Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state. Existing law designates holidays on which community colleges and public schools are authorized to close pursuant to a memorandum of understanding between the governing board and represented employees, including "Native American Day" on the 4th Friday in September. Existing law entitles state employees, with specified exceptions, and authorizes certain community college and public school employees, to be given time off with pay for specified holidays, as specified. This bill would add "Diwali" to the list of state holidays. The bill would authorize community colleges and public schools to close on "Diwali," as specified. The bill would authorize state employees to elect to take, and would authorize certain community college and public school employees to be given, time off with pay in recognition of "Diwali," as specified. The bill would authorize public schools and educational institutions throughout the state to include exercises acknowledging and celebrating the meaning and importance of Diwali, as specified. Existing law adopts state holidays as judicial holidays, with certain exceptions, including Admission Day and Columbus Day. This bill would add "Diwali" to the list of holidays that are excluded from designation as a judicial holiday. This bill would make related findings and declarations.
Existing law authorizes the State Fire Marshal to make changes as may be necessary to standardize all existing fire protective equipment throughout the state. This bill would require, until January 1, 2031, the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, to develop a working group with specified membership to make recommendations regarding personal protective equipment used in responding to lithium-ion battery fires. The bill would require, at a minimum, the working group to review, and for the purpose of making the recommendations to consider, the latest personal protective equipment to limit exposure to lithium and other heavy metals, technology to clean personal protective equipment, whether different types of personal protective equipment should be used for different types of lithium-ion battery fires, and current decontamination practices at the fire scene, as specified. The bill would require the recommendations to be submitted to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2026.
Existing law provides that a tenant is guilty of unlawful detainer if the tenant continues to possess the property without permission of the landlord after the tenant defaults on rent or fails to perform a condition or covenant of the lease under which the property is held, among other reasons. Existing law requires a tenant be served a 3 days' notice in writing to cure a default or perform a condition of the lease, or return possession of the property to the landlord, as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2030, prohibits an owner of residential real property from terminating a tenancy without just cause, as specified. This bill would, until January 20, 2029, enact the Social Security Tenant Protection Act of 2025 (the Act) . The Act would authorize a tenant of residential real property to assert Social Security hardship as an affirmative defense in an unlawful detainer proceeding based on the nonpayment of rent. The Act would define "Social Security hardship" as a loss of income due to an interruption in the payment of Social Security benefits due to the action or inaction of the federal government. The Act would require a tenant asserting Social Security hardship as an affirmative defense to provide, to the satisfaction of the court, evidence that Social Security payments typically received by the tenant's household have been terminated, delayed, or reduced due to no fault of the tenant and that the hardship prevented the tenant from paying the rent. If the tenant successfully provides this evidence, the Act would require the court to issue a stay of the unlawful detainer action, as specified. The Act would not relieve a tenant of their obligation to pay past due rent, and it would require a tenant, within 14 days of the Social Security benefits being restored, to either pay all past due rent or enter into a mutually agreed upon payment plan with the owner of the residential real property. If the tenant pays all past due rent or enters into a payment plan with the owner, the Act would require the court to either dismiss the unlawful detainer action with prejudice or set aside the judgment against all named and unnamed defendants in the action. The Act would further require the Judicial Council, by January 1, 2027, to adopt or modify forms as needed to implement the Act.
Existing law, the California Public Records Act, authorizes the inspection and copying of any public record except where specifically prohibited by law. Existing law, with specified exemptions, makes confidential the personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers and certain other records maintained by their employing agencies. Existing law provides that this exemption from disclosure does not apply to investigations of these officers or their employing agencies or to related proceedings conducted by a grand jury, a district attorney's office, or the Attorney General's office. This bill would additionally grant access to the confidential personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers and records maintained by their employing agencies, as specified, to civilian law enforcement oversight boards or commissions during investigations or related proceedings concerning the conduct of those officers. The bill would require those oversight boards to maintain the confidentiality of those records, and would authorize them to conduct closed sessions, as specified, to review confidential records. The bill would additionally authorize a county inspector general to access those personnel records, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 832.7 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 1178 and AB 1388 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1178 or AB 1388 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law imposes various requirements on CalWORKs recipients, including the requirement to participate in specified welfare-to-work activities, unless a good cause exception applies. Existing law requires a county to waive a program requirement for a recipient who has been identified as a past or present victim of domestic abuse when it has been determined that good cause under the welfare-to-work requirement exists. This bill would, among other things, instead require a county to waive a program requirement for an applicant or recipient who has been identified as a past or present victim of domestic abuse for good cause, and requires the county to find good cause for a waiver when compliance with the program requirement would make it more difficult for the applicant or recipient, or their children, to escape or to stay safe after escaping abuse, or that it would be detrimental or unfairly penalize those applicants or recipients who are or have been victimized by abuse or who are at risk of further domestic abuse. The bill would require counties, within specified timeframes, to notify each applicant or recipient about whether a waiver will be issued, and if a waiver is denied, the specific reasons for the denials. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with stakeholders, to develop a uniform set of written materials that addresses all relevant information and necessary requirements designed to assist individuals to identify, escape, or stop future abuse, overcome the effects of abuse, and make informed decisions, and a standardized waiver request form. The bill would require each county to provide the written materials and standardized waiver request form to each applicant and recipient, as specified. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2028, or on the date that the department notifies the Legislature that the California Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement these provisions, and would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions through an all-county letter or similar instruction. By imposing duties on counties, 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, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging and states that the mission of the department is to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or least restrictive homelike environments. This bill would, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, require the department to oversee a stakeholder process to support findings and recommendations on how to best support older and aging immigrants, as defined, regardless of their immigration status, in California through the establishment of a panel. The bill would authorize the director of the department to modify an existing panel for these purposes, if applicable. The bill would require the panel to include representatives from the State Department of Social Services and invite specified stakeholder and subject matter experts to participate. The bill would require the department and panel to consider specified issues, including affordability and access to social services and housing. The bill would require the first meeting to occur no later than 120 days after funding for the panel becomes available and would authorize the department to contract with academic research entities to supplement the stakeholder process. The bill would require the panel to issue findings and recommendations to both departments by July 1, 2028, on the most effective ways to implement policies and programs to support older and aging immigrants in California, regardless of their immigration status. The bill would require the departments to jointly submit a report containing the panel's findings to the Legislature on or before December 1, 2028. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029. The bill makes relating findings and declarations.
