Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis’s 2025 Year in Review

SACRAMENTO, CA – As 2025 comes to a close, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis reflects a year of bold leadership, relentless service, and unwavering dedication to the people of California.

This year, she advanced landmark legislation to protect reproductive freedom, hold predators accountable, expand housing, and support LGBTQ youth—strengthening the rights and safety of Californians across the state. She continued her work making higher education accessible for all students, forged international partnerships to reinforce California’s position as a global leader, and remained deeply connected to communities in all 58 counties, including standing with families impacted by federal ICE raids. She also concluded her service as Chair of the State Lands Commission and her final year on the Ocean Protection Council and Coastal Commission, leaving a legacy of environmental stewardship and commitment to our natural resources.

Beyond legislation and policy, Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis celebrated innovation, championed small businesses, and served her neighbors through hands-on volunteer work addressing food insecurity, demonstrating a vision of leadership that is bold, inclusive, and grounded in the realities of everyday Californians.

“2025 has been a year of meaningful progress and steadfast service, from advancing legislation that protects rights and expands opportunity, to engaging with communities in every corner of our state and strengthening California’s global partnerships. I am deeply grateful to serve as Lieutenant Governor and to stand alongside Californians who are building stronger, safer, and more inclusive communities.

As we look to 2026, I am energized and optimistic for what we can accomplish together, continuing to deliver results and opportunity for all those who call California home.”

Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis

To see the full year in action, watch Lieutenant Governor Kounalakis’s 2025 Year in Review video.

Legislation

• Co-sponsored 4 bills signed into law to protect reproductive freedom, hold human trafficking predators accountable, expand housing through streamlined ADUs and JADUs, and support LGBTQ youth
• Supported 10 additional bills, including fast-tracking housing approvals, expanding affordable student housing near campuses, and working with California tribes to establish reburial sites for ancestral remains

Higher Education

• Completed visits to 6 CSU campuses (finishing tours of all 23 CSU and 10 UC campuses)
• Spoke out alongside students against the UC’s tuition increases.
• Chaired the inaugural meeting of the board for the Designation of California Black Serving Institution – conferring the Designation on 31 schools across CCC, CSU, UC, and private universities.
• Continued her steadfast advocacy for increasing student housing – including speaking at the opening of a new 700+ bed housing project at San Francisco State University, a project where she spoke at the groundbreaking just two years previously.

International Engagement

• Chaired two meetings of the International Trade Affairs and Development Interagency Committee
• Testified at the inaugural meeting of the Assembly Select Committee on California/Asia Trade and Tariffs
• Hosted, alongside the Governor, a 500-member trade delegation from Belgium led by HRH Princess Astrid and the Belgian Minister of Defense
• Participated with the Governor in bilateral meetings and MOU signing ceremonies with Denmark and the Mexican State of Sonora
• Delivered remarks at the California Africa Climate and Economic Forum and met with Climate Envoys from Nigeria and Kenya
• Met regularly with foreign diplomatic representatives and attended and spoke at events hosted by California-based foreign diplomats to elevate California’s leadership on the global stage on topics including trade, immigration, and climate change.

Community Engagement

• Met with city leaders from LA County’s Gateway Cities to discuss the impacts of this year’s ICE operations targeting immigrant communities
• Visited Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Sierra, and Nevada Counties as part of her commitment to visit all 58 of California’s counties

Environmental Leadership

• Concluded her final year as Chair of the State Lands Commission while continuing service in 2026, and completed her final year on the Ocean Protection Council and Coastal Commission
• Held a community town hall in Oxnard on the Ormond Beach Generating Station and secured a $1.5 million investment for local air quality improvements
• Finalized a settlement to shut down Platform Esther, reducing California’s offshore oil platforms to just two active sites
• Advanced statewide wetlands, estuary, and fishery restoration efforts
• Approved the Ocean Protection Council’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, marking a full-circle moment from the 2020–2025 plan adopted at the start of her tenure
• Directed hundreds of millions in investments toward coastal resilience, restoration, and research and monitoring projects
• Continued progress toward California’s 30×30 conservation goals alongside the Governor and Natural Resources leadership
• Engaged in oversight of critical coastal issues, including the ongoing Tijuana River pollution crisis, while supporting public access to California’s coastline

Innovation & Economy

• Celebrated the opening of Gilead Sciences’ new research facility, marking the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility that strengthens California’s leadership in cutting-edge research for HIV, hepatitis, and cancer
• Visited local businesses, the cornerstone of our state’s economy, listening to entrepreneurs, workers, and families who are driving growth and creating jobs