State of California California State Assembly Assemblymember Robert Rivas

Robert Rivas, who plunged into action immediately upon his arrival in the Assembly with a number of committee assignments and numerous bills, was elected Speaker of the Assembly on November 10, 2022.

Rivas had triumphed in his first reelection campaign for the District 30 seat in November 2020, receiving 70.8 percent of the vote. After redistricting, Rivas ran in District 29, winning 64.4 percent of the vote against Republican candidate Stephanie Castro.

Background

Prior to his election at age 38 to the legislature, Rivas worked as an emergency technician, firefighter, and political aide and served on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. He has a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University and is married with one child.

Select Legislation

AB 1623, the Golden State Teacher Grant Program: Introduced in 2019 by Rivas and Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, this active bill would award one-time $20,000 grants for teachers in areas impacted by teacher shortages. “Every student deserves an opportunity to achieve,” Rivas told San Benito Live. “Yet, this opportunity is harder to come by in schools located within low-income communities or schools heavily comprised of English language learners that suffer from a teacher shortage.”

AB 1783, the Farmworker Housing Act of 2019: This bill, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2019, streamlines the process for building housing for farmworkers, helping ensure these workers don’t live in substandard conditions.

AB 66, Sales and use tax: exemption: diapers: Rivas is among 20 sponsors of this bill, which would add a sales tax exemption for the purchase of diapers in California.