Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act (act) , requires a person convicted of specified crimes to register with law enforcement as a sex offender while residing in California or while attending school or working in California, as specified. Existing law establishes 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of at least 10 years, at least 20 years, and life, respectively, for a conviction of specified sex offenses. Existing law exempts from mandatory registration under the act a person convicted of certain offenses involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the person to register. A willful failure to register, as required by the act, is a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the underlying offense. This bill would require offenders convicted of engaging in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than 3 years younger than the offender or, if the offender was 21 years of age or older, engaging in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age, if the offense occurred on or after January 1, 2026, to register for 10 years as a tier one offender under the act, unless the offender was not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the offender to register. 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.
(1) Existing law, the Optometry Practice Act, until January 1, 2026, establishes the State Board of Optometry within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of the practice of optometry. Under existing law, the board is responsible for the licensure and regulation of registered dispensing opticians, defined to mean spectacle lens dispensers, contact lens dispensers, nonresident ophthalmic lens dispensers, or registered dispensing ophthalmic businesses, as those terms are further defined. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes the board to appoint an executive officer to perform duties delegated by the board. Existing law establishes the Optometry Fund in the State Treasury and requires all money collected under the act to be paid into that fund and to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the provisions of the act. Existing law prohibits the board from maintaining a reserve balance in the fund that is greater than 6 months of the appropriated operating expenses of the board in any fiscal year. Existing law makes a violation of the act, or the above-described provisions governing registered dispensing opticians, a crime. This bill would extend the operation of the board and the authority to appoint an executive officer to January 1, 2030. The bill would increase the maximum permitted reserve balance in the fund to 24 months of the appropriated operating expenses of the board, as specified. Existing law prescribes the minimum and maximum amounts of specified fees and penalties described in the act and set by the board, including renewal of an optometric license and delinquency for renewal of an optometric license. Existing law also specifies the minimum and maximum amounts of fees prescribed in connection with the application for registration, registration, and biennial registration renewal of nonresident ophthalmic lens dispensers and dispensing ophthalmic businesses and for certificates for spectacle lens dispensers and certificates for contact lens dispensers, which are deposited into the Optometry Fund and made available to the board upon appropriation. This bill would increase the minimum and maximum fee described above. The bill would also delete provisions that prescribe the minimum and maximum amounts of fees imposed for a branch office license, the renewal of a branch office license, and the failure to pay the annual fee for renewal of a branch office license. Existing law establishes under the board a dispensing optician committee to advise and make recommendations to the board regarding the regulation of dispensing opticians, spectacle lens dispensers, and contact lens dispensers. Existing law specifies that the committee shall consist of 5 members and describes the appointment, qualifications, and terms of those individuals. This bill would reduce the number of members of the committee to 3 and would make other conforming changes regarding the appointment, qualifications, and terms of the members. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of optometry without a valid, unrevoked California optometrist license and prohibits an individual from holding themselves out as a registered dispensing optician without, at that time, having a valid, unrevoked certificate. Existing law requires an applicant for licensure or registration with the board to meet certain requirements, including submitting an application on forms furnished by the board and providing satisfactory proof of having passed certain examinations. Existing law requires the applicant for an optometry license to execute an acknowledgment under penalty of perjury that the information provided is true and correct, as specified. This bill would authorize the board to issue a probationary registration to an applicant subject to terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, enrollment and successful completion of a clinical training program. The bill would require an applicant for licensure, registration, or renewal of licensure or registration who possesses a valid email address, as defined, to report that email address to the board at the time of application. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify that an email address provided pursuant to the above provisions shall not be considered a public record and shall not be disclosed, except as specified. The bill would provide that information sent from an email account of the board to a valid email address provided by an applicant, registrant, or licensee is presumed to have been delivered to the provided email address. (3) Existing law prohibits a person located outside California from shipping, mailing, furnishing, or delivering in any manner, ophthalmic lenses at retail to a patient at a California address unless the person is registered with the board. Existing law requires a person subject to registration as described above to ship, mail, furnish, or deliver directly to a patient only spectacle lenses and replacement contact lenses provided pursuant to a valid prescription, as specified. This bill would specify that the above-described provisions also apply to entities outside California. (4) Under existing law, registered dispensing opticians are given certain powers and duties, regardless of their specific registration designation. In this regard, existing law authorizes a registered dispensing optician to fit and adjust spectacle lenses and frames or take facial measurements, as specified. Existing law also requires a registered dispensing optician who fits and adjusts spectacle lenses at a health facility or business location to provide to the patient certain written information. This bill would revise the above-described provisions applicable to registered dispensing opticians to, instead, only apply to registered spectacle lens dispensers. By removing the