Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular days each year as having special significance and encourages all public schools and educational institutions to observe those days and to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on those days. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim May 17 as Bruce Lee Day, would designate and set apart that date each year as having special significance, and would encourage all public schools and educational institutions to observe that date by conducting exercises remembering the life of Bruce Lee and recognizing his accomplishments and the contributions he made to the state.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to sell for cash any personal property belonging to the school district or community college district if the property is not required for school purposes, should be disposed of for the purpose of replacement, or is unsatisfactory or not suitable for school use, pursuant to certain requirements, including, among others, notice and bid requirements. This bill, in addition to and notwithstanding those provisions, would separately authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to declare district-owned technology, as defined, to be surplus technology property and would authorize the school district or community college district to dispose of that surplus technology property by (A) sale by public auction, (B) sale by sealed bid, (C) sale or transfer through a structured trade-in or buyback program with a vendor, manufacturer, or other third-party purchaser, as specified, (D) negotiated sale to a public agency, nonprofit organization, or private entity, as specified, or (E) donation to a public agency or nonprofit public benefit corporation. The bill would require the governing board of a school district or community college district, before disposing of surplus technology property, to adopt policies and procedures that, at minimum, address specified items, including, among others, a process for determining that property is no longer required for school purposes, reasonable methods to ensure competition or market testing, and compliance with all applicable state and federal requirements for protecting pupil or student and employee data. The bill would require the school district or community college district, to the extent practicable, to structure the disposition of surplus technology property in a manner that maximizes net proceeds or value returned, minimizes electronic waste, and promotes environmentally responsible recycling, refurbishment, and reuse. (2) Existing law prohibits a county superintendent of schools from disposing of any item of personal property worth over $25,000 that belongs to the county office of education without meeting specified conditions, including conditions relating to valuation, advertising, and county board of education approval. Existing law prohibits a county superintendent of schools from disposing of any item of personal property worth less than $25,000 that belongs to the county office of education unless they certify the value of the property in a quarterly report and submit that report to the county board of education for its review. This bill, in addition to and notwithstanding those provisions, would separately authorize the county board of education to declare county office of education-owned technology, as defined, to be surplus technology property and would authorize the county superintendent of schools to dispose of that surplus technology property pursuant to the same above-described provisions that would apply to school districts and community college districts.
Existing law establishes various healing arts boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, including the Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of California, that license and regulate various healing arts licensees. Existing law, including the Medical Practice Act and the Dental Practice Act, deem certain violations by licensees to be unprofessional conduct subject to discipline by the licensee's licensing board. Existing law requires a physician and surgeon or dentist to refund to a patient any amount paid by the patient for services rendered that was subsequently paid to the physician and surgeon or dentist by a third-party payor and that constitutes a duplicate payment, as prescribed. Existing law requires that the above-described duplicate payment refund be paid, if requested by the patient, either within 30 days of that request or, if the duplicate payment has not been received, within 30 days of receipt of the duplicate payment by the physician and surgeon or dentist. Existing law requires, if the patient does not request a refund, a physician and surgeon or dentist who knows, or should have known, of the receipt of the duplicate payment to notify the patient, as prescribed, and to refund the payment within 30 days of that notification, except as specified. Existing law makes a violation of the above requirements unprofessional conduct subject to disciplinary proceedings as described above. This bill would reduce the duration for a physician and surgeon or dentist to refund a duplicate payment following patient request or patient notification to 21 days.
Existing law sets forth the law of agency and powers of attorney, including durable powers of attorney. The Uniform Statutory Form Power of Attorney Act establishes the procedures by which a person may appoint another person as their agent with various powers over property, business, estate, trust, and other decisions, and sets forth a statutory form to be used for granting power of attorney. This bill would revise and recast the statutory form for power of attorney to, among other things, allow the appointment of a successor agent or agents and authorize the individual to nominate the agent or co-agents to be appointed as the conservator or co-conservators of the individual's estate. The bill would include in the statutory form options for appointment of attorney for authority over digital assets, including authority over a catalogue of electronic communications without the content of the electronic communications sent or received, authority over the content of electronic communications sent or received, or authority over a catalogue of electronic communications and the content of electronic communications sent or received. The bill would specify that the language granting powers in a statutory form power of attorney with respect to digital assets, catalogue of electronic communications, and content of electronic communications has the same meanings as set forth in the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary education in this state. Under this system, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools employ personnel to provide instruction to and services for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, at schoolsites throughout the state. This bill would explicitly define, for purposes of the Education Code, both a public school employee and a contractor providing services in a public school to mean a natural person.
