Existing law requires a pupil subject to compulsory full-time education or compulsory continuation education, and who is absent from school without a valid excuse 3 full days in one school year, tardy or absent for more than a 30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on 3 occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, to be classified as a truant. Existing law requires a school district, upon a pupil's initial classification as a truant, to notify the pupil's parent or guardian of specified information, including, among other information, that the pupil and parent or guardian of the pupil may be subject to prosecution, as specified, and that it is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for one day. This bill, commencing July 1, 2025, would remove those specific pieces of information from that notification and would require that notification to include additional information, including, among other information, that mental health and supportive services may be available to the pupil and the family and that school personnel are available to meet with the pupil and family to develop strategies to support the pupil's attendance at school. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school district 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 Department of Education to develop and maintain nutrition guidelines for school lunches and breakfasts, and for all food and beverages sold on public school campuses. Existing law requires those nutrition guidelines to be consistent with the requirements for a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch. Existing law defines a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch for these purposes to mean those that qualify for reimbursement under the most current meal pattern for the federal School Breakfast Program and the federal National School Lunch Program, respectively. Existing law requires a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to make available a nutritionally adequate breakfast and a nutritionally adequate lunch, 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. Existing law authorizes a school operated and maintained by a school district or county office of education, from the midnight before to 30 minutes after the end of the official schoolday, to sell food and beverages other than meals reimbursed by specified federal nutrition programs, only if the food or beverages meet dietary guidelines, as specified, depending on grade level. This bill, beginning December 31, 2027, would prohibit a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, from offering a nutritionally adequate breakfast or lunch containing specified substances, including, among others, red 40 and yellow 5 and would prohibit a school operated and maintained by a school district or county office of education from selling food or beverages, except for food items sold as part of a school fundraising event, containing those specified substances, as provided. To the extent this bill would impose additional requirements on public schools, 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 local educational agencies to identify, locate, and assess individuals with exceptional needs and to provide those pupils with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, with special education and related services as reflected in an individualized education program (IEP) . Existing law establishes the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education to provide guidance and support to local educational agencies and other entities that operate schools and preschool programs, and further authorizes the establishment and operation of numerous educational programs on the state level that are administered by the state board, the department, or other state agencies. The Budget Act of 2020, among other things, allocates $350,000 of specified appropriated funds to a county office of education selected by the executive director of the state board for the purpose of convening a workgroup that will design a state standardized IEP template. The Budget Act of 2022, among other things, allocates $200,000 of specified appropriated funds to be available on a one-time basis for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to convene a panel to continue refining the IEP template for usability, as provided. This bill would require the department to, by January 1, 2027, or no later than 18 months after the above-described IEP template is converted to a digital platform, whichever date comes first, translate the IEP template into the top 10 most commonly spoken languages used across the state other than English and, among other things, make those templates available on its internet website, as provided.
Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities, and establishes the Department of Cannabis Control to administer and enforce its provisions. MAUCRSA requires an applicant or licensee to apply for a separate license for each location where it engages in commercial cannabis activity. MAUCRSA sets forth a codified list of license types for different commercial cannabis activities, including, among others, retail sale, distribution, 2 types of manufacturing, laboratory testing, and various kinds and sizes of cultivation activities. This bill would revise the MAUCRSA licensing scheme for commercial cannabis activities by adding a combined activities license classification. The bill would define "combined activities license" as a state license that authorizes 2 or more commercial cannabis activities at the same premises, with the exception of laboratory testing, as specified. The bill would make various related conforming changes. MAUCRSA requires the department, in determining whether to grant, deny, or renew a specified license, to consider if an excessive concentration, as described, exists in the area where the licensee will operate. This bill would remove this requirement. MAUCRSA imposes various requirements on an applicant for a state license, including, among other things, requiring each owner to electronically submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice, as described. If an owner has previously submitted fingerprint images and related information, as described above, MAUCRSA does not require the owner to submit additional fingerprint images and related information in connection with a subsequent application for a state license. This bill would additionally specify that an owner is not required to resubmit owner-related information previously provided to the department. This bill would make related legislative findings and declarations. AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions with a 23 vote of both houses to further its purposes and intent, except as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of AUMA, as described.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act known as the Equity in Higher Education Act declares, among other things, that it is the policy of the State of California that all persons, regardless of their sex, should enjoy freedom from discrimination of any kind in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state. Existing law requires the President of the University of California and the chancellor of each University of California campus to have primary responsibility for ensuring that campus programs and activities are free from discrimination based on age and specified characteristics. This bill would revise and recast the above-described provision to require the chancellor of each University of California campus to have the primary responsibility for ensuring that campus programs and activities are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, the prevention of sexual harassment, as provided. The bill would require, among other requirements related to nondiscrimination, the office of the President of the University of California to annually present a report to the Board of Regents on the state of the University of California system in ensuring that programs and activities are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, as provided. The bill would also require the President of the University of California to annually present during a public hearing of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance the annual report described above. (2) Existing law requires the Chancellor of the California State University and the president of each California State University campus to have the primary responsibility for ensuring that campus programs and activities are free from discrimination based on age and specified characteristics. This bill would revise and recast the above-described provision to instead require the president of each California State University campus to have the primary responsibility for ensuring that campus programs and activities are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, the prevention of sexual harassment, as provided. The bill would require, among other requirements related to nondiscrimination, the office of the Chancellor of the California State University to annually present a report to the Board of Trustees on the state of the California State University system in ensuring that programs and activities are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, as provided. The bill would also require the Chancellor of the California State University to annually present during a public hearing of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance the annual report described above. (3) Existing law requires the governing board of a community college district to have the primary responsibility for ensuring that community college district programs and activities are free from discrimination based on age and specified characteristics and requires the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to have responsibility for monitoring the compliance of each district with specified regulations. This bill would revise and recast the above-described provision to instead require the governing board of each community college district and the chief executive officer of the community college district to have joint responsibility for ensuring that programs and activities offered by the community college district are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, including, but not limited to, the prevention of sexual harassment, as provided. The bill would require, among other requirements related to nondiscrimination, the chancellor's office to annually make a presentation during a public meeting of the Board of Governors on the state of the California Community Colleges system in ensuring that community college district programs and activities are free from discrimination based on specified characteristics, as provided. The bill would also require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to annually present during a public hearing of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance the presentation described above. To the extent the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, 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.
(1) Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions, in the course of collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, to use separate collection categories and tabulations for certain groups, as specified. Existing federal law imposes various requirements on the collection of demographic data, as provided. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which is responsible for various programs relating to the health and safety of people in the state. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to collect and report specified information, including data on violent deaths. This bill would require the department, on or after January 1, 2028, in the course of collecting demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of California residents for any report that includes rates for major diseases and leading causes of death, as specified, to use separate collection categories and tabulations for Hispanic or Latino groups using standardized federal race and ethnicity categories from the federal Office of Management and Budget's "Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity," as specified. The bill would require the department to use separate collection categories and tabulations for each major Latino group and Mesoamerican Indigenous nation, if that group or nation is not included in the standardized federal race and ethnicity categories, as specified. The bill would require the department, when collecting the preferred language of program participants, to include specified languages. Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions to report, as specified, data on collection categories and tabulations for certain groups. Existing law requires the collected data to be made available to the public, except as specified, including, among other things, personal identifying information, which existing law deems confidential. Existing law requires state agencies to update their data collection to reflect additional certain groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau, as specified. This bill would require the department to include the collected data in every demographic report on ancestry, ethnic origins, or language of California residents that the department publishes or releases on or after July 1, 2029. The bill would require the department to make available to the public the collected data, except as specified, including, among other things, personal identifying information, which the bill would deem confidential. On or before July 1, 2029, and annually thereafter, the bill would require the department to report to the Legislature on the collected data and the methods used to collect that data. The bill would require the department to update its data collection to reflect additional Latino groups, Mesoamerican Indigenous nations, and Mesoamerican Indigenous language groups as they are reported by the United States Census Bureau, as specified. This bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to continue to collect and report demographic data in the form that the data was submitted if the data was collected pursuant to federal programs or surveys, by other state entities, or by third-party entities, as specified. (2) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law authorizes the Trustees of the California State University to transmit any revenues, including fees and charges required by the trustees, received by the trustees from extension programs, special session, and other self-supporting instructional programs to the Treasurer and if transmitted, requires the revenues to be deposited in the State University Continuing Education Revenue Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law appropriates all revenues from that fund to the trustees for the support and development of self-supporting instructional programs of the California State University. The bill would instead appropriate all revenues from the State University Continuing Education Revenue Fund to the trustees for the support and development of instructional programs of the California State University. By expanding the scope of an existing appropriation, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires the chief fiscal officer of each campus of the California State University to deposit and maintain in specified trust accounts, or in the continuously appropriated California State University Trust Fund, specified moneys received in connection with certain sources or purposes, including fees for extension programs, special sessions, and other self-supporting instructional programs. This bill would authorize the trustees to transmit the revenues received by the trustees from extension programs, special session, or self-supporting instructional programs to the chief fiscal officer of a university campus, and would require those transmitted moneys to be deposited in specified trust accounts or in the continuously appropriated California State University Trust Fund. By adding a potential source of revenue to a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require, on or before March 31 of each year, the California State University to submit a report to the Department of Finance and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on the revenue generated from extension programs, special session, or self-supporting instructional programs, as specified.
Existing law imposes specified requirements on all hearings conducted by the Board of Parole Hearings for the purpose of reviewing a prisoner's parole suitability, or the setting, postponing, or rescinding of parole dates, including, among other things, that the incarcerated person be permitted to be present, to ask and answer questions, and to speak on their own behalf. This bill would require the board to translate specified blank templates of notices and forms into the 5 most common languages spoken by incarcerated persons who are eligible for a parole hearing. The bill would require the board, at least once every 5 years, to determine the applicable languages and, if there is a material change to one of those templates, to update the translated version within a reasonable time.
Existing case law holds that execution of a "mentally retarded" person constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the United States Constitution, rendering an individual with mental retardation ineligible for the death penalty. Existing law authorizes a defendant to apply, prior to the commencement of trial, for an order directing that a hearing to determine intellectual disability be conducted when the prosecution in a criminal case seeks the death penalty. Existing law defines "intellectual disability" for these purposes as the condition of significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested before the end of the developmental period, as defined by clinical standards. Existing law requires the court to order a hearing to determine whether the defendant has an intellectual disability upon the submission of a declaration by a qualified expert stating the expert's opinion that the defendant is a person with an intellectual disability. Existing law requires a court to impanel a new jury to try the issue of intellectual disability if a jury panel was unable to reach a unanimous verdict that the defendant is a person with an intellectual disability. This bill would define "manifested before the end of the developmental period" to mean that the deficits were present during the development period, and does not require a formal diagnosis, or tests of intellectual functioning in the intellectual disability range, before the end of the developmental period. The bill would codify case law by specifying that individuals with an intellectual disability are ineligible for the death penalty. The bill would specify that the question of intellectual disability is a question of fact that may be stipulated to by the parties, and would require the court to accept the stipulation, unless the court finds that the stipulation is not supported by documentary evidence that provides a factual basis for concluding by a preponderance of the evidence that the person has an intellectual disability. The bill would require the court to state its factual and legal rationale for declining to accept a stipulation of the parties. This bill would authorize the court to order a defendant or petitioner to submit to testing by a qualified prosecution expert only if the prosecution presents a reasonable factual basis that the intellectual functioning testing presented by the defendant or petitioner is unreliable. If the court enters an order for the defendant or petitioner to submit to testing, the bill would require the prosecution to submit a proposed list of the tests its expert wishes to administer so that the defendant or petitioner may raise any objections before testing is ordered. The bill would require the court, in the event that a jury in unable to reach a unanimous verdict as to whether the defendant is a person with an intellectual disability, to enter a finding that the defendant is ineligible for the death penalty.
Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of pilots for Monterey Bay and the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. Existing law also establishes, in the Transportation Agency, the Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun. Existing law prescribes the rates of bar pilotage fees required to be charged by pilots and paid by vessels inward and outward bound through those bays. Existing law also imposes an additional pilot boat surcharge to recover the pilots' costs of obtaining new pilot boats, including preliminary design and engineering, and of funding design and engineering modifications for the purpose of extending the service life of existing pilot boats, excluding costs for repair or maintenance, and authorizes the board to adjust the amount of the surcharge, as specified. Existing law requires the moneys charged and collected each month from the surcharge to be paid to the Board of Pilot Commissioners' Special Fund and credited to the Pilot Boat Surcharge Account, the moneys in which are continuously appropriated to the board to fund the pilot boat costs of obtaining new pilot boats and of funding design and engineering modifications for the purposes of extending the service life of existing pilot boats, excluding costs for repair or maintenance, and to cover the administrative costs of the board with respect to administration of the account. Existing law prohibits the amounts expended from the account for specified fiscal years from exceeding specified limits. This bill would remove the prohibitions on expenditures above those specified limits, thereby making an appropriation.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health to implement and administer various programs relating to public health. The department administers the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard that provides data on state- and local-level drug-related overdose outcomes for California, including, among other data, the number of deaths related to fentanyl overdoses. Existing law requires the department to update the dashboard to reflect additional information, as specified. This bill would require the department to use best efforts to utilize all of its relevant data regarding overdoses in the state to monitor and identify current trends of fentanyl-related deaths of children 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive. The bill would require the department to develop guidance and spread awareness of the trends to protect and prevent children from fentanyl exposure. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2026, to annually distribute its findings and guidance to local health departments, county boards of supervisors, and the Legislature. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.
(1) Existing law establishes the Farm to Community Food Hub Program, which is administered by the Office of Farm to Fork in the Department of Food and Agriculture, which is under the control of the Secretary of Food and Agriculture. Existing law requires the secretary to establish the Farm to Community Food Hub Advisory Committee for the purpose of advising the secretary with respect to their responsibilities regarding the program. Existing law requires the advisory committee to comprise 10 members from specified regions, including 4 members who are executives or managers of a food supply chain business headquartered in California, 4 members who are executives or directors of a civil society organization or representatives of academic institution with certain expertise, and one member who is a farmer or rancher meets specified qualifications. Existing law requires the program to be administered in 2 phases, and requires the office, for the first phase, to solicit and select proposals throughout the state to create farm to community food hubs and award planning grants to selected proposals and, for the second phase, to select at least 3 of the proposals that were awarded planning grants during the first phase and award to those proposals development grants for capital and operating expenses of the farm to community food hub for a 5-year period. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would eliminate the advisory committee and instead require the office to develop and consult with a working group comprising at least 7 individuals who possess expertise in the operation of food hubs and other specified areas, as provided. The bill would exempt the working group from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. The bill would require that the program prioritize the creation of new farm to community food hubs and would authorize, instead of require, the program to be administered in the 2 above-described phases. The bill would extend the operation of the program until January 1, 2034. (2) Existing law appropriated $1,000,000 to the Strategic Growth Council to establish the California Agricultural Land Equity Task Force to develop recommendations on how to equitably increase access to agricultural land for food production and traditional tribal agricultural uses. Existing law requires the task force, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit a report to the Legislature and Governor that includes a set of policy recommendations on how to address the agricultural land equity crisis. This bill would authorize the council, using existing or private funds, to provide public task force members a reasonable per diem allowance, as specified, or at a higher rate authorized by the task force, for each day's attendance at a noticed meeting of the task force. The bill would require the report to be posted on the council's internet website. (3) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