authority of certain registrants to fit and adjust spectacle lenses and frames or take facial measurements under the provisions governing registered dispensing opticians, the violation of which is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a registered dispensing optician fitting contact lenses to maintain accessible handwashing facilities on the premises, as specified. Existing law also requires a registered dispensing optician to comply with certain requirements related to eye examinations, contact lens fittings, and prescriptions, including a prohibition on conditioning the availability of an eye examination, contact lens fitting, or the release of a contact lens prescription on the patient agreeing to purchase contact lenses from that prescriber. This bill would revise the above-described provisions applicable to registered dispensing opticians to, instead, only apply to registered contact lens dispensers. Existing law requires ophthalmic lenses to be sold pursuant to a confirmed, written prescription, as specified. Existing law prohibits a dispenser from altering any of the specifications of an ophthalmic lens prescription, except as specified. This bill would, instead, apply those requirements to the sale of contact lenses. (5) Existing law requires individuals, corporations, and firms to submit an application, verified under oath by the signatory, for a certificate of registration from the California State Board of Optometry, as specified, and requires those entities receive that certificate before engaging in the business of a dispensing ophthalmic business. Existing law, for that purpose, defines dispensing ophthalmic business to mean an individual, corporation, or firm engaged in the business of filling prescriptions of physicians and surgeons licensed by the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, or optometrists licensed by the California State Board of Optometry for prescription lenses and kindred products. This bill would redefine "dispensing ophthalmic business" to mean either a person or entity that is engaged in the business of dispensing prescription ophthalmic devices, as defined, or a person or entity that has executed a lease, sublease, contract, or other written agreement with a licensed physician and surgeon or optometrist or a corporation or other business entity for which a licensed physician and surgeon or optometrist is a shareholder, director, or officer that offers, advertises, or performs optical services for the general public, as specified, and would make conforming changes. To the extent the bill would expand the entities subject to the registration requirements, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program by expanding both the crime of violating those provisions and the crime of perjury. (6) Existing law requires, until July 1, 2035, the owner and operator of a mobile optometric office, as defined, to, among other things, register with the board. Existing law requires the owner and operator of a mobile optometric office to file a quarterly report, except as specified, on a form furnished by the board containing certain information, including a summary of all complaints received by each mobile optometric office, the disposition of those complaints, and referral information. Existing law requires the owner and operator of a mobile optometric office to provide each patient, and, if applicable, the patient's caregiver or guardian, a consumer notice containing, among other things, information on followup care available for the patient, including a list of available Medi-Cal or volunteer optometrists. Existing law requires that list to be subject to inspection by the board. Existing law prohibits the owner and operator of a mobile optometric office from operating more than 12 mobile optometric offices within the first renewal period of 2 years. This bill would instead require the owner and operator of a mobile optometric office to file that report annually, on or before January 1, and would delete the requirement for the report to include the above-described complaint and referral information. The bill would require the above-described consumer notice to be provided at the initial time services are rendered. The bill would require the above-described information on followup care for the patient to include, instead, a list of available Medi-Cal or volunteer optometrists in the area of service who may be able to see the patient for comprehensive services and for purposes of continuity of care, and the timeframe for which the mobile optometric office will be back in the area of service, if available. The bill would require that list to be provided annually to each location of service for a period of 2 years following the initial date of service. The bill would, instead, subject that information to inspection by the board. The bill would delete the above-described limitation on number of mobile optometric offices operated within the first renewal period of 2 years. (7) Existing law required the board to issue a temporary license to practice optometry to a person who, among other things, applied for and was eligible for licensure, as specified, but who was unable to immediately take the Part III - Clinical Skills Examination due to the state of emergency, proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In connection with that temporary license, existing law imposed various requirements and restrictions on a temporary licensee and provided that a temporary license would expire upon the date the temporary licensee completed all requirements for licensure, as specified, or 6 months after the end of the state of emergency, whichever occurred first. The act also requires the board to issue, upon application and payment of a specified fee, a retired license to an optometrist who holds a license that is current and active and, among other things, exempts a retired licensee from continuing education requirements, as specified. This bill would require the board to issue, upon application and payment of a specified fee, a retired license to an optometrist who holds a license that is current. This bill would also make a nonsubstantive change to update the name of the above examination. (8) Existing law requires a prescriber or a registered dispensing optician, upon completion of an eye examination or, if applicable, a contact lens fitting process for a patient, to provide the patient with a signed copy of the patient's contact lens prescription, unless that prescription meets specified standards. In this regard, existing law grants a prescriber professional discretion regarding the release of the contact lens prescription for patients who wear certain types of contact lenses. This bill would delete the above-described exception to the requirement to provide a patient with a signed copy of the patient's contact lens prescription. The bill would require a prescriber to abide by specified federal regulations pertaining to contact lens prescriptions and eye examinations. (9) 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. (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.
Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, which generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers' compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of and in the course of their employment. Existing law entitles, among others, local law enforcement and probation officers and firefighters employed on a regular full-time basis to a leave of absence without loss of salary while disabled by injury or illness arising out of and in the course of their duties. Existing law provides that a leave of absence under those provisions is in lieu of temporary disability payments or maintenance allowance payments otherwise payable under the workers' compensation system. This bill would expand these provisions to entitle specified peace officers who are employed on a regular, full-time basis by a county of the eighth class, as defined, to this leave of absence.
Existing law authorizes a person to file a petition with the superior court seeking a judgment recognizing their change of gender to female, male, or nonbinary, including a person who is under 18 years of age. Existing law authorizes a person to file a single petition to simultaneously change the petitioner's name and recognize the change to the petitioner's gender and sex identifier, as specified. Existing law requires that either of those petitions, if filed by a person under 18 years of age, and any papers associated with the proceeding, be kept confidential by the court. Existing law requires the court to limit access to these records to specified individuals, including, among others, the minor, the minor's parents, and their attorney. This bill would expand the above-described confidentiality protections to other petitioners regardless of age. The bill would also expand these protections to court records associated with a proceeding under separate provisions of existing law for a change of name to conform a petitioner's name to their gender identity. The bill would require the court to limit access to the court records in these proceedings to certain individuals, as specified. The bill would apply these confidentiality provisions in the case of (1) a petition filed on or after July 1, 2026; (2) a petition filed before July 1, 2026, if the petitioner files a request to keep the records confidential, as specified; or (3) records that were previously made confidential by statute or otherwise. The bill would prohibit a person or private entity, other than the petitioner, from publicly posting one of the above-described confidential records on the internet or otherwise. The bill would make a violation of these confidentiality requirements an injury and, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this bill, would authorize a person or entity to institute proceedings for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to enforce them. The bill would require a court to award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a plaintiff who prevails on a cause of action against a private party pursuant to this authority. The bill would also authorize a petitioner who has been harmed by a disclosure or continuing disclosure of records, as specified, to, commencing 6 months after the effective date of this bill, bring a civil action against a person or private entity that caused the harm. The bill would require a person or private entity found liable to pay actual damages or statutory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs, as specified. The bill would, on or before July 1, 2026, require the Judicial Council, as necessary, to develop forms and rules to implement the bill's provisions. Under the bill, nothing in these provisions would preclude a court from granting a motion to seal all court records of a person's change of name or gender and sex identifier, or both, pursuant to a specified California Rule of Court. The bill would state that whether a transgender person's gender identity conforms with their assigned sex at birth is intimate personal information entitled to protection under the right to privacy, and that a transgender person has a privacy interest in concealing their transgender identity. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions. The bill would declare that its provisions are severable. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate age-appropriate materials relating to, among other things, genocide and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of genocide and the Holocaust. Existing law, upon appropriation by the Legislature, establishes the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education to establish a statewide teacher professional development program on genocide, including the Holocaust, for school district, county office of education, and charter school teachers, and provides that the collaborative's mission is to ensure that genocide, including Holocaust, education is taught consistent with, among other things, content standards, curriculum frameworks, and instructional materials adopted by the State Board of Education, in ways that are interdisciplinary and age-appropriate to pupils of different grade levels. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish the Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program to provide direct allocations to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools for the purposes of providing Holocaust and genocide education and professional development on Holocaust and genocide education, as provided. The bill would establish the Holocaust and Genocide Education Grant Program Fund in the State Treasury, and would require moneys in the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Superintendent for purposes of the grant program. The bill would require the department to issue a notice to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools serving pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, regarding genocide and Holocaust instruction, and would authorize the department to issue a survey to these local educational agencies on the status of Holocaust and genocide instruction at their schools, as provided.
