Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, on or before January 1, 2024, and every 3 years thereafter, to submit an assessment to the Legislature that, among other things, identifies methods to ensure a reliable supply of affordable and safe transportation fuels in California and evaluates the price of transportation fuels, including branded and unbranded retail prices, alternate formulations of gasoline with lower carbon impact, and other products suitable for production from refineries in California, as provided. Existing law establishes the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight within the commission to, among other things, provide independent oversight and analysis of the transportation fuels market for the protection of consumers by identifying market design flaws, market power abuses, and any other manner by which market participants act to harm competition or act contrary to the best interests of the consumers in the state. Existing law requires the director of the division, when requested, to appear before the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature to provide an update on the division's performance as compared to its objectives, the status of competition in the transportation fuels markets, and other information the committees request. This bill would require the commission, on or before January 31, 2029, to seek to enter into memoranda of understanding with relevant air districts and local governments with transportation fuels refining facilities within their jurisdictions, as identified by the commission, to enable the further coordination that is needed to support management of the transportation fuels sector and to ensure the transportation fuels sector is successfully managed and maintains environmental, public health, labor, economic, and consumer protections.
Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, exists for the purpose of assuring safe and healthful working conditions for all California workers by authorizing the enforcement of effective standards, assisting and encouraging employers to maintain safe and healthful working conditions, and providing for research, information, education, training, and enforcement in the field of occupational safety and health. Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations for the adoption of occupational safety and health standards and establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in that department for the enforcement of those occupational safety and health standards, as prescribed. This bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2030, to propose to the standards board, for its consideration and possible adoption, a standard that protects the health and safety of employees who risk high or prolonged exposure to transboundary pollution, as defined, in outdoor occupational environments, as specified. The bill would require the division to consider identifying an exposure threshold for hydrogen sulfide at which acute or chronic health effects occur to reference in the standards and may consider exposure thresholds for other relevant pollutants. The bill would authorize the division to develop the standard in consultation with other specified groups. The bill would authorize the standards board to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, when adopting instructional materials for use in school, to include relevant technology-based materials, defined for these purposes to mean basic or supplemental instructional materials that are designed for use by pupils and teachers as learning resources and that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource, and including the electronic equipment required to make use of those materials used by pupils and teachers as a learning resource, including, but not limited to, laptop computers and devices that provide internet access. Existing law prohibits a school official from requiring a pupil to purchase any instructional materials for the pupil's use in the school, except as provided. Commencing with the 2027–28 school year, this bill would prohibit, unless necessary under a specified circumstance, a school district, county office of education, or charter school from requiring a pupil in kindergarten, including a pupil in transitional kindergarten, to take home a school-issued electronic device, as defined, except that a local educational agency may authorize those pupils to take home a school-issued electronic device. The bill would encourage local educational agencies to regularly review and update their policies related to pupils' screen time and, in conducting that review, to solicit input from, among others, currently employed teachers and school administrators. This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or before July 1, 2027, to (1) curate and maintain on its internet website resources for age-appropriate screen time and electronic device use in schools and guidance on how to transition take-home school-issued electronic devices into dedicated classroom-based electronic devices and how to participate in e-waste recycling or buy-back programs, and (2) take into consideration when curating the resources and guidance, among other things, developmentally appropriate screen exposure time at each grade level.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to conduct a program of epidemiological assessments of the incidence of cancer. Existing law requires specified entities providing specified services to cancer patients, including hospitals, practitioners, and laboratories, to report each case of cancer to the department, as specified. This bill would require a hospital or other facility that provides therapy to a cancer patient within an area designated as a cancer reporting area to post a sign, developed by the department, in a conspicuous location that contains an advisement about cancer data reporting and a quick response code that links to the California Cancer Registry internet website.
Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act (act) , requires the State Department of Social Services to license, inspect, and regulate residential care facilities for the elderly, as defined, and imposes criminal penalties on a person who violates the act or who willfully or repeatedly violates any rule or regulation adopted under the act. Existing law authorizes the department to also impose civil penalties for violations of the act. Existing law gives residents of those facilities specified rights, including, but not limited to, the right to be free from neglect, financial exploitation, involuntary seclusion, and verbal, mental, or physical abuse. Beginning July 1, 2029, this bill would require the department, when a licensee is cited for a deficiency that constitutes abuse in violation of a resident's rights, to categorize the type of abuse. The bill would describe the categories of abuse, including physical abuse and abandonment, among others and would require that the category of abuse be listed on a public-facing database maintained by the department.
