Existing law, the Government Claims Act, governs the tort liability and immunity of, and claims and actions against, public entities, officers, and employees. Existing law requires that a claim against a public entity or public employee be signed by the claimant or by some person on the claimant's behalf. This bill would require a claim against a public entity or public employee to include a declaration that, upon information and belief, the contents of the claim are true and correct. By expanding the definition 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, the State Housing Law, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires the building department of every city or county to enforce the provisions of the State Housing Law, the State Building Standards Code, and other specified rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the State Housing Law pertaining to standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law authorizes an officer, employee, or agent of an enforcement agency to enter and inspect any building or premises whenever necessary to secure compliance with, or prevent a violation of, any provision of the State Housing Law, the building standards published in the State Building Standards Code, and other rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of the State Housing Law. Existing law provides certain immunities to a public entity or employee immunity relative to an inspection or license, as provided. This bill would require a city, including a charter city, county, or city and county, except as specified, to offer a homeowner or contractor, as described, the option of requesting remote inspections for all or a subset of an inspection required by a building permit for specified works in one- or 2-family dwelling units, by either January 1, 2028, or July 1, 2028, as provided. The bill would authorize these local agencies to adopt reasonable protocols governing the technical conduct of a remote inspection, as specified. The bill would apply the above-described immunities to remote inspections. The bill would authorize these local agencies to temporarily ban the homeowner or contractor from using the remote inspection if a homeowner is found to have willfully misrepresented the work, as provided. By imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law establishes the Judges' Retirement System II, which is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System, and provides pension and other benefits to judges who are members. Existing law authorizes a judge to elect one of 4 optional retirement payment plans, with variations, in lieu of receiving the maximum retirement allowance for their life alone. The optional plans provide for a reduced allowance payable to the judge for life and a payment or allowance payable to their surviving spouse, as specified. Under existing law, the 100 Percent Beneficiary Option 2 with Benefit Allowance Increase consists of the right to have a retirement allowance paid to the judge until the judge's death and thereafter to have the same monthly allowance paid to the judge's surviving spouse for life, as provided, and the 50 Percent Beneficiary Option 3 with Benefit Allowance Increase consists of the right to have a retirement allowance paid to the judge until the judge's death and thereafter to have12 of the monthly allowance paid to the judge's surviving spouse for life, as provided. This bill would authorize a judge who retires on or after January 1, 2027, to elect to be subject to alternative provisions governing those 4 optional retirement payment plans described above, which would allow a judge to designate a beneficiary, which may or may not include their spouse, to receive the payment or allowance after the judge's death. A designation of a beneficiary under these alternative provisions would be subject to the community property rights of the judge's spouse. The bill would provide that under these alternative provisions, for the 100 Percent Beneficiary Option 2 with Benefit Allowance Increase and the 50 Percent Beneficiary Option 3 with Benefit Allowance Increase, if a nonspouse beneficiary waives entitlement to the allowance, the judge's allowance shall be adjusted effective the first day of the month following the receipt of the waiver to reflect the benefit that would have been paid had the judge not selected an optional settlement. The bill would provide that these two optional retirement payment plans shall not result in additional cost to the employer. Existing law authorizes the surviving spouse of a judge who died in office, had attained the minimum age for service retirement, with a minimum of 20 years of service, and met other requirements to receive an allowance that is equal to the amount that the judge would have received if the judge had been retired from service on the date of death, as specified. This bill would remove the requirement that the judge have had a minimum of 20 years of service in order to receive this surviving spouse allowance. Existing law authorizes the surviving spouse of a retired judge who was receiving a retirement allowance pursuant to specified provisions to receive a monthly allowance equal to 50% of the deceased judge's unmodified monthly retirement allowance, as provided. Under this bill, the surviving spouse of a retired judge who elected to be subject to the alternative provisions described above governing the 4 optional retirement payment plans would receive this surviving spouse allowance only if the spouse was married to the judge continuously from the date of the judge's retirement until the date of the judge's death. This bill would make other related and technical changes.
Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings and requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including, among other things, the health, safety, and welfare of the child and a history of abuse by a parent or another person seeking custody against specified individuals, including the other parent. As a prerequisite to considering an allegation of abuse, existing law authorizes the court to consider written reports from specified entities, including law enforcement and child protective services. Existing law prohibits the court from considering a person's sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation when determining the best interests of the child. The bill would also require the court to consider abuse that resulted in the conception of the child when determining the best interests of the child. Existing law prohibits a person from being granted physical or legal custody of, or visitation with, a child if the person has been convicted of rape and the child was conceived as a result of that violation. This bill, instead, would prohibit a person from being granted custody of, or visitation with, a child if the person has been convicted of an act of sexual assault, as defined, and either the child was conceived as a result of the act or born within 300 days after the act, and the act was one that could result in the conception of a child. Upon a finding by the court, by clear and convincing evidence, that a party seeking custody of a child perpetrated an act of sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child, as defined, the bill would create a rebuttable presumption that an award of sole or joint physical or legal custody of the child is detrimental to the best interests of the child, which may only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. Existing law, the Uniform Parentage Act, prescribes various circumstances under which an action may be brought for the purpose of determining the existence or nonexistence of a parent and child relationship and specifies when and by whom the action may be brought. This bill would authorize an action to be brought to declare the nonexistence of the parent and child relationship at any time if the child was conceived as a result of a sexual assault and the father was convicted of that violation. The Uniform Parentage Act defines the "parent and child relationship" as the legal relationship existing between a child and the child's parents, including determining who is a presumed parent. Under existing law, a person is presumed to be the natural parent of a child if they satisfy certain criteria, including, among other things, that the presumed parent and the child's natural mother are, or have been, married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated. Existing law creates exceptions to those presumptions, including if the child was conceived as a result of rape or unlawful intercourse, as specified. This bill would instead make that presumption inapplicable if the father was convicted of, or is found by clear and convincing evidence to have committed, an act of sexual assault against the child's mother and either the child was conceived as a result of the act or born within 300 days after the act and the act was one that could result in the conception of a child, unless, after the date of the sexual assault, the child's natural mother and the father voluntarily share the rights and responsibilities of rearing the child. Existing law permits a proceeding to be brought for the purpose of having a child under 18 years of age declared free from the custody and control of either or both parents if the child's parent or parents have been convicted of a felony of a nature that proves the unfitness of the parent or parents to have future custody and control of the child. Existing law authorizes the court to consider a parent's criminal record prior to the felony conviction for these purposes. Existing law authorizes the mother of a child to bring a proceeding for these purposes against the father of the child if the child was conceived as a result of rape and the father was convicted of that violation. Existing law creates a conclusive presumption that the father is unfit to have custody or control of the child if the father is convicted of rape and the child was conceived as a result of that rape. This bill would also authorize the mother of a child to bring a proceeding for these purposes against the father of the child if the child was conceived as a result of an act of sexual assault, as specified. The bill would create a conclusive presumption that the father of the child is unfit to have custody or control of the child if the father is found, by clear and convincing evidence, to have committed an act of sexual assault against the mother and either the child was conceived as a result of the act or born within 300 days after the act and the act was one that could result in the conception of a child, except as specified.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to determine the method of payment for construction contracts, including progress payments for completed portions of the work or for materials delivered on the ground or stored subject to the control of the board and unused. This bill would require the governing board or body of a local educational agency, as defined, to ensure that the contract or contracts for any construction project, as defined, taking place during school hours include security provisions that limit access to the construction site and keep unauthorized individuals off school property. To the extent the additional contract terms would impose additional duties on local educational agencies or other local entities or officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law governs the obligations of tenants and landlords. Existing law prohibits a landlord who allows an animal on the premises from advertising or establishing rental policies in a manner that requires a tenant or a potential tenant with an animal to have that animal declawed or devocalized as a condition of occupancy, as provided. This bill would require a landlord or their agent to have a pet policy or pet addendum in writing and to provide access to the property's pet policy or addendum on the property's internet website, in digital advertisements, and in information provided to a residential rental search engine, as prescribed. The bill would require a landlord or their agent to provide a written copy of the property's established pet policy or pet addendum with any rental application form. The bill would require a pet policy or pet addendum to include specified information, including a description of the rights, responsibilities, and requirements for tenant pet owners at the property. The bill would establish conditions for a landlord or their agent to substantially comply with these provisions and would specify that a nonmaterial error or omission that is corrected upon notice does not constitute a violation of these provisions. The bill would specify that it does not affect obligations or rights under state or federal law relating to service and support animals. The bill would require any landlord or their agent who charges an application fee but fails to disclose the established pet policy or pet addendum before charging the fee, and due to the landlord's or their agent's failure to disclose that information, the applicant is no longer eligible to rent the unit or declines to proceed with the application, to refund the application fee to the applicant upon request, as specified. The bill would make its provisions operative on April 1, 2027.
