California Senate · District 15
Dave Cortese
Where they sit
Every current senator, placed from most liberal to most conservative by how they voted on contested bills.
Dave Cortese's seat is marked. Seats run from most liberal (left) to most conservative (right), by contested floor votes. Color shows how often each member crosses party lines toward the middle on votes that divide the parties: solid blue or red means almost never, and purple means on at least 1 in 10 of those votes. Gray seats are members too new to score. How these numbers work
The scores
How these numbers work →Each tick is a current senator, by party; the dot is Dave Cortese.
Each tick is a current senator, by party; the dot is Dave Cortese.
Bills
The bills Dave Cortese sponsored this term and how far they got. Co-sponsors aren’t counted.
| Bills | |
|---|---|
| Sponsored | 35 |
| Passed both chambers | 23 |
| Became law | 22 |
| Vetoed by the Governor | 1 |
Rank by bills passed: Rank 7 of 39 in the Senate (tied with 6 others) · 7 of 29 Democrats (tied with 6 others)
A bill's sponsor is its primary author, as the Legislature marks it on the bill's last version; joint authors and coauthors aren't counted, and a committee's bill counts for no member.
Bills that passed both chambers
| Bill | Result | Final action |
|---|---|---|
| SB 685 Special education: nonpublic schools and agencies. |
Became law | Sept. 30, 2026 |
| SB 1375 California Environmental Quality Act: exemption: urban intermodal rail station project. |
Became law | Sept. 30, 2026 |
| SB 1246 Autonomous vehicles. |
Became law | Sept. 30, 2026 |
| SB 750 California Housing Finance Agency: credit enhancement mechanisms study. |
Became law | Sept. 29, 2026 |
| SB 1250 State highway system: wildlife connectivity. |
Became law | Sept. 29, 2026 |
| SB 1425 High-Speed Rail Authority: property: operating right-of-way. |
Became law | Sept. 27, 2026 |
| SB 1306 Controlled substances: gamma-butyrolactone. |
Became law | Sept. 27, 2026 |
| SB 1392 Smog check: exemption: collector motor vehicles. |
Became law | Sept. 16, 2026 |
| SB 33 Public contracts: claim resolution. |
Became law | July 16, 2026 |
| SB 791 Vehicle dealers: document processing charge. |
Vetoed | March 2, 2026 |
| SB 753 Special business regulations: shopping carts. |
Became law | Oct. 13, 2025 |
| SB 695 Transportation: climate resiliency: projects of statewide and regional significance. |
Became law | Oct. 13, 2025 |
| SB 653 Wildfire prevention: environmentally sensitive vegetation management. |
Became law | Oct. 13, 2025 |
| SB 597 Labor-related liabilities: direct contractor and subcontractor. |
Became law | Oct. 13, 2025 |
| SB 30 Diesel-powered on-track equipment: decommissioning: resale and transfer restrictions. |
Became law | Oct. 13, 2025 |
| SB 683 Privacy: use of a person’s name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness: injunctive relief. |
Became law | Oct. 10, 2025 |
| SB 602 Veterinarians: veterinarian-client-patient relationship. |
Became law | Oct. 10, 2025 |
| SB 429 Wildfire Safety and Risk Mitigation Program. |
Became law | Oct. 10, 2025 |
| SB 553 Prisons: clearances. |
Became law | Oct. 1, 2025 |
| SB 551 Corrections and rehabilitation: state policy. |
Became law | Oct. 1, 2025 |
| SB 400 Labor: elective compensation under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. |
Became law | Oct. 1, 2025 |
| SB 693 Employees: meal periods. |
Became law | July 30, 2025 |
| SB 61 Private works of improvement: retention payments. |
Became law | July 14, 2025 |
Budget projects
California's Budget Act doesn't name the legislator who asked for an item, so there's no budget figure for California legislators.
Contested votes where they split
6 against the Senate President pro Tem; 6 against most of their party.
| Date | Bill and motion | Their vote | Senate President pro Tem | Most of their party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 31, 2026 | AB 1156: Williamson Act contracts: cancellation fees: photovoltaic solar facilities. Third Reading |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
| Aug. 25, 2026 | SB 948: Firearms: safety certificates. Concurrence in Assembly Amendments |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
| Sept. 12, 2025 | AB 1156: Solar-use easements: suspension of Williamson Act contracts: terms of easement: termination. Third Reading |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
| June 4, 2025 | SB 356: Parole hearings: use of photographs. Third Reading |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
| June 4, 2025 | SB 601: Water: waste discharge. Third Reading |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
| June 4, 2025 | SB 403: End of Life Option Act: sunset. Third Reading |
Nay | Yea (split) | Yea (split) |
Every roll call
How Dave Cortese voted on each of the 3,677 floor roll calls while in office, newest first.
| Date | Vote | Their vote | Most of their party | Senate President pro Tem | Yeas–nays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading… | |||||
Contested and party-line votes link to their own pages; the rest link to the official record.
Contact, committees and caucuses
Contact
- Official page
- www.senate.ca.gov
- senator.cortese@senate.ca.gov
- Capitol office
- 1021 O St. Suite 7520, Sacramento, CA 95814
916-651-4015 - District office
- 1155 Meridian Ave. Suite 100, San Jose, CA 95125
408-723-4154
Committees
- Transportation Chair
- Education
- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Housing
- Hydrogen Energy Select
- International Sporting Events: Olympics and World Cup Soccer Special
- Labor, Public Employment and Retirement
- Legislative Audit
- Legislative Ethics
- Public Safety
- Rules
- Select Committee on Bay Area Public Transit
Contact details and committee assignments from Open States' data on the California Legislature, which it collects from the chambers' websites, as of Oct. 15, 2026.
Source: the California Legislature's floor vote records, Dec. 2, 2024 to Sept. 1, 2026. How these numbers work · Corrections