Existing sales and use tax laws impose taxes on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority Act establishes the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority. The act authorizes, until January 1, 2026, the authority to provide financial assistance to a participating party by authorizing exclusions from sales and use tax for certain projects, including those that promote California-based manufacturing, California-based jobs, advanced manufacturing, the reduction of greenhouse gases, or a reduction in air and water pollution or energy consumption. The Sales and Use Tax Law, for the purposes of the taxes imposed pursuant to that law, until January 1, 2026, excludes the lease or transfer of title of tangible personal property constituting one of those projects to any contractor for use in the performance of a construction contract for a participating party that will use that property as an integral part of the approved project. This bill would extend to January 1, 2028, the authorization to provide financial assistance in the form of a sales and use tax exclusion for projects approved by the authority. The bill would add electrical generation facilities using nuclear fusion technology to the types of projects qualifying for this sales and use tax exclusion. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, for an applicant that, together with its parent corporation and subsidiaries, employs 500 or more employees, prohibit the authority from approving a project unless the applicant certifies that the applicant and its subcontractors will comply with certain labor requirements. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law requires the department to establish an Office of the Self-Determination Program Ombudsperson to be headed by an individual to be known as the Self-Determination Program Ombudsperson, who is appointed by the Director of Developmental Services. Existing law requires the office to be an independent and autonomous entity within the department and prescribes specified duties and rights of the office, including recommending to the department strategies for change and improvement of the program. This bill would repeal the above-described provisions establishing the Office of the Self-Determination Program Ombudsperson and instead establish the Office of the Developmental Services Ombudsperson as an independent and autonomous entity within the department for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of specified services for individuals served by a regional center, as defined. The bill would set forth the duties of the Office of the Developmental Services Ombudsperson, including, among other things, disseminating information and providing training and technical assistance, and receiving and possibly investigating complaints made by or on behalf of individuals served by a regional center. The bill would establish the position of the Developmental Services Ombudsperson to head the office and specify appointment procedures and the duties of that position. Existing law provides that, except as otherwise provided by statute, all relevant evidence is admissible. The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-In-Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified. This bill would prohibit the ombudsperson or their staff from being compelled to testify or be deposed, or to disclose specified records, in a judicial or administrative proceeding. Because this prohibition would affect the admissibility of relevant evidence in criminal proceedings, the bill would require a ⅔ vote of the Legislature. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law generally provides for the confidentiality of information regarding a minor in proceedings in the juvenile court and related court proceedings and limits access to juvenile case files, as defined. Existing law authorizes only certain individuals to inspect a juvenile case file, including, among others, the county counsel, city attorney, or any other attorney representing the petitioning agency in a dependency action. This bill would delete that authority and instead specify that the county counsel, city attorney, or any other attorney representing the county child welfare agency in dependency proceedings, and the county counsel or city attorney representing the child welfare agency or probation department in connection with the administration or review of child welfare or probation services, as specified, may access juvenile case files. The bill would also authorize an attorney representing a party in a civil proceeding, as defined, filed by, or on behalf of, the person who is the subject of the juvenile case file in which the defendant is either the child welfare agency, probation department, or an employee of those entities to inspect and receive copies of a juvenile case file for use in the civil proceeding, as specified. The bill would additionally authorize an attorney representing a person who is or was the subject of juvenile proceedings under specified provisions to access juvenile case files. By imposing additional duties on local entities to provide access to these records, 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, 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 Use Fuel Tax Law imposes a state excise tax at specified rates, generally $0.18 per gallon, on the use of fuel, as defined, and establishes various exemptions from those taxes, including an exemption for any transit district, transit authority, or city owning and operating a local transit system, as provided. This bill would additionally apply this exemption to a county that owns and operates a local transit system, as provided. The California Constitution provides for the establishment of the State Board of Equalization, which, before July 1, 2017, had primary responsibility for most of the state's duties, powers, and responsibilities regarding the administration of taxes and fees. Existing law, on July 1, 