Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (act) , approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Existing law authorizes certain regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act to be adopted as emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. Existing law requires the emergency regulations to be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and requires the emergency regulations to remain in effect until repealed or amended by the adopting state agency. This bill, notwithstanding the above, would exempt the adoption of regulations for purposes of developing and adopting program guidelines and selection criteria needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. The bill would require a state entity that receives funding to administer a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Act exemption to do certain things, including, among other things, to develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines, to transmit copies of the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, to hold a noticed public meeting on the draft guidelines, and to submit the final guidelines to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, except as provided. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to post an electronic form of the guidelines submitted by a state entity and the subsequent verifications on the Natural Resources Agency's internet website. The bill would authorize the use of certain previously developed program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2027, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project against a public entity, as specified. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "public entity" to include, among others, a city, including a charter city, and county, including a charter county. Existing law imposes various requirements on a public entity in relating to the claim resolution process, including, among other things, conducting a reasonable review of the claim and, within 45 days, providing the claimant a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. This bill would repeal the above-described January 1, 2027, repeal date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. By indefinitely extending the duties of local agencies in relation to the above-specified claim resolution process, this bill would impose 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, 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 that a housing development project, as defined, within a specified distance of a transit-oriented development stop, as defined, be an allowed use as a transit-oriented housing development on any site zoned for residential, mixed, or commercial development, if the development complies with certain, applicable requirements, as provided. Among these requirements, existing law prohibits a proposed development under these provisions from being located on sites where the development would require demolition of housing, or that was previously used for housing, that is subject to rent or price controls, as provided. This bill would additionally prohibit the development from being located on an existing parcel of land or site governed under the Mobilehome Residency Law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, the Mobilehome Parks Act, or the Special Occupancy Parks Act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law establishes the Public Transit Revenue Measure District, governed by the same board that governs the commission, with jurisdiction extending throughout the boundaries of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, and the City and County of San Francisco. Existing law authorizes a retail transactions and use tax applicable to the entire district to be imposed by the board of the district or by a qualified voter initiative for a duration of 14 years, and in specified amounts, subject to voter approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. Existing law establishes specified procedures for that election, including a requirement that the elections officials of the counties where the measure will appear on the ballot mutually agree to use the same letter designation for the measure. This bill would revise those election procedures by, among other things, instead requiring the measure to be identified on the ballot by the designation "Regional Transit Measure" in each county included in the district and by requiring each county elections official in the district to select, from among the submissions of proposed arguments in favor of, and against, the measure, the arguments to be included in the county voter information guide of that county, as specified. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would extend an invitation to the people and government of the Province of Gauteng in South Africa to enter into a sister state relationship with California, would encourage the strengthening of existing partnerships, and would call upon California's universities, research institutions, and public agencies to explore new memoranda of understanding with Gauteng-based counterparts in areas of mutual interest.
Existing law requires the California Law Revision Commission to study, and limits the commission to studying, topics approved by resolution of the Legislature or by statute. This measure would grant approval to the commission to continue its study of designated topics that the Legislature previously authorized or directed the commission to study and two new topics of study, as specified. The measure would require the commission, before commencing work on any project within its authorized calendar of topics, to submit a detailed description of the scope of work to the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Assembly Committee on Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Judiciary, and any other policy committee that has jurisdiction, as specified. If a major change to the scope of work occurs during the course of the project, the measure would require the commission to submit a description of the change.
Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. Existing law defines "sale" and "purchase" for these purposes and provides certain exclusions from those definitions. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, excludes the transfer of vested property by a pawnbroker to a person who pledged the property to the pawnbroker as security for a loan, if specified requirements are met, from the definition of "sale" and "purchase," thus excluding that transfer from imposition of sales and use tax. This bill would extend the exclusion of the transfer of vested property by a pawnbroker to the person who pledged it, as described above, until January 1, 2032. Existing law requires a bill authorizing a sales and use tax exemption to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include that additional information required for the above sales and use tax exclusion. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
(1) Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from attempting to create a fictitious appearance of public favor or disfavor of any proposed legislative or administrative action or to cause any communication to be sent to any elected state officer, legislative official, agency official, or state candidate in the name of any fictitious person or in the name of any real person, except with the consent of the real person. The act defines "lobbyist employer" as any person, other than a lobbying firm, who employs one or more lobbyists or contracts for the services of a lobbying firm, as specified. This bill would extend the above prohibition to lobbyist employers. (2) The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. (3) A violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of a prohibition under the act, the bill would expand the scope of an existing crime and therefore 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law governs the establishment of conservatorships and guardianships. Existing law requires guardians and conservators to file inventories and accountings of estates with the court. Existing law authorizes the court to make an order that a guardian or conservator is exempt from making that accounting if certain conditions are satisfied, including, among others, that the estate at the beginning and end of the accounting period, exclusive of the residence of the ward or conservatee, consisted of a total net value of less than $15,000, and that the income of the estate for each month of the accounting period, exclusive of public benefits payments, was less than $2,000. This bill would expand the authority of the court to make that exemption if the total net value of the estate, exclusive of the residence of the ward or conservatee, is less than $30,000, and if the monthly income of the estate, exclusive of public benefit payments, is less than $3,200, subject to the other statutory conditions being met.
Existing law provides that if more than one violation of certain specified offenses, including, among others, sexual battery, occurs in more than one jurisdictional territory, and the defendant and the victim are the same for all of the offenses, jurisdiction for any of those offenses and any other properly joinable offenses may be in any jurisdiction where at least one of the offenses occurred. Existing law also provides that if more than one violation of certain other specified offenses occur in more than one jurisdictional territory, jurisdiction for any of those offenses and any other properly joinable offenses may be in any jurisdiction where at least one of the offenses occurred, regardless of whether the defendant and the victim are the same for all of the offenses. This bill would instead provide that the appropriate jurisdiction for more than one violation of sexual battery may be in any jurisdiction where at least one of the offenses occurred, without regard for whether all of the offenses have the same defendant and victim. The bill would also make that jurisdictional provision applicable if there is more than one violation of indecent exposure or of annoying or molesting a child.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates the use of campaign funds held by candidates for elective office, elected officers, and campaign committees. The act authorizes the use of campaign funds to pay or reimburse the state for security expenses to protect a candidate, an elected officer, or the immediate family or staff of a candidate or elected officer, as specified. The act defines "security expenses" to include, among other things, the reasonable costs of providing personal security to a candidate, elected officer, or the immediate family or staff of a candidate or elected officer. The act permits a candidate or elected officer to expend campaign funds for these purposes without any monetary cap until January 1, 2029. This bill would limit the use of campaign funds to pay for security personnel to only those instances where the security personnel hold the appropriate license issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of campaign financing, including requiring the filing of reports of contributions and expenditures. The act requires committees and candidates to terminate their filing obligation, as provided by the Fair Political Practices Commission by regulation, ensuring that the committee or candidate will have no activity that must be disclosed subsequent to the termination. This bill would provide that if the Secretary of State determines that either of 2 conditions is present, the Secretary of State must provide notice to committees that receive contributions totaling $2,000 or more per year that the committee may be terminated 180 days after the notice is sent. Those conditions are: 1) The committee failed to submit a campaign report for at least the preceding 12 months and either had an ending cash balance of $3,000 or less on its last campaign statement or had an ending cash balance of $5,000 or less on its last campaign statement and owes $2,000 or more to the controlling candidate; 2) The committee filed a statement of organization in error. The bill would specify that if an objection to the termination notice is not filed by the committee or the commission with the Secretary of State within 180 days after the notice is sent, the Secretary of State may terminate the committee. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
