Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of their employment. Existing law requires every employer to establish a utilization review process, as described, and establishes an independent medical review process to resolve disputes over a utilization review decision, as specified. Existing law requires that aggregate disability payments for a single injury occurring on or after certain dates be limited to no more than 104 or 240 compensable weeks, as provided. This bill would authorize, on or after January 1, 2025, the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to award temporary disability benefits, as specified, if a denial of treatment requested by a treating physician is subsequently overturned by independent medical review. The bill would prohibit the temporary disability awarded by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board from exceeding the time from the date of the treatment denial through the date of the independent medical review determination overturning the treatment denial.
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. Under existing law, one of the methods by which Medi-Cal services are provided is pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care plans. Existing law sets forth requirements for private duty nursing and home health care under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law imposes a managed care organization (MCO) provider tax, administered and assessed by the department, on licensed health care service plans and managed care plans contracted with the department to provide full-scope Medi-Cal services. Under existing law, proceeds from the MCO provider tax may be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the increased costs incurred as a result of reimbursement requirements, among other things. This bill would provide that private duty nursing services provided to a child under 21 years of age by a home health agency are included as an eligible category for Medi-Cal reimbursement through the above-described scheme.
Existing law establishes various online privacy rights for minors, including prohibiting the operator of an internet website, online service, online application, or mobile application from marketing or advertising specified types of products or services to a minor, and requires an operator to permit a registered user who is a minor to remove content or information posted. This bill, beginning July 1, 2025, would require large social media platform providers, as defined, to create, maintain, and make available to specified third-party safety software providers a set of third-party-accessible application programming interfaces to allow a third-party safety software provider, upon authorization by a child or a parent or legal guardian of a child, to manage a child's online interactions, content, and account settings and initiate secure transfers of the child's user data for these purposes, as provided. The bill would prohibit the third-party safety software provider from disclosing user data unless specified exceptions apply, and would authorize the child or the parent or legal guardian, as applicable, to revoke the authorization with the third-party safety software provider or disable the account with the large social media provider. The bill would require the third-party safety software provider to register with the Attorney General's office as a condition of accessing an application programming interface from a large social media platform provider and would require the Attorney General to affirm that the third-party safety software provider meets specified requirements, including that it is solely engaged in the business of internet safety. The bill would also require a large social media platform to register with the Attorney General's office within 30 days of meeting specified requirements, including that it enables a child to share images, text, or video through the internet with other users of the service, as provided, and has more than 100,000,000 monthly global active users or generates more than $1,000,000,000 in gross revenue per year, as provided. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to deregister or issue a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 per violation to a third-party safety software provider if specified conditions occur. The bill would require the Attorney General to post both registration lists on its internet website, and to establish processes to deregister third-party safety software providers and large social media platform providers if certain criteria is met. The bill would provide that a large social media platform provider is not liable for damages arising out of the transfer of user data to a third-party safety software provider in accordance with these provisions if the large social media platform provider has in good faith complied with specified requirements. The bill would require the Department of Technology, before July 1, 2025, to issue guidance for large social media providers and third-party software providers regarding the implementation and maintenance of technical standards to protect user data, as specified, and would require the Department of Technology to biennially update that guidance. This bill would require a third-party safety software provider receiving any data pursuant to these provisions to at least annually enlist a qualified independent auditing firm to audit its privacy, security, and legal compliance, as provided. The bill would require the auditor to provide the audit findings, including a summary of those findings, directly to the Attorney General and the third-party safety software provider. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to deregister, suspend, or issue a civil penalty to a third-party safety software provider based on an auditor's findings of willful or grossly negligent conduct or a third-party safety software provider's negligent failure to respond to an unusual finding, as specified. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature, as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020. 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 vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities. Existing law provides compensation for reasonable advocate's fees, reasonable expert witness fees, and other reasonable costs to public utility customers for preparation for and participation in a hearing or proceeding of the commission. Existing law requires the commission to award a customer compensation if certain requirements are satisfied, including that the customer's presentation makes a substantial contribution to the adoption of the commission's order or decision. Existing law requires a customer who intends to seek compensation to file and serve on all parties to the proceeding, within 30 days after the prehearing conference is held, a notice of intent to claim compensation. This bill would instead require a customer who intends to seek compensation to file and serve on all parties to the proceeding a notice of intent to claim compensation within 30 days after the prehearing conference is held or within 30 days of becoming a party to the proceeding, whichever is later.