2017, transferred to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration various duties, powers, and responsibilities of the State Board of Equalization, including administration of the Use Fuel Tax Law, as specified. This bill would change references in the Use Fuel Tax Law provisions described above from the "State Board of Equalization" to the "California Department of Tax and Fee Administration" to reflect the transfer of the board's duties, powers, and responsibilities to the department. The Diesel Fuel Tax Law imposes taxes at a specified rate with respect to the distribution or delivery of each gallon of diesel fuel, and establishes various exemptions from those taxes, including an exemption for an exempt bus operation that consists of, among other things, a transit district, transit authority, or city owning and operating a local transit system, as provided. This bill would additionally apply this exemption to a county that owns and operates a local transit system, as provided. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy, but its operative date would depend on its effective date.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations to establish and maintain the minimum qualifications for service as a faculty member teaching credit instruction, a faculty member teaching noncredit instruction, a librarian, a counselor, an educational administrator, an extended opportunity programs and services worker, a disabled students programs and services worker, an apprenticeship instructor, and a supervisor of health. Existing law provides, notwithstanding that provision, that a person authorized to serve as a community college instructor, librarian, counselor, student personnel worker, supervisor, administrator, or chief administrative officer under a credential shall retain the right to serve under the terms of that credential, and, for that purpose, shall be deemed to possess the minimum qualifications specified for every discipline or service covered by the credential until the expiration of that credential. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt regulations authorizing local governing boards to employ faculty members and educational administrators who do not meet the specified minimum qualifications, subject to alternative minimum qualifications. This bill would explicitly require a community college instructor, librarian, counselor, student personnel worker, supervisor, administrator, chief administrative officer, extended opportunity programs and services worker, disabled students programs and services worker, apprenticeship instructor, or supervisor of health to be a person who meets the above-described minimum qualifications to serve in that position or the alternative qualifications to serve in that position.
(1) Existing law establishes the membership of the Public Utilities Commission, and the qualifications and tenure of the members of the commission. Existing law requires the commission to report annually to the Legislature on the timeliness in resolving cases, including the days that commissioners presided in hearings. This bill would additionally require the commission to report on the days that commissioners attended hearings. The bill would require, in reporting on commissioner attendance at hearings, that the report include attendance at all types of hearings, including by hearing type, proceeding type, and industry type, as provided. (2) The Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act provides for the regulation of charter-party carriers of passengers by the commission and includes specific requirements for liability insurance coverage, background checks, and other regulatory matters applicable to transportation network companies (TNCs) , which are certain organizations that, using an online-enabled application or platform, connect passengers with drivers using a personal vehicle. The act requires, until January 1, 2026, the commission, as part of its regulation of TNCs, to establish, in a new or existing proceeding, a program relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities. Among other program requirements, the act requires each TNC, by July 1, 2019, to pay on a quarterly basis to the commission an amount equivalent to, at a minimum, $0.05 for each TNC trip completed using the TNC's online-enabled application or platform that originates in certain geographic areas except if a TNC satisfies certain requirements for a partial or complete exemption from those charges, as specified. The act requires those charges collected by the commission to be deposited into the TNC Access for All Fund, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the commission for purposes of the program, including for distribution on a competitive basis to access providers that establish on-demand transportation programs or partnerships to meet the needs of persons with disabilities in the geographic areas included in the program. This bill would extend the requirement for the commission to establish that program until January 1, 2032, including extending the $0.05 charge for each completed TNC trip. By extending the operation of the TNC Access for All Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. (3) Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, consisting of 15 voting members, including the Superintendent of Public Instruction as a permanent member and 14 other members, including 6 practicing teachers from public elementary and secondary schools and 3 representatives of the public, appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, serving staggered 4-year terms, as provided. The bill would authorize the governor to appoint to the commission, as one of the 6 practicing teachers, a teacher with a commission-issued child development teacher permit who teaches at a licensed state-funded preschool or prekindergarten program, as provided. The bill would, upon the occurrence of the first vacancy of a public representative position on or after January 1, 2026, reduce the number of public representatives on the commission from 3 to 2 and require the governor to appoint instead one early childhood faculty member representing the early childhood higher education systems who teaches at either (1) an early childhood or child development baccalaureate degree program at one of the California State University or University of California campuses or (2) an associate degree program in one of the California Community Colleges' early childhood education programs.
