(1) The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law regulates the packaging, labeling, and advertising of food, beverages, and cosmetics and makes it a crime to distribute in commerce any food, drug, device, or cosmetic if its packaging or labeling does not conform to these provisions. Existing law establishes a process for the embargo, condemnation, and destruction of a food, drug, device, or cosmetic that is adulterated, misbranded, or falsely advertised, gives the authority to place items under embargo to authorized agents of the State Department of Public Health, and requires the department to take specified actions. Violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is a misdemeanor. The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law regulates, among other things, industrial hemp and requires a hemp manufacturer who produces an industrial hemp product that is a food or beverage to register with the State Department of Public Health, as specified. Existing law prohibits an industrial hemp product from being distributed or sold in the state unless the industrial hemp contains a total THC concentration that does not exceed 0.3 percent on a dry-weight basis. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2026, would prohibit industrial hemp raw extract from being incorporated into food, food additives, beverages, or dietary supplements unless the industrial hemp raw extract has a purity level greater than 99 percent and does not contain any tetrahydrocannabinols or synthetic cannabinoids. The bill, beginning January 1, 2028, would revise and recast various provisions in conformity with that prohibition. The bill would also specify that beginning on January 1, 2028, retail of industrial hemp includes online sales to customers in the state. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, categorizes controlled substances into 5 designated schedules, and specifies various penalties for the unlawful possession or sale of cannabis, as specified. Existing law excludes industrial hemp from the definition of cannabis for purposes of the act, and specifies that industrial hemp is not subject to the act. Existing law defines industrial hemp for these purposes to mean, among other things, a product derived from the cannabis plant, as provided, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. This bill, for purposes of the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, would instead define industrial hemp to mean a product derived from the cannabis plant with a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, as specified. The bill would prohibit the sale or delivery of hemp flower and hemp prerolls for consumption within the state under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. (3) The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities and requires the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions. Existing law exempts industrial hemp, as defined, from the definition of cannabis under MAUCRSA, but requires the Department of Cannabis Control to prepare a report, on or before July 1, 2022, to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the steps necessary to allow for the incorporation of hemp cannabinoids into the cannabis supply chain. Existing emergency regulations require that industrial hemp, food, food additives, beverages, and dietary supplements intended for human consumption have no detectable THC per serving. This bill would revise the definition of industrial hemp for purposes of MAUCRSA to conform to the definition of industrial hemp used in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, as described above. The bill would subject industrial hemp that enters the licensed market under MAUCRSA or is used in a cannabis product to the regulatory requirements of cannabis or cannabis products under MAUCRSA, including identification in the track and trace program, security and transportation safety requirements, quality assurance standards, testing by a licensed testing laboratory, and advertising and marketing restrictions. The bill would prohibit an industrial hemp cultivator from transferring or selling industrial hemp to a licensee under MAUCRSA if a banned pesticide was used in its cultivation. The bill would specify that MAUCRSA does not apply to products that contain no cannabinoids other than CBD isolate, as defined, and would make conforming changes to the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act. This bill, until January 1, 2028, would allow a licensed manufacturer to use cannabinoid concentrates and extracts that are manufactured or processed exclusively from cannabis obtained from a licensed cannabis cultivator, and would prohibit a licensee from possessing, transporting, distributing, manufacturing, or selling industrial hemp on or from a licensed premises, except as specified. This bill would prohibit a person from selling, offering, or providing a product in the state that is an inhalable cannabis product containing THC derived from industrial hemp, hemp flower or a preroll that contains hemp flower or hemp-derived cannabinoids, whether infused or not, a cannabis product manufactured outside the licensed market, or a product containing synthetic cannabinoids, as defined. This bill would revise and recast the enforcement provisions for cannabis, industrial hemp, and cannabis products, and would authorize the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) , the State Department of Public Health, the Department of Cannabis Control, and other state and local law enforcement agencies to inspect, seize, and destroy, among other things, cannabis products or products not authorized under MAUCRSA, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, or specified federal or tribal laws, as provided. (4) Existing law, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, regulates and licenses manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products in the state. This bill would prohibit a person that is engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or making a retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, or a product presumed to be cannabis, as specified, and would make a violation of that prohibition subject to a specified fine and license suspension or revocation, as applicable. (5) Existing law, the Cannabis Tax Law, imposes an excise tax upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products sold in this state at the rate of 15% of the gross receipts of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer. The Cannabis Tax Law requires the CDTFA