Existing law makes it a crime to engage in money laundering, defined as conducting a transaction involving a monetary instrument of specified value through a financial institution with the specific intent to promote or facilitate criminal activity or knowing that the monetary instrument represents the proceeds of or is derived from the proceeds of criminal activity. Existing law establishes the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund in the State Treasury, to provide funding to compensate victims of crime. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, expand the crime of money laundering to include conducting a transaction involving a monetary instrument of specified value using digital assets, as defined. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes, as provided. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act, establishes a procedure for the forfeiture of property and proceeds acquired through a pattern of criminal profiteering activity, as defined, upon the conviction of the underlying criminal offense, including money laundering, and requires the prosecuting agency to file a petition of forfeiture in conjunction with certain criminal proceedings. Existing law authorizes any person claiming an interest in property or proceeds subject to forfeiture to file with the superior court in which the forfeiture action is pending a verified claim stating their interest in the property or proceeds, as specified. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, authorize a law enforcement officer or prosecuting agency, as defined, to obtain a search warrant to seize digital assets or wallets, accounts, or similar things containing digital assets (collectively "digital assets") upon a showing of probable cause that the digital assets contain proceeds of a crime or proceeds traceable to a crime or have been used to facilitate a crime. The bill would require the search warrant to specify any centralized exchanges, custodians of digital assets, addresses, or other locations from which the digital assets will be seized, to describe how the warrant will be served, and to specify the amount of digital assets to be seized, as specified. The bill would authorize, within 180 days of any seizure, a prosecuting agency to initiate a special proceeding to forfeit the seized digital assets, including providing notice to all readily ascertainable potential owners of the digital assets and anyone with a known security interest. The bill would require any person with a claim to the seized digital assets to file a verified claim under penalty of perjury and supported by admissible evidence within 30 days of the date of service of the notice from the prosecuting agency, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide a process for a court to adjudicate and resolve these verified claims, as specified. The bill would require the court, after all the claims are resolved, to issue a final judgment forfeiting the remaining digital assets and would provide a process for a prosecuting agency to distribute the remaining digital assets to victims, as specified. The bill would require any digital assets not distributed to victims to be kept in the custody of law enforcement or prosecuting agency for a maximum of 3 years, after which the forfeited assets would be deposited into the Restitution Fund for the purpose of providing victim services. By expanding the revenue sources of a continuously appropriated fund, and by expanding the purposes for which moneys in a continuously appropriated fund may be used, the bill would make an appropriation. 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 federal law provides for the allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. Existing law requires an unrelated adult male who resides with a family who is applying for or receiving aid from the CalWORKs program to make a financial contribution to the family, as specified. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2027, or a later date, as specified, repeal the above-described provisions requiring an unrelated adult male who resides with a family applying for or receiving aid from the CalWORKs program to make a financial contribution to the family. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific, this change by means of all-county letters, or similar written instructions, until regulations are adopted. By expanding eligibility for the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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 authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to conduct examinations of insurers whenever they deem it appropriate, or for admitted insurers, at least once every 5 years. Existing law requires the examiner in charge to file a verified written report of the examination with the department. Existing law requires the department to transmit that report to the company examined with a notice that the company has 30 days to make a written submission or rebuttal to any matters contained in the report. Existing law requires the commissioner, within 30 days of the end of the period allowed for the company to reply, to fully consider the report and any submissions and either adopt the report as filed, with modifications, or reject the report with an order to reopen the examination. This bill would require an examined company to take corrective actions to remediate violations of specified laws and regulations identified in the report. The bill would require a company that fails to adopt the necessary corrective actions to be subject to a penalty. The bill would authorize the company to request an additional extension to comply in specified circumstances. The bill would require the commissioner, if the commissioner has reason to believe that a company has not complied with a recommendation in the report, to issue and serve an order to show cause on the company with a statement of the charges, its potential liability, and a notice of hearing. If the charges are found to be justified, the bill would require the commissioner to issue an order requiring the company to pay a specified penalty and to comply with and implement the recommendations contained in the report. The bill would require the hearing be held in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and would state that these powers would be additional to any other powers currently vested in the commissioner to enforce the provisions of this code.