Existing law, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, authorizes 2 or more public agencies, if authorized by their legislative or other governing bodies, to enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as provided. That act requires, among other things, that the agreement state the purpose of agreement or power to be exercised and provide for the method by which the purpose will be accomplished or the manner in which the power will be exercised. Existing law, operative until July 1, 2029, requires the Office of Emergency Services to enter into a joint powers agreement with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to develop and administer a comprehensive wildfire mitigation program to, among other things, encourage cost-effective structure hardening and retrofitting to create fire-resistant homes, businesses, and public buildings. That law requires the joint powers authority to develop eligibility criteria for property owners, community organizations, and local governments that may receive financial assistance under the wildfire mitigation program. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, the Department of Insurance to be added as an ex officio nonvoting member to the California Wildfire Mitigation Program Board created pursuant to the joint powers agreement.
(1) Existing law, the Real Estate Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and salespersons. Existing law requires specified language be included in agreements that provide for the amount of compensation to be paid to a real estate licensee for the purchase of specified residential property or a mobilehome. That language states that the amount or rate of real estate commissions is not fixed by law but rather is set by each broker individually and may be negotiable between the seller and the broker. This bill would make a technical correction to the language that must be included in agreements for the purchase of a specified property or mobilehome to clarify that the rate at issue is that paid by a buyer to the broker. (2) Existing law, the Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act, defines and regulates consumer credit reports and consumer credit reporting agencies. Existing law prohibits a person from furnishing information regarding a medical debt to a consumer credit reporting agency, and requires a contract creating a medical debt entered into on or after July 1, 2025, to include specified language and provides consequences for failing to include such language. This bill would specify that the requirement that specified language be included in contracts creating medical debt applies only to written contracts. (3) Existing law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of covered debts and requires debtors to act fairly in entering into and honoring those debts. Existing law provides that a covered debt includes a covered commercial debt, and defines "covered commercial debt" and "covered commercial credit" to mean money due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person to a lender, commercial financing provider, or debt buyer, by reason of one or more covered commercial credit transactions, if the total amount of all commercial credit transactions due and owing is no more than $500,000. This bill would specify that commercial debt does not include specified commercial financing transactions of at least $50,000 in which the recipient is a vehicle dealer or an affiliate of a dealer or a trade credit, as defined. (4) Existing law defines and regulates mortgages, including recording notices of default, applications for loan modification, and foreclosure prevention alternatives. Existing law provides that where a borrower submits a timely request for a loan modification, certain types of lien holders may not foreclose on the property during the pendency of that request and provides procedures for the subsequent approval or rejection of that application, as specified. Existing law provides that these lien holders include persons or entities that make or service seven or fewer loans for the purchase of residential property in a year. This bill would specify that the application of this section to persons or entities with seven or fewer loans applies only to such entities that service the loans, and that the loans apply only to properties within the state. The bill also expands the application of this provision to include loans that encumber such property. (5) Existing law requires mortgage servicers to establish a single point of contact when a borrower requests a foreclosure prevention alternative, as specified. Existing law exempts from these provisions entities and persons that, make and service 7 or fewer loans for the purchase of residential real property in a calendar year from those provisions. This bill would instead exempt a person or entity that services seven or fewer loans encumbering real property located in California in a calendar year. (6) Existing law imposes various requirements that must be satisfied before exercising a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust. Among those requirements, existing law requires the mortgagee, beneficiary, or authorized agent with respect to residential real property containing no more than 4 dwelling units to provide to the trustee the fair market value of the property, as defined, at least 10 days prior to the initially scheduled date of sale, and prohibits the trustee from selling the property at