Existing law, the Veterinary Medicine Practice Act, establishes the California Veterinary Medical Board, until January 1, 2030, within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure of veterinarians, the registration of veterinarian technicians, and the general regulation of the practice of veterinary medicine. Existing law requires the board to issue a renewed veterinarian license or renewed veterinary technician registration to an applicant who completes a minimum number of hours of continuing education. Existing law permits a portion of this continuing education to be completed either as self study or by providing pro bono spay or neuter services for specified agencies. This bill would recast those provisions to, instead, specify that both the self study and the pro bono spay or neuter services may be used to satisfy those requirements.
(1) Existing law sets forth the procedure by which, in any prosecution for rape or other specified sexual offenses, evidence of sexual conduct of the complaining witness may be offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness. This procedure involves, among other things, the filing of a written motion by the defendant, accompanied by an affidavit filed under seal stating an offer of proof, and, if the court determines that the offer is sufficient, a hearing out of the presence of the jury regarding the offer of proof. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may make an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant. Under existing law, these procedures do not apply if the specified offenses are alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined. This bill would remove this exception, thereby also applying these procedures to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison. (2) Existing law provides that evidence of a person's character or a trait of their character is generally inadmissible when offered to prove the person's conduct on a specified occasion. Existing law prohibits, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes, the admission of, among other things, opinion evidence, reputation evidence, or specific instances of sexual conduct involving the victim and persons other than the defendant to prove the victim's consent. This prohibition does not apply to specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison, as defined. This bill would additionally remove this exception, thereby also prohibiting the admission of such evidence in the prosecution of specified offenses alleged to have occurred in a local detention facility or state prison.
The Subdivision Map Act requires a tentative and final map for specified subdivisions, including subdivisions of 5 or more parcels or condominiums, except under certain circumstances, including if the land consists of a parcel or parcels of land having approved access to a public street or highway, which comprises part of a tract of land zoned for industrial or commercial development, and which has the approval of the governing body as to street alignments and widths. Existing law requires a subdivision that qualifies for one of those exceptions to file a parcel map instead. This bill would expand the exception described above to additionally include land that comprises part of a tract of land zoned for mixed-use development, inclusive of mixed-use developments containing residential uses, and that satisfies the other requirements contained in that exception.
Existing law provides that written agreements to submit controversies to arbitration are valid and enforceable. Existing federal law, the Federal Arbitration Act, also deems arbitration agreements valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, except for certain specified types of agreements, such as agreements to arbitrate claims of sexual harassment. This bill would make agreements to submit to arbitration unenforceable where the agreement would not be enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act.
Existing law directs the Legislative Counsel to advise the Legislature from time to time as to legislation necessary to maintain the codes. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in various provisions of the law to effectuate the recommendations made by the Legislative Counsel to the Legislature.
Existing law authorizes a county to use a children's advocacy center to implement a coordinated multidisciplinary response to investigate reports involving child physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, or maltreatment. Existing law requires a county that utilizes a child advocacy center to meet specified standards, including, among other things, that the children's advocacy center must verify that interviews conducted in the course of investigations are conducted in a forensically sound manner and occur in a child-focused setting designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and dedicated place for children and families. Existing law requires the children's advocacy center or other identified multidisciplinary team member custodian to ensure that all recordings of child forensic interviews be released only in response to a court order, or, upon request, to law enforcement agencies authorized to investigate child abuse or agencies authorized to prosecute juvenile or criminal conduct described in the forensic interview, or to county counsel evaluating an allegation of child abuse. Existing law requires files, reports, records, communications, and working papers used or developed in providing services through a children's advocacy center to be confidential and not public records. Existing law authorizes the members of a multidisciplinary team associated with a children's advocacy center to share with other multidisciplinary team members any information or records concerning the child and family and the person who is the subject of the investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect for the sole purpose of facilitating a forensic interview, case discussion, or providing services to the child or family, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize the members of a multidisciplinary team associated with a children's advocacy center to share with child welfare agencies authorized to investigate child abuse and neglect any information or records, as specified, for the purposes mentioned above.
Existing law, the Mitigation Fee Act, imposes various requirements with respect to the establishment, increase, or imposition of a fee by a local agency as a condition of approval of a development project, including requiring the local agency to identify the use to which the fee is to be put and determine how there is a reasonable relationship between the fee's use and the type of development project on which the fee is imposed. This bill would require the amount of a fee that is imposed on a development project that demolishes or changes an existing use to be offset to account for the demolition or change so that the amount of the fee is attributable only to the development project's incremental impact on public facilities or services, as provided. Existing law provides that when a local agency imposes a fee for water connections or sewer connections, or imposes a capacity charge, as defined, those fees or charges shall not exceed the estimated reasonable cost of providing the service for which the fee or charge is imposed, except as specified. This bill would provide that when a change in the capacity of an existing water or sewer connection is proposed, a local agency, in calculating the estimated reasonable cost of a capacity charge, shall only calculate an amount attributable to the change in the capacity. If the existing capacity exceeds the proposed capacity, the bill would prohibit any amount from being refunded, credited, transferred, assigned, or otherwise applied to offset any other charge or fee.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and each city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that includes, among other specified mandatory elements, a housing element. That law requires the planning agency of a city or county to provide by April 1 of each year an annual report to, among other entities, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation and the Department of Housing and Community Development, that includes, among other specified information, the status of a development of land disposed, as described, the information each county and city is required to include in its central inventory of surplus land and report, as specified, and the number of applications for parcel maps for urban lot splits, as provided. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes and reorganize various provisions relating to the annual report requirements, including the requirements described above, and would make related nonsubstantive conforming changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires that the terms of probation granted to a person who has been convicted of domestic violence include, among other things, successful completion of a batterer's program or, if a batterer's program is not available, another appropriate counseling program, as specified. Existing law requires the probation department to design and implement an approval and renewal process for batterer's programs and prescribes the requirements of a batterer's program. Existing law, until July 1, 2026, authorizes the Counties of Napa, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Yolo to offer an alternative program for individuals convicted of domestic violence if the program meets specified conditions. This bill would additionally authorize the County of Sacramento to offer an alternative program for individuals convicted of domestic violence. The bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to July 1, 2030. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law sets forth specific rules relating to the jurisdiction for the prosecution of theft by fraud, organized retail theft, and receiving stolen property, including that the jurisdiction for prosecution includes the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding or abetting in the commission of a theft offense or other qualifying offense. This bill would make the jurisdiction of a criminal action for wage theft or labor trafficking, as defined, also include the county in which the victim resided at the time of the wage theft or labor trafficking, the county in which the victim was present at the time the employment contract was entered into, the county in which any portion of the work was performed, or the county in which the business or any of its locations was situated at the time of the wage theft or labor trafficking, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to appoint and commission notaries public in the number that the secretary deems necessary for the public convenience. Existing law prohibits fees charged by a notary public for certain services, including taking an acknowledgment or proof of a deed, from exceeding specified amounts. This bill would increase those amounts, as specified, and make findings and declarations related to these provisions.
Existing law, the California Bicycle Transportation Act, establishes 4 classifications of facilities, referred to as bikeways, that provide primarily for, and promote, bicycle travel. Existing law requires a person operating a bicycle, which includes an electric bicycle, upon a highway to ride the bicycle upon or astride a permanent and regular seat unless the bicycle was designed by the manufacturer to be ridden without a seat. Existing law requires a person riding as a passenger on a bicycle upon a highway to be upon or astride a seat attached to the bicycle, as specified. A violation of these provisions in punishable as an infraction. This bill would make those provisions applicable to the operation of a bicycle upon a Class I bikeway. By expanding an existing infraction, 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.
