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Headshot of Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

Democrat, State Assembly
District 16, San Ramon
Time in office:
  • Assembly: 2018-present

News coverage of Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

Bio

Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, 46, sometimes referred by her initials “RBK,” rode the “Blue Wave” of anti-Trump sentiment in 2018 to narrowly defeat incumbent Republican Catharine Baker. She’s a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University Law Center. Before serving in the Assembly, she taught appellate law and legal research at Santa Clara and Golden Gate universities. She founded the Select Committee on Reproductive Health and she’s fought to make California a sanctuary state for abortion and gender-affirming care. She authored bills that would have increased penalties for farmers who illegally take water from rivers. She and her husband have three children.

Leader Badges

Environment Badge

Ideology

Left

Moderate

Right

Bill Activity

0

Of 20 bills:
1 Passed
 Failed
19 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 20 bills: 1 passed, None failed, and 19 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

Financials

This feature tracks three sources of money intended to help a candidate win election: 1-Money given directly to a candidate’s committee, 2-Money given to an Independent Expenditure Committee, 3-Money given to a political party. (NOTE: Senators are elected every four years. Twenty of the 40 Senators are on the ballot in even-numbered years, so Senators may do little or no fundraising in the first two-year session of their Senate term).

Election

This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).

Agriculture

$15.0K

Communications & Electronics

$23.0K

Construction

$11.0K

Energy & Natural Resources

$14.0K

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

$65.6K

General Business

$50.6K

Government Agencies/Education/Other

$39.5K

Health

$35.5K

Ideology/Single Issue

$14.0K

Labor

$126.8K

Lawyers & Lobbyists

$1.5K

Party

$150.0

Transportation

$14.5K

Uncoded

$79.8K

Unitemized Contributions

$518.0

Candidate Donations

Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $5,500 for the primary and for the general elections.

Total
$491.4K

35.0% lower than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity to help a candidate win office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total
$315.0

Grand Total for Elections

$491.7K

35.0% lower than the average legislators

This is a total of the money to help this legislator win office including direct donations to the candidate, money from Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.


Influence

There are three categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The three categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel, 3-Behests.

Giver
Value
Date
Description
Stanford University$500Nov 20, 2021Tickets and food/drinks to Stanford Football Game
San Francisco 49ers$420Sep 26, 20212 Tickets for 49ers footbal game
CA Jewish Legislative Caucus Leadership Foundation $309.95Jan 28, 2021Lunch, mug, Tzedakah Box, jacket
Senator Josh Becker$150Sep 30, 2021gift card
Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs (APAPA) Tri Valley Chapter$99Dec 12, 2021Harry & David gift pack.
CA Dem Party$60.99Aug 24, 2021Dem Caucus Lunch
CA Dem Party$60.99Sep 3, 2021Dem Caucus Lunch
Connor Lam$58Nov 5, 2021Chocolates
CA Dem Party$56.93May 4, 2021Dem Caucus Lunch
California Issues Forum$50.11Jun 6, 2021Lunch
Showing 1-10 of 13 rows

Personal Gifts

Legislators are not allowed to accept gifts of more than $10 per month from registered lobbyists. Gifts from any other single source are limited to $590 in a calendar year.

Gift Received Rating
#10/120

This legislator is ranked 10th highest for the amount of personal gifts received.

Policy

Bills Authored by Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

AB 1064
Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection

In Progress
Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection
AB 432
Menopause.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Business and Professions

In Progress
Menopause.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Business and Professions
AB 302
Data brokers: elected officials and judges.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Health

In Progress
Data brokers: elected officials and judges.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Health
AB 1018
Automated decision systems.

Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection

In Progress
Automated decision systems.Committee: Assembly Standing Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection
View All Bills

Committees

Most of the policy work in the state Capitol is done in “Standing” committees. Legislators also work on budget subcommittees. There are also “Special” and “Select” committees with a more narrow topic focus. And there are “Joint” committees with members from the Senate and Assembly.

Hearings

Featured Comments

Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.

Preview image for AB 5786MIN
Jul 14, 2025

AB 578

Food delivery platforms: customer service.

Preview image for AB 43244MIN
Jul 7, 2025

AB 432

Menopause.

Preview image for AB 14057MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 1405

Artificial intelligence: auditors: enrollment.

Preview image for AB 57810MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 578

Food delivery platforms: customer service.

Preview image for AB 5621MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 56

Social media: warning labels.

Preview image for AB 22216MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 222

Data centers: power usage effectiveness: cost shifts.

Preview image for AB 451MIN
Jun 3, 2025

AB 45

Privacy: health data: location and research.

Preview image for AB 4325MIN
Jun 3, 2025

AB 432

Menopause.

Preview image for AB 10181MIN
Jun 2, 2025

AB 1018

Automated decision systems.

Preview image for AB 6212MIN
Jun 2, 2025

AB 621

Deepfake pornography.

Preview image for AB 140542SEC
Jun 2, 2025

AB 1405

Artificial intelligence: auditors: enrollment.

Preview image for AB 22240SEC
Jun 2, 2025

AB 222

Data centers: power usage effectiveness: cost shifts.

View All Hearings

District

View of map with yellow overlay for Assembly District 16 boundaries.
District 16 is a Safe Democratic District
Democratic Party candidate has a very high likelihood of winning in an election

Previous Election:

Joseph A. Rubay
35.9%
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan
64.1%
WON

Party Registration

Census Data

Median age010203040

Median age