The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums, which is defined to include higher education institutions, that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. As a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, this bill would require the office of the President of the University of California to comply with various requirements regarding repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, as provided.
(1) Existing law subjects foster care provider applicants, resource family applicants, and certain other adults in those homes, to a criminal records check and requires the applicant or other adult in the applicant's home to obtain a criminal record clearance or criminal record exemption prior to licensure or approval. Existing law prohibits the State Department of Social Services or other approving entity from granting a criminal records exemption, except as specified, to an applicant or other adult in the applicant's home who has been convicted of certain felonies. Existing law authorizes the State Department of Social Services or other approving entity, for the purpose of the resource family approval process described below, to grant an exemption from disqualification for the conviction of a felony for which a criminal record exemption cannot be granted if the applicant is a relative seeking placement of a specific relative child or children, the applicant or other adult living in the home is of present good character necessary to justify granting the exemption, and the applicant or other adult living in the home has not been convicted of certain felonies within the last 5 years. This bill would, among other things, additionally authorize the department, or other approving entity, to grant an exemption under those circumstances to a nonrelative extended family member or an extended family member. (2) Existing law authorizes the court to order temporary placement of the child in the home of a relative, extended family member, or nonrelative extended family member, and requires the court to consider the results of a criminal records check, among other things, before ordering that placement. Existing law also authorizes the placement of a child on an emergency basis in the home of a relative or nonrelative extended family member, and requires the relative or nonrelative extended family member to submit an application for approval as a resource family after the emergency placement. Existing law authorizes the court to place a child after an order of removal, or on a temporary or emergency basis in the home of a relative, regardless of the status of any criminal record exemption or resource family approval if the court finds that the placement does not pose a risk to the health and safety of the child. This bill would also authorize the court to place a child after an order of removal, or on a temporary or emergency basis, in the home of a nonrelative extended family member or an extended family member, regardless of the status of any criminal record exemption or resource family approval or tribally approved home approval if the court finds that the placement does not pose a risk to the health and safety of the child. (3) Existing law establishes the state-funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-GAP) , which provides aid on behalf of eligible children who are placed in the home of a relative guardian. Existing law requires aid in the form of state-funded Kin-GAP to be provided on behalf of any child under 18 years of age and to any eligible youth under 19 years of age who has had a kinship guardianship established, as described above, and who meets other requirements, including that the child or youth has been adjudicated a dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, has been residing for at least 6 consecutive months in the approved home of the prospective relative guardian, and has had the dependency jurisdiction or wardship terminated, as specified. This bill would also make eligible for state-funded Kin-GAP a child who was subject to an order for placement with a relative regardless of the status of any criminal record exemption or resource family approval or tribally approved home approval, as specified. (4) Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. In order to be eligible for AFDC-FC, existing law requires a child or nonminor dependent to be placed in one of several specified placements, including, among others, the approved home of a relative or a nonrelative extended family member. This bill would also add to that list of eligible placements the home of a nonrelative extended family member or extended family member who has been authorized by the juvenile court and is ineligible for emergency caregiver funding due to the denial of resource family approval or approval as a tribally approved home. (5) Existing law establishes the Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Program (ARC) for the purpose of making the amount paid to relative caregivers for the in-home care of children and nonminor dependents placed with them who are ineligible for AFDC-FC payments equal to the amount paid on behalf of children and nonminor dependents who are eligible for AFDC-FC payments. Existing law requires the ARC to fund the placement of a child with an approved relative caregiver if the placement of the child or nonminor dependent is not eligible for AFDC-FC while placed with the approved relative caregiver because the child or nonminor dependent is not eligible for federal financial participation in the AFDC-FC payment. This bill would also require funding for placement of a child with an approved relative caregiver if the child or nonminor dependent is not eligible for AFDC-FC while placed with the approved relative caregiver because the placement was authorized by the juvenile court. (6) Existing law establishes the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) , which provides financial aid to the adoptive families of special needs children. Under existing law, AAP payments are provided on behalf of youth between 18 and 21 years of age if the youth meets specified requirements, including that the prospective adoptive parent or any adult living in the prospective adoptive home has completed specified criminal background check requirements. This bill would instead require the criminal background check requirement to be according to the resource family approval requirements, or that the child was subject to an order for placement with a relative, nonrelative extended family member, or extended family member, regardless of the status of any criminal record exemption or resource family approval or tribally approved home approval. (7) Existing law provides for the implementation of the resource family approval process, which replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by licensed foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families. Existing law requires the child's placement to be funded by ARC if the child-specific approval is granted to a relative who has received a criminal records exemption by showing that the relative is seeking placement of a specific child or children with whom the relative is related, the relative is of present good character necessary to justify granting the exemption pursuant to certain factors, and the relative does not have a felony conviction within the last 5 years for specified crimes. Existing law requires the relative to be ineligible for federal financial participation while the child is placed with them. This bill would also require a nonrelative extended family member or extended family member, who has received the criminal records exemption, to receive funding under AFDC-FC or ARC and to be ineligible for federal financial participation. (8) By expanding the application of the above county-administered funding programs, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (9) Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the AFDC-FC program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. (10) 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.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 prohibits a person, other than a small contributor committee or political party committee, from making to a candidate for elective state, county, or city office, and prohibits those candidates from accepting from a person, a contribution totaling more than $3,000 per election, as that amount is adjusted by the Fair Political Practices Commission in January of every odd-numbered year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. This bill would apply those contribution limits to candidates for school district, community college district, and other special district elections. The bill would make certain other provisions of the act relating to contribution limits applicable to candidates for district office. However, the bill would authorize school districts, community college districts, and other special districts to impose contribution limits on candidates for district office that differ from the limits imposed by the act, as provided. This bill would retain the existing provisions of law until January 1, 2025, and on that date would repeal the existing law and make operative the provisions of the bill described in this paragraph. The act makes a knowing or willful violation of its provisions punishable as a misdemeanor and subject to specified penalties. By adding new contribution limits to the act, the bill would expand the scope of an existing crime and thereby 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. 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.
