Existing law, the Governor's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 2025, beginning July 1, 2026, eliminates the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and instead establishes the Business and Consumer Services Agency and the California Housing and Homelessness Agency (agency) . Existing law requires the agency to coordinate with the California Health and Human Services Agency and the California Consumer Protection Agency on various state policies, including housing. This bill would require the agency to create a study on issues impacting pregnant people experiencing homelessness and report the results of the study, as well as recommendations to establish a PINK Alert, to the Legislature by July 1, 2028. The bill would require the recommendations to include how the PINK Alert can meet specified conditions, including that it be a system that nonprofits can opt in to in order to get notifications if there is a pregnant person in need of emergency housing or prenatal services.
(1) Existing law requires the Wildlife Conservation Board to establish and administer, through the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Riparian Habitat Conservation Program with the purpose and goal of protecting, preserving, and restoring riparian habitats throughout the state, as specified. Existing law authorizes the board to authorize the department to award grants and loans for the purposes of the program to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to authorize the department to make those awards to federally recognized tribes. (2) Existing law establishes the Inland Wetlands Conservation Program under the board with the purpose and goal of carrying out the programs of the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture. Existing law authorizes the board to make grants or loans for the purpose of wetland and associated upland habitat acquisition, restoration, or enhancement to specified entities. This bill would authorize the board to make those grants or loans to federally recognized tribes. (3) Existing law authorizes the department to enter into contracts or other agreements with nonprofit conservation groups or resource conservation districts for the management and operation of department-managed lands. This bill would authorize the department to also enter into those contracts or other agreements with federally recognized tribes.
(1) Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, requires the California Building Standards Commission to publish the California Building Standards Code, which contains, among others, the California Building Code and the California Residential Code, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to publish the text of the Swimming Pool Safety Act in the California Residential Code. This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2027, the commission to also publish the text of the Swimming Pool Safety Act in the California Building Code, as specified. (2) Under the Swimming Pool Safety Act, upon the issuance of a building permit for the construction of a new swimming pool or spa, or the remodeling of an existing pool or spa, at a private, single-family home, the pool or spa is required to be equipped with at least 2 of 7 specified drowning prevention safety features, as provided. The act does not apply to a public swimming pool. This bill would, for purposes of the act, require a swimming pool or spa on or within a private balcony, patio, or terrace of, a condominium unit to meet the same requirements as a pool or spa at a private, single-family home. To the extent the bill would increase the number of building permits issued by local jurisdictions, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law governs the construction, operation, and maintenance of a public swimming pool, as defined. Existing law, the Yasmin Paleso'o Memorial Swimming Pool Safety Law, requires an underwater lighting system in a public swimming pool, as defined, to be installed so that there is no shock hazard, as provided. Existing law governs the circulation system of a public swimming pool, as defined, including, but not limited to, requiring antientrapment devices, safety vacuum release systems, or automatic pump shutoff systems, as provided. This bill would exclude a swimming pool or spa on or within a private balcony, patio, or terrace of, a condominium unit from these requirements on a public swimming pool. This bill would, on or before March 1, 2027, require the State Department of Public Health to adopt regulations, as necessary, to implement these changes, as specified. The bill would prohibit a swimming pool or spa on or within a private balcony, patio, or terrace of, a condominium unit, or at a private single-family home, from being subject to a requirement applicable to a "public swimming pool," "public pool," "public pool site," or "spa," as those terms are used in certain statutes and regulations relating to public swimming pools and the California Building Code. (4) 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, upon appropriation of the Legislature, requires the Office of Emergency Services to enter into a joint powers agreement with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program. Existing law requires the department to delegate its duties and responsibilities for this program to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with other officials, to identify measures eligible for financial assistance under the wildfire mitigation program that are both cost effective and provide for appropriate site or structure fire risk reduction, as specified. Existing law requires the joint powers authority to develop eligibility criteria for property owners, community organizations, and local governments who may receive financial assistance under the wildfire mitigation program. Existing law requires the joint powers authority to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the implementation of the wildfire mitigation financial assistance program that includes, among other things, an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of the wildfire mitigation program compared to other structure hardening, defensible space, vegetation management, and fuel reduction incentive programs and an evaluation of the overall wildfire risk reduction achieved statewide through awards of financial assistance under the wildfire mitigation program. Existing law repeals these provisions on July 1, 2029. This bill would extend the repeal date of the above provisions to January 1, 2030.