(1) Existing law authorizes specified drowning or injury prevention organizations (DIP organization) to provide informational materials, in electronic or hardcopy form, to a public school regarding specified topics relating to drowning prevention. Existing law requires a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to provide, upon request by a public school, the informational materials in the 3 most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school. This bill would instead require a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to provide, upon request by a public school, the informational materials in English and would encourage the DIP organization to provide informational materials in the other most commonly spoken languages associated with the population attending the school. The bill would require a DIP organization that chooses to provide informational materials to a public school to provide those materials at no cost to the public school, allow the school to offer copies of the materials to pupils and parents, and provide written evidence to a school administrator that demonstrates that the informational materials provided by the DIP organization align with the drowning, drowning prevention, water safety, rescue, and swim skills lesson information found on the drowning prevention web page of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as provided. The bill also would require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Developmental Services and the State Department of Public Health, to gather and make available on its internet website school-based water safety and drowning prevention education resources and curriculum, as provided. The bill would authorize public schools to provide to their pupils those water safety informational materials identified by the department and provided by a DIP organization, as provided. (2) Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to adopt and enforce regulations relating to public swimming pools, as defined. This bill would expressly authorize the State Department of Public Health to review and evaluate existing statutes and regulations under its jurisdiction recommended by the California Unintentional Injury Prevention Strategic Plan Project to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with current public health practices, as provided, and would authorize the department to recommend to the Legislature updates or nonsubstantive technical corrections to support effective implementation and regulatory compliance.
Existing law establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program, which is administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities. Existing law creates, and continuously appropriates moneys in, the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Fund in the State Treasury for purposes of the program and the Private Donations Account, which is created in the fund. Existing law authorizes the commission to accept federal and private sector moneys for purposes of the program and requires the private sector moneys to be deposited into the donations account and the federal moneys to be deposited into the fund. Existing law makes records of the donations received subject to public disclosure. Existing law requires the commission to post a report on its internet website, within 30 days of receiving a donation, with specified information regarding each donation received. Existing law authorizes the commission to allocate moneys in the fund or donations account for specified purposes, including workforce development grants. This bill would additionally authorize the commission to allocate moneys in the fund or account for capacity funding activities and grants within local communities and tribal communities for purposes of the program. The bill would make only a local community, a local government, a California tribe, a nonprofit organization selected by California tribes to represent their interests, or a coalition of these entities eligible for these capacity funding activities and grants. By expanding the purposes for which continuously appropriated moneys may be allocated, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would make the public disclosure requirement described above applicable to donations received by an eligible entity from an offshore wind entity, as defined, and would require an offshore wind entity to report, every 90 days, specified information concerning these donations to the commission. The bill would delete the requirement for the commission to post a report on its internet website for donations received by the commission, as described above, and would instead require the commission to annually post a report on its internet website related to donations made by offshore wind entities to eligible entities, as specified. The bill would require the commission to annually prepare and submit a report, on or before March 1 of each year, to the Legislature on the implementation and effectiveness of the activities and grants funded pursuant to the bill.
Existing law requires that any building with a dwelling unit maintain certain characteristics in order to be tenantable, including the maintenance of adequate heating and hot water systems that conform to the standard of quality set by applicable law. This bill would add a stove and refrigerator that are maintained in good working order and are capable of safely generating heat for cooking purposes and capable of safely storing food, respectively, to the list of characteristics required for the dwelling unit to be tenantable for leases entered into, amended, or extended on or after January 1, 2026. The bill would require a landlord to repair or replace a stove or refrigerator that is subject to recall by the manufacturer or a public entity within 30 days of receiving notice that the stove or refrigerator is subject to recall. The bill would also authorize a tenant and landlord to mutually agree when the lease is signed if the tenant chooses to provide and maintain their own refrigerator, subject to certain conditions. The bill would prohibit the application of these new requirements for certain types of dwelling units, including permanent supportive housing, as defined. Existing law authorizes a tenant to repair dilapidations rendering their premises untenantable if the landlord has neglected to repair those dilapidations, subject to certain conditions, or vacate the premises, as specified. This bill would provide that the above-described requirement on a landlord to repair or replace a recalled stove or refrigerator does not prohibit a tenant from exercising any remedy authorized as described above.
