Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities, and requires local health agencies to enforce those provisions. Existing law makes a person who violates a provision of the code guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the person in charge of a food facility to have adequate knowledge of major food allergens, as defined, foods identified as major food allergens, and the symptoms that a major food allergen could cause in a sensitive individual who has an allergic reaction and to educate food facility employees regarding those matters. Existing law requires a food handler to obtain a food handler card from a specified training provider after completing a food handler training course and examination that covers, among other things, major food allergens and symptoms of allergic reactions. This bill would add sesame to the list of major food allergens. Existing law, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, requires certain restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items to disclose nutrient content information, as specified. This bill, commencing July 1, 2026, would require a food facility that is subject to the federal disclosure provisions for nutrient content information to provide written notification of the major food allergens that the food facility knows or reasonably should know are contained as an ingredient in each menu item, either directly on its menu or in a digital format, as specified. The bill would specify that its provisions requiring a food facility to provide the above-described notifications do not apply to compact mobile food operations or nonpermanent food facilities. By expanding the scope of existing crimes and by imposing new duties on local health officials, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law generally imposes penalties on a person who negligently, willfully, or maliciously discloses the results of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test to a third party in a manner that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of the person to whom the test results apply, as specified. Existing law, notwithstanding the above-described restrictions, authorizes the recording of the HIV test results by the physician who ordered the test in the test subject's medical record and authorizes other disclosure of the results without written authorization of the test subject, or the subject's representative, to the test subject's providers of health care, excluding a regulated health care service plan, for purposes of diagnosis, care, or treatment of the patient. This bill would authorize a provider of health care to disclose the results of an HIV test that identifies or provides identifying characteristics of a Medi-Cal beneficiary without written authorization of the test subject, or the subject's representative, to the Medi-Cal managed care plan to which the beneficiary is assigned, if applicable, and to external quality review organizations conducting external quality reviews of Medi-Cal managed care plans, for the purpose of administering quality improvement programs, including, but not limited to, value-based payment programs and healthy behavior incentive programs, designed to improve HIV care for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Under the bill, HIV test results that do not identify or provide identifying characteristics of the test subjects would be authorized for disclosure without written authorization by the Medi-Cal managed care plan to departmental staff for the above-described purpose. The bill would make certain clarifying or declaratory statements with regard to related provisions.
Existing law establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment and to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to obtain and hold employment without discrimination based on specified characteristics or status. Existing law requires a private employer that has 100 or more employees to submit an annual pay data report to the Civil Rights Department that includes the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex in 10 specified job categories, the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex whose pay falls within federal pay bands, within each job category the median and mean hourly rate for employees having any combination of those characteristics, and the total number of hours worked by each employee counted in each pay band during the "Reporting Year," as specified. This bill would require an employer to collect and store any demographic information gathered by an employer or labor contractor for the purpose of submitting the pay data report separately from employees' personnel records, and, beginning January 1, 2027, increase the number of job categories, as specified above, to 23. Existing law authorizes the department, if it does not receive the pay data report, to seek an order requiring an employer to comply with these provisions. Existing law provides that upon the request of the department, a court may impose a civil penalty upon any employer for failure to file the required report, which shall be payable to the Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund. This bill would require a court to impose a civil penalty against an employer that fails to file the report if requested to do so by the department.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State, upon appropriation for this purpose, to compile, publish, and distribute a roster of the state and local public officials of California. This bill would require, no more than 120 days after each general election, the governing body of each city, county, or city and county, or their delegated local entity, to submit to the Secretary of State an updated list of local elected or appointed officials for publication in the above-specified roster, as prescribed. 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.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA, until January 1, 2030, exempts from its requirements active transportation plans, pedestrian plans, or bicycle transportation plans for the restriping of streets and highways, bicycle parking and storage, signal timing to improve street and highway intersection operations, and the related signage for bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption indefinitely. The bill would also exempt a transit comprehensive operational analysis, as defined, a transit route readjustment, or other transit agency route addition, elimination, or modification, from the requirements of CEQA. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a plan qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA, until January 1, 2030, exempts from its requirements certain transportation-related projects, such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities, transit prioritization projects, public projects located on a site that is wholly within the boundaries of an urbanized area or urban cluster, as provided, for the institution or increase of bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, including the construction or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, and public projects for the construction or maintenance of infrastructure of facilities to charge, refuel, or maintain zero-emission public transit buses, trains, or ferries, as provided. CEQA requires, except as provided, those exempted projects to be carried out by a local agency and meet certain requirements, including certain labor requirements. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA a public project for the protection and improvement of bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail service, including the protection, operation, and maintenance, public projects for the protection, improvement, institution, or increase of microtransit, paratransit, shuttle, and ferry, and for the protection, maintenance, construction, operation, or rehabilitation of stops that will be exclusively used by zero-emission, near-zero-emission, low oxide of nitrogen engine, compressed natural gas fuel, fuel cell, or hybrid powertrain vehicles, rail or cable cars, rolling stock, or vessels. The bill would, until January 1, 2032, exempt from the requirements of CEQA a public project for the protection, improvement, institution, or increase of microtransit, paratransit, shuttle, bus, ferry, bus rapid transit, or light rail service, including the protection, maintenance, construction, operation, or rehabilitation of stops, stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, if used primarily by near-zero-emission, low oxide of nitrogen engine, compressed natural gas fuel, or hybrid powertrain vehicles, except as provided. The bill would exclude from this exemption certain public projects for the construction or rehabilitation of a ferry terminal, as provided, and, except as provided, public projects for transit services operated by a transportation network company, as defined. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. CEQA exempts from its requirements a project that consists exclusively of a combination of any of the components of specified transportation-related projects. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would, until January 1, 2040, exempt from the requirements of CEQA a project that combines any of those specified transportation-related projects and a housing development project that is either subject to a nondiscretionary approval or is exempt from CEQA, as provided. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law exempts from the requirements of CEQA public projects for the institution or increase of passenger rail service, other than light rail service that is eligible for a specified exemption, including the construction or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, which will be exclusively used by zero-emission trains. This bill would extend the operation of the above-mentioned exemption until January 1, 2040. The bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA public projects for the improvement of passenger rail service, other than light rail service eligible for a specified exemption, including the maintenance of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities, which will be exclusively used by zero-emission trains, public projects for the maintenance, construction, or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities which will be exclusively used by zero-emission certified Tier 4 or cleaner rolling stock or locomotives, as provided. The bill would exclude from this exemption public projects located in certain air basins for the maintenance, construction, or rehabilitation of stations, terminals, or existing operations facilities that will be used by certified Tier 4 or cleaner rolling stock or locomotives that are not zero-emission rolling stock or locomotives. Because a lead agency would be required to determine whether a project qualifies for this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires certain CEQA-exempt projects exceeding specified dollar amounts to meet certain criteria, as provided. This bill would instead require certain CEQA-exempt projects that are, based on the project engineer's cost estimate, anticipated to exceed a specified dollar amount, to meet certain criteria, as provided. The bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, beginning January 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, to adjust these amounts to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, as provided, and publish the updated amounts on its internet website. The bill would authorize the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to implement, interpret, or make specific that provision without taking any regulatory action. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable. 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 authorizes various local governmental entities, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in any county not exceed 2%. This bill would authorize the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, by an ordinance adopted by the council, to levy a tax pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law at a rate not to exceed 1%, for general and special purposes, subject to voter approval on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2032. The bill would authorize the board to exceed the 2% limit described above to impose the retail transactions and use tax. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of San Luis Obispo.
Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member. Existing law defines terms for its purposes, including family care leave and family member. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2028, expand eligibility for benefits under the paid family leave program to include individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill designated person. The bill would define designated person to mean any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship, and would make conforming changes to the definitions of the terms family care leave and family member. This bill would require an individual that requests for the first time family temporary disability insurance benefits to care for a designated person to identify the designated person and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the individual is related by blood to the designated person, or how the individual's association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By authorizing expenditures from the continuously appropriated fund for these expanded purposes, this 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 law establishes the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund, under the administration of the California School Finance Authority, and authorizes loans to be made from the fund to (1) a chartering authority for charter schools that are not a conversion of an existing school or (2) directly to a charter school that qualifies to receive specified funding and is not a conversion of an existing school. Under existing law, moneys appropriated to the fund remain available for purposes of the fund until reappropriated or reverted by the Legislature. Existing law limits the amount loaned to a qualifying charter school from the fund to $250,000 over the lifetime of the charter school and authorizes a qualifying charter school to receive money obtained from multiple loans made directly to the charter school or to the school's chartering authority from the fund, as long as the total amount received from the fund over the lifetime of the charter school does not exceed $250,000. Existing law requires the Controller, commencing with the first fiscal year following the fiscal year the charter school receives the loan, to deduct from apportionments made to the chartering authority or charter school, as appropriate, an amount equal to the annual repayment of the amount loaned to the chartering authority or charter school for the charter school and to pay the same amount into the fund, as provided. Existing law requires moneys in the fund to be loaned at the interest rate earned by the moneys in the Pooled Money Investment Account as of the date of disbursement of the funds to the charter school. This bill, among other things, would increase the maximum loan amount and the maximum lifetime loan limitation by $250,000 to instead be $500,000, would revise and recast the maximum repayment period of a loan, as specified, would no longer make the charter school solely liable for repayment of a loan in the event of a default, and would revise criteria for receiving priority in the granting of loans. The bill would require moneys in the fund to instead be loaned at the interest rate described above or at a rate equal to 50% of the interest rate paid by the state on the most recent sale of state general obligation bonds, whichever is less, except that the bill would prohibit the interest rate from being set at a rate lower than 3%. Existing law creates the Charter School Security Fund, under the administration of the California School Finance Authority, and requires moneys in the fund to be available for deposit into the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund in case of default on any loan made from the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund. Existing law requires the California School Finance Authority, by October 1 of each year, to provide detailed fund condition information for the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund and the Charter School Security Fund to the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office. This bill would require the above-described annual report to also be provided to specified committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the report due by October 1, 2029, to additionally include an analysis and summary of the expenditures of loan funds made by the charter school loan recipient for loans issued on or after July 1, 2026, as provided.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county, defined to include a city and county, to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide significance, as provided. Existing law provides for the preparation of a proposed infrastructure financing plan, as provided, which takes effect upon adoption by the public financing authority of the district following a specified public hearing and protest procedure. Existing law authorizes the infrastructure financing plan to provide for the division of taxes levied on taxable property in the area included within the district, as specified, and authorizes the public financing authority to issue bonds by adopting a resolution containing specified provisions, including a determination of the amount of tax revenue available or estimated to be available for the payment of the principal of, and interest on, the bonds. This bill would establish the California Capital City Downtown Revitalization Act, and would authorize the City or County of Sacramento to create an enhanced infrastructure financing district within the downtown Sacramento geographic area. The bill would authorize an affected taxing entity located entirely, or in part, in the County of Sacramento to opt in to the district. Existing law specifies that an enhanced infrastructure financing district is not prohibited from utilizing revenues from additional sources to support its activities if the district obtains voter approval, as applicable, and the infrastructure financing plan is approved. This bill would additionally specify that a district is not prohibited from utilizing state funds to support its activities if the district obtains voter approval, as applicable, and the infrastructure financing plan is approved. The bill would also specify that the California Capital City Downtown Revitalization District may accept state funds, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the downtown Sacramento geographic area. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 53398.75 of the Government Code proposed by SB 5 to be operative only if this bill and SB 5 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