The Equity in Higher Education Act establishes the policy of the state to afford all persons, regardless of specified characteristics, including gender, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, equal rights and opportunities in the postsecondary educational institutions of the state. The act requires the Trustees of the California State University and the governing board of a community colleges district, and requests the Regents of the University of California, to designate an employee at each of their respective campuses as a point of contact for the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, transgender, gender-nonconforming, intersex, and two-spirit faculty, staff, and students. This bill would require the trustees and the governing board of a community college district, and would request the regents, to also designate an employee as a point of contact for the needs of the above-described faculty, staff, and students of a branch campus, satellite location, or site other than the main campus, as specified. The bill would define "branch campus," "satellite location," and "main campus" for this purpose. To the extent the bill would impose new duties on a community college district, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, including, but not limited to, property tax law, the Sales and Use Tax Law, the Personal Income Tax Law, the Corporation Tax Law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Law, the law governing the taxation of insurers, the Use Fuel Tax Law, and the Diesel Fuel Tax Law, provides for tax expenditures, including exemptions, deductions, exclusions, and credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to comprehensively assess the major tax expenditures, as defined, of the state, write and publish a report on each major tax expenditure, and make a recommendation to the Legislature based on each report. In this regard, the bill would require LAO, as part of the comprehensive assessments, to identify any savings that the Legislature can realize by reducing or limiting the major tax expenditures, and require them to consider certain criteria when finalizing each report, including the extent to which the major tax expenditure is a cost-effective use of resources compared to other options to address the same purpose, intent, or goal. The bill would require LAO to complete and publish on its internet website its first report on a major tax expenditure by January 1, 2028, and to complete and publish on its internet website each subsequent report on a major tax expenditure annually in a sequence determined by the office thereafter until the fifth and final report is submitted on January 1, 2032. The bill would require the Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation and the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation, to hold a joint public hearing on these reports by each August 15 of the second year of the legislative session, as specified. To the extent that LAO needs access to taxpayer data and information, the bill would require the Franchise Tax Board, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and the Employment Development Department to ensure that relevant anonymized taxpayer data is made available and ensure that appropriate levels of data security and privacy protections are in place for transferred or sensitive data. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2033. The bill would make findings and declarations relating to these provisions.
Existing law establishes the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and establishes various programs for the prevention and reduction of wildfires. This bill, which would be operative until January 1, 2033, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the Fire Innovation Unit within the department to serve as the department's innovation arm for wildfire technology research, coordination, procurement, and deployment for technologies that, among other things, improve ecosystem and landscape scale resilience. The bill would require the unit to consist of the Office of Wildfire Technology Research and Development, the Innovation, Outreach and Coordination Program, and the Rapid Acquisition and Deployment Program, as provided. The bill would authorize the unit to establish and administer a program to fund early-stage, mature, or dual-use technology projects that enhance wildfire prevention, preparedness, mitigation, and response through grants, contracts, or both. The bill would also authorize the unit to (1) administer or monitor pilot, prototype, or demonstration projects to evaluate, mature, and validate wildfire-related technologies, (2) collaborate with public and private educational and research institutions on wildfire technology and innovation, (3) establish testbeds to test or evaluate emerging technologies, (4) provide technical assistance to local, state, federal, and international fire agencies to facilitate deployment of wildfire-related technologies, (5) maintain a publicly accessible resource to provide visibility into these wildfire-related technologies, and (6) provide opportunities for participation in demonstrations, pilot programs, and field testing, as provided. This bill would require the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature summarizing certain information related to the unit, including, among other things, the technologies and projects evaluated, tested, or deployed.
