposes of an applicant who was previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, would require the hiring agency to complete the background investigation before the candidate participates in a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) basic course. The bill would require the hiring agency to review the background investigation and determine if the individual is suitable to enter the POST basic course subject to certain suitability standards adopted by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. This bill would require every applicant seeking appointment as a peace officer or enrollment in a POST basic course to submit to the hiring agency a declaration submitted under penalty of perjury that states whether the applicant has, at any time been employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor that personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as specified. By requiring this statement to be made under penalty of perjury, the bill would expand the scope of a crime and impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the State Civil Service Act, requires that the employment procedures of the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) and of each state agency conform to the federal and state laws governing employment practices, including the use of employment forms. Existing law requires employment forms used by a state agency to require a person applying for employment to disclose whether the person has entered into an agreement with the state regarding any previous employment with the state that prohibits the person from seeking or accepting any subsequent employment with the state. This bill would additionally require the above-described employment forms to require a person applying for employment to disclose whether the person has been employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor that personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as defined. Existing law authorizes CalHR or a designated appointing power to refuse to examine or, after examination, to refuse to declare as eligible, or to withhold or withdraw from certification, prior to appointment, anyone who meets certain criteria, such as a person who has misrepresented themselves during the application process. This bill would add to these criteria a person who was previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as defined, except as specified. Existing law makes a person ineligible to hold office or employment of any kind with the state, or any county, city, district, or other political or governmental unit of the state, if the person has by oath bound themselves to support, maintain, or further the military or political activities or policies of a foreign government, as specified, or to obey the orders or directions of any foreign government or its officials. This bill, commencing January 1, 2028, would make a person ineligible to hold public employment, including employment with a city, county, district, or any other public agency of the state, because the person was previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, as defined, except as specified. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a certification program for peace officers. Existing law requires, for each applicant for admission to a basic course of training certified by the commission that includes the carrying and use of firearms, who is not sponsored by a local or other law enforcement agency or is not a peace officer employed by a state or local agency, department, or district, to submit written certification from the Department of Justice that the applicant is eligible to possess, receive, own, and purchase a firearm pursuant to state and federal law. This bill would, for purposes of an applicant for the basic course who was previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, require the commission to deny suitability for enrollment in the basic course, unless the commission receives notice from the hiring agency granting the applicant's suitability, as specified. The bill, by January 1, 2028, would require the commission to adopt, by regulation, a definition of "suitability," as specified. Existing law requires any background investigation of a candidate for a peace officer position to include an inquiry into whether the candidate has engaged or is engaging in membership in a hate group. This bill would require the background investigation to include an inquiry into whether the candidate has engaged in immigration enforcement. By increasing the duties of local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make the provisions of the act severable. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1029 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1627 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1627 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The bill would also incorporate additional changes to Section 13510.8 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 2337 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2337 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Aug 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 12, 2026 Last action Aug 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons

What changed between versions

08/27/26 - Amended Senate → AB1896 · 2 edits

MINOR

The change replaces the full clean legislative text of AB 1896 (the GTFO Act) with what appears to be a web page capture that includes site navigation elements (headers, menus, search bars, version dropdowns). The substantive bill provisions visible in the removed lines - disqualifying persons who personally engaged in immigration enforcement from public employment and peace officer positions effective January 1, 2028 - are not present in the added lines shown. The diff is truncated at 900 of 2054 lines, so the actual bill text may reappear later in the document.

TECHNICAL

The complete legislative bill text including all sections (Sec. 1 through Sec. 6 and beyond), legislative findings, and the Legislative Counsel's Digest were removed from the document.

Website navigation and UI elements were added, including page headers, menu items (home, accessibility, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login), search fields, version dropdown options, and breadcrumb navigation typical of a state legislative website.

06/24/26 - Amended Senate → 08/13/26 - Amended Senate · 11 edits · Aug 13, 2026

MAJOR

The August 13 Senate amendment significantly narrows who is disqualified from peace officer employment under the GTFO Act, limiting it to sworn law enforcement officers and individual contractors who personally engaged in immigration enforcement, rather than all employees of immigration enforcement entities. The bill also adds new procedural requirements including a perjury-based declaration to the Department of Justice, expanded background investigation authorities (including social media and news articles), and POST basic course enrollment restrictions for affected applicants.

