The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Act of 2003 creates the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission and the Division of Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation within the Department of Parks and Recreation. The act gives the division certain duties and responsibilities, including adopting courses of instruction in off-highway motor vehicle safety, operation, and principles of environmental preservation, as specified. Existing law establishes the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund, with specified percentages of these revenues to be available, upon appropriation, for various purposes related to off-highway motor vehicles. This bill would establish the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Safety and Stewardship Program. The bill would require the division, in conjunction with the Department of Parks and Recreation, to convene a stakeholder group to develop an off-highway motor vehicle safety and stewardship course on or before June 30, 2027, as specified. The bill would require the stakeholder group to prepare and submit a consensus report on recommendations on what to include in the course to the deputy director of the division on or before May 1, 2028. The bill would require the division to develop and implement the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Safety and Stewardship Course on or before January 1, 2029, based on the stakeholder group's report. The bill would require the course to cover specified topics, including principles of safe operation and the use of appropriate safety gear. The bill would authorize the division to contract with outside vendors to develop the course and to offer the course online, as specified. The bill would authorize the division to update the course curriculum as it deems necessary. The bill would require the division to evaluate the off-highway motor vehicle safety and responsibility education program of other states to determine whether to offer reciprocity to individuals who have completed those programs in lieu of completing the course. The bill would require the division to issue California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Safety and Stewardship operator cards to each person who successfully completes the course. The bill would make the operator cards subject to renewal after 5 years and require the division to establish procedures for the renewal of operator cards, as specified. The bill would require the division to set a course fee of $25 and would authorize increasing the course fee as necessary to cover the reasonable costs of carrying out the program, but would require the division to hold at least one public hearing and notify the Legislature at least 30 days prior to any increase to the fee. The bill would direct these fees to be deposited into the Off-Highway Vehicle Trust Fund. On and after July 1, 2029, the bill would prohibit an operator of an off-highway motor vehicle who is 16 years of age or older from operating an off-highway motor vehicle unless they have an operator card or proof of completion of an approved reciprocal program in their possession, except as specified. The bill would prohibit law enforcement personnel from stopping an off-highway motor vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether a violation of this provision has occurred. The bill would also, on or after July 1, 2029, prohibit a child 15 years of age or younger from operating an off-highway motor vehicle without the supervision of a parent or other supervising adult who is in possession of an operator card or proof of completion of an approved reciprocal program. The bill would require an operator to present their operator card or proof of completion to law enforcement personnel upon request. The bill would make a violation of these provisions an infraction punishable by a requirement to successfully complete the California Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Safety and Stewardship Course and a fine of $100, $250, or $500, as specified. The bill would specify that a violation of these provisions shall not result in a violation point count on a person's driving record. Because a violation of the above-described provisions would be a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission to prepare and submit a program report to the Governor and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of each house of the Legislature every 3 years on specified topics related to off-highway motor vehicle recreation. The bill would require the division to evaluate the efficacy of the course, as specified, and to include the results of the evaluation in the program report described above. 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 provides for negotiations concerning wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment between a higher education employer and an exclusive representative of a recognized or certified employee organization, as these terms are defined. Existing law requires higher education employers, or such representatives as they may designate, to engage in meeting and conferring with the employee organization selected as exclusive representative of an appropriate unit on all matters within the scope of representation. Existing law requires a reasonable number of representatives of an exclusive representative to have the right to receive reasonable periods of released or reassigned time without loss of compensation when engaged in meeting and conferring and for the processing of grievances prior to the adoption of the initial memorandum of understanding. This bill would authorize an exclusive representative, in their discretion, to invite one or more members of a bargaining unit to remotely observe a session held for the purpose of a meet and confer on a memorandum of understanding. The bill would prohibit, absent an agreement of the parties, a member of a bargaining unit observing a session pursuant to these provisions from receiving released or reassigned time or compensation to observe a session. The bill would not prevent the parties from agreeing to allow in-person observers or greater participation by observers in a meet and confer session. The bill would also not require any change in existing practices that allow in-person observers or greater participation by observers in a meet and confer session.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school to, no later than July 1, 2026, develop and adopt, and update every 5 years, a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency. Under existing law, a pupil shall not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone under specified circumstances, including, among others, when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupil's individualized education program. This bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would require the above-described policy to continue to apply only to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive. The bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, and the governing body of a charter school that serves pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, or grades 1 to 8, inclusive, to, no later than July 1, 2028, develop and adopt a policy that prohibits the use of smartphones by those pupils while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that local educational agency, as provided. The bill, commencing July 1, 2028, would prohibit instruction provided to pupils in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and any of grades 1 to 8, inclusive, from requiring the use of a smartphone by a pupil. The bill, commencing January 1, 2027, would require (1) a pupil in any grade to also be allowed to possess or use a smartphone when the possession or use of a smartphone is required in a pupil's plan developed pursuant to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and (2) a policy adopted or updated pursuant to these provisions be included in a pupil handbook, if one is provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2029, to submit to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, and post on their internet website, a report that contains (1) a description of the pupil smartphone policies of at least 30 selected local educational agencies that have provided consent to participate and that are representative of the demographic and geographic diversity of the state, including a copy of each policy, as provided, (2) the results of a survey of those local educational agencies, which the bill would require the department to conduct, and (3) recommended best practices for future local educational agency pupil smartphone use policies. The bill would authorize the department to collaborate with specified organizations with relevant expertise in preparing the report. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2033. 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission consisting of 5 members and establishes various duties and responsibilities of the commission relating to energy usage in the state. Existing law requires the Governor to designate a chair of the commission and requires the chair to direct the public advisor, the executive director, and other staff of the commission in the performance of their duties in conformance with the policies and guidelines established by the commission. This bill would require the chair of the commission to appear annually before the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature to report on the commission's activities and plans as they relate to the commission's responsibilities, as specified.
