New Mandatory Trainings for Local Government Elected Officials, Appointees and Certain Staff

Executive Summary

The following training requirements are triggered on January 1, 2026:

• Department heads and certain staff must take a minimum of two hours of ethics training every two years (commonly known as “AB 1234 ethics training”);
• Elected officials, certain appointees and department heads (and equivalent staff positions) must take two hours of fiscal and financial training every two years. 

The deadlines for local officials and staff to complete these training requirements vary, depending on the date they took office or began employment, as well as other factors. Starting January 1, 2026, public agencies must be prepared to provide resources for completing both AB 1234 ethics training and fiscal and financial training to any new covered officials or staff within six months of commencing service.

SB 827 Overview

Current law, initially adopted in 2005 as part of “AB 1234,” requires certain members of local legislative bodies and elected officers to receive ethics and public service training. Two hours of training is required every two years. Currently, public agencies are permitted to locally require additional designated staff to take AB 1234 ethics training. 

In October 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 827, a bill authored by State Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez in response to concerns about corruption and local mismanagement of public funds. Beginning January 1, 2026, the AB 1234 ethics training requirement is expanded to certain local agency staff; and a new, two-hour fiscal and financial training requirement is introduced for all members of legislative bodies, all elected officials, and certain staff. New requirements for content and tracking these trainings also apply. 

AB 1234 Ethics Training Changes

Currently, members of a local agency legislative body or an elected local agency official must receive AB 1234 ethics training if they receive any type of compensation, salary, stipend or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. SB 827 does not change this. 

However, SB 827 includes a major change by adding department heads and other similar administrative officers to the list of local officials required take the two-hour ethics training. Existing staff in covered positions who will be taking AB 1234 ethics training for the first time after January 1, 2026, should complete that first training within one year (i.e., before January 1, 2027). As shown in the table below, different deadlines apply to new staff appointed after January 1, 2026, and to those who have been already designated to receive ethics training by their local agency as a matter of local policy. 

New Fiscal and Financial Training Requirement

SB 827 creates an additional two-hour fiscal and financial training requirement that must be renewed biannually. The Legislature introduced this training to provide local officials with the knowledge necessary to properly oversee public funds. Required topics include financial administration and short- and long-term fiscal management, capital financing and debt management, general fiscal and financial planning, and prudent investing and ethics related to public resources, among others. 

SB 827 provides only limited guidance on how local agencies can provide the training. Under the new law, agencies may broadly “contract or otherwise collaborate” with a training provider. However, the new law specifically requires that training courses and materials be developed “in consultation with widely recognized experts in local government finances, including local government associations.” Such training can be provided in the form of a course, or self-study materials with tests, and in person or online. We expect to see training packages coming onto the market from financial consultants and other financial professionals in the near future. 

This new fiscal and financial training must be completed by:

• Any member of a local agency legislative body or any elected officer of a local agency. Take note that, unlike AB 1234, there is no limitation here that such a person must receive compensation, salary, stipend or reimbursement to be subject to this requirement.
•  Any official appointed by the governing body who makes decisions or recommendations regarding financial administration, budgeting, or the use of public resources as part of their official duties.
• “Local agency executive” is defined in subdivision (d) of Government Code Section 3511.1, or other similar administrative officer of a local agency. Generally, this means a chief executive officer or equivalent, assistant or deputy chief executive officer or equivalent, department heads, and other management-level employees employed by contract.

Additionally, a local agency may designate any other employee to receive this fiscal and financial training.

Deadlines for Completing Statutorily Required Trainings

The most complex aspect of SB 827 is ensuring that all officials and staff who are required to receive AB 1234 ethics training or the new fiscal and financial training follow the statutory deadlines. 

• To begin with, members of a local agency legislative body or an elected local agency official who began their service before January 1, 2026, and are already in a two-year cycle of AB 1234 ethics trainings, should continue to stay up to date by completing AB 1234 training every two years. This category of officials must also complete their first fiscal and financial training before January 1, 2028, unless their term of service ends before January 9, 2028 (in which case they are excused).
• Any new member of a local agency legislative body or an elected local agency who takes office after January 1, 2026, and is subject to AB 1234 because they receive some form of compensation, should complete their first AB 1234 ethics training within six months. Such new members must also receive their first fiscal and financial training within six months, regardless of whether they receive any type of compensation, as defined, for their service. 
• Staff who (i) are newly subject to AB 1234 ethics training, (ii) were in their positions before January 1, 2026, and (iii) have not previously been designated to receive AB 1234 ethics training, must complete their first AB 1234 ethics training before January 1, 2027. If staff have already been designated to take AB 1234 ethics training, they may stay on their current two-year cycle. 
• New staff subject to the AB 1234 ethics training requirement who begin service after January 1, 2026, must complete this first AB 1234 ethics training within six months of commencing service. 
• Staff who must receive fiscal and financial training and who were in their positions on January 1, 2026, have a two-year deadline to complete their first fiscal and financial training (January 1, 2028).
• New staff who must receive fiscal and financial training and who begin their service after January 1, 2026, will only have six months to complete their first fiscal and financial training.

Website Posting, Record-keeping and Notification Requirements

SB 827 also creates the requirement that, beginning July 1, 2026, local agencies post on their websites information about how the public may request ethics and financial training records pursuant to the California Public Records Act. 

Aligned with the record-keeping requirements of AB 1234, SB 827 also requires local agencies to maintain records demonstrating both the date the local agency official completed the fiscal and financial training as well as the entity that provided the training. The local agency must maintain the records for at least five years after completion of the training. As before, if an official serves more than one agency and is required by both to complete trainings, that official need take the training only once and will provide records to all of the agencies served. 

Additionally, under SB 827, local agencies must inform covered officials and employees of how to meet their training requirements at least once per year. 

BBK will host an Ethics Training webinar on January 27, 2026, consisting of a comprehensive ethics training program for public agencies designed to meet AB 1234’s mandatory training. Click here for registration information.

Disclaimer: BBK Legal Alerts are not intended as legal advice. Additional facts, facts specific to your situation, or future developments may affect subjects contained herein. Seek the advice of an attorney before acting or relying upon any information herein.