Scope change

The bill's scope is narrowed in terms of who is disqualified (limited to sworn officers and individual contractors who personally engaged in enforcement rather than all employees of immigration enforcement entities) but expanded in terms of procedural requirements (new declaration under penalty of perjury, POST course restrictions, expanded background investigation sources, and additional Penal Code amendments).

ELIGIBILITY

The disqualification criteria is narrowed from anyone previously employed by an entity that engaged in immigration enforcement to only those who were employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor AND personally engaged with immigration enforcement. This excludes administrative staff, support personnel, and other non-sworn employees of immigration enforcement entities.

REQUIREMENT

Every applicant seeking appointment as a peace officer or enrollment in a POST basic course must submit to the Department of Justice a declaration under penalty of perjury stating whether they have been employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor that personally assisted with immigration enforcement. This expands the scope of a crime and imposes a state-mandated local program.

For applicants previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor who personally engaged in immigration enforcement, the hiring agency must complete the background investigation before the candidate participates in a POST basic course, then review it and determine suitability based on standards adopted by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training must deny suitability for enrollment in a POST basic course for an applicant previously employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor who personally engaged in immigration enforcement, unless the commission receives notice from the hiring agency granting the applicant's suitability.

Background investigations for peace officer candidates must now include an inquiry into whether the candidate has engaged in immigration enforcement, in addition to the existing hate group inquiry.

Hiring agencies are authorized to consider news articles, verified social media posts, filings of civil complaints, and other verified sources during background investigations for peace officer positions.

SCOPE

The bill now also amends Sections 13510.8 and 13681 of the Penal Code and adds Section 1031.15 to the Government Code, expanding the statutory footprint beyond just Government Code sections 1029, 1031, and 18935.

The legislative findings section adds new incidents (shooting of Joan Sebastian Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo) and new findings about the FBI no longer investigating assault claims against federal officers, ICE dress code changes after fatal shootings, and racial slurs used during Los Angeles raids.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'immigration enforcement' in Section 1025 now explicitly states it excludes conduct permitted pursuant to Chapter 17.1 (Section 7282), Chapter 17.2 (Section 7283), or Chapter 17.25 (Section 7284) of Division 7, making the safe harbor for local agencies more explicit.

In Section 1029, the definition of 'immigration enforcement' is changed from an independent definition to a cross-reference to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1025, consolidating the definition in one place.

FISCAL

New state mandates language provides that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason, while other mandates would be reimbursed if the Commission on State Mandates determines costs are mandated by the state.

04/14/26 - Amended Assembly → 06/24/26 - Amended Senate · 5 edits · Jun 24, 2026

MODERATE

The Senate amendment to AB 1896 (the GTFO Act) narrows who is disqualified from serving as a peace officer by adding a requirement that the person must have 'personally assisted with immigration enforcement,' rather than simply having been employed by an entity that engaged in immigration enforcement. The definition of 'immigration enforcement' was also narrowed by removing language covering those who merely 'assist in the investigation or enforcement' of federal immigration laws. These changes make it harder to disqualify individuals from peace officer positions, while leaving the broader public employment ban (Section 1025) largely unchanged.

ELIGIBILITY

Section 1029(a)(12)(A) now requires that a person 'personally assisted with immigration enforcement' to be disqualified from being a peace officer. Previously, simply being employed by an entity that engaged in immigration enforcement was sufficient for disqualification.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'immigration enforcement' was narrowed by removing the phrase 'or assist in the investigation or enforcement of.' The term now covers only efforts to directly investigate or enforce federal civil or criminal immigration laws, not those who merely assist in such efforts.

TECHNICAL

References to federal law were updated from 'Section 1373 of Title 8 of the United States Code' to 'Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code' in both Section 1025(d) and Section 1029(a)(12)(D), expanding the scope of permitted information sharing with federal immigration authorities.

Minor grammatical corrections throughout, including removing redundant 'if before 'because' in several provisions, correcting 'one dozen' to 'a dozen,' and fixing 'entry, entry to' to 'entry to.'

The legislative findings section was renumbered to remove stray paragraph labels '(6)' and '(7)' that appeared to be formatting errors, shifting subsequent finding numbers down by one.