Existing law establishes the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund and requires moneys in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol for the purposes of enforcing laws related to vehicles or the use of highways. Existing law requires a lienholder to comply with specified procedures to conduct a vehicle lien sale. With regards to those procedures, existing law requires that the proceeds of a vehicle lien sale be paid to the lienholder in the amount necessary to discharge the lien and to cover the cost of processing the vehicle, among other requirements. Existing law requires that the balance be forwarded to the Department of Motor Vehicles and requires the balance to be deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund, as provided. Existing law authorizes any person claiming an interest in the vehicle to file a claim with the Department of Motor Vehicles for any portion of the funds from the lien sale that was forwarded to the department, as provided. Existing law prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from honoring any claim unless the claim has been filed within 3 years of the date the funds were deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account. This bill would delete the above-described prohibition against the Department of Motor Vehicles from honoring any claim. The bill would, instead, 3 years after the date the funds were deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account, require the Department of Motor Vehicles to transfer any funds deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account to the Controller and would require the funds to be treated as escheated property. The bill would make the bill's provisions operative on January 1, 2030. Because this bill would require the balance to be treated as escheated property to the state, and thereby deposited in the Unclaimed Property Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law generally regulates artificial intelligence, including companion chatbots, as defined. Existing law requires an operator, as defined, to prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user. Existing law requires an operator, for a user the operator knows is a minor, to take certain prescribed action, including disclosing to the user that the user is interacting with artificial intelligence. This bill would delete those provisions imposing requirements on an operator if the operator knows the user is a minor. The Digital Age Assurance Act requires a person who owns, maintains, or controls a software application, as defined, to request age bracket data sent by a real-time secure application programming interface or operating system with respect to a particular user from an operating system provider or a covered application store when the application is downloaded and launched. This bill would require an operator, as defined, of a companion chatbot to, beginning July 1, 2027, before making a new or substantially modified companion chatbot available to users in the state, do various things with respect to child safety, including perform and document a comprehensive risk assessment related to the design, configuration, and operation of the companion chatbot with respect to minor users that contains, among other things, a summary of the results of any evaluation of each covered harm, as defined, pertaining to the companion chatbot. The bill would require an operator to submit to independent child safety audits of its compliance with the bill, as specified. The bill would require an auditor to produce a report that describes whether the operator has established and adhered to policies and practices to comply with the bill that includes, among other things, the signature of the lead auditor certifying the results of the audit under penalty of perjury. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to, for cause, request and obtain a copy of an AI child safety audit report from the operator and would make a child safety audit report submitted to the Attorney General confidential. This bill would authorize certain public prosecutors to bring a civil action to enforce the bill's provisions, as specified, and would authorize a child who suffers an actual harm as a result of a violation of this chapter, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that child, to bring a civil action against the operator, as specified. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The 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 Employment Training Panel within the Employment Development Department and sets forth its powers and duties with respect to certain employment training programs. Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that the purpose of provisions relating to the panel is to establish an employment training program to promote a healthy labor market in a growing, competitive economy and to fund only projects that meet specified criteria, including, among other things, fostering retention of high-wage, high-skilled jobs in manufacturing, and other industries, as provided. Existing law also establishes the Employment Training Fund in the State Treasury, and requires that moneys in the fund be expended only for the purposes of the Employment Training Panel, except as provided. Existing law authorizes the panel to allocate moneys in the fund for reimbursement of reasonable training costs, administrative costs incurred by contractors, costs of program administration, and related services. This bill would require the panel to authorize and encourage the use of electronic systems for recordkeeping. The bill would authorize contractors and subcontractors under an agreement with the panel to satisfy recordkeeping and documentation requirements through electronic records, provided that those records are complete, accurate, and meet other specified criteria. The bill would require the panel to adopt recordkeeping and training administration standards, as specified, and to update regulations, guidance, and program materials to implement the bill's provisions.