the initially scheduled date of sale for less than 67% of the amount of that fair market value of the property. If the property remains unsold after the initial trustee's sale, the trustee is required to postpone the sale for at least 7 days, and would authorize the property to be sold thereafter to the highest bidder, as specified. This bill would clarify that the trustee may not sell the property at the first sale at which a bid may be made for less than 67% of the amount of that fair market value of the property. This bill would further clarify that if the property remains unsold after the first sale at which a bid can be made for less than 67% of market value, the trustee is required to postpone the sale for at least 7 days. (7) Existing law specifies personal property of a judgment debtor that is subject to enforcement of a money judgment. Among other things, tangible chattel paper, as defined, of a judgment debtor that is located in the state is subject to enforcement of a money judgment against the judgment debtor. This bill would instead specify that chattel paper, as defined, of a judgment debtor that is located in the state is subject to enforcement of a money judgment against the judgment debtor. The bill would also conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law. (8) Existing law prescribes procedures for judicial arbitration to facilitate the resolution of small civil cases, and specifies that these procedures are mutually exclusive and independent of another set of procedures relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements between parties. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to the provision above by removing an obsolete cross-reference. (9) Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor to apply for the entry of a judgment based on a sister state judgment, as specified. Existing law permits a writ of execution on such a judgment to issue before service of the notice of entry of judgment if the judgment debtor is, among other things, a foreign partnership that has not filed a statement designating an agent for service of process. This bill would conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law. (10) Existing law, the Civil Discovery Act, governs discovery in civil actions and proceedings of a civil nature. Existing law requires a meet and confer declaration in support of a motion brought pursuant to the act to state facts showing a reasonable and good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion. Existing law deems a failure to confer in person, by telephone, or by letter in order to informally resolve a discovery dispute to be a misuse of the discovery process if the law requires that a party show an attempt at informal resolution in support of a motion. This bill would provide that the parties may meet and confer by videoconference, instead of by letter, in order to conform these provisions to other provisions in the act which authorize meeting and conferring by videoconference. (11) The Civil Discovery Act provides that in actions for unlawful detainer, a plaintiff may propound interrogatories, make a demand for inspection, copying, testing, or sampling, and may make requests for admission, all without leave of court any time that is 5 days after service of summons on or appearance in court by that party. This bill would change these timelines for specified discovery in unlawful detainer actions to 10 days after the service of summons on, or appearance by, that party from which discovery is requested. (12) Existing law requires every partnership that is domiciled outside of the state and that has no regular place of business in the state to file a statement with the Secretary of State designating an agent for service of process, except as specified. This bill would conform a cross-reference in that provision to existing law. (13) Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, provides that when a complaint is filed with the Civil Rights Department, and the department concludes that prompt judicial action is necessary to enforce the act, the director of the department or their authorized representative may bring a civil action for temporary or preliminary relief pending final disposition of the complaint. Existing law requires such an action to be brought in a particular county, depending on whether certain conditions are present. This bill would conform a cross-reference in the provision above, relating to the county in which the judicial action must be brought, to existing law. (14) Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly post the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official, or of their residing spouse or child, on the internet with the intent to cause imminent great bodily harm or threatening to cause imminent great bodily harm, as provided. This bill would recodify this provision in the Penal Code. (15) Existing law prohibits a person, business, or association from publicly posting or publicly displaying on the internet the home address or telephone number of any elected or appointed official if that official has made a written demand of that person, business, or association to not disclose the official's home address or telephone number. Existing law also specifies how an official whose information has been posted in violation of these sections may act to enforce their rights to keep this information private. This bill would repeal these provisions. (16) Existing law prohibits a person, business, or association from soliciting, selling, or trading on the internet the home address or telephone number of an elected or appointed official with the intent to cause imminent great bodily harm to the official or to any person residing at the official's home address. This bill would recodify this provision in the Civil Code. (17) Existing law permits a verified petition to be filed by any beneficially interested person with the county clerk of certain superior courts