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Headshot of Steve Bennett

Steve Bennett

Democrat, State Assembly
District 38, Oxnard
Time in office:
  • Assembly: 2020-present

News coverage of Steve Bennett

Bio

Steve Bennett, 75, is a former high school economics and American history teacher. He also is a former Ventura City Council member and Ventura County supervisor. Since his election to the Assembly in 2020, he’s been an advocate for reigning in environmentally harmful water use. He’s a graduate of Brown University, where he was a linebacker and team captain. He has a master’s in education from Butler University. For the past 14 years, Bennett and his wife, Leslie, have shared their home with an immigrant family from Mexico.

Ideology

Left

Moderate

Right

Bill Activity

0

Of 24 bills:
10 Passed
6 Failed
8 Pending

For this session year, this legislator initiated 23 bills: 10 passed, 6 failed, and 8 are currently pending.

Alignment Meter

See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.

xx%votes: xx

Financials

This feature tracks three sources of money intended to help a candidate win election: 1-Money given directly to a candidate’s committee, 2-Money given to an Independent Expenditure Committee, 3-Money given to a political party. (NOTE: Senators are elected every four years. Twenty of the 40 Senators are on the ballot in even-numbered years, so Senators may do little or no fundraising in the first two-year session of their Senate term).

Election

This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).

Agriculture

$4.0K

Communications & Electronics

$13.5K

Construction

$8.5K

Energy & Natural Resources

$44.5K

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate

$23.9K

General Business

$29.8K

Government Agencies/Education/Other

$48.4K

Health

$34.9K

Ideology/Single Issue

$10.0K

Labor

$193.1K

Lawyers & Lobbyists

$15.6K

Party

$1.7K

Transportation

$7.0K

Uncoded

$142.4K

Unitemized Contributions

$102.5K

Candidate Donations

Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $5,500 for the primary and for the general elections.

Total
$679.6K

44.0% higher than the average legislators

Independent Expenditures

Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.

Total
$315.0

100.0% lower than the average legislators

Grand Total for Elections

$679.9K

20.0% higher than the average legislators

This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.


Influence

There are three categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The three categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel, 3-Behests.

Giver
Value
Date
Description
Evan Low for Assembly 2022$193Jun 7, 2021Food and Beverage
Adam Gray for Assembly 2020$92Feb 1, 2021Food and beverage
Rendon for Assembly 2022$67.8Aug 15, 2021Jacket
Southern California Edison$60Nov 10, 2021Food and Beverage
California Democratic Party$57May 4, 2021Food and beverage
Rendon for Assembly 2022$35.38Dec 22, 2021Food and Beverage
Rendon for Assembly 2022$24.64Jan 28, 2021Book
Evan Low for Assembly 2022$12.15Jul 14, 2021t-shirt
Rendon for Assembly 2022$7.09Jul 7, 2021Food and Beverage
Rendon for Assembly 2022$5.83Jun 2, 2021Food and Beverage
Showing 1-10 of 11 rows

Gifts

Legislators are not allowed to accept gifts of more than $10 per month from registered lobbyists. Gifts from any other single source are limited to $590 in a calendar year.

Gift Received Rating
#50/120

This legislator is ranked 50th highest for the amount of personal gifts received.

Committees

Most of the policy work in the state Capitol is done in “Standing” committees. Legislators also work on budget subcommittees. There are also “Special” and “Select” committees with a more narrow topic focus. And there are “Joint” committees with members from the Senate and Assembly.

Hearings

Featured Comments

Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.

Preview image for AB 11431MIN
Sep 12, 2025

AB 1143

State Fire Marshal: home hardening certification program.

Preview image for AB 10411MIN
Sep 9, 2025

AB 1041

Health care coverage: health care provider credentials.

Preview image for AB 32039SEC
Sep 9, 2025

AB 320

Public social services: eligibility: income exclusions.

Preview image for AB 36751SEC
Sep 9, 2025

AB 367

Water: County of Ventura: fire suppression.

Preview image for AB 50638SEC
Sep 9, 2025

AB 506

Pets: sales of dogs, cats, and rabbits.

Preview image for AB 36724MIN
Jul 9, 2025

AB 367

Water: County of Ventura: fire suppression.

Preview image for AB 9548MIN
Jul 8, 2025

AB 954

Interregional transportation strategic plan: bicycle highways.

Preview image for AB 5066MIN
Jul 8, 2025

AB 506

Pets: sales of dogs, cats, and rabbits.

Preview image for AB 104110MIN
Jul 2, 2025

AB 1041

Health care coverage: health care provider credentials.

Preview image for AB 942MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 94

Recall elections: successors.

Preview image for AB 4435MIN
Jul 1, 2025

AB 443

Energy Commission: integrated energy policy report: curtailed solar and wind generation: hydrogen...

Preview image for AB 36731MIN
Jun 24, 2025

AB 367

Water: County of Ventura: fire suppression.

View All Hearings

District

View of map with yellow overlay for Assembly District 38 boundaries.
District 38 is a Safe Democratic District
Democratic Party candidate has a very high likelihood of winning in an election

Previous Election (2024):

Deborah "Deb" Baber
36.6%
Steve Bennett
63.4%
WON

Party Registration

Census Data

Median age0102030

Median age