Existing law establishes the State Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Program, administered by the Department of Transportation, for purposes of planning, developing, and implementing projects adapting state transportation infrastructure to climate change. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with, among others, the Transportation Agency and the California Transportation Commission, to develop a program of its top priority climate adaptation projects and to submit projects in this program to the commission for adoption. Existing law requires the department, in developing the program of projects, to consider specified criteria, including, but not limited to, the benefits of the project to preserving or enhancing regional or statewide mobility, economy, goods movement, and safety, and other benefits associated with protecting the asset. This bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission and the agency, and on or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to create a prioritized list of projects of statewide and regional significance, as defined, to better prepare the state for extreme weather-related events, with priority based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report containing the prioritized list of projects.
Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county to impound a shopping cart that has a specified permanently affixed sign if certain conditions are satisfied, including that the city, county, or city and county provides 3-day advance actual notice of the shopping cart's discovery and location to the owner of the shopping cart or their agent, except as specified. This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county, pursuant to an ordinance, to retrieve and return a shopping cart to the parking area or premises of the owner or retailer identified on the affixed sign, as specified, and to recover its actual costs for the retrieval and return, not to exceed $100 per shopping cart. The bill would also require actual notice for purposes of these provisions to include proof that the notice was delivered to the owner or their agent, as specified, and require the city, county, or city and county to maintain a record of that proof of delivery. Existing law authorizes the city, county, or city and county to fine the owner of a shopping cart in an amount not to exceed $50 for each occurrence in excess of 3 during a specified 6-month period for failure to retrieve shopping carts in accordance with specified law. The bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to fine the owner of a shopping cart in an amount not to exceed $100 instead of $50 for each occurrence pursuant to the provisions described above.
Existing law provides for the licensure of various health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals, by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations that establish minimum, specific, and numerical licensed nurse-to-patient ratios by licensed nurse classification and by hospital unit for all general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and special hospitals. Existing law requires the department to assess an administrative penalty of $15,000 for the first violation and $30,000 for the second and each subsequent violation if the department determines that a specified health facility has violated nurse-to-patient ratios, as specified. Under existing law, an acute general hospital is not subject to this administrative penalty if the hospital demonstrates it has met specified requirements, including that any fluctuation in required staffing levels was unpredictable and uncontrollable, prompt efforts were made to maintain required staffing levels, and the hospital immediately used and subsequently exhausted the hospital's on-call list of nurses and the charge nurse. Existing law specifies that multiple violations found on the same inspection survey constitute a single violation for purposes of determining whether the violation was a first, 2nd, or subsequent violation. This bill would define "on-call list" for the above purpose and would specify that a hospital contacting, or attempting to contact, licensed nurses who are not scheduled to be on call and who are not assigned to a float pool for the unit and shift where an alleged violation occurred is not considered as exhausting an on-call list. The bill would require the department to treat violations on separate days as separate violations.
Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and vests it with full possession and control of the state highway system. This bill would require the department to prepare a report evaluating current efforts and potential opportunities to streamline the processes and procedures for the delivery of safety enhancement projects on the state highway system, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit the report to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2027.
