Existing law, the Radiologic Technology Act, prohibits a person from administering or using diagnostic or therapeutic X-rays on human beings in this state, unless that person either qualifies for a specified exemption or has been certified or granted a permit by the State Department of Public Health, as specified, is acting within the scope of that certification or permit, and is acting under the supervision of a healing arts licensee. A person who violates a provision of the Radiologic Technology Act or regulation of the department adopted pursuant to that act is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit a person from holding themselves out as a radiologist assistant unless the person meets certain requirements, including that they have passed the radiologist assistant examination, as specified, and that they maintain current registration with prescribed entities. The bill would require a radiologist assistant to work only under the supervision of a radiologist and would prohibit a radiologist assistant from functioning in that capacity independent of a supervising radiologist. The bill, among other things, would authorize a radiologist assistant to communicate and document initial clinical and imaging observations or procedures only to a radiologist for the radiologist's use. The bill would authorize a supervising radiologist to delegate to a radiologist assistant, as the radiologist determines appropriate to the assistant's competence, those tasks or services that a radiologist usually performs and is qualified to perform. The bill would provide that a violation of its provisions does not constitute a misdemeanor.
Existing law defines a "hate crime" as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including, among other things, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) , in consultation with specified subject-matter experts, to develop guidelines and a course of instruction and training for law enforcement officers addressing hate crimes. Existing law also requires POST to consult with the subject-matter experts if the guidelines or course of instruction are updated. Beginning January 1, 2027, this bill would require POST to conduct a comprehensive review of existing hate crimes training programs, as specified. The bill would require the review to be completed by January 1, 2028. The bill would require POST to, by July 1, 2028, adopt evidence-based training requirements to address the gaps identified in the review regarding the prevention, identification, and investigation of hate crimes.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and provides that one of the functions of the department is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the Department of Managed Health Care, the Department of Insurance, the Department of Health Care Access and Information, and the Office of Health Care Affordability, to conduct a comparable worth study to examine and compare compensation and reimbursement for behavioral health providers with compensation and reimbursement for similarly situated medical-surgical providers. The bill would require the study to analyze compensation and reimbursement across specified payment flows, including payments made by health care service plans and health insurers directly to behavioral health providers and medical-surgical providers, and payments made to intermediaries and health systems for behavioral health services and medical-surgical services. The bill would require the department to take certain actions in conducting the study, including developing a methodology for determining which behavioral health provider roles are comparable to which medical-surgical provider roles. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to report certain data to the department with respect to payments made directly to providers and payments made to intermediaries and health systems. The bill would also require specified intermediaries and health systems to report certain data to the department relating to payments received and payments made. The bill would make an entity that fails to comply with the reporting requirements subject to civil penalty, as prescribed. The bill would require the department and the other state entities listed above to protect the confidentiality of any propriety or commercially sensitive information submitted pursuant to the bill, as provided. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature containing the findings of the study. 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 subjects a minor between 12 and 17 years of age, who violates any federal, state, or local law or ordinance, and a minor under 12 years of age who is alleged to have committed specified serious offenses, to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the minor to be a ward of the court. Existing law assigns various responsibilities relating to these individuals to the probation officer, including, among others, the responsibility to supervise minors placed on probation. This bill would require the County of Los Angeles to implement a body-worn camera program for the County of Los Angeles Probation Department (probation department) . The bill would require the county, the probation department, and affected employee organizations to develop the body-worn camera policy and a plan for implementing the body-worn camera program by no later than June 1, 2027. The bill would require the body-worn camera program to be implemented beginning on January 1, 2028. The bill would specify the minimum requirements for the policy, including the best practices for officer review of recorded body-worn camera data. Because this bill would create new duties for the County of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles Probation Department, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles. 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.
Under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to make an untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claim, whether explicit or implied. A violation of this requirement is a misdemeanor. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, establish a presumption in any suit or complaint brought under the above-described provision that a defendant's environmental marketing claim is valid if the defendant complies with specified disclosure requirements pertaining to voluntary carbon offsets and net zero emissions claims and the claim is based on the voluntary use of a carbon credit issued by a carbon crediting program that is (1) approved by the State Air Resources Board pursuant to specified regulations, (2) approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization to supply credits for a specified carbon offsetting scheme, or (3) meets other specified criteria and appears on a list published by the State Air Resources Board containing carbon crediting programs that satisfy those criteria.
Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedure for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. The act requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal any administrative regulation to assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals and requires the state agency to adhere to specified requirements in making that assessment. This bill would include among those requirements for assessing the potential for adverse economic impact the consideration of the proposal's cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state, as defined. Existing law requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a regulation that is not a major regulation to prepare an economic impact assessment that includes to what extent the regulation will affects specified factors, including the creation or elimination of jobs within the state. Existing law requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation to prepare a standardized regulatory impact analysis that addresses specified factors, including the creation or elimination of jobs within the state. This bill would also require the assessment for nonmajor regulations to include to what extent it will affect the cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state, and would require the standardized regulatory impact analysis for major regulations to address the cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state. The bill would require an agency to notify the office when the agency determines it needs to contract for outside services to perform the analyses and would require the office to select the contractor and oversee its work. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to adopt a standardized cost-of-living methodology for use by all agencies that includes a process for determining whether those cost-of-living impacts are significant. The bill would require each state agency to submit the standardized regulatory impact analysis to the Legislative Analyst's Office, and would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to take certain actions, including conducting an independent analysis of the adequacy of an agency's economic analysis and an analysis of the cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state, and to provide its analysis to the state agency. This bill would require the Department of Finance to develop and maintain a regulatory economic burden tracker that will gather and analyze the cumulative economic burden of regulations by sector of the economy. The bill would require the department to post the tracker on its internet website and update the tracker annually. Existing law requires the notice of proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation to include, among other information, a statement of the results of the economic impact assessment and a summary of any comments submitted to the agency. This bill would instead require the notice to include a detailed statement of the results of the economic impact assessment. The bill would require the summary of comments to include the Legislative Analyst's Office comments and agency responses, as referenced above. Existing law requires the office to review regulations and make determinations using specified standards, including, necessity, authority, and clarity. This bill would add to those standards the cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state. The bill would require the office, in reviewing proposed regulations for cost-of-living impacts on residents of the state, to use the standardized methodology developed by the Legislative Analyst's Office. Existing law requires the office to either approve a regulation or disapprove it within 30 working days after a regulation has been submitted to the office for review. Existing law requires the office, if it disapproves a regulation, to provide the adopting agency with a written notice detailing the reasons for disapproval. This bill would, for major regulations, increase the period of time for approval or disapproval to 60 working days. The bill would require the office, for major regulations, to hold a public hearing within 30 working days after the regulation has been submitted to the office. If one of the reasons for disapproval includes a significant cost-of-living impact, the bill would require the agency to pursue a less costly alternative or explain why a less costly alternative is infeasible.
Existing law requires the clerk of a court in which a person was convicted of a violation of the Vehicle Code or other specified provisions, to prepare and forward an abstract of the record of conviction to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) , as specified. Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to perform audits, reviews, and investigations of superior court operations and records, as specified. This bill would require the Judicial Council, commencing on January 1, 2028, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature regarding superior court compliance with specified deadlines for transmitting an abstract of the record of conviction to the DMV, for certain violations, including vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol, pursuant to the above-described provisions.
