Existing law requires the Office of Emergency Services to establish and lead the California Cybersecurity Integration Center. Existing law states that the center's mission is to reduce the likelihood and severity of cyber incidents that could damage California's economy, its critical infrastructure, or public and private sector computer networks in the state. Existing law requires the center to serve as the central organizing hub of state government's cybersecurity activities and coordinate information sharing with specified entities, including local, state, and federal agencies. This bill would require the California Cybersecurity Integration Center to develop, on or before January 1, 2027, in consultation with the Office of Information Security and the Government Operations Agency, a California AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook, as specified, to facilitate information sharing across the cyber and artificial intelligence communities and to strengthen collective cyber defenses against emerging threats. The bill would require the center to review federal requirements, standards, and industry best practices, as specified, and to use those resources to inform the development of the California AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook. Except as specified, the bill would provide that any information related to cyber threat indicators or defensive measures for a cybersecurity purpose shared in accordance with the California AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook is confidential and would prohibit that information from being disclosed, except as specified. The bill would also make findings and declarations related to its provisions. 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 authorizes the governing body with jurisdiction over school buildings or other public buildings, as defined, to allow its buildings to be used for polling places, or for vote centers, beginning up to 10 days before the election and continuing through election day, or to store voting machines and other vote-tabulating devices. Once a governing body has approved the use of a building as a polling place or vote center, existing law requires the governing body to instruct the school district or other public administrator to provide the elections official a site with an adequate amount of space that will allow the precinct board or vote center to perform its duties. This bill would require the governing body to instruct the school district or other public administrator to provide the elections official with an adequate amount of space for voting operations and storage of associated supplies. Existing law requires the district administrator to make building parking available at no charge to the precinct or vote center board and voters, as specified. This bill would require the district administrator to also make accessible parking spaces and parking for assisting voters curbside available, if requested by the elections official.
Existing law establishes the Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program. Existing law authorizes local educational agencies to elect to participate in the program and authorizes a classified employee of a participating local educational agency who meets specified requirements to withhold an amount from the employee's monthly paycheck during the school year to be paid out during the summer recess period, as provided. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to apportion funds to participating local educational agencies within 30 days of receiving a request for payment by the participating local educational agency, as provided. Existing law provides that operation of the program is contingent upon an appropriation for the program in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Existing law defines "local educational agency" for these purposes as a school district or county office of education. Existing law, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, authorizes 2 or more public agencies, if authorized by their legislative or other governing bodies, to enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as provided. That act requires, among other things, that the agreement state the purpose of the agreement or power to be exercised and provide for the method by which the purpose will be accomplished or the manner in which the power will be exercised. This bill would add a joint powers authority formed pursuant to that act consisting solely of school districts and county offices of education to the definition of a local educational agency for purposes of the program, thereby authorizing a joint powers authority and its classified employees to participate in the program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 45500 of the Education Code proposed by AB 147 and SB 147 to be operative only if this bill and either AB 147 or SB 147 is enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law designates various persons as peace officers, including officers of a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals or the State Department of Developmental Services. 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 their employment. Existing law creates a disputable presumption, applicable to officers and employees in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, that heart trouble that develops or manifests during a period when the employee is in the service of the department arose out of and in the course of employment. This bill would add to the above-described presumption a peace officer, as defined, employed by the State Department of State Hospitals and would make other conforming and technical changes.
Existing law, until December 31, 2025, requires an employer, as defined, to offer its laid-off employees specified information about job positions that become available for which the laid-off employees are qualified, and to offer positions to those laid-off employees based on a preference system, in accordance with specified timelines and procedures. Existing law, until December 31, 2025, also prohibits an employer from refusing to employ, terminating, reducing compensation, or taking other adverse action against a laid-off employee for seeking to enforce their rights under these provisions. These provisions are enforced by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, as prescribed. Existing law defines "laid-off employee" for these purposes to mean an employee who was employed by the employer for 6 months or more and whose most recent separation from active employment by the employer occurred on or after March 4, 2020, and was due to a reason related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a public health directive or reduction in force, among other reasons. Existing law also creates a presumption that a separation due to a lack of business, reduction in force, or other economic, nondisciplinary reason is due to a reason related to the COVID-19 pandemic, unless the employer establishes otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence. This bill would extend operation of these provisions until January 1, 2027, except as specified.