Existing law establishes the Independent Living Program (ILP) , which has among its purposes providing training in daily living skills, budgeting, locating and maintaining housing, and career planning for foster youth up to 21 years of age. Existing federal law authorizes a state, under certain circumstances, to expand eligibility for the ILP to former foster youth who have not attained 23 years of age. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, with the approval of the federal government, to amend the foster care state plan to permit all eligible children to be served by the ILP up to 21 years of age. This bill would require, by June 30, 2025, the department to develop a plan, in consultation with, among others, county ILP administrators, to, among other things, update and upgrade curriculum to facilitate successful transitions to adulthood. This bill would expand the age for all eligible children to be served by the ILP up to 23 years of age, in those counties that opt to provide those extended services. Existing law authorizes a child who is declared a ward or dependent child of the court who is 16 years of age or older, or a nonminor dependent, as defined, who is participating in a transitional independent living case plan to retain resources with a combined value of $10,000, consistent with federal law, and still remain eligible to receive public social services. Existing law requires the written approval of a child's probation officer or social worker for withdrawal of the child's savings, as specified. Existing law establishes the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) program, under which counties provide payments to foster care providers on behalf of qualified children in foster care. This bill would remove that monetary value limit and instead allow those nonminor dependents to retain resources consistent with federal law. The bill would prohibit those resources from being evaluated after the initial determination for the same foster care episode to determine continued eligibility for a foster care maintenance payment. The bill would also authorize a nonminor dependent who reenters foster care, as specified, and is ineligible for federal financial participation due to cash savings in an amount that is greater than allowed, to receive aid in the form of state AFDC-FC if certain requirements are met. Because counties would administer these extended benefits, 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 establishes the Ocean Protection Council in state government to, among other things, establish policies to coordinate the collection, evaluation, and sharing of scientific data related to coastal and ocean resources among agencies. This bill would require the council, upon an appropriation by the Legislature, to oversee the establishment of, in coordination with other unspecified state and federal agencies, a nonprofit West Coast Offshore Wind Science Entity for the purpose of directing comprehensive baseline and ongoing monitoring of the California current ocean ecosystem as well as targeted research, and oversee that the research is available and used to inform state and federal decisions, as provided. The bill would require the entity to perform specified functions, including reviewing and incorporating existing research, monitoring, data standardization methods, and data portals. The bill would require, by no later than July 1, 2024, the council to form a steering committee to provide governance and oversight on the processes and procedures of the entity, as specified.
Existing law, the Dixon-Zenovich-Maddy California Arts Act of 1975, establishes the Arts Council, consisting of 11 appointed members, sets forth the duties of the council, and authorizes the council, among other things, to accept federal grants and unrestricted gifts, donations, bequests, or grants of funds from private sources and public agencies for the purposes of encouraging artistic awareness, promoting the employment of artists, and providing for the exhibition of art works in public buildings. Existing law requires the Arts Council to establish criteria and guidelines for state-designated cultural districts, as defined, to establish a competitive application system by which a community may apply for certification as a state-designated cultural district, and provide technical assistance and promotional support for state-designated cultural districts. This bill would require the Arts Council designate a permanent ongoing staff person to develop, support, and strategically plan the state-designated cultural district program described above. The bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature for purposes of the program, would authorize the Arts Council the expend program funding for staff, program analysis, planning grants, evaluations, building out the program, and providing guidance to emerging cultural districts. This bill would require the Arts Council to create an interdepartmental advisory group to support state-designated cultural districts and would require the advisory group to work with other agencies, including the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Transportation to facilitate signage for state-designated cultural districts. The bill would require the advisory group to work with Visit California to promote state-designated cultural districts as tourism destinations.
