State law, repealed as of January 1, 2018, required a court to impose an additional term of imprisonment, as specified, on any person who takes, damages, or destroys any property in the commission or attempted commission of a felony, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, authorize the court, if a person takes, damages, or destroys property in the commission or attempted commission of a felony, with the intent to cause that taking, damage, or destruction, to impose an additional term of imprisonment of up to 2 years if the property loss exceeds $275,000, an additional term of imprisonment of up to 3 years if the property loss exceeds $1,750,000, or an additional term of imprisonment of up to 4 years if the property loss exceeds $4,400,000. Existing law provides for enhanced penalties against a person who commits 2 or more related felonies, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, that involve a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000. Existing law makes the additional punishment, if it involves the taking or loss of more than $500,000, a term of 2, 3, or 5 years in the state prison. Existing law, until January 1, 2018, due to an obsolete cross-reference to the repealed provisions described above, made the additional punishment, if it involves a taking or loss of more than $100,000 but less than $500,000, punishable by 2 years in the state prison if the loss was more than $200,000, and one year if the loss was less than that. This bill would remove that obsolete cross-reference and make that additional punishment equal to 2 years in the state prison. Because this bill would increase the penalty for existing felonies, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program, and declares the policy of the state that no child shall be hungry while in attendance in a preschool facility and that preschool programs have an obligation to provide for the nutritional needs of children in attendance. Existing law requires a school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide a needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, and two school meals free of charge during each schoolday to any pupil who requests a meal without consideration of the pupil's eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal, and sets the reimbursement rate for meals served by family daycare homes at 75 percent of the meals served. This bill would increase the reimbursement rate for meals served in family childcare homes to instead be 100 percent of the eligible meals served. The bill would define "family childcare homes" to mean the same as "family daycare homes," as provided.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law provides, until January 1, 2029, that, for certain state and local firefighting personnel and peace officers, the term "injury" includes post-traumatic stress that develops or manifests during a period in which the injured person is in the service of the department or unit. Existing law requires the compensation awarded pursuant to this provision to include full hospital, surgical, medical treatment, disability indemnity, and death benefits. This bill would, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2025, make that provision applicable to emergency medical technicians and paramedics, as defined.
Existing law prescribes various eligibility requirements for a person to become a candidate for elective office. Existing law establishes the Secretary of State as the chief elections officer of the state, and specifies various powers and duties of the office relating to this role. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation authorizing the Secretary of State to disqualify a candidate from the ballot if the candidate is prohibited from holding office under Section 3 of Article 14 of the United States Constitution.
Existing law allows a local authority to establish parking meter zones and fix the rate of fees for those zones by ordinance. Existing law prohibits a local authority from requiring payment of parking meter fees by a mobile device, as specified. This bill would instead authorize a local authority to require payment of parking meter fees by a mobile device.
Existing law gives control of the state park system to the Department of Parks and Recreation, and requires the Director of Parks and Recreation to promote and regulate the use of the state park system in a manner that conserves the scenery, natural and historic resources, and wildlife for the enjoyment of future generations. Existing law authorizes the department to collect fees, rents, and other returns for use of any state park system area, as provided. Existing law prohibits the department from collecting from any group of pupils in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, or their escorts, any fee, rental, or other return for use of any unit in the state park system when the group is visiting the area pursuant to a school outing or field trip under the direction of a school personnel, as provided. This bill, commencing on July 1, 2024, would require the department to waive the day use entrance fees to a unit of the state park system for any child in the 4th grade, or the 4th grade equivalent, who holds a valid federally issued "Every Kid Outdoors" pass, as provided. The bill would require the department to post on its internet website information on how to obtain the federal "Every Kid Outdoors" pass, including a hyperlink to the federal program establishing the pass.
Existing law establishes the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention (HHAP) program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions, as defined, with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges, as specified. Under existing law, grants under the HHAP program are allocated in 4 rounds of funding, administered by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, as provided. Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department. Existing law requires that the report include, among other things, the number of units assisted by those programs and the number of individuals and households served and their income level. This bill would additionally require that this report include an evaluation of the HHAP program.