(1) Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates various transit districts located in the San Francisco Bay area, with specified powers and duties relating to providing public transit services. This bill would establish the Public Transit Revenue Measure District with jurisdiction extending throughout the boundaries of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara and the City and County of San Francisco and would require the district to be governed by the same board that governs the commission, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a retail transactions and use tax applicable to the entire district to be imposed by the board of the district or by a qualified voter initiative for a duration of 14 years, and in an amount of 0.5% in each of the above-described counties located within the district and 1% in the City and County of San Francisco, subject to voter approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. After payments are made for various administrative expenses, the bill would require the district to transfer specified portions of the proceeds of the tax to the commission for allocation to certain programs and other purposes and for allocation to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, commonly known as Caltrain, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and other specified transit agencies, for transit operations expenses, and would require the district to transfer specified portions of the proceeds of the tax directly to other specified local transportation agencies, including the San Mateo County Transit District and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, for public transit expenses, as prescribed. By adding to the duties of local officials with respect to elections procedures for this bill on behalf of the district, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the commission to develop regional transit service objectives, develop performance measures of efficiency and effectiveness, specify uniform data requirements to assess public transit service benefits and costs, and formulate procedures for establishing regional transportation priorities in the allocation of funds for transportation purposes. This bill would require the commission to contract with, and manage, a third-party consultant to conduct a financial efficiency review of the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, Caltrain, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, as specified. The bill would require the review to be completed in 2 phases, with the analysis for the 2nd phase only required if the tax measure is approved by the voters of the Public Transit Revenue Measure District. The bill would require the consultant to transmit the analysis for each phase to an oversight committee, which the bill would create with a prescribed membership, for review and adoption. The bill would require a transit operator subject to the financial efficiency review to take specified actions in response to the analysis for the first phase and, subject to review of the oversight committee, to adopt an implementation plan that describes the cost-saving measures identified in the analysis for the 2nd phase that the operator plans to implement, as specified. The bill would require a transit operator subject to the financial efficiency review to verify its compliance with the requirements of the review as a condition of receiving funds from the tax measure approved by the voters of the district. The bill would require each transit operator to which the commission allocates funds to comply with a maintenance of effort requirement as a condition of receiving those funds, as provided. This bill would require the commission, if the tax measure is approved by the voters of the district and other conditions are satisfied, to establish an ad hoc adjudication committee for a transit operator subject to the above-described financial efficiency review to assess and adjudicate petitions submitted by a participating county transportation entity, as defined, or a county board of supervisors with regard to the performance of the transit operator within the geographic jurisdiction of the entity submitting the petition, as provided. As part of this process, the bill would require an ad hoc adjudication committee, among other things, to determine whether to direct the commission to withhold funding from the tax measure allocated to the transit operator if the committee agrees with a claim regarding the performance of the transit operator, as specified. This bill would require the commission to submit a report to the Legislature on or before March 31, 2026, on its forecast of the impacts to ridership on the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, Caltrain, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency from planned transportation projects and strategies included in its adopted regional transportation plan. By adding to the duties of the commission, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The Bay Area County Traffic and Transportation Funding Act authorizes the formation of county transportation authorities in each of the 9 bay area counties, and provides for the imposition of a retail transaction and use tax in each of those counties of either 12 of 1% or 1%, subject to voter approval, with revenues to be used for various transportation purposes. This bill would instead provide that a retail transaction and use tax imposed under those provisions in the County of San Mateo or the City and County of San Francisco may be imposed in 18 of 1% increments up to 1%. (4) This bill would declare that its provisions are severable. (5) 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, the Automotive Repair Act, provides for the registration and regulation of automotive repair dealers by the Bureau of Automotive Repair in the Department of Consumer Affairs. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor unless otherwise specified. Existing law authorizes the Director of Consumer Affairs to adopt and enforce those rules and regulations that the director determines are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of the act and declare the policy of the bureau. Existing law authorizes the director to include in the citation system a process for informal review of and recommendation on citations, as specified. Existing law subjects the bureau to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, as specified, and requires that review to be performed as if the act were scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028. Existing law authorizes the director to include in the citation system a process for an automotive repair dealer to prevent disclosure of the citation on the internet, as specified and subject to a certain eligibility requirement. Existing law also authorizes the bureau to require any employee of the automotive repair dealer who was involved in the violation resulting in the bureau's issuance of the citation to attend remedial training with the automotive repair dealer to prevent disclosure of the citation. Existing law repeals these provisions on July 1, 2026. This bill would extend the effective date of these provisions until January 1, 2028. By extending these provisions, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The Real Estate Law establishes the Department of Real Estate in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to license and regulate real estate licensees under that law, including real estate brokers and real estate salespersons. The Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law establishes within the Department of Consumer Affairs the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to license and regulate real estate appraisers. Under existing law, the powers and duties of the Department of Real Estate and the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers under those laws, respectively, are subject to review by the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature as if those laws were to be repealed on January 1, 2026. This bill would extend that date to January 1, 2030. Existing law requires the department to register a service member or spouse of a service member who relocated to this state because of military orders for military service within this state and who holds a professional license in good standing outside of California, subject to satisfaction of specified requirements, and deems the person to be a licensee of the department for specified purposes. This bill would add conforming provisions to the Real Estate Law. Existing law requires the department to compile information on military, veteran, and spouse licensure and submit an annual report to the Legislature and specifies the information required to be included in the report. This bill would require additional information to be included in the report, including the number of applicants who requested to apply military education, training, or experience towards meeting licensure requirements. The bill would require the department, in every application for licensure, to inquire as to whether the applicant is serving or has served in the military and whether the applicant intends to apply military experience and training toward licensure requirements. The bill would require the department to post specified information on the department's internet website about applying military experience and training toward licensure requirements. This bill would delete obsolete provisions relating to applications for licensure received by the commissioner before October 1, 2007. The bill would deem a salesperson license issued to an applicant who applied before October 1, 2007, whose license was suspended for failing to satisfy specified requirements to be deemed expired 4 years following the date of issuance of the license. The bill would make conforming changes. Existing law requires a fingerprint-based criminal history information check required by statute to be requested from the Department of Justice and to be applicable to the person identified in the referencing statute. Existing law also requires the agency or entity identified in the statute to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice of the types of applicants identified in the referencing statute, for the purpose of obtaining certain conviction and arrest information. Existing law requires the department to disseminate certain criminal history information when certain conditions are met, including that the information is to be used for employment, licensing, or certification purposes. This bill would require the Department of Real Estate to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice for certain applicants and licensees, as specified. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to provide a state- or federal-level response pursuant to the above-described criminal history information dissemination provisions. Existing law requires every real estate broker and salesperson licensee to provide their current email address to the commissioner. This bill would specify that a licensee's email address shall not be considered a public record subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. The bill would specify that information sent from an email account to a valid email address provided by the applicant or licensee is presumed to have been delivered to the email address provided. Existing law authorizes the Real Estate Commissioner to require proof as they may deem advisable concerning the honesty and truthfulness of certain applicants for a license, designated agents, and others, as specified, before authorizing the issuance of a license for a location. Existing law also authorizes the commissioner to hold a hearing and to refuse to issue a license to an applicant who does not furnish satisfactory proof of their honesty and truthfulness or of the honesty and truthfulness of the corporate officers, directors, and shareholders. To assist in this determination, existing law requires the fingerprinting of every original applicant, including designated agents, officers, directors, and persons owning 25 percent or more of the shares of the corporate applicant. This bill would also require, for that purpose, the fingerprinting of persons owning or controlling a beneficial ownership interest of 25 percent or more in the entity making application. Existing law establishes, within the Real Estate Fund, a Consumer Recovery Account, which is funded by fees and fines imposed on licensees. Existing law authorizes an aggrieved person to file an application with the department for payment from the Consumer Recovery Account for the unpaid amount of a final judgment or an arbitration award that the aggrieved person has obtained against a defendant for fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit, made with intent to defraud, or conversion of trust funds, arising out of a transaction in which the defendant, while licensed, performed acts for which a license was required. Existing law specifies that all matters finally adjudicated in the underlying action are conclusive as to the judgment debtor and applicant in the proceeding against the Consumer Recovery Account. Existing law requires the claimant to