to administer the cannabis excise tax, directs all revenues, less refunds, derived from the cannabis excise tax to be deposited into the California Cannabis Tax Fund, a special fund, and continuously appropriates that tax fund for specified purposes. The Cannabis Tax Law defines cannabis and cannabis products to have the same meaning as those terms are defined in the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, which excludes industrial hemp from those definitions. This bill would narrow the definition of industrial hemp under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, thereby expanding the definition of cannabis and cannabis products under both the Cannabis Tax Law and the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act and subjecting those materials covered by that expansion to the cannabis excise tax. The bill would make conforming changes related to implementation of that tax. The bill would additionally subject any product presumed to be cannabis or a cannabis product to the cannabis excise tax and a specified penalty, as provided. By increasing the amount of tax moneys into the California Cannabis Tax Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require any person seeking to be relieved of the penalty imposed on any product presumed to be cannabis or a cannabis product to file with the CDTFA a signed statement setting forth the facts upon which they base the claim for relief. The bill would make a person who signs that statement that asserts the truth of any material matter that they know to be false guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) The Cannabis Tax Law authorizes the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize cannabis or cannabis products in certain circumstances, including if the cannabis or cannabis products were not reported in the track and trace system or are in the possession of an unlicensed person, as specified. Existing law deems any cannabis or cannabis products seized by a law enforcement agency or the department to be forfeited, and makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. Existing law excludes "industrial hemp" from the definition of "cannabis" under the Cannabis Tax Law, and generally defines "industrial hemp" as an agricultural product that is any part of the plant Cannabis sativa L., including cannabinoids, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis. This bill would authorize the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to seize a product if the agency presumes the product is cannabis or a cannabis product due to the product containing or purporting to contain a cannabinoid, as specified, and the product is possessed, stored, offered for sale, or sold by an unlicensed person or at an unlicensed premises. The bill would additionally authorize the CDTFA to seize alcoholic beverages that contain or purport to contain cannabinoids, including synthetic cannabinoids. By expanding the items authorized for employees of the CDTFA or a law enforcement agency to inspect and seize, the bill expands the scope of a crime and imposes a state-mandated local program. (7) Existing law requires edible cannabis products, cannabis cartridges, and integrated cannabis vaporizers that contain cannabis or a cannabis product to be marked with a universal symbol, as determined by the department and subject to specified requirements. Existing law makes the use or possession of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity, other than licensed commercial cannabis activity, a violation of MAUCRSA, as described. Existing law defines use or possession of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity to include, but is not limited to, possession of any package, label, or advertisement of any kind bearing the universal symbol, whether or not that package, label, or advertisement is affixed to, or otherwise associated with, cannabis or cannabis products. This bill would make it a violation of MAUCRSA to use or possess any package, label, or advertisement of any kind bearing any likeness or simulation of the universal symbol in connection with a commercial activity, regardless of whether it is in connection with licensed commercial cannabis activity. The bill would also prohibit altering or cropping the universal symbol, except as specified. (8) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 26051.5 and 26067 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by SB 861 to be operative only if this bill and SB 861 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (9) 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. (10) This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would remove prohibitions imposed on a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public funds, as defined, for the purpose of seeking elective office unless the funds are earmarked by a state or local entity for education, transportation, or public safety. The bill would require candidates to abide by specified expenditure limits and meet strict criteria, as defined, to qualify for public funds. The bill would prohibit public funds from being used to pay legal defense fees or fines or to repay personal loans to their campaign. The bill would permit a statute, ordinance, or charter to establish standards to increase the expenditure limits for each qualified, voluntarily participating candidate pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would provide that the Fair Political Practices Commission is not responsible for administering or enforcing a system of public funding of candidates established by a local governmental agency. Existing law prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal, as defined, from making a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition to, any state or local ballot measure or in connection with the election of a candidate to state or local office. Under existing law, a person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine equal to the amount contributed or expended. This bill would instead require that a person guilty of that misdemeanor, in addition to other penalties, be fined an amount at least equal to the amount contributed or expended, but not exceeding a maximum amount of 3 times the amount contributed or expended. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill, as specified, to the voters for approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide general election. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 85320 of the Government Code proposed by AB 953 to be operative pursuant to specified conditions.
Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law prohibits the state board from adopting any regulation that establishes a specification for motor vehicle fuel unless that regulation, and a multimedia evaluation conducted by affected agencies and coordinated by the state board, are reviewed by the California Environmental Policy Council. This bill would, notwithstanding that prohibition, authorize blends of gasoline containing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume to be sold in the state for use as a transportation fuel until (1) the California Environmental Policy Council completes its review of those blends and (2) the state board either adopts a regulation establishing a specification for those blends or posts an assessment on its internet website demonstrating that it is not possible for a regulation establishing a specification for those blends to meet specified requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Under existing law, it is a crime for a person to receive money or other valuable consideration to assist another to register to vote by receiving the completed affidavit of registration if the person fails to sign the affidavit and include certain other information, including the name and telephone number of the person, company, or organization, if any, that has agreed to pay the money or other valuable consideration. This bill would make it a crime, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both, for a person to knowingly or willfully pay or offer to pay money or other valuable consideration to another person with the intent to induce the person to vote or to register to vote, or where the payment is contingent upon whether the person voted or the person's voter registration status. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update every 5 years the plan for the orderly and coordinated control, protection, conservation, development, and use of the water resources of the state, which is known as "The California Water Plan." Existing law requires the department to include a discussion of various strategies in the plan update, including, but not limited to, strategies relating to the development of new water storage facilities, water conservation, water recycling, desalination, conjunctive use, and water transfers, that may be pursued in order to meet the future needs of the state. Existing law requires the department to establish an advisory committee to assist the department in updating the plan. This bill would revise and recast certain provisions regarding The California Water Plan to, among other things, require the department to expand the membership of the advisory committee to include, among others, tribes, labor, and environmental justice interests. The bill would require the department, as part of the 2033 update to the plan, to update the interim planning target for 2050, as provided. The bill would require the target to consider the identified and future water needs for all beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, urban uses, agricultural uses, tribal uses, and the environment, and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians, among other things. The bill would require the plan to include specified components, including a discussion of the estimated costs, benefits, and impacts of any project type or action that is recommended by the department within the plan that could help achieve the water supply targets. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature the amendments, supplements, and additions included in the updates of the plan, together with a summary of the department's conclusions and recommendations, in the session in which the updated plan is issued. The bill would also require the department to conduct public workshops to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the plan.
Existing law provides that a gift certificate, sold after January 1, 1997, is redeemable in cash or subject to replacement with a new gift certificate except that a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $10 is redeemable in cash for its cash value. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "gift certificate" to include gift cards. This bill would, instead, make a gift certificate with a cash value of less than $15 redeemable in cash for its cash value, exempt from that redemption provision certain gift certificates that are donated to a nonprofit or a charitable organization, as provided, and make these provisions operative on April 1, 2026. The bill would expand the definition of "gift certificate" to include electronic gift cards. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law, the Unemployment Insurance Code, governs unemployment insurance in the state, including, among other things, the administration of unemployment and disability compensation. Existing law defines various terms for purposes of the code. This bill would define "mail," "mailing," or "mailed" to include a writing transmitted by the United States Postal Service or other common mail carrier or by electronic transmission, as specified.
(1) Existing law requires the receipts, reports, or other records filed with the department pursuant to specified laws, and the information contained therein, to, except as provided, be confidential and to not be public records, as specified. This bill would revise and recast the above-described provision to additionally require certain landing receipts and records of fishing activities to be confidential and to not be public records, except for fish business identification numbers, fish business names, commercial fishing license numbers, commercial fisher names, vessel registration identification numbers, and vessel names, as provided. (2) Existing law requires certain persons to report all fish sales, deliveries, transfers, and landings using an electronic fish ticket as prescribed pursuant to regulations adopted by the Fish and Game Commission, including a person engaged in specified activities who is required to have a marine aquaria receiver's license, as provided. This bill would instead remove from the provision above relating to reports using an electronic fish ticket, that person engaged in specified activities who is required to have a marine aquaria receiver's license, as provided. (3) 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, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body. The act authorizes meetings through teleconference subject to specified requirements, including, among others, that the state body post agendas at all teleconference locations, that each teleconference location be identified in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, that each teleconference location be accessible to the public, that the agenda provide an opportunity for members of the public to address the state body directly at each teleconference location, and that at least one member of the state body be physically present at the location specified in the notice of the meeting. The act authorizes an additional, alternative set of provisions under which a state body may hold a meeting by teleconference subject to specified requirements, including, among others, that at least one member of the state body is physically present at each teleconference location, as defined, that a majority of the members of the state body are physically present at the same teleconference location, except as specified, and that members of the state body visibly appear on camera during the open portion of a meeting that is publicly accessible via the internet or other online platform, except as specified. The act authorizes, under specified circumstances, a member of the state body to participate pursuant to these provisions from a remote location, which would not be required to be accessible to the public and which the act prohibits the notice and agenda from disclosing. The act repeals these provisions on January 1, 2026. This bill would instead repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. The act authorizes a multimember state advisory body to hold an open meeting by teleconference pursuant to an alternative set of provisions that are in addition to the above-described provisions generally applicable to state bodies. These alternative provisions specify requirements, including, among others, that the multimember state advisory body designates the primary physical meeting location in the notice of the meeting where members of the public may physically attend the meeting and participate. Until January 1, 2026, the act requires that at least one staff member of the state body is present at the primary physical meeting location during the meeting, and that the members of the state body visibly appear on camera during the open portion of a meeting that is publicly accessible via the internet or other online platform, except as specified. The act, beginning January 1, 2026, instead requires that a quorum of the members of the state body be in attendance at the primary physical meeting location, as described above, and that all decisions taken during the teleconference be by rollcall, and modifies certain of the above requirements related to the primary physical meeting location. This bill would extend the former provisions to January 1, 2030, and would make the latter provisions operative on January 1, 2030. 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.