Existing law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to establish a health care workforce research and data center to serve as the central source of health care workforce and educational data in the state. Existing law requires the department to prepare an annual report to the Legislature that, among other things, identifies education and employment trends in the health care profession and describes the health care workforce program outcomes and effectiveness. Existing law requires health facilities and clinics, among others, to annually report to the department specified information on forms supplied by the department. This bill would require health facilities, clinics, home health agencies, and hospices, as defined, to additionally report whether their health care employees eligible for employer-sponsored health care are eligible for health care coverage at the commencement of employment without a waiting period, as defined. If not all employees are eligible without a waiting period, the bill would require the entities listed above to report the length of the waiting period if it applies to all eligible employees, and, if different waiting periods apply to different classifications of employees, as specified, the length of the waiting period for each classification. The bill would require the department to integrate this reporting obligation with existing reports and would not require those specified entities to report if they are not required to file reports with the department. The bill would require the department to post this information on its internet website on at least an annual basis.
Existing law requires state agencies, boards, and commissions that collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group and to include that data in every demographic report published on or after July 1, 2012, as specified. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2028, require state and local agencies, as defined, that collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for major Middle Eastern or North African groups, as specified, and, with certain exceptions, to include that data in every demographic report published on or after January 1, 2029, and to make the aggregated data available to the public. 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. 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.
(1) The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) in the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, governed by a board of directors. The act, among other things, authorizes the I-Bank to make loans, issue bonds, and provide financial assistance for various types of projects that qualify as economic development or public development facilities. The Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund Act of 2020 authorizes the I-bank, under the Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund Program, to provide financial assistance to any eligible sponsor or participating party in connection with the financing or refinancing of a climate catalyst project, either directly to the sponsor or participating party or to a lending or financial institution, as provided. The act requires the I-Bank to adopt climate catalyst financing plans for specified categories of climate catalyst projects, as specified, after meeting and conferring with the appropriate consulting agencies for those specified categories of climate catalyst projects. This bill would authorize the I-bank to provide financial assistance in connection with the financing or refinancing of a new category of climate catalyst projects, those that enable the decarbonization of industrial facilities' use of heat and power, including, but not limited to, industrial heat pump and thermal energy storage projects, as specified, with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the State Air Resources Board as consulting agencies. The bill would specify conditions to be satisfied regarding these projects. The bill would make implementation of the financial assistance for this new category of climate catalyst projects contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. (2) Existing law requires the commission to establish and implement the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program to provide financial incentives for eligible projects, including thermal storage, that have power ratings of at least one megawatt and are capable of reaching a target of at least 8 hours of continuous discharge of electricity in order to deploy innovative energy storage systems to the electrical grid for purposes of providing critical capacity and grid services. Existing law requires the commission to give preference to eligible projects that have certain impacts, including those that increase the use of renewable energy. This bill would establish and implement an Industrial Facilities Thermal Energy Storage Program within the Long-Duration Energy Storage Program to provide financial incentives for eligible projects to decarbonize industrial facilities' use of heat and power, as specified. The bill would include thermal energy storage, as defined, rather than thermal storage, as an eligible project. The bill would require the commission to give preference to eligible projects that increase the use of renewable energy through reducing curtailment and shifting power usage from peak to off-peak times, rather than to all projects that increase the use of renewable energy. The bill would prohibit, after January 1, 2027, the commission from providing these financial incentives to projects that involve the performance of work by contractors in the construction industry unless that work is performed under a project labor agreement, as provided. (3) Existing law requires the commission to establish and administer the Industrial Grid Support and Decarbonization Program to provide financial incentives for the implementation of eligible projects at eligible industrial facilities to provide significant benefits to the electrical grid, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, achieve the state's clean energy goals, and exceed compliance requirements. Existing law subjects projects to certain conditions of eligibility for these financial incentives. Existing law requires the commission, in providing financial incentives, to give preference to certain types of projects. This bill would rename the program the Industrial Decarbonization and Improvement of Grid Operations Program and would add, among its purposes, reducing emissions of health-harming pollutants. The bill would revise some of the conditions for eligible projects. The bill would make, after January 1, 2027, projects that involve the performance of work by contractors in the construction industry ineligible for these financial incentives unless the work is performed under a project labor agreement, as provided. The bill would require, after January 1, 2027, an eligible project for a facility that has a record of air permit violations to separately develop a plan for pollution remediation, including for ecological and public health harms. The bill would require the commission to also give preference, in providing financial incentives, to an eligible project that is located in an under-resourced community, as defined, and an eligible project that develops a community benefit fund or agrees to pursue a community benefits agreement with the surrounding community and other affected stakeholders.
