Senate Swearing in Ceremony 12.3.2025 from CA Senate Republican Caucus on Vimeo.
Senator Patricia Bates Begins Second Term, Reaffirms Commitment to Champion Taxpayers
SACRAMENTO - Senator Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) today took the oath of office to begin her second term as the state senator for South Orange and North San Diego counties in Sacramento, reaffirming her commitment to champion taxpayers at the State Capitol.
“It’s an honor to continue to represent the diverse communities of the 36th Senate District in the Legislature and provide a voice for the issues that matter to all Californians, such as education, jobs, and public safety” said Senator Bates. “They deserve a senator that will work across party lines while maintaining her core principles. I have worked hard to be that senator over the past four years and I will continue to do so in my second term. My constituents expect no less.”
Shaped by her experience as a former social worker, Senator Bates will continue to focus on issues that she has worked on over the past four years, such as improving oversight over sober living homes and rehabilitation facilities, reducing opioid-related tragedies, and eliminating loopholes that endanger public safety. Other priorities include defending taxpayers from additional tax increases, protecting the environment in a fiscally-responsible manner, and making existing health programs more affordable and accessible.
Through strong bipartisan efforts, Senator Bates has worked with Democrats to pass key bills that Governor Brown approved during the 2018 legislative session. For example, she jointly authored SB 197 (2017) with Senator Toni Atkins and SB 1007 (2018) with Senator Robert Hertzberg to lower the cost of building needed medical facilities that would serve veterans and military personnel afflicted with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions. The Governor signed SB 1007 into law.
In addition to SB 1007, the Governor signed these notable bipartisan laws authored or co-authored by Senator Bates this past legislative session:
- SB 1009 to increase opioid education among youth to reduce tragedies;
- SB 1151 to promote neighborhood electric vehicles in San Diego County;
- SB 1226 to bring “granny flats” out of the shadows;
- AB 3162 (Friedman) to mandate a provisional, one-year initial probationary period for residential treatment facilities.
Today’s swearing-in ceremony officially started the 2019-20 legislative session. The Legislature reconvenes on January 7, 2019.