(1) The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law regulates the packaging, labeling, and advertising of food, beverages, and cosmetics and makes it a crime to distribute in commerce any food, drug, device, or cosmetic if its packaging or labeling does not conform to these provisions. Existing law establishes a process for the embargo, condemnation, and destruction of a food, drug, device, or cosmetic that is adulterated, misbranded, or falsely advertised, gives the authority to place items under embargo to authorized agents of the State Department of Public Health, and requires the department to take specified actions. Violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is a misdemeanor. The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law regulates, among other things, industrial hemp and requires a hemp manufacturer who produces an industrial hemp product that is a food or beverage to register with the State Department of Public Health, as specified. Existing law prohibits an industrial hemp product from being distributed or sold in the state unless the industrial hemp contains a total THC concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2026, would prohibit industrial hemp raw extract from being incorporated into food, food additives, beverages, or dietary supplements unless the industrial hemp raw extract has a purity level greater than 99 percent and does not contain any tetrahydrocannabinols or synthetic cannabinoids. The bill, beginning January 1, 2028, would revise and recast various provisions in conformity with that prohibition. The bill would also specify that beginning on January 1, 2028, retail of industrial hemp includes online sales to customers in the state. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, categorizes controlled substances into 5 designated schedules, and specifies various penalties for the unlawful possession or sale of cannabis, as specified. Existing law excludes industrial hemp from the definition of cannabis for purposes of the act, and specifies that industrial hemp is not subject to the act. Existing law defines industrial hemp for these purposes to mean, among other things, a product derived from the cannabis plant, as provided, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. This bill, for purposes of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, would instead define industrial hemp to mean a product derived from the cannabis plant with a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, as specified. The bill would prohibit the sale or delivery of hemp flower and hemp prerolls for consumption within the state under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. (3) The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, 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. 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 requires the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions. Existing law exempts industrial hemp, as defined, from the definition of cannabis under MAUCRSA, but requires the Department of Cannabis Control to prepare a report, on or before July 1, 2022, to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the steps necessary to allow for the incorporation of hemp cannabinoids into the cannabis supply chain. Existing emergency regulations require that industrial hemp, food, food additives, beverages, and dietary supplements intended for human consumption have no detectable THC per serving. This bill would revise the definition of industrial hemp for purposes of MAUCRSA to conform to the definition of industrial hemp used in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, as described above. The bill would subject industrial hemp that enters the licensed market under MAUCRSA or is used in a cannabis product to the regulatory requirements of cannabis or cannabis products under MAUCRSA, including identification in the track and trace program, security and transportation safety requirements, quality assurance standards, testing by a licensed testing laboratory, and advertising and marketing restrictions. The bill would prohibit an industrial hemp cultivator from transferring or selling industrial hemp to a licensee under MAUCRSA if a banned pesticide was used in its cultivation. The bill would specify that MAUCRSA does not apply to products that contain no cannabinoids other than CBD isolate, as defined, and would make conforming changes to the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This bill, until January 1, 2028, would allow a licensed manufacturer to use cannabinoid concentrates and extracts that are manufactured or processed exclusively from cannabis obtained from a licensed cannabis cultivator, and would prohibit a licensee from possessing, transporting, distributing, manufacturing, or selling industrial hemp on or from a licensed premises, except as specified. This bill would prohibit a person from selling, offering, or providing a product in the state that is an inhalable cannabis product containing THC derived from industrial hemp, hemp flower or a preroll that contains hemp flower or hemp-derived cannabinoids, whether infused or not, a cannabis product manufactured outside the licensed market, or a product containing synthetic cannabinoids, as defined. This bill would revise and recast the enforcement provisions for cannabis, industrial hemp, and cannabis products, and would authorize the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) , the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Cannabis Control, and other state and local law enforcement agencies to inspect, seize, and destroy, among other things, cannabis products or products not authorized under MAUCRSA, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, or specified federal or tribal laws, as provided. (4) Existing law, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, regulates and licenses manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products in the state. This bill would prohibit a person that is engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or making a retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis, as specified, and would make a violation of that prohibition subject to a specified fine and license suspension or revocation, as applicable. (5) Existing law, the Cannabis Tax Law, imposes an excise tax upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products sold in this state at the rate of 15% of the gross receipts of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer. The Cannabis Tax Law requires the CDTFA to administer the cannabis excise tax, directs all revenues, less refunds, derived from the cannabis excise tax to be deposited into the California Cannabis Tax Fund, a special fund, and continuously appropriates that tax fund for specified purposes. The Cannabis Tax Law defines cannabis and cannabis products to have the same meaning as those terms are defined in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which excludes industrial hemp from those definitions. This bill would narrow the definition of industrial hemp under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, thereby expanding the definition of cannabis and cannabis products under both the Cannabis Tax Law and the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act and subjecting those materials covered by that expansion to the cannabis excise tax. The bill would make conforming changes related to implementation of that tax. The bill would additionally subject any product presumed to be cannabis or a cannabis product to the cannabis excise tax and a specified penalty, as provided. By increasing the amount of tax moneys into the California Cannabis Tax Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require any person seeking to be relieved of the penalty imposed on any product presumed to be cannabis or a cannabis product to file with the CDTFA a signed statement setting forth the facts upon which they base the claim for relief. The bill would make a person who signs that statement that asserts the truth of any material matter that they know to be false guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The Cannabis Tax Law authorizes the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize cannabis or cannabis products in certain circumstances, including if the cannabis or cannabis products were not reported in the track and trace system or are in the possession of an unlicensed person, as specified. Existing law deems any cannabis or cannabis products seized by a law enforcement agency or the department to be forfeited, and makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. Existing law excludes "industrial hemp" from the definition of "cannabis" under the Cannabis Tax Law, and generally defines "industrial hemp" as an agricultural product