(1) Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. Existing law imposes minimum statutory damages for construction-related accessibility claims if the violation of a construction-related accessibility standard denied the plaintiff full and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular occasion, as specified. Existing law provides that a plaintiff demonstrates that the plaintiff was deterred from accessing a place of public accommodation on a particular occasion only if both (1) the plaintiff had actual knowledge of a violation, as specified, and (2) the violation would have actually denied the plaintiff full and equal access, as specified. Existing law authorizes the assessment of statutory damages under these provisions based on each particular occasion that the plaintiff was denied full and equal access, as specified, not upon the number of violations of construction-related accessibility standards. Existing law prohibits a defendant from being liable for minimum statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim, with respect to a violation noted in a report by a certified access specialist (CASp) , for a period of 120 days following the date of the inspection if the defendant demonstrates compliance with each of specified requirements. Existing law includes in these specified requirements that the inspection predates the filing of the claim by, or receipt of a demand letter from, the plaintiff, as specified, and that the defendant was not on notice of the alleged violation before the CASp inspection. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2034, the Small Business Right to Cure Program and would prohibit a defendant who qualifies for the program from being liable for minimum statutory damages for any construction-related accessibility claim for a period of 6 years following a CASp report, as provided. To qualify for the program, the bill would require the defendant to demonstrate specified conditions, among others, that the defendant has posted, as provided, both the CASp inspection notice and a Notice of Participation in the Small Business Right to Cure Program, as defined. The bill would authorize the State Architect to develop, as specified, a form Notice of Participation in the Small Business Right to Cure Program, and would authorize a business to satisfy any requirement to provide the notice by providing a specified written statement until and unless the State Architect promulgates the form. The bill would require a public accommodation that participates in the program to make available specified documents for public inspection, including the CASp report that is the basis for the public accommodation asserting that it qualifies for the program. The bill would provide that no provision of the program applies under any of specified conditions, including that the plaintiff or prospective plaintiff alleges an intentional violation of any state or federal disability rights law, a violation related to policies, practices, or procedures, or seeks special damages that arise from physical personal injuries or damage to personal property. Existing law establishes the California Commission on Disability Access for purposes of developing recommendations to enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to full and equal access to public facilities and facilitating business compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Existing law requires an attorney who sends or serves a complaint on the basis of one or more construction-related accessibility claims, as specified, to notify the commission, as provided, of specified information, including, among other requirements, the date of the judgment, settlement, or dismissal. Existing law requires the commission to make an annual report to the Legislature of tabulated data relating to the various types of construction-related physical access violations alleged in demand letters and complaints by January 31 of each year. This bill would, until January 1, 2034, additionally require an attorney to include in the above-described notification to the commission whether the defendant qualified for and used the Small Business Notice and Right to Cure Program. The bill would require the commission, beginning on or before July 1, 2027, and until January 1, 2034, to include in the above-described annual report information about the number of businesses that participate in the Small Business Notice and Right to Cure Program. (2) The Unfair Competition Law makes various practices unlawful and provides that a person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in unfair competition is liable for a civil penalty, as specified. This bill would provide that a person who posts a specified notice, including a Notice of Participation in the Small Business Right to Cure Program on the premises of a place of public accommodation, or authorizes the document to remain posted on the premises, and knows or should know that the document is inauthentic, materially inaccurate, or that the place of public accommodation does not qualify for the applicable program or other limitation on liability provided by law shall be subject to enforcement under the Unfair Competition Law. (3) Existing law requires a property owner or lessor to state on every lease form or rental agreement whether the subject premises have undergone inspection by a CASp. Existing law provides that making repairs or modifications necessary to correct violations of construction-related accessibility standards that are noted in a CASp report is presumed to be the responsibility of the property owner or lessor unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the commercial property owner or lessor and the lessee or tenant, as prescribed. This bill would extend the above-described presumption to include repairs or modifications necessary to correct violations of construction-related accessibility standards in the common area of a commercial property. In the event that a commercial property owner fails to comply with specified requirements in relation to certain lease agreements, the bill would make void and unenforceable an indemnity provision or contractual agreement that seeks to shift the financial responsibility for construction-related accessibility violations from the commercial property owner or lessor to the lessee or tenant within a lease for a commercial property.