(1) Existing law requires the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to establish and administer a research program to control vertebrate pests, as specified. Existing law requires the secretary to establish the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Advisory Committee, and requires the committee to make recommendations to the secretary regarding vertebrate pest control research each year. Existing law requires each county agricultural commissioner to pay a specified fee to the secretary based on the amount of vertebrate pest control material sold, distributed, or applied by the county, as specified. Existing law creates the Vertebrate Pest Control Research Account in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, and continuously appropriates the moneys in the account to the secretary for specified purposes. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2026. This bill would extend the operation of those provisions until January 1, 2035. By extending the secretary's authority to expend moneys in a continuously appropriated account, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law prohibits the administration of medically important antimicrobial drugs to livestock unless ordered by a licensed veterinarian through a prescription or veterinary feed directive pursuant to a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, as specified. This bill would revise and recast that provision to instead prohibit the administration of medically important antimicrobial drugs to livestock unless it is ordered by a licensed veterinarian through a prescription or veterinary feed directive that complies with federal and state law, require prescriptions for labeled uses of medically important antimicrobial drugs to be issued pursuant to a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, and require veterinary feed directives and prescriptions for extralabel uses of medically important antimicrobial drugs to be issued pursuant to a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, as specified. (3) Existing law regulates the operation of certified mobile farmers' markets, as defined, and requires an operator of a certified mobile farmers' market to annually register with the Department of Food and Agriculture. This bill would authorize enforcing officers to inspect places, conveyances, documentation, products, containers, and equipment pertaining to certified mobile farmers' markets and would authorize enforcing officers to seize and hold as evidence certain materials to secure the conviction of a party, as specified.
Existing law establishes the California Geological Survey in the Department of Conservation, the Director of Conservation, the State Geologist, and the State Mining and Geology Board and sets forth the duties of these entities in connection with the mineral resources, mineral industries, and geology of the state, including assessments of geologic hazards. Existing law makes the department the primary state agency responsible for review and investigation of geologic hazards, including, but not limited to, the strong motion aspects of earthquake and any geologic hazards that may occur in relation to natural disasters. This bill would expand the duties of the department to review and investigate geologic hazards to specifically include geologic hazards that may occur in relation to climate change and make other related changes. Existing law authorizes the director to fix a price upon and dispose of to the public all publications of the survey and requires that all money received by the survey from sales of publications issued by the survey be deposited at least once each month in the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. This bill would repeal those provisions. Existing law requires the State Geologist to compile maps delineating earthquake fault zones, or identifying seismic hazard zones, as applicable, and to submit those maps, as provided, for board review. Within 90 days of board review, existing law requires the State Geologist to take specified actions with respect to those maps, including providing copies of the maps to state and local entities, as described. This bill would instead require the State Geologist to revise the maps and provide copies of the official maps within 90 days after the comment period concludes. Existing law authorizes a manufacturer or processor, upon request, to report to the State Geologist data on consumption or utilization of mineral materials. Existing law requires those reports to be confidential. This bill would instead require these reports to be maintained by the department as confidential if appropriately identified as confidential by the submitting entity. Existing law requires the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, when selecting a fuel reduction project, to collaborate with the State Water Resources Control Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California regional water quality control boards, and the State Water Resources Control Board, if accompanied by Department of Forestry and Fire Protection personnel and after 24-hour advance notification is given to the landowner, to enter and inspect land during normal business hours at any time after commencement of timber harvest plan activities on the land, as provided. This bill would additionally require collaboration and consultation with, and extend that authorization to enter and inspect land to, the survey, under those circumstances. This bill would also make clarifying, conforming, and nonsubstantive changes.
Existing law prohibits a person from erasing the reflective coating of, painting over the reflective coating of, or altering a license plate to avoid visual or electronic capture of the license plate or its characters by state or local law enforcement. Existing law prohibits a person from installing or affixing on a vehicle a casing, shield, frame, border, product, or other device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement, an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road, high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a remote emission sensing device, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale of a product or device that obscures, or is intended to obscure, the reading or recognition of a license plate by visual means, or by an electronic device in violation of the above-described provisions. A conviction for a violation of this provision is punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars $250 per item sold or per violation. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would further prohibit a person from installing or affixing a shade or tint that obstructs the reading or recognition of a license plate by an electronic device operated by state or local law enforcement, an electronic device operated in connection with a toll road, high-occupancy toll lane, toll bridge, or other toll facility, or a remote emission sensing device, as specified. The bill would further prohibit the manufacture of these products and devices in the state and impose a $1,000 fine per item sold or manufactured for a violation of these provisions. The bill would also make clarifying changes. By creating a new 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.