(1) The United States Constitution generally requires a state to give full faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. Existing law generally authorizes a California court or attorney to issue a subpoena if a foreign subpoena has been sought in this state but prohibits the issuance of a subpoena based on another state's law that interferes with a person's right to allow a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care. Existing law generally prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from disclosing medical information regarding a patient, enrollee, or subscriber without first obtaining an authorization unless an exception applies, including that the disclosure is in response to a subpoena. Existing law prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from releasing medical information related to a person or entity allowing a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to a civil action, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state's law that authorizes a person to bring a civil action against a person or entity that allows a child to receive gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care. This bill would additionally prohibit a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from releasing medical information related to a person seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care in response to a criminal or civil action, including a foreign subpoena, based on another state's law that interferes with an individual's right to seek or obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care. The bill would also prohibit a provider of health care, health care service plan, contractor, or employer from cooperating with or providing medical information to an individual, agency, or department from another state or, to the extent permitted by federal law, to a federal law enforcement agency that would identify an individual and that is related to an individual seeking or obtaining gender-affirming health care, as specified. The bill would prohibit these entities from releasing medical information related to sensitive services, as defined, in response to a foreign subpoena that is based on a violation of another state's laws authorizing a criminal action against a person or entity for provision or receipt of legally protected health care activity, as defined. The bill would also generally prohibit the issuance of a subpoena based on a violation of another state's law that interferes with a person's right to seek or obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care, as specified. (2) Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) for the electronic monitoring of the prescribing and dispensing of certain controlled substances by a health care practitioner authorized to prescribe, order, administer, furnish, or dispense those controlled substances. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into an agreement with an entity operating an interstate data sharing hub, or an agency operating a prescription drug monitoring program in another state, for purposes of interstate data sharing of prescription drug monitoring program information. Existing law limits the entities to which data may be provided from CURES, as well as the type of data that may be released and the uses to which it may be put. This bill would prohibit a state or local agency or employee, appointee, officer, contractor, or official or any other person acting on behalf of a public agency from knowingly providing any CURES data or knowingly expending any resources in furtherance of any interstate investigation or proceeding seeking to impose civil, criminal, or disciplinary liability based upon another state's law for the provision or receipt of legally protected health care activity, as defined. The bill would prohibit the department from sharing data with an out-of-state law enforcement agency without a warrant, subpoena, or court order and would prohibit an out-of-state user from providing any data in furtherance of an investigation or proceeding to impose liability based on another state's law for the provision or receipt of legally protected health care activity. This bill would make it a misdemeanor for a person to access the CURES database when not authorized by law and would make it a misdemeanor for a person who is authorized to access the database to knowingly furnish information from the CURES database to a person who is not authorized by law to receive that information. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) This bill would provide that its provisions are severable. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11165 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 82 to be operative only if this bill and AB 82 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides various provisions applicable to all public transit and transit districts and includes specific requirements applicable to public entities that operate commuter rail or rail transit systems. This bill would prohibit a public entity that owns diesel-powered on-track equipment from selling, donating, or otherwise transferring ownership of that equipment for continued use after the public entity decommissions the equipment. The bill would exempt the sale, donation, or transfer of the ownership of that equipment from the prohibition if the equipment is deemed to be in one of specified categories of emissions standards designated by the federal government for locomotives, the equipment produces emissions equivalent to any equipment within any of those federal categories, or the diesel engine is removed from the equipment, as specified.
Existing law provides that everyone is responsible not only for the result of their willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by their want of ordinary care or skill in the management of their property or person. Existing law requires the developer of a generative artificial intelligence system or service that is released on or after January 1, 2022, and made publicly available to Californians for use, to post on the developer's internet website documentation regarding the data used by the developer to train the generative artificial intelligence system or service. Existing law defines "artificial intelligence" for these purposes. This bill would prohibit a defendant who developed, modified, or used artificial intelligence, as defined, from asserting a defense that the artificial intelligence autonomously caused the harm to the plaintiff.
