AB-1326 • 2026

Health masks: right to wear.

Healthcare Labor

Vetoed

The latest official action shows the governor vetoed this bill. Check the bill history to see whether lawmakers later overrode that veto.

Sponsor: Ahrens
Last action: 2026-01-22
Official status: Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

This summary is based on the bill being vetoed, but it doesn't affect the content of the explanation.

Right to Wear Health Masks

This law would give individuals the right to wear health masks in public places for their own safety and others' safety, but it wouldn't change rules about taking off masks when needed for security or work reasons.

What This Bill Does

Gives individuals the right to wear a mask in public places to protect themselves from illness or poor air quality.
Defines what counts as a 'health mask' and where people can wear them.
Does not change rules that require masks to be removed for security checks, important work tasks, or medical emergencies.

Who It Names or Affects

People who want to wear health masks in public places
Businesses and organizations with rules about mask-wearing

Terms To Know

Health Mask: A face covering worn for protection against illness or poor air quality.
Public Place: An area that is open to the public, like a store or park.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if someone breaks this rule.
It's unclear how this law would work with existing rules about mask removal in certain situations.

Bill History

2026-01-22 California Legislative Information
Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file.
2025-10-11 California Legislative Information
Consideration of Governor's veto pending.
2025-10-11 California Legislative Information
Vetoed by Governor.
2025-09-16 California Legislative Information
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
2025-09-09 California Legislative Information
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 66. Noes 3. Page 3125.).
2025-09-08 California Legislative Information
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
2025-09-08 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 28. Noes 1. Page 2590.).
2025-09-03 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-09-02 California Legislative Information
Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
2025-08-20 California Legislative Information
Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
2025-08-19 California Legislative Information
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 15).
2025-06-19 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 18). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
2025-05-21 California Legislative Information
Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and JUD.
2025-05-08 California Legislative Information
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
2025-05-08 California Legislative Information
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 58. Noes 2. Page 1481.)
2025-05-01 California Legislative Information
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
2025-04-30 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 14. Noes 2.) (April 29).
2025-04-10 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.
2025-04-07 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.
2025-04-03 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended.
2025-03-25 California Legislative Information
Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.
2025-03-24 California Legislative Information
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended.
2025-03-24 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on L. & E.
2025-02-24 California Legislative Information
Read first time.
2025-02-22 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.
2025-02-21 California Legislative Information
Introduced. To print.

Official Summary Text

AB 1326, Ahrens.
Health masks: right to wear.
Existing law sets forth various provisions on the wearing of a mask for health purposes. These circumstances include, among others, a statewide stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of a pandemic, wildfire smoke event, or other health emergency; employer-supplied PPE to employees who provide direct patient care in a general acute care hospital; employees of commercial cannabis businesses wearing a mask for respiration; and providing peace officers with an appropriate portable manual mask and airway assembly for use when applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation to prevent the spread of communicable disease.
Under this bill, an individual would have the right to wear a health mask on their face in a public place for the purpose of protecting their individual health or the public health, with regard to communicable disease,
air quality, or other health factors. The bill would define a health mask and a public place for purposes of this provision.
Under the bill, the above-described right would not be construed as limiting or otherwise modifying the application or implementation of certain requirements for the removal of a health mask relating to, among other contexts, security protocols to identify an individual, essential functions in the workplace, or emergency health care protocols, as specified, without limiting certain nondiscrimination protections on the basis of disability or medical condition.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Download Bill PDF