Existing law authorizes a judge in a case where a misdemeanor is being prosecuted, over the objection of the prosecuting attorney, to offer diversion to the defendant. Existing law prohibits this type of diversion when, among other things, the current charged offense is willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following or willfully and maliciously harassing another person while making a credible threat toward that person, as specified. Existing law requires the clerk of a court, in which a person was convicted of a violation of the Vehicle Code or other specified provisions, to prepare within 5 days after conviction and immediately forward to the Department of Motor Vehicles an abstract of the record of the court covering the case in which the person was convicted. This bill would require the court, if the court grants diversion to a defendant who, if they had been convicted, would have had an abstract of record forwarded to the department pursuant to the above provisions, to instead direct that the prosecuting attorney ensure notice of the arrest or incident is provided to the department, as specified. By increasing the duties on local officials, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to place the name of a candidate upon a political party's presidential primary ballot when the Secretary of State has determined that the candidate is generally advocated for or recognized throughout the United States or California as actively seeking the nomination of that party for President. Each qualified political party is required to notify the Secretary of State of the names of the party's nominees for President and Vice President on or before the 75th day before a presidential general election, and the Secretary of State is required to place the names of those nominees upon the ballot for the election. This bill would prohibit the Secretary of State from placing the name of any candidate for the office of President or Vice President upon the ballot if the candidate does not affirm, under oath, that the candidate will fully meet the qualifications of the office, or if the Secretary of State determines that the candidate is not eligible for the office. Because a person who willfully makes a false statement under oath is guilty of the crime of perjury, this bill expands the scope of that crime and thereby creates a state-mandated local program. If the Secretary of State concludes that further investigation is needed to determine a candidate's eligibility, the bill would authorize the Secretary of State to refer the matter to the Attorney General for an investigation. The Attorney General could appoint an independent special counsel to assist in an investigation. The bill would prohibit finding a candidate ineligible for President or Vice President after the 88th day preceding a presidential primary election or 73rd day preceding a presidential general election. The bill would authorize an elector to challenge the qualifications of a candidate for President or Vice President by filing a petition in the Superior Court of the County of Sacramento no later than the 85th day preceding a primary election or the 72nd day preceding a general election. The bill would authorize a candidate who is not certified by the Secretary of State for failure to meet the qualifications of office to challenge the Secretary of State's determination by filing a petition in the same court no later than 72 hours after the eligibility determination is made for a primary election and no later than 24 hours after the eligibility determination is made for a general election. Those actions would be subject to expedited judicial review, as specified. 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 Planning and Zoning Law, provides for the adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules and regulations by counties and cities and the implementation of those general plans as may be in effect in those counties or cities. In that regard, existing law requires each local agency, by January 1, 2025, to develop a program for the preapproval of accessory dwelling unit plans. This bill would require each local agency, as defined, to develop a program for the preapproval of single-family and multifamily residential housing plans, whereby the local agency accepts single-family and multifamily plan submissions for preapproval and approves or denies the preapproval applications, as specified. The bill would require a large jurisdiction, as defined, to develop this program by July 1, 2027, and a small jurisdiction, as defined, to develop a program by January 1, 2029. The bill would require the local agency to post preapproved single-family or multifamily residential housing plans and the contact information of the applicant on the local agency's internet website. This bill would require a local agency to either approve or deny ministerially an application for a single-family or multifamily residential housing unit within 30 days if the lot meets certain conditions and the application utilizes specified plans that have been preapproved by the local agency or that are identical to a plan used in an application approved by the local agency. The bill would prohibit the preapproval program from applying to single-family or multifamily residential housing plans intended for use in certain communities and developments, as specified. Existing law requires each county and each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to, among other entities, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. Existing law requires the annual report to include, among other things, the city's or county's progress in meeting its share of regional housing needs, as specified. Existing law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) , requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA does not apply to the approval of ministerial projects. To the extent that the ministerial review process established by the bill would apply to final, discretionary approval of an application for a single-family or multifamily housing unit, the bill would exempt those projects from CEQA. This bill, beginning on April 1, 2028, for large jurisdictions and beginning on April 1, 2030, for small jurisdictions, would require the local agency to include in its annual report the number of units of residential housing that are approved using a preapproved housing plan pursuant to this act. By imposing new duties on local agencies with regard to developing a preapproval program and its annual report, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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.