(1) Existing law prohibits the false impersonation of another person in either their personal or official capacity with the intent to steal or defraud, as specified. This bill would define various terms related to artificial intelligence and synthetic content, and would clarify that use of such synthetic content, as specified, is deemed to be a false personation for purposes of these and other criminal provisions. (2) Existing law creates a civil cause of action against any person who knowingly uses the name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness of another person, without their consent, for specified purposes. This bill would clarify that, for purposes of this cause of action, a synthetic voice or likeness that a reasonable person would believe to be a genuine voice or likeness, is deemed to be the voice or likeness of the person depicted. (3) Existing law governs the admissibility of evidence in court proceedings. Existing law prescribes procedures for the authentication of photographs and audio and video recordings. This bill would require the Judicial Council, by no later than January 1, 2026, to review the impact of artificial intelligence on the introduction of evidence in court proceedings and develop any necessary rules of court to assist courts in assessing claims that evidence that is being introduced has been generated by or manipulated by artificial intelligence. (4) Existing law establishes the Department of Consumer Affairs the within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to protect and promote the interests of consumers. Existing law places certain requirements on various specified businesses, including household movers, tanning facilities, video arcades, and tax preparers. This bill would require, by July 1, 2026, any person or entity that sells or provides access to any artificial intelligence technology that is designed to create synthetic content, as defined, to provide a consumer warning that misuse of the technology may result in civil or criminal liability for the user. The bill would require the Department of Consumer Affairs to specify the form and content of the consumer warning and post it on a publicly accessible page of its internet website by January 1, 2026. The bill would also impose a civil penalty for violations of the requirement.
Existing law allows a defendant who successfully participated in the California Conservation Camp program as an incarcerated individual hand crew member, or successfully participated as a member of a county incarcerated individual hand crew, or participated at an institutional firehouse, except as specified, to petition the court to have the pleading dismissed, thus releasing the person of any penalties and disabilities of conviction, except as otherwise provided. This bill would require, beginning May 1, 2027, and every other year thereafter, each superior court to report to the Judicial Council specified data regarding petitions seeking relief pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would require the Judicial Council to report the statewide data regarding these petitions beginning June 1, 2027, and every other year thereafter. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2037.
Existing law imposes on the Department of Water Resources various duties with respect to water in the state. Existing law, the Open and Transparent Water Data Act, requires the department, in consultation with the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to create, operate, and maintain a statewide integrated water data platform that, among other things, integrates existing water and ecological data information from multiple databases and provides data on completed water transfers and exchanges. This bill would require the department, while seeking input from the California Water Data Consortium, as defined, to create a water data dashboard that is accessible through its internet website, as specified. The bill would include related findings and declarations.
Existing law requires that each application for an original or a renewal of a driver's license contain certain information, including the applicant's true full name, age, and gender. Existing law also requires the application for a driver's license or identification card to contain certain specified elements, including, among other things, whether the applicant has served in the Armed Forces of the United States and a space for an applicant to enroll in the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. This bill would require the application forms for a driver's license or identification card to contain a space for a person to voluntarily disclose that the applicant has a disability, as defined by the federal American with Disabilities Act (ADA) , and that the disability interferes with the person's ability to effectively communicate with a peace officer. The bill would require the disclosed disability to be certified by a licensed health professional, as specified, on appropriate forms to be developed by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The bill would require the department to develop an appropriate disability identifier symbol to be placed on a driver's license or identification card that is discreet and represents all types of disabilities, as specified. The bill would provide that a person may choose to no longer have a disability identifier symbol placed on the person's driver's license or identification card and would prohibit the department from retaining any information related to the person's disability. The bill would require the department to issue a new driver's license or identification card without a disability identifier symbol upon request. The bill would require the department to work with the Department of the California Highway Patrol and other relevant stakeholders to develop peace officer training on the meaning of the voluntary disability identifier symbol. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to provide a report to the Legislature and relevant policy committees detailing the disability identifier symbol program and the percentage of persons issued a driver's license or identification card who requested a disability identifier symbol. This bill would make the above provisions operative on January 1, 2027.