08/13/26 - Amended Senate → 08/21/26 - Amended Senate · 7 edits · Aug 21, 2026

MODERATE

The August 21 amendment makes three major substantive changes to AB 1896 (the GTFO Act). First, it removes the original four-year sunset window (January 20, 2025 through January 20, 2029) and replaces it with a permanent disqualification that takes effect on January 1, 2028. Second, it narrows the scope from targeting anyone employed by an entity that engaged in immigration enforcement to only those who personally served as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement. Third, it adds new requirements including a CalHR employment form disclosure and a deadline for POST to define 'suitability' by regulation.

TIMELINE

The disqualification provisions no longer apply only during the period from January 20, 2025 to January 20, 2029. Instead, they take effect on January 1, 2028 and have no stated end date, making the ban permanent rather than temporary.

The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training is required to adopt, by regulation, a definition of 'suitability' by January 1, 2028.

SCOPE

The bill no longer disqualifies a person based on being employed by an entity that engaged in immigration enforcement. It now only targets individuals who were personally employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor and personally engaged in immigration enforcement, removing the broader 'entity' trigger.

Government Code Section 18720.45 is added to the list of sections being amended, expanding the bill's reach into additional statutory provisions.

ELIGIBILITY

The exemption for people who worked at specific public entities (local agencies, local law enforcement agencies, California law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) is replaced with a single simpler exemption: a person is not disqualified if they are approved to enter a POST basic course under subdivision (g) of Section 1031.1.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement is added that state employment forms used by CalHR and state agencies must include a disclosure asking whether the applicant has been employed as a sworn law enforcement officer or individual contractor that personally engaged in immigration enforcement.

DEFINITION

The language 'personally assisted with immigration enforcement' is replaced throughout with 'personally engaged in immigration enforcement,' which may be broader as it does not require the person to have been assisting others but could include any direct participation.

02/12/26 - Introduced → 04/14/26 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Apr 14, 2026

MODERATE

The amended version of AB 1896 adds a short title (the GTFO Act), significantly expands the legislative findings with new allegations about ICE misconduct and reduced training, narrows the definition of 'immigration enforcement' by removing language about assisting in enforcement, and adds a reference to federal statute Section 1644 alongside the existing Section 1373. The core operative provisions - disqualifying former immigration enforcement employees from public employment and peace officer positions during the January 2025 to January 2029 window - remain substantively unchanged.

DEFINITION

The bill is now formally named the 'GTFO Act' via a new Section 1 providing a short title for citation purposes.

The definition of 'immigration enforcement' was narrowed. It previously covered 'any efforts to investigate, enforce, or assist in the investigation or enforcement of any federal civil immigration law.' The amended version removes 'assist in the investigation or enforcement,' so only direct investigation or enforcement activities now trigger the disqualification.

REQUIREMENT

References to federal law were expanded from 'Section 1373 of Title 8 of the United States Code' to 'Sections 1373 and 1644 of Title 8 of the United States Code,' adding a new federal statute that protects information sharing between government entities and federal immigration authorities.

SCOPE

The legislative findings section was substantially expanded with new allegations including: kidnapping of a five-year-old child as bait, fatal shooting of Keith Porter Jr. by an off-duty ICE officer, ICE doubling to 22,000 employees in under a year, specific named examples of agent misconduct (assault, solicitation of a minor, sexual abuse of a detainee), and detailed claims that new ICE agents receive only 14 weeks of training compared to California's 40-week minimum.

TECHNICAL

A cross-reference in Section 1029(a) was corrected to include '(12)' in the list of exceptions, properly referencing the immigration enforcement disqualification paragraph. Section numbering was reorganized to accommodate the new short title section.

Floor votes · Senate Aug 30, 2026 · Assembly May 27, 2026

How they voted

29–10

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Aug 30, 2026

D Democratic30

29 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican10

10 Nay

100% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 10.).

upper

Aug 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

Aug 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

upper

Aug 13, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 13).

upper

Aug 3, 2026

Committee

In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

upper

Jul 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Jun 24, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

upper

Jun 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L., P.E. & R. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

upper

Jun 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and L., P.E. & R.

upper

May 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 53. Noes 21.)

lower

May 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 14).

lower

May 6, 2026

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 15, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Mar 23, 2026

Committee

Referred to Coms. on P. E. & R. and PUB. S.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 15.

lower

1 primary · 14 co-sponsors