Existing law authorizes a vehicle to be equipped with not more than 8 lamps for use as headlamps while the vehicle is operated or driven off the highway. Existing law requires the lamps, whenever the vehicle is operated or driven upon a highway, to be covered or hooded with an opaque hood or cover and turned off. This bill would remove the requirement that the lamps be covered or hooded.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, among other things, creates the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services, as specified. Existing law requires the office to establish the California Cybersecurity Integration Center with the primary mission of reducing the likelihood and severity of cyber incidents that could damage California's economy, its critical infrastructure, or public and private sector computer networks in the state. Existing law establishes the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency, supervised by the Director of Technology, whose duties include advising the Governor on the strategic management and direction of the state's information technology resources. Existing law establishes the Office of Information Security within the Department of Technology, with the purpose of ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of state systems and applications, and promoting and protecting privacy as part of the development and operations of state systems and applications to ensure the trust of the residents of the state. This bill would establish the California Cybersecurity Awareness and Education Council within the Department of Technology. The bill would require the council to be composed of 15 members, to be appointed by February 1, 2024, as specified. The bill would require the council to research ways to increase cybersecurity awareness and education of students, families, and other adults, with the goal of helping people learn and use healthy cybersecurity practices, and ways to create a larger and more diverse cybersecurity-trained workforce, and would require the council to propose a strategy to engage Californians in the effort to improve cybersecurity practices and strengthen cyber infrastructure, as specified. This bill would require the council to submit a report by July 1, 2024, that includes, among other things, approaches the state can take to raise awareness of and increase education regarding cybersecurity, including in K–12 schools, institutions of higher education, and workplaces, and ways to effectively utilize social media, marketing campaigns, and the news media to increase awareness of and distribute materials about cybersecurity, as specified. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on February 1, 2025, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2026.
Existing law, except as provided, authorizes any owner or tenant of land or property that is being damaged or destroyed or is in danger of being damaged or destroyed by certain animals, including, among others, the beaver, to apply to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for a permit to kill the animals. Under existing law, it is unlawful for any person to trap any fur-bearing mammal for purposes of recreation or commerce in fur. Under existing law, a violation of the Fish and Game Code is a crime. This bill would require the department to, through consultation with beaver restoration program partners, as defined, develop a program to promote beaver restoration across California, as provided. The bill would, no later than January 1, 2025, require the department to expand the program by, among other things, developing a licensing scheme that includes the issuance and administration of permits for the capture, handling, transport, and release of beavers on public and private lands, except as specified. This bill would require the department to allow the release of the beaver onto public lands or private lands and would authorize the department to partner with beaver restoration program partners for the express purpose of providing training and capturing, handling, or releasing the beaver onto public lands, as provided. The bill would, if a released beaver migrates naturally onto private property, authorize a private landowner to request the department to relocate the beaver, as provided. This bill would require the department to only allow the release of the beaver onto private lands with a written agreement from the landowner. The bill would establish a procedure for a landowner needing to remove, breach, or modify a beaver dam utilized by the relocated beaver, as specified. This bill would authorize the department to allow the release of the beaver onto lands held by federally recognized tribes or nonfederally recognized California Native American tribes included on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission with a written agreement from the tribal government containing specified information. This bill would require the department to develop criteria to guide the release of the beaver to an area of the state where there is a low probability of the released beaver becoming a nuisance or causing damage and conditions exist for the released beaver to improve, maintain, or manage stream or riparian ecosystem functions. The bill would authorize the department to consider certain factors when relocating the beaver, including, among others, the adequacy of a food source. Because a violation of these new provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the overall effectiveness of any additional funding appropriated by the Legislature after July 1, 2019, in improving peace officer training. Existing law requires the report to include the number of peace officers trained, the training provided, and the description of the training, as specified. This bill would require the report to also include when the training was made available and how frequently it was offered.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency under the direction of the Director of Civil Rights. Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the department, which include receiving, investigating, conciliating, mediating, and prosecuting complaints alleging unlawful practices or violations of specified civil rights provisions, including those based on a mental or physical disability, as defined. This bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to make recommendations to the Legislature for the development of accessibility and antidiscrimination laws for people with disabilities, as defined. The bill would require the department to appoint members of the workgroup to include interested parties and stakeholders that reflect the diversity of the state, including, among other groups, individuals who have personal experience with a disability. The bill would require the workgroup to take specified actions, including examining existing laws and policies related to, among other issues, improving the effective enforcement of civil rights laws. This bill would require the department, based on the findings of the workgroup, to submit a report to the Legislature by July 1, 2025, containing recommendations on ways to achieve specified goals and priorities of the workgroup. The bill would provide that the Legislature should hold public hearings on the results of the report within one year of submission of that report. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would include related legislative findings.