Existing law regulates the sale of subdivided lands and prescribes definitions for this purpose. Existing law defines a subdivision to include, among other things, condominium projects and planned developments, as specified, and other common interest developments. Existing law requires a person who intends to offer subdivided lands for sale or lease to file with the Department of Real Estate an application for a public report, as specified. Existing law prescribes various restrictions on the sale or lease of lots in a subdivision. In certain instances, existing law permits lots to be sold or leased only if the money paid or advanced by a purchaser or lessee is placed into an escrow account or a bond furnished for the purpose of protecting purchasers or lessees. This bill would permit a purchaser's deposit that is held in escrow pursuant to a binding sales contract for a lot or parcel within a subdivision that is not yet constructed or developed to be disbursed before closing to pay for project construction costs, as specified. The bill would permit the disbursement of a purchaser's deposit before closing and the conveyance or leasing of any unit before completion of construction if specified conditions are met, including, among other things, that the developer has submitted to the Department of Real Estate a project budget showing all costs required to be paid in order to complete the project, the department has reviewed and approved the proposed disbursement, and the purchaser provides express informed consent to the disbursement, as specified. If a purchaser's funds are to be disbursed before the completion of construction of the project, the bill would require the developer to submit specified information to the Department of Real Estate, including, among other things, a copy of the purchaser's express informed consent to the disbursement. The bill would permit the disbursement of a purchaser's deposit before closing and the disbursement of moneys from the conveyance or leasing of units before completion of construction to pay any cost set forth in the project budget, as specified. The bill would require a specified notice to be prominently displayed in the developer's public report for the project if a purchaser's deposit is to be disbursed before closing or if moneys from the conveyance or leasing of units before completion of construction are to be disbursed to pay for project costs. The bill would require the Department of Real Estate to complete a review required by these provisions within 30 days of receipt of the document to be reviewed. Existing law provides that a provision in a contract to purchase and sell residential property that provides that all or any part of a payment made by the buyer constitutes liquidated damages to the seller upon the buyer's failure to complete the purchase of the property is valid if certain conditions are satisfied, including certain conditions pertaining to whether the amount actually paid pursuant to the liquidated damages provision does or does not exceed 3% of the purchase price. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding the provisions described above, the amount actually paid pursuant to a liquidated damages provision may exceed 3% of the purchase price if the bill's provisions described above are satisfied, in which case the bill would require that the liquidated damages equal the amount of the deposit.
The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal law, generally defines "gross income" as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income for purposes of computing tax liability. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2035, would provide an exclusion from gross income for survivor benefits or payments, not to exceed $20,000 per taxable year, received during the taxable year under the federal Survivor Benefit Plan. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution, and air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. This bill would request the Regents of the University of California to conduct a pilot project in the County of Imperial and the Coachella Valley to develop a 3-day wintertime regional dust forecast capability and a dust storm early warning system for the monsoon season, as specified. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.