Existing law requires a prosecuting attorney to disclose to the defendant or their attorney all relevant real evidence seized or obtained as a part of the investigation of the offenses charged that is in the possession of the prosecuting attorney or known to be in the possession of the investigating agencies. Existing law prohibits an attorney from disclosing or permitting to be disclosed to a defendant, members of the defendant's family, or anyone else copies of child pornography evidence, unless specifically permitted to do so by the court after a hearing and a showing of good cause. Existing law authorizes an attorney to disclose or permit to be disclosed copies of child pornography evidence to persons employed by the attorney or to persons appointed by the court to assist in the preparation of a defendant's case if that disclosure is required for that preparation. This bill would repeal the provisions allowing disclosure of copies to a defendant, the defendant's family, person's employed by an attorney or appointed by the court, or anyone else. The bill would instead require any material that constitutes child pornography, as defined, to remain in the care, custody, or control of either a law enforcement agency, the prosecution, or the court. The bill would prohibit a defendant, their attorney, or anybody else from copying, photographing, duplicating, or reproducing any material that constitutes child pornography so long as the prosecution makes the material, and any hardware, media, or other property containing, storing, or housing the material, reasonably available to the defendant, as specified. The bill would also require this material to be made available, as specified, to a victim or the victim's attorney or to any individual the victim may seek to qualify to furnish expert testimony. By requiring new duties on prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, and the courts, this bill would create 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 vests the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Independent System Operator, to take specified actions to facilitate the commercialization of microgrids for distribution customers of large electrical corporations, including developing microgrid service standards necessary to meet state and local permitting requirements and developing methods to reduce barriers for microgrid deployment without shifting costs between ratepayers. This bill would require a large electrical corporation, upon request, to collaborate with local governments, tribal governments, or community choice aggregators within its service area to support resiliency planning, as provided. The bill would require large electrical corporations to provide local governments, tribal governments, and community choice aggregators with access to data, including electrical distribution equipment data, transmission and distribution circuit data, grid hardening plans, and other information as directed by the commission, to support resiliency planning by local governments and tribal governments to ensure local governments, tribal governments, and community choice aggregators are able to plan potential microgrid projects to support critical facilities. The bill would authorize the commission to require large electrical corporations to share this information in aggregated and anonymized form to protect customer privacy and electrical grid security. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because the violation of a PUC action implementing the bill's requirements 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 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 requires an employer to provide medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of the injury. Existing law requires every contracting agent, that sells, leases, assigns, transfers, or conveys its list of contract health care providers and their contracted reimbursement rates to a payor, to comply with certain requirements. Existing law also requires a payor to, among other things, provide an explanation of benefits or explanation of review that identifies the name of the network that the payor has an agreement with that entitles them to pay a preferred rate for the services rendered. This bill would require the explanation of review or explanation of benefits to include the state assigned medical provider network identification number and an email address that the rendering medical provider may use to request a copy of the underlying contract that entitles them to take the preferred rate. The bill would state that disclosure of a medical provider network does not satisfy this requirement. The bill would require the payor, upon request, to provide the rendering provider or their agent with a copy of the underlying contract once per 365-day period. Existing law requires each employer to establish a utilization review process to review and approve, modify, or deny treatment recommendations and establishes an independent medical review process to resolve disputes over a utilization review decision. Existing law requires various requirements to be met in determining whether to approve, modify, or deny requests by a physician for medical services. This bill would require a request for authorization of medical services by a physician to be signed by that physician, and would authorize a request to be sent via mail, fax, or electronic methods, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes.
This bill proposes recognizing August 15, 2026, as India's Independence Day within California. It aims to encourage all residents of the state to participate in celebrations honoring this national holiday. The measure does not create new laws or change government procedures but serves as a formal acknowledgment of the date.
Existing law establishes the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) , administered under the authority of the Insurance Commissioner, to transact insurance in this state as necessary to sell policies of basic residential earthquake insurance. Existing law requires the CEA to annually report to the Legislature and the commissioner on the CEA's program operations, including the financial condition of the authority, and to post the report on the CEA's internet website. Existing law requires copies of a certified report examining the CEA's financial and program operations and verifying the annual report to be made public. This bill would additionally require the CEA to provide the annual report to the Senate Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Committee on Insurance. The bill would specify that the certified examination and verification report be posted on the CEA's internet website. Existing law requires the commissioner to convene a working group to, among other things, identify, assess, and recommend risk transfer market mechanisms that promote investment and create incentives for investment in natural infrastructure to reduce risks of climate change, as specified. This bill would require the working group to, no later than January 1, 2028, incorporate hazard mitigation projects into the above-described recommendations.
Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including fire insurance. Existing law requires an insurer, after a covered loss under a fire insurance policy, to provide the insured a free copy of their policy within 30 calendar days of receiving a request from the insured. Existing law authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to extend this period. This bill would require the insurer to provide the insured a free copy of their fire insurance policy within 15 calendar days of receiving a request from the insured.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education, on or before January 1, 2024, to develop a plan to expand mental health instruction in California public schools. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to develop a plan to expand digital wellness instruction in California public schools, as provided.