Existing law, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, establishes the California Veterinary Medical Board, until January 1, 2030, within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure of veterinarians, the registration of veterinarian technicians, and the general regulation of the practice of veterinary medicine. Existing law requires the board to issue a renewed veterinarian license or renewed veterinary technician registration to an applicant who completes a minimum number of hours of continuing education. Existing law permits a portion of this continuing education to be completed either as self study or by providing pro bono spay or neuter services for specified agencies. This bill would recast those provisions to, instead, specify that both the self study and the pro bono spay or neuter services may be used to satisfy those requirements.
Existing law prescribes various eligibility and procedural requirements for a person to become a candidate for elective office. A person may not be a candidate for, or elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has been convicted of a felony involving bribery, embezzlement of public money, extortion or theft of public money, perjury, or conspiracy to commit any of those crimes. This bill would additionally prohibit a person from being a candidate for, or elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has ever been required to register as a sex offender.
(1) Existing law sets forth the procedure by which, in any prosecution for rape or other specified sexual offenses, evidence of sexual conduct of the complaining witness may be offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness. This procedure involves, among other things, the filing of a written motion by the defendant, accompanied by an affidavit filed under seal stating an offer of proof, and, if the court determines that the offer is sufficient, a hearing out of the presence of the jury regarding the offer of proof. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant. Under existing law, these procedures do not apply if the specified offenses are alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined. This bill would remove this exception, thereby also applying these procedures to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison. (2) Existing law provides that evidence of a person's character or a trait of their character is generally inadmissible when offered to prove the person's conduct on a specified occasion. Existing law prohibits, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes, the admission of, among other things, opinion evidence, reputation evidence, or specific instances of sexual conduct involving the victim and persons other than the defendant to prove the victim's consent. This prohibition does not apply to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined. This bill would additionally remove this exception, thereby also prohibiting the admission of such evidence in the prosecution of specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison.
The Subdivision Map Act requires a tentative and final map for specified subdivisions, including subdivisions of 5 or more parcels or condominiums, except under certain circumstances, including if the land consists of a parcel or parcels of land having approved access to a public street or highway, which comprises part of a tract of land zoned for industrial or commercial development, and which has the approval of the governing body as to street alignments and widths. Existing law requires a subdivision that qualifies for one of those exceptions to file a parcel map instead. This bill would expand the exception described above to additionally include land that comprises part of a tract of land zoned for mixed-use development, inclusive of mixed-use developments containing residential uses, and that satisfies the other requirements contained in that exception.
Existing law, the Physician Assistant Practice Act, establishes the Physician Assistant Board to license and regulate physician assistants. Existing law authorizes the board to convene from time to time as deemed necessary by the board. Existing law further requires the board to receive permission of the Director of Consumer Affairs to meet more than 6 times annually, and requires the director to approve meetings that are necessary for the board to fulfill its legal responsibilities. This bill would delete the provision requiring the board to receive permission from the director to meet more than 6 times annually and for the director to approve meetings.
Existing law provides that written agreements to submit controversies to arbitration are valid and enforceable. Existing federal law, the Federal Arbitration Act, also deems arbitration agreements valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, except for certain specified types of agreements, such as agreements to arbitrate claims of sexual harassment. This bill would make agreements to submit to arbitration unenforceable where the agreement would not be enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.
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 of, 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. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes, including a partial exemption for the sale of, or the storage, use, or consumption of, qualified tangible personal property purchased for use by a qualified person to be used primarily in any stage of the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling of tangible personal property, beginning at the point any raw materials are received by the qualified person and introduced into the process and ending at the point at which the manufacturing, processing, refining, fabricating, or recycling has altered tangible personal property to its completed form, including packaging, if required. Existing law (backfill requirement) requires an amount that equals the estimated revenue loss to the General Fund from the allowance of the above-described exemptions, with the concurrence of the Department of Finance, to be transferred from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the General Fund, as prescribed. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2027, define "processing" to include the altering, converting, conditioning, or other preparation of hydrogen or electricity for the purposes of selling the hydrogen for fueling or the electricity for charging a vehicle and would define "qualified tangible personal property" to include hydrogen fueling station equipment and charging station equipment and component parts used as an integral part of those activities. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide that the backfill requirement does not apply with respect to the exemptions allowed by the bill, as specified. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure 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 additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
