In a major development, the California State Legislature has passed the ‘AB 268 Bill’, which officially recognises the Hindu festival of Diwali as a state holiday.
The proposed legislation was first floated in January this year. It sought to add Diwali to the list of State holidays and authorise community colleges and public schools to remain closed on the occasion of the Hindu festival.
At the same time, the bill allows State employees to choose to take time off work with pay on Diwali.
?BREAKING | AB 268 (Diwali) has PASSED and is headed to engrossing & enrolling!
— Hindu American Foundation (@HinduAmerican) September 12, 2025
Big shoutout to @AsmDarshana and @Ash_Kalra for leading this effort and bringing Diwali recognition one step closer. https://t.co/YBiFt4OKY3 pic.twitter.com/2GTNpOAfAe
With the legislation being passed by both the Assembly and Senate, the Hindu festival is now a state holiday (not designated as a judicial holiday.
The ‘AB 268 Bill’ was passed in the Senate on Wednesday (10th September) with 36-4 votes, while it was passed in the Assembly on Thursday (11th September) with 76-4 votes.