Existing law, the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000, finds that it is the policy of the state to, among other things, ensure adequate coordination of ocean resources management science among state, regional, and federal agencies and marine science institutions, as provided. Existing law requires every manufacturer of, importer of, or dealer in any pesticide, except as specified, to obtain a certificate of registration from the Department of Pesticide Regulation before the pesticide is offered for sale. Existing law requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation to endeavor to eliminate from use in the state pesticides that endanger the agricultural or nonagricultural environment, among other things, and in carrying out this responsibility, to develop an orderly program for the continuous evaluation of all pesticides actually registered, as specified. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the Department of Pesticide Regulation to complete a reevaluation of copper-based antifouling boat paint products, and to make the determination to retain, modify, or suspend its standards or to place new appropriate standards on the chemical composition or use of copper-based antifouling paints. The bill would require, on or before June 1, 2028, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Water Resources Control Board, regional water control boards, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to collaborate on active studies related to the effectiveness of low-leach-rate paint and elevated copper concentrations in saltwater harbors, bays, and marinas that are primarily a result of the use of copper-based antifouling paint, and would require the Department of Pesticide Regulation to finish and release these studies. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the State Resources Control Board, and the Department of Pesticide Regulation to collaborate to determine the best methods to address elevated copper concentrations in saltwater harbors, bays, and marinas that are primarily a result of the use of this paint in the state. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2029, the California Environmental Protection Agency to post on its internet website these best methods.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes uniform residency requirements for purposes of ascertaining the amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students of public postsecondary educational institutions. Existing law requires a student classified as a nonresident to pay nonresident tuition, in addition to other fees required by the institution, except as provided. These provisions apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable. This bill would authorize a participating public postsecondary educational institution to administer an educational asylum program, in collaboration with the Regents of the University of California, the Trustees of the California State University, and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. The bill would require a participating institution to grant educational asylum status to a transfer student who meets specified requirements, including residing in a restricted state, as defined. The bill, commencing with the 2027–28 school year, would exempt a transfer student who is granted educational asylum status from paying nonresident tuition at a participating institution and would require the transfer student to only pay resident tuition and fees.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into a statewide agreement with a park support organization to facilitate the implementation of reforms recommended by the Parks Forward Commission and to develop and secure expertise, services, resources, and projects that are not readily available to the state park system, for specified purposes. This bill would authorize the Natural Resources Agency to enter into a statewide agreement with a support organization, as defined, to facilitate and implement certain objectives, and would require the agency and support organization to, after entering into a statewide agreement, collaborate to develop an annual list of strategic initiatives and projects that are statewide priorities, as provided. The bill would authorize certain persons, including the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, to serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of the support organization's board of directors, as provided.
Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to identify areas in the state that are not state responsibility areas, commonly known as local responsibility areas, as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones based on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to periodically review and make recommendations relative to very high fire hazard severity zones within local responsibility areas. Under existing law, this review is required to coincide with review of state responsibility area lands every 5 years and, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county's general plan update. Existing law requires a local agency to designate, by ordinance, moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction within 120 days of receiving the recommendations from the State Fire Marshal. Existing law authorizes a local agency to, at its discretion, include areas within its jurisdiction not identified as very high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as very high fire hazard severity zones and areas not identified as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones by the State Fire Marshal as moderate and high fire hazard severity zones. Under existing law, a local agency is required to transmit a copy of this adopted ordinance to the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within 30 days of adoption. Existing law provides that changes made by a local agency to the recommendations made by the State Fire Marshal are final. This bill would require the State Fire Marshal to, no fewer than 180 days before finalizing the designation of local responsibility areas as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones, post specified information relating to those designations on its public internet website, provide at least one workshop on the draft maps for stakeholder participation, host a 30-day public comment period to receive written comments from interested stakeholders, respond to all written comments by local agencies regarding land use and zoning matters that address the accuracy of the data used by the State Fire Marshal for those designations within 30 days of the end of the public comment period, and coordinate with other state agencies to help educate their constituencies, as specified. The bill would also require, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, the State Fire Marshal to review the local responsibility area lands designated as moderate, high, and very high fire hazard severity zones and to recommend changes. The bill would end the requirement that this review, when possible, fall within the timeframes for each county's general plan update. The bill would authorize a local agency to, at its discretion, increase the level of fire hazard severity applicable to a parcel in its jurisdiction if a parcel contains 2 or more designations, so that the higher level of fire hazard severity would apply to the entire parcel and include documentation of existing wildfire mitigation efforts or programs implemented locally within the fire hazard severity zones in its jurisdiction. The bill would require the State Fire Marshal to publish within 60 days the local ordinance transmitted to the board, as described above, on its internet website.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care, and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law requires a full service health care service plan, excluding a Medi-Cal managed care plan, or its delegate, to subscribe to and use the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare credentialing form on and after January 1, 2028. On and after January 1, 2027, existing law requires a health care service plan, excluding a Medi-Cal managed care plan, or its delegate, that credentials health care providers for its networks to make a determination regarding the credentials of a provider within 90 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application. This bill would extend the application of the above-described requirements to Medi-Cal managed care plans. Because a willful violation of these requirements by a Medi-Cal managed care plan would be a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
