Newsom Signs Law Recognizing California’s Industrial Cities

September 21, 2026

By Brian Hews

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation establishing an official definition of an “industrial city” in California law, a designation sought by Commerce, Santa Fe Springs, Industry and Vernon to give cities with relatively small residential populations greater recognition for the enormous workforces and industrial operations they support.

Senate Bill 1274, authored by state Sen. Bob Archuleta and coauthored by Assemblymembers Blanca Pacheco and Blanca Rubio, establishes criteria for determining which California cities qualify as industrial cities.

Under the new law, an industrial city must have fewer than 25,000 residents; have a majority of its jurisdiction zoned or used for industrial, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, energy production or other large-scale commercial uses; and support a daytime workforce exceeding its resident population.

The designation addresses an unusual problem faced by cities such as Commerce and Santa Fe Springs: Their relatively small residential populations can obscure the much larger number of people, businesses and industrial facilities that depend on their roads, infrastructure and municipal services each day.

“SB 1274 is an important first step that gives industrial cities a foundation to advocate for laws and policies that better reflect our unique needs,” Commerce City Manager Ernie Hernandez said. “We now have a stronger voice in future policy discussions, ensuring our economic contributions and infrastructure needs are part of the conversation.”

Commerce has approximately 1,800 businesses, with more than 60,000 people working at or patronizing businesses in the city each day.

Santa Fe Springs has more than 3,000 businesses and approximately 55 million square feet of industrial and manufacturing space.

“Santa Fe Springs has long balanced the needs of our residents with the significant infrastructure and services required to support one of the region’s major employment and industrial centers,” Santa Fe Springs City Manager René Bobadilla said. “SB 1274 recognizes that responsibility and gives cities like ours a stronger foundation to advocate for our needs at the state level.”

The four cities advocated jointly for the legislation, arguing that traditional measures based primarily on residential population fail to reflect the demands placed on industrial cities.

The disparity is particularly dramatic in Vernon, which has fewer than 250 residents but supports a daytime workforce of approximately 50,000 people.

“For a city with fewer than 250 residents, Vernon supports a daytime workforce of approximately 50,000 people,” Vernon City Manager Brian Saeki said. “SB 1274 recognizes that economic impact and the unique demands that come with serving a workforce many times larger than our residential population.”

Industry has more than 2,500 businesses and approximately 80,000 jobs.

“For the first time, California law recognizes that population alone does not reflect the economic impact or demands of industrial cities,” Industry City Manager Joshua Nelson said. “SB 1274 gives our cities a stronger voice in the policies that affect our businesses, workers and infrastructure.”

The legislation does not by itself establish a new funding program for the cities. Instead, the new definition provides a statutory framework that industrial cities can use as California considers future legislation, funding programs and policies affecting transportation, infrastructure, businesses and municipal services.

The four cities form part of a major industrial and commercial corridor in southeast Los Angeles County supporting manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, transportation and logistics, food production, e-commerce and other industries.

Archuleta represents the 30th Senate District, which includes several southeast Los Angeles County communities.