(1) Existing law provides for the regulation of various professions and vocations by boards established under the jurisdiction of the Department of Consumer Affairs in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules, and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Existing law classifies dimethyltryptamine, mescaline, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) , ibogaine, psilocybin, and psilocyn as Schedule I substances, and prohibits various actions related to those substances, including their sale, possession, transportation, manufacture, or cultivation. (2) This bill would enact the Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators Act, which would establish the Board of Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators in the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate psychedelic facilitators, as defined. The bill would require the board to be appointed, as specified, by April 1, 2025. The bill would require the board to establish educational, training, and other qualifications and requirements for obtaining a license as a regulated psychedelic facilitator and would establish conditions of licensure. The bill would require the board to establish fees for the reasonable regulatory costs to the board to administer the act. The bill would require the board to begin accepting license applications by April 1, 2026. The bill would make a license subject to renewal every 2 years. The bill would create the Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators Fund in the State Treasury, would require all funds received pursuant to the act to be credited to the fund, and would make moneys in the fund available to the board for the act's purposes upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the board, consistent with recommendations made by the Regulated Psychedelic Substances Advisory Committee, which would be created by the bill, to adopt regulations, on or before January 1, 2026, governing the safe provision of regulated psychedelic facilitation, including regulations governing the scope of practice for regulated psychedelic facilitators and recordkeeping requirements, provided the recordkeeping does not result in the disclosure of personally identifiable information of participants. The bill would require the board to determine which schools and programs meet the requirements of the act and to adopt regulations governing the requirements and process for approving schools and programs related to the provision of psychedelic facilitation training. The bill would authorize the board to charge a reasonable fee for the inspection or approval of schools or programs. The bill would make a violation of the act a misdemeanor and subject a licenseholder's license to suspension or revocation. The bill would make a violation of specified acts subject to discipline or denial of a license by the board in accordance with specified procedures. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make specified practices unfair business practices, including a person without a license holding themselves out as a regulated psychedelic facilitator. The bill would authorize a local government to reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner of regulated psychedelic facilitation within its boundaries. (3) This bill would enact the Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Act to establish a comprehensive system to control and regulate the production, distribution, transportation, storage, processing, manufacturing, testing, quality control, and sale of regulated psychedelic substances for use in conjunction with psychedelic facilitation, as defined, the provision of psychedelic facilitation, the approval of locations where regulated psychedelic facilitation may take place, and the collection and publication of data on the implementation and outcomes of the act. The bill would define "regulated psychedelic substances" to include dimethyltryptamine; mescaline; 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) ; psilocybin; psilocyn; and spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms that contain psilocybin or psilocyn. The bill would establish the Division of Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, to be under the supervision and control of a director appointed by the Governor, in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to administer and enforce the act. The bill would require the division to take specified actions to carry out its duties under the act, including conducting investigations and employing peace officers. The bill would grant to specified personnel the authority of peace officers while engaged in investigating the laws administered by the division or commencing criminal prosecution arising from investigations, as specified. The bill would require the division, no later than April 1, 2025, to convene a Regulated Psychedelic Substances Expert Oversight Committee, to be appointed by the Governor, to advise the division and the Board of Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators on the development of standards and regulations that include best practices and guidelines that protect public health and safety. The bill would require the oversight committee, commencing on January 1, 2026, to publish an annual public report that includes, among other things, the oversight committee's recommendations to the division and the board and whether those recommendations were implemented. The bill would require the division to adopt regulations, consistent with the recommendations of the oversight committee, for the administration and enforcement of laws regulating regulated psychedelic substances and services, including regulations that establish categories of licensure and registration. The bill would require the division, no later than April 1, 2026, to begin to accept and process applications for licensure. The bill would authorize the division to collect fees in connection with activities it regulates. The bill would create the Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Fund within the State Treasury, and would allocate the funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the division for the purposes of implementing, administering, and enforcing the act. The bill would also create the Psychedelic Substances Public Education and Harm Reduction Fund, to be available to the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to award grants for public education and harm reduction relating to psychedelic substances. The bill would authorize the division to accept moneys from private sources to supplement state funds, which may be appropriated by the Legislature to the fund. The bill would make a violation of the act a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the division to work with state and local enforcement agencies to implement, administer, and enforce the division's rules and regulations. (4) Existing law provides that a physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor who engages in specified sexual conduct with a patient or client or certain former patients or clients is guilty of sexual exploitation and prescribes specified criminal penalties for acts of sexual exploitation. This bill would make those provisions applicable to registered psychedelic facilitators. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) This bill would declare that it is the public policy of the people of the State of California that contracts related to the operation of licenses under the Regulated Psychedelic Facilitators Act and the Regulated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Act shall be enforceable. (6) This bill would make conforming changes to the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. (7) This bill would state that its provisions are severable. (8) This bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (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.