for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. Existing law provides such petitions are heard by judges who hear probate matters. This bill would specify that petitions to establish such a record for individuals that are otherwise subject to the juvenile courts, as specified, may be made and heard in juvenile courts. The bill would require the court to waive the filing fee for any such petition filed in juvenile court. (18) Existing law requires the general representative of an estate in probate or the estate attorney to give the Director of Health Care Services notice of a decedent's death if the decedent was a recipient of Medi-Cal health care services or was the surviving spouse of a person who received such care in order to provide the director with an opportunity to make a claim against the decedent's estate. This bill would additionally authorize the general representative or the estate attorney to give that notice through the department's official internet website using the online notice of death form. This bill would require the personal representative or estate attorney to provide notice to the to the Director of Child Support Services if the representative or attorney knows or has reason to know that the decedent had a child support obligation, in order to provide the director with an opportunity to assert a claim against the decedent's estate. The bill would make this requirement applicable to all estates for which letters of administration were first issued on or after January 1, 2026. (19) Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the child's parents or guardian. Existing law requires the court, at the initial petition hearing, to examine the child's parents, guardians, Indian custodian, or other persons having relevant knowledge and hear the relevant evidence, and order the release of the child from custody unless a prima facie showing has been made that, among other things, whether less disruptive alternatives to removal were considered, and factors related to impact of removal on the child. If the court finds that removal is necessary existing law requires the court's order to state whether its determination complies with placement guidelines for removed Indian children, and less disruptive alternatives. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to the latter provision.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of political campaigns, lobbying, and other matters relating to governmental ethics and elections. The act prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal from making any contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition to, a state or local ballot measure or an election for a state or local office. The act prohibits a person or committee from soliciting or accepting a contribution from a foreign government or foreign principal for the same purposes. The act makes a violation of these prohibitions a misdemeanor. This bill would expand the prohibitions described above to apply to foreign nationals. The bill would define "foreign national" as a person who is not a citizen of the United States and who is not a lawfully admitted permanent resident. The bill would exclude from this definition a person who has been granted deferred action, and whose deferred action has not expired, under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, as described in guidelines issued by the United States Department of Homeland Security. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education to develop a schoolsite-based oral health assessment program. Existing law authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a nonprofit eye examination provider to provide eye examinations to pupils at any schoolsite within the local educational agency. Existing law authorizes school districts to release pupil directory information, as specified, and defines directory information as one or more prescribed items, including, among others, a pupil's name, address, telephone number, and date of birth. Existing law prohibits the release of directory information of a pupil identified as a homeless child or youth, as defined, unless a parent or eligible pupil has given written consent that the information may be released. This bill, notwithstanding the above provision, would authorize the disclosure of directory information of a pupil identified as a homeless child or youth, as defined, to facilitate an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as described above, unless the parent or a pupil who has been accorded parental rights, as provided, has provided written notice to the school that they do not consent to the physical examination, as specified. The bill would require directory information disclosed pursuant to this authorization to be disclosed only for the purpose of facilitating an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as provided. The bill would provide that reports made to a parent, legal guardian, or caregiver of a pupil experiencing homelessness about a pupil defect identified from an eye examination or an oral health assessment, as described above, should be made by alternative communication channels rather than mail, when possible.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards, and energy and water conservation design standards, for new residential and new nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, as specified. This bill would require the commission to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of passive house energy efficiency standards by California climate zone, using commission-adopted metrics such as long-term system cost. The bill would require the commission to evaluate the use of the 2 passive house energy models currently required for passive house certification in its analysis and the cost-effectiveness of passive house construction compared to existing construction, as specified. The bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature documenting its findings and recommendations.