serve a notice to the judgment debtor with a specified statement, and requires the commissioner to give notice of a decision rendered with respect to the application to the claimant and judgment debtor that contains a specified statement relating to denial or payment of the claim. Existing law provides that the license of the broker, salesperson, or prepaid rental listing service license shall be automatically suspended upon the date of payment from the Consumer Recovery Account. This bill would instead specify that all matters finally adjudicated in the underlying action are conclusive if the final judgment was established by proof by clear and convincing evidence or the commissioner determined that the applicant provided clear and convincing evidence of the judgment debtor's fraud, misrepresentation, deceit, or conversion of trust funds. The bill would authorize the commissioner to grant payment on an application if the final judgment was established by proof by preponderance of the evidence or a higher standard of proof. Under the bill, the above-described requirement for the automatic suspension of the license upon the date of payment from the Consumer Recovery Account would be conditioned on the final judgment being established by proof by clear and convincing evidence or the commissioner determining that the claimant provided clear and convincing evidence of the fraud, misrepresentation, deceit, or conversion of trust funds. The bill would revise the statements in the notices specified above, including revising the statement on the notice required to be given by the commission after the decision rendered, depending on whether the decision includes suspension of the judgment debtor's license. Existing law establishes the Real Estate Appraisers Regulation Fund, consisting of moneys raised by fees and assessments imposed pursuant to the Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law. Existing law further establishes within that fund the Administration Account and the Recovery Account and requires 5% of the amount of any license or certificate fee under the Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law to be credited to the Recovery Account, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law requires the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers to adopt regulations for the administration of the Recovery Account relating to claims, funding, and administrative procedures, as specified. This bill would repeal the provisions providing for the adoption of regulations and would instead enact provisions relating to claims, funding, and the administration of the Recovery Account. The bill, among other things, would establish eligibility, application, and notice requirements and procedures for the bureau's consideration and investigation of applications. The bill would authorize the bureau to transfer funds between the Administration Account and the Recovery Account under specified circumstances. By authorizing the transfer of funds into a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require a real estate appraiser's license to be automatically suspended upon payment from the Recovery Account of a settlement of a claim or toward satisfaction of a judgment based on clear and convincing evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit with intent to defraud. The bill would require a claimant who is an electronic filer who signs the application using an electronic signature to declare under penalty of perjury that the information submitted is true and correct, and would make it a misdemeanor for a person to file documents with false information. By expanding the crime of perjury and creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal all of the provisions relating to the Real Estate Appraisers Regulation Fund on January 1, 2030. This bill would require the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers, on and after July 1, 2026, to post specified information about the Recovery Account on the bureau's internet website, including eligibility requirements and the application process. The bill would require the bureau, upon receipt of a complaint by a licensee or a member of the public, to provide a notification to the complainant that includes information regarding eligibility and the application process. The bill would require the bureau, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report that includes specified information relating to the Recovery Account, including the balance of the account for the prior fiscal year and the total payments made from the Recovery Account. This bill would require the bureau to conduct a study on the feasibility of mandatory licensing for real estate appraisers in California and to report its findings to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2028. The bill would require the report to include, among other things, the types of real estate appraisal assignments for which a license is currently not required in California and the bureau's recommendations on specified matters, including recommended amendments to existing law. The bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2030. The bill would make other conforming and technical changes to various provisions of the Real Estate Law, including eliminating gendered pronouns and updating cross-references. 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 Adult Education Program under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Existing law requires the chancellor and the Superintendent, with the advice of the executive director of the State Board of Education, to divide the state into adult education regions and approve one adult education consortium in each of those regions. Existing law requires, on or before February 1 of each fiscal year for which funds are appropriated for the program, the chancellor and the Superintendent to report to the Director of Finance, the Statewide Director of Immigrant Integration, the state board, and the Legislature about the use of specified funds and outcomes for adults statewide and in each adult education region, including, among other things, any recommendations related to delivery of education, immigrant integration, and workforce services for adults. Existing law requires, consistent with that reporting requirement, the chancellor and the Superintendent, with input from the Statewide Director of Immigrant Integration and adult education program providers, to identify common measures for meeting the needs of immigrant and refugee adults seeking integration, as specified. This bill would define immigrant integration for purposes of the program.