that is any part of the plant Cannabis sativa L., including cannabinoids, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis. This bill would authorize the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize a product if the agency presumes the product is cannabis or a cannabis product due to the product containing or purporting to contain a cannabinoid, as specified, and the product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold by an unlicensed person or at an unlicensed premises. The bill would additionally authorize the CDTFA to seize alcoholic beverages that contain or purport to contain cannabinoids, including synthetic cannabinoids. By expanding the items authorized for employees of the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to inspect and seize, the bill expands the scope of a crime and imposes a state-mandated local program. (7) Existing law requires edible cannabis products, cannabis cartridges, and integrated cannabis vaporizers that contain cannabis or a cannabis product to be marked with a universal symbol, as determined by the department and subject to specified requirements. Existing law makes the use or possession of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity, other than licensed commercial cannabis activity, a violation of MAUCRSA, as described. Existing law defines use or possession of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity to include, but is not limited to, possession of any package, label, or advertisement of any kind bearing the universal symbol, whether or not that package, label, or advertisement is affixed to, or otherwise associated with, cannabis or cannabis products. This bill would make it a violation of MAUCRSA to use or possess any package, label, or advertisement of any kind bearing any likeness or simulation of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity, regardless of whether it is in connection with licensed commercial cannabis activity. The bill would also prohibit altering or cropping the universal symbol, except as specified. (8) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 26051.5 and 26067 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 861 to be operative only if this bill and SB 861 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (9) 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. (10) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would remove prohibitions imposed on a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public funds, as defined, for the purpose of seeking elective office unless the funds are earmarked by a state or local entity for education, transportation, or public safety. The bill would require candidates to abide by specified expenditure limits and meet strict criteria, as defined, to qualify for public funds. The bill would prohibit public funds from being used to pay legal defense fees or fines or to repay personal loans to their campaign. The bill would permit a statute, ordinance, or charter to establish standards to increase the expenditure limits for each qualified, voluntarily participating candidate pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would provide that the Fair Political Practices Commission is not responsible for administering or enforcing a system of public funding of candidates established by a local governmental agency. Existing law prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal, as defined, from making a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition to, any state or local ballot measure or in connection with the election of a candidate to state or local office. Under existing law, a person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine equal to the amount contributed or expended. This bill would instead require that a person guilty of that misdemeanor, in addition to other penalties, be fined an amount at least equal to the amount contributed or expended, but not exceeding a maximum amount of 3 times the amount contributed or expended. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill, as specified, to the voters for approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 85320 of the Government Code proposed by AB 953 to be operative pursuant to specified conditions.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law prohibits the state board from adopting any regulation that establishes a specification for motor vehicle fuel unless that regulation, and a multimedia evaluation conducted by affected agencies and coordinated by the state board, are reviewed by the California Environmental Policy Council. This bill would, notwithstanding that prohibition, authorize blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume to be sold in the state for use as a transportation fuel until (1) the California Environmental Policy Council completes its review of those blends and (2) the state board either adopts a regulation establishing a specification for those blends or posts an assessment on its internet website demonstrating that it is not possible for a regulation establishing a specification for those blends to meet specified requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, it is a crime for a person to receive money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration if the person fails to sign the affidavit and include certain other information, including the name and telephone number of the person, company, or organization, if any, that has agreed to pay the money or other valuable consideration. This bill would make it a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration to another person with the intent to induce the person to vote or to register to vote, or where the payment is contingent upon whether the person voted or the person's voter registration status. By creating a new 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 requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as "The California Water Plan." Existing law requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan update, including, but not limited to, strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers, that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state. Existing law requires the department to establish an advisory committee to assist the department in updating the plan. This bill would revise and recast certain provisions regarding The California Water Plan to, among other things, require the department to expand the membership of the advisory committee to include, among others, tribes, labor, and environmental justice interests. The bill would require the department, as part of the 2033 update to the plan, to update the interim planning target for 2050, as provided. The bill would require the target to consider the identified and future water needs for all beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, urban uses, agricultural uses, tribal uses, and the environment, and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians, among other things. The bill would require the plan to include specified components, including a discussion of the estimated costs, benefits, and impacts of any project type or action that is recommended by the department within the plan that could help achieve the water supply targets. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of the plan, together with a summary of the department's conclusions and recommendations, in the session in which the updated plan is issued. The bill would also require the department to conduct public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan.
Existing law provides that a gift certificate, sold after January 1, 1997, is redeemable in cash or subject to replacement with a new gift certificate except that a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $10 is redeemable in cash for its cash value. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "gift certificate" to include gift cards. This bill would, instead, make a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $15 redeemable in cash for its cash value, exempt from that redemption provision certain gift certificates that are donated to a nonprofit or a charitable organization, as provided, and make these provisions operative on April 1, 2026. The bill would expand the definition of "gift certificate" to include electronic gift cards. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law, the Unemployment Insurance Code, governs unemployment insurance in the state, including, among other things, the administration of unemployment and disability compensation. Existing law defines various terms for purposes of the code. This bill would define "mail," "mailing," or "mailed" to include a writing transmitted by the United States Postal Service or other common mail carrier or by electronic transmission, as specified.