(1) Existing law generally requires electronic poll books, ballot manufacturers and finishers, ballot on demand systems, voting systems, and remote accessible vote by mail systems to be approved by the Secretary of State before their use in an election. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State to impose additional conditions of approval for these purposes. (2) Existing law requires a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to notify the Secretary of State and affected local elections officials in writing within 2 business days after discovering any flaw or defect that could adversely affect the future casting or tallying of votes. This bill would instead require a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to provide that notice within 24 hours. (3) Under existing law, specified election materials, including voted ballots, are required to be kept by county elections officials for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. This bill would add paper cast vote records to the list of materials county elections officials are required to keep. The bill would also require county elections officials to keep certain electronic data for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. By imposing additional duties on county elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Under existing law, it is a felony punishable by imprisonment for 2 to 4 years to interfere or attempt to interfere with the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes or to knowingly, and without authorization, possess a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. This bill would specify that, with respect to the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes, the phrase interferes or attempts to interfere with, includes but is not limited to, knowingly, and without authorization, providing unauthorized access to, or breaking the chain of custody to, certified voting technology during the lifecycle of that certified voting technology, or any finished or unfinished ballot cards. The bill would also expand the crime of knowing and unauthorized possession of a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used to include knowing and unauthorized possession of credentials, passwords, or access keys to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the destruction or secure disposal of certified voting technology at the end of lifecycle with the written approval of the Secretary of State and the manufacturer. The bill would also require specified actions to be taken for any part or component of certified voting technology for which the chain of custody has been compromised or for which security has been breached or attempted to be breached, including that the technology be removed from service immediately. (5) Existing law prohibits a voting system from being connected to the internet and from receiving or transmitting wireless communications or wireless data transfers. This bill would prohibit establishing a network connection to any device not directly used and necessary for voting system functions and would prohibit communication by or with any component of the voting system by wireless or modem transmission. The bill would require a voting system to be used in a configuration of parallel central election management systems separated by an air-gap, as defined. (6) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA requires each state agency to establish, by resolution or order, time limits for completing the environmental review of a project where the state agency is the lead agency for the project, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2031, would require a state agency, acting as the lead agency, to complete its environmental review for an electrical infrastructure project and to approve or deny the project within 2 years of the submission and acceptance of a complete application for the issuance of a lease, permit, license, certificate, or other entitlement for use for electrical infrastructure to the state agency. If the state agency fails to meet this deadline, the bill would require the state agency to submit to the Legislature a report setting forth the reasons that the review could not be completed within the time period and identifying potential impacts to the electrical system that could result from the delay.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, as defined, and to furnish this information to various state and local government officers, officials, and other prescribed entities, if needed in the course of their duties, including public defenders or attorneys of record when representing a person in criminal appeals and postconviction motions. Existing law makes it a crime for a person authorized by law to receive state summary criminal history information to knowingly furnish that information to a person who is not authorized to receive it. This bill would additionally authorize the department to provide a state summary criminal history information to a public defender or an attorney with a qualified legal services project or nonprofit, if the information is requested in the course of consultation or representation, on behalf of a prospective client or client who is the subject of state summary criminal history information, and the subject of the information gives informed written consent to the information being furnished. By expanding the scope of a 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 generally authorizes a court to, in the furtherance of justice, dismiss an enhancement. Existing law makes a person who personally uses a firearm in the commission of a felony punishable by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 4, or 10 years. Existing law makes a person who personally uses a firearm in the commission of specified felonies punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for an additional and consecutive term of 10 years, and makes them punishable by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment of 20 years if they discharge the firearm. Existing law makes a person who discharges a firearm and causes great bodily injury in the commission of specified felonies punishable by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment of 25 years to life. Existing law, until January 1, 2018, prohibited courts from striking those firearm enhancements. Existing law on and after January 1, 2022, requires a court to dismiss an enhancement if it is in furtherance of justice to do so, except as specified. This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to identify persons in custody, who, on or before January 1, 2018, suffered a conviction of those firearm enhancements. Upon determining the person qualifies for resentencing, the bill would require the trial court to appoint counsel and authorize the court to strike or dismiss an enhancement, as specified. By imposing additional duties on county public defenders, 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, 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.
The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) in the Natural Resources Agency. Existing law requires the Energy Commission to undertake a continuing assessment of trends in the consumption of electrical energy and other forms of energy and to analyze the social, economic, and environmental consequences of these trends, and to carry out, or cause to be carried out, under contract or other arrangements, research and development into alternative sources of energy, improvements in energy generation, transmission, and siting, fuel substitution, and other topics related to energy supply, demand, public safety, ecology, and conservation that are of particular statewide importance. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Lithium Valley Office of Development in the Energy Commission. The bill would require the office, in consultation with relevant state and local agencies, to coordinate activities related to funding, economic development, construction, manufacturing, technical development, and reclamation of lithium located in the Salton Sea geothermal resource area.
Existing law prescribes incarceration in the state prison as punishment for certain crimes. Existing law makes it a felony for a convicted felon who has been previously confined in a state prison to go upon the grounds of or land adjacent to a state or local carceral facility, as specified, without the consent of the warden or other officer in charge of the facility. This bill would require the Board of State and Community Corrections to, on or before January 1, 2025, adopt regulations that establish a uniform process to allow persons convicted of a felony who are employed by an organization that provides rehabilitative programming for or who are associated with an organization that provides mentorship to currently incarcerated individuals to go into a local carceral facility. The bill would provide that evidence of rehabilitation, as defined, is a basis to appeal a denial of entry by the sheriff or other administrator of the facility. By imposing additional duties on local carceral facilities, 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, 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.