Existing law declares that it is the policy of the state to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of specified characteristics, including race or ethnicity, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and states that the purpose of related existing law is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies. Existing law defines "race or ethnicity" to include ancestry, color, ethnic group identification, and ethnic background. This bill would define ethnicity to include Jewish identity. Existing law specifies certain requirements relative to state agencies, boards, and commissions that directly or by contract collect demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians, including the requirement to use separate collection categories and tabulations for each major Asian group and each major Pacific Islander group, as specified. Existing law requires these state agencies to include the demographic data in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of Californians by the state agency published or released on or after July 1, 2012. Existing law further requires these state agencies to make the collected data available to the public pursuant to state and federal law, except for personal identifying information, which existing law deems confidential. This bill would require a state agency that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use a separate collection category and tabulation for Jewish ancestry or ethnicity, as specified and subject to a certain exception. The bill would require these state agencies to include the demographic data in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of Californians by the state agency published on or after January 1, 2030. The bill would further require these state agencies to make the collected data available to the public pursuant to state and federal law. The bill would prohibit state agencies from disclosing personal identifying information about any person whose demographic data is collected, and would require those agencies to apply deidentification and privacy protection methods to that data. The bill would limit the purposes for which state agencies can use the demographic data collected under these provisions. The bill would exempt any state agency administering a multiyear grant program with an established end date that began collecting demographic data prior to January 1, 2029, from being required to include or use the demographic category described above for interim or final reports. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to collect voluntary self-identification information pertaining to race or ethnic origin of people admitted, in custody, and released and paroled, including, but not limited to, specified races and ethnic origins. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, based on that voluntary self-identification information, to prepare and publish monthly demographic data pertaining to the race or ethnic origin of people admitted, in custody, and released and paroled, disaggregated by the same race and ethnicity categories used by the department for the purpose of voluntary self-identification information. Existing law requires the data, except for personally identifying information, which existing law deems confidential, to be publicly available on the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's internet website via the Offender Data Points dashboard. This bill would include Jewish among those specified races and ethnic origins for self-identification. Existing law requires the Employment Development Department, in the administration of existing law relating to disability compensation, to collect demographic data for individuals who claim disability benefits or family temporary disability insurance benefits, including race and ethnicity data and sexual orientation and gender identity data, as prescribed. Existing law requires the Employment Development Department to develop and make available online a public-facing dashboard that publishes disaggregated demographic data pertaining to program participation by individuals and is updated on at least a quarterly basis. Existing law requires the Employment Development Department to implement these requirements by July 1, 2026. This bill would require the Employment Development Department to collect data on Jewish ancestry or ethnicity for these purposes in accordance with specified demographic data collection requirements for state agencies added by the bill. This bill would become operative on January 1, 2029. 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 permits a court, on its own motion or the motion of any party, to enter a prefiling order prohibiting a vexatious litigant from filing any new litigation in propria persona without first obtaining leave of the presiding judge of the court where the litigation is proposed to be filed. Existing law permits a presiding judge or a presiding justice to allow a vexatious litigant's filing only under specified circumstances and permits the presiding judge to condition the filing upon the furnishing of security. Existing law defines a vexatious litigant for these purposes to include, among other things, a person who, after being restrained by a domestic violence restraining order, and while that order is still in place, commenced, prosecuted, or maintained one or more litigations against a person protected by the restraining order. Existing law authorizes a person protected by a restraining order issued after a hearing pursuant to the above-described provisions to file a petition, without fee, to have the person who is the subject of that order declared a vexatious litigant if, while the restraining order is still in place, they commence, prosecute, or maintain litigation against the person protected by the restraining order in an action that is determined to be meritless and caused the person protected by the order to be harassed or intimidated. Existing law authorizes a court to issue, after notice and a hearing, orders enjoining a party from engaging in specified behavior, including contacting, attacking, or threatening another party. This bill would, in any litigation pending in any court of this state, create a process for a victim of domestic violence, as defined, that is a party to the action to seek protection from abusive litigation by a person who abused them by requesting a prefiling order at any time until final judgment is entered in the litigation. The bill would require a court to grant a request for a prefiling order if the victim demonstrates, after notice and a hearing and by a preponderance of the evidence, that the party against whom the order is sought is a perpetrator, as defined, and that the litigation filed or the discovery requested by the perpetrator was frivolous or abusive. The bill would require a person subject to a prefiling order to obtain permission from the court to file any litigation or conduct discovery against the victim, as specified. The bill would also establish a process by which a party subject to a prefiling order may apply to have the order vacated. If a party subject to a prefiling order violates that order, the bill would make them subject to sanctions, attorney's fees, and costs, as specified. The bill would enumerate a number of rights of victims of domestic violence that may be enforced, but which do not create a cause of action against the state or local government entities. This bill would provide that the victim would not be charged filing fees for any filings related to seeking a prefiling order and that any party may file documents electronically without charge and that any party, attorney, support person, or witness may appear remotely in these hearings without charge. This bill would require the clerk of the court to provide the Judicial Council with a copy of any prefiling orders issued. The bill would require the Judicial Council to maintain records of all prefiling orders issued and, on or before January 1, 2028, to create and modify court forms to implement the bill, as specified.
Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to establish the California Child and Family Service Review System in order to review all county child welfare systems, including child protective services, foster care, adoption, family preservation, family support, and independent living. Existing law requires the review system outcome indicators to be consistent with the federal child and family service review measures and standards for child and family outcomes and system factors, as specified. This bill would require the review system to include data measures related to utilization of programs for nonminor dependents that are designed to reduce poverty, and would require the department to conduct a comprehensive review of county performance on those measures, as specified.
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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to reimburse a complete claim or a portion thereof within 30 calendar days after receipt of the claim, or, if a claim or portion thereof does not meet the criteria for completeness, to notify the claimant no later than 30 calendar days after receipt that the claim or portion thereof is contested or denied. This bill would grant a claimant no less than 90 calendar days to submit a corrected claim after a health care service plan or health insurer denies a claim or portion thereof or sends a notice of overpayment for a claim based on a defect that may be remedied by submitting a corrected claim. The bill would prohibit a plan or insurer from denying a corrected claim on the grounds that the claim was not submitted within another applicable claim filing deadline. Under the bill, a dispute related to a corrected claim would be required to be eligible for submission to the plan's or insurer's fast, fair, and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanism. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service 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.
