By Antonio Ray Harvey
On Feb. 5, the California State Assembly voted to pass Assembly Joint Resolution 25 (AJR 25) – legislation focused on maintaining lowered health care costs authored by Assemblymembers Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) and Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay).
The resolution urges the United States Congress and President Donald Trump to immediately restore and extend enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits. Assembly Democrats voted unanimously to pass the resolution.
AJR 25 now moves to the California State Senate for consideration.
“This is shameful. The President has had a chance to extend these credits,” Bonta told her colleagues in the Assembly. “They ignored the evidence, they ignored the warnings, and they ignored the pleas of families who depend on affordable coverage.”
Bonta continued, “Congress must immediately restore and extend the enhanced ACA tax credits.”
Bonta, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), introduced AJR 25 on Jan. 29, highlighting how Trump’s signature legislation, H.R. 1 — referred to as the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’– will strip tens of billions of dollars annually from California’s health system.
H.R. 1 is a federal budget reconciliation law signed by Trump on July 4, 2025, extending and modifying major tax provisions while making broad changes to federal spending, including programs such as Medicaid and other safety-net initiatives.
“(H.R. 1) will deliver the largest tax cut in American history for middle- and working-class families and small businesses,” the Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget (EOPOMB) stated last summer.
EOPOMB claims that the bill will bring larger paychecks for Americans and drive massive economic growth.
“Not only will the bill make President Trump’s highly successful 2017 tax cuts permanent, but it will advance his key campaign promises — no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, a Made in America Auto tax break, and additional tax cuts for our seniors on Social Security,” EOPOMB stated.
California Democratic lawmakers are concerned that the action would force millions of Californians off Medi-Cal and devastate safety net providers, which are already operating on razor-thin margins.
The majority of California Assembly Republicans present during the floor vote either voted against the measure or abstained from voting. The bill passed 59-6 on a party-line vote.
“Around 94% of our people had access to healthcare, and that’s not a failure,” Addis said. That’s absolute success, and we should be proud on all sides of the political spectrum.”
Republican Assemblymembers Carl DeMaio (San Diego), Diane Dixon (Newport Beach), Stan Ellis (Bakersfield), Natasha Jenkins (Lake Elsinore), Kate Sanchez (Rancho Santa Margarita), and David Tangipa (Clovis) voted against the bill authored by Bonta and Addis,
According to Bonta, the cuts will primarily impact several groups in terms of dollars and coverage, including approximately 3.4 million Californians who are projected to lose Medi-Cal coverage.
Between 200,000 and 400,000 residents in the Central Valley region are expected to lose medical coverage by 2034 due to increased work requirements, cost-sharing, and eligibility checks, Bonta stated. The chair of the Assembly Health Committee also shared that H.R. 1 cuts about $1 trillion from Medicaid nationwide over the next decade.
Bonta conducted a six-stop statewide tour, where she took the time to hear directly from health care providers, advocates, and local leaders about the impacts they are currently experiencing in regard to H.R. 1.
The “Health of Healthcare” roundtables were held in Oakland, Fresno, San José, San Diego, Santa Rosa, and Los Angeles. The tour produced information about the hardest-hit groups, including those with the greatest existing burdens, such as low-income families, disabled and elderly neighbors, people experiencing homelessness, and LGBTQ individuals.
“Four hundred thousand people over the course of this year will wake up to premiums that they cannot afford, which means that they will drop out of health care entirely,” Bonta said. “We all need to care about this, and we all can do nothing in this moment right now but figure it out.”