The California Constitution limits the amount of ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the real property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%. Pursuant to constitutional authorization, existing property tax law, on and after February 16, 2021, excludes from classification as a change in ownership the purchase or transfer of a family home or family farm, as those terms are defined, of the transferor in the case of a transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of those grandchildren are deceased, if the property continues as the family home or family farm of the transferee, as specified. For purposes of the transfer of a family home, that law requires the transfer to be of a principal residence of the transferor and to become the principal residence of the transferee within one year of the transfer. That law also requires the transferee to file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year of the transfer, as described. This bill would provide that the one-year periods described above shall be deemed to end one year after the effective date of certain court orders resolving the disposition of the property if the eligible transferee files specified documents with the assessor, including a copy of a court order indicating that a probate matter prohibited the eligible transferee from establishing the property as their principal place of residence within the one-year period described above. By expanding the duties of local tax officials, the 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law prohibits an agency from disclosing personal information that would link the information to the individual unless, among other things, the information is provided to a governmental entity by law, or the disclosure is to the individual to whom the information pertains. Existing law makes vital records related to adoptions, other than a newly issued birth certificate, available only upon the order of the superior court of the county of residence of the adopted child or of the county granting the order of adoption. This bill would authorize, beginning on July 1, 2028, the disclosure of an original birth certificate, as defined, to an adopted person, or descendant, as defined, of a deceased adopted person, would require the State Registrar to provide a copy of the original birth certificate to those persons, and would establish a process to request an original birth certificate, as specified. The bill would also require the State Registrar to create and make available to a birth parent a contact preference form on or before July 1, 2028, containing certain elections that would be available for release when a request for an original birth certificate is made. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to report the decree to the State Registrar within 5 days after a decree of adoption. Existing law requires the State Registrar to generate a new birth certificate when the State Registrar receives a report of adoption from a specified court or when the State Registrar receives a specified court order. Existing law requires the new birth certificate to bear certain information and be identical to the certificate issued to the natural parents, except, when requested by the adopting parents, the certificate is required to omit the facility of birth and the race and color of the parents. This bill would remove the adopted parents exception described above that required the certificate to omit the facility of birth and the race and color of the parents. Existing law authorizes the adopting parents to request an amended certificate that omits, among other things, the city and county of birth, or the color and race of the parents. This bill would repeal that authorization.
Existing law establishes the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations and requires the division, among other things, to evaluate apprenticeship and preapprenticeship programs to ensure that the program evaluated is complying with its standards, as specified. Existing law requires the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards to perform various functions with respect to apprenticeship programs and the welfare of apprentices. This bill would establish the Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program to be administered by the division and would authorize the division to work with the State Department of Education and the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges in order to, among other things, identify resources to support youth apprenticeships. The bill would require a program applicant for a Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program to submit documentation to the chief, as specified. The bill would require the chief, before approving a Career Apprenticeship Bridge Program, to present the application, as described, to the State Department of Education to review whether specified requirements are met. The bill would authorize the chief, among other things, to issue rules and regulations that govern Career Apprenticeship Bridge Programs, as specified.
Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined, have a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held. Existing law requires educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and the juvenile courts to work together to maintain stable school placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive educational programs and has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils, as provided. This bill would require the State Department of Education to administer formula grants as part of a pilot program, to be known as the Unaccompanied Youth Support Grant Program, for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide supports necessary to improve school attendance, pupil engagement, pupil graduation rates, and pupil wellbeing for unaccompanied youth, as defined, who are 16 or 17 years of age, including connecting youth with resources to find stable housing. The bill would require, subject to an appropriation and subject to specified allocation metrics, 5-year grants that commence with the 2028–29 fiscal year, to be awarded by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to local educational agencies, or consortia of local educational agencies, to support unaccompanied youth, and would require grant funds to be used for, among other things, referrals to existing social services support systems, and providing basic needs and educational support services, as specified. The bill would require, to be eligible to apply for a grant under the program, a local educational agency to have identified at least one unaccompanied youth enrolled during the prior fiscal year, as specified. The bill would require local educational agencies applying for grant funds under the program to submit an application that includes, among other things, a description of how grant funds will be used to identify eligible pupils, the types of supports to be provided based on the eligible uses of grant funds, and the performance measures the local educational agency will use to measure progress towards program goals. The bill would require local educational agencies awarded grant funds under the program to submit annual reports to the department that include, among other things, a description of the expenditure of funds and the number and characteristics of unaccompanied youth served.
Existing law requires a contract entered into by any state agency for the procurement or laundering of apparel, garments, or corresponding accessories, or the procurement of equipment, materials, or supplies, other than procurement related to a public works contract, to require that a contractor certify that nothing furnished to the state pursuant to the contract has been laundered or produced by certain types of labor, including forced labor, as defined. Existing law makes any person who falsely certifies pursuant to these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would, for a contract entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, with an estimated value that exceeds $550,000, revise the above contracting requirements to also require a contractor to certify that the contract complies with specified requirements relating to human trafficking, including certain prohibitions on contractors, contractor employees, subcontractors, subcontractor employees, and their agents. The bill would revise the definition of forced labor to mean knowingly providing or obtaining labor or services of a person by, among other things, threats of serious harm to, or physical restraint against, that person or another person. This bill would require contractors and subcontractors to notify employees of specified prohibited activities and the actions that may be taken against them for violations. The bill would provide that a contractor is ineligible for, and shall not bid on, or submit a proposal for, a contract under these provisions if the contractor has failed to certify its compliance. The bill would also require a contractor to exercise due diligence in ensuring that its subcontractors comply with those requirements, including requiring each subcontractor to sign a certification. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, for a contract that has an estimated value that exceeds $550,000, require, before a contract or subcontract is awarded, a proposed contractor or proposed subcontractor to provide a certification to the contracting officer or contractor, as applicable, that states the contractor or subcontractor has implemented a compliance plan, as specified, and has conducted due diligence that either (1) to the best of the contractor's or subcontractor's knowledge and belief, certain parties have not engaged in any specified prohibited activities or (2) if the contractor or subcontractor is aware of abuses relating to the specified prohibited activities, then certain parties have taken the appropriate remedial and referral actions. This bill would require a contractor or subcontractor to take specified actions to ensure compliance with the above-described provisions, including requiring the contractor or subcontractor to disclose to the contracting officer and the state agency with oversight information sufficient to identify the nature and extent of a violation of a prohibited activity. The bill would specify certain actions a contractor would be required to take if a contractor, contractor employee, subcontractor, subcontractor employee, or agent violates these provisions or specified provisions, including, among others, notifying its employees of the actions that will be taken against the employee or agent for violations. Existing law authorizes certain sanctions to be imposed if a contractor knew or should have known that the apparel, garments, corresponding accessories, equipment, materials, or supplies furnished to the state were laundered or produced in violation of specified conditions, including, among others, voiding the contract under which the prohibited apparel, garments, or corresponding accessories, equipment, materials, or supplies were laundered or provided at the option of the state agency and removing the contractor from the bidder's list for a period not to exceed 360 days. This bill would, for a contract entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, with an estimated value that exceeds $550,000, authorize additional sanctions, including, among others, requiring a contractor to remove a contractor employee from the performance of the contract, requiring the contractor to terminate a subcontractor, and suspending contract payments until the contractor has taken appropriate remedial action. The bill would also specify that these requirements govern contracts and subcontracts entered into by a state agency, regardless of place of performance. Existing law authorizes a contractor to request a hearing before an administrative law judge when sanctions are imposed. Existing law requires the administrative law judge to consider any measures the contractor has taken to ensure compliance with the above-described provisions and authorizes the administrative law judge to waive any or all sanctions if it is determined that the contractor has acted in good faith. This bill would, for a contract entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, with an estimated value that exceeds $550,000, authorize the administrative law judge to additionally consider mitigating factors and aggravating factors, as specified. Existing law authorizes a state agency that investigates a complaint against a contractor for violation of the above-described provisions to limit its investigation to evaluating the information provided by the person or entity submitting the complaint and information provided by the contractor. This bill would, for a contract entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2027, with an estimated value that exceeds $550,000, authorize the state agency to limit its investigation to credible information. The bill would require the contracting officer, upon receipt of credible information regarding a violation of specified provisions, to promptly notify the state agency with oversight, the agency debarring and suspending official, and law enforcement officials with jurisdiction over the alleged offense, as specified. The bill would authorize the contracting officer to direct the contractor to take specific steps to abate the alleged violation or enforcement of the requirements of its compliance plan. 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.
