Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body be open and public, and that all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. The act generally requires for teleconferencing that the legislative body of a local agency that elects to use teleconferencing post agendas at all teleconference locations, identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda of the meeting or proceeding, and have each teleconference location be accessible to the public. Existing law also requires that, during the teleconference, at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction. This bill, with respect to those general provisions on teleconferencing, would require a legislative body electing to use teleconferencing to instead post agendas at a singular designated physical meeting location, as defined, rather than at all teleconference locations. The bill would remove the requirements for the legislative body of the local agency to identify each teleconference location in the notice and agenda, that each teleconference location be accessible to the public, and that at least a quorum of the members participate from locations within the boundaries of the territory over which the local agency exercises jurisdiction. The bill would instead provide that, for purposes of establishing a quorum of the legislative body, members of the body may participate remotely, at the designated physical location, or at both the designated physical meeting location and remotely. The bill would require the legislative body to have at least 2 meetings per year in which the legislative body's members are in person at a singular designated physical meeting location. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes the legislative body of a local agency to use alternative teleconferencing provisions without complying with the general teleconferencing requirements that agendas be posted at each teleconference, that each teleconference location be identified in the notice and agenda, and that each teleconference location be accessible to the public, if at least a quorum of the members of the legislative body participates in person from a singular physical location clearly identified on the agenda that is open to the public and situated within the local agency's jurisdiction. Under existing law, these alternative teleconferencing provisions require the legislative body to provide at least one of 2 specified means by which the public may remotely hear and visually observe the meeting. Under existing law, these alternative teleconferencing provisions authorize a member to participate remotely if the member is participating remotely for just cause, limited to twice per year, or due to emergency circumstances, contingent upon a request to, and action by, the legislative body, as prescribed. Existing law specifies that just cause includes travel while on official business of the legislative body or another state or local agency. This bill would revise the alternative provisions, operative until January 1, 2026, to make these provisions operative indefinitely. The bill would delete the restriction that prohibits a member, based on just cause, from participating remotely for more than 2 meetings per calendar year. The bill would delete the requirement for the legislative body to provide at least one of 2 specified means by which the public may remotely hear and visually observe the meeting. The bill would also delete a provision that requires a member participating remotely to publicly disclose at the meeting before action is taken whether there are individuals 18 years of age present in the room at the remote location and the general nature of the member's relationship to those individuals. The bill would further delete a provision that prohibits a member from participating remotely for a period of more than 3 consecutive months or 20% of the regular meetings within a calendar year, or more than 2 meetings if the legislative body regularly meets fewer than 10 times per calendar year. The bill would expand the definition of just cause to include travel related to a member of a legislative body's occupation. The bill would make related, conforming changes. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Education for a Global Economy Initiative, approved by the voters as Proposition 58 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, requires school districts and county offices of education to solicit input on, and provide to pupils, effective and appropriate instructional methods, including establishing language acquisition programs, in order to ensure that all pupils, including English learners and native speakers of English, have access to the core academic content standards and become proficient in English. Existing regulations require a local educational agency, as part of the development of a local control and accountability plan or an annual update to a local control and accountability plan, to inform and receive input from stakeholders, as provided, regarding, among other things, the agency's existing language acquisition programs and language programs. This bill would require a school district, county office of education, or charter school to annually provide input received, as specified, from stakeholders regarding existing language acquisition programs and language programs to the State Department of Education. The bill would require the department to provide an annual report to the Legislature with the information obtained from these local educational agencies by March 1, 2024, and on or before March 1 each year thereafter. To the extent this bill imposes additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2028. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax 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. This bill would reduce the rate of tax imposed by the Sales and Use Tax Law on and after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, by 1%. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Under existing law, the segments of public postsecondary education in the state are the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. This bill would require the Student Aid Commission to convene a working group until July 1, 2026, consisting of representatives from the State Department of Education, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and faculty, staff, and students from the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California to research and develop recommendations for the creation of a pilot program, as specified, that would cover the cost of postsecondary education in the state by replacing the system of charging students tuition and fees, and addressing additional expenses associated with attendance at a public postsecondary institution. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, the working group to submit a report to the Legislature on the pilot program, including information identified by the working group such as the public postsecondary institutions that would participate in the pilot program, the length of the pilot program, and available funding sources for the duration of the pilot program. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2027.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Existing law, until January 1, 2030, exempts from CEQA a university housing development project carried out by a public university on real property owned by the public university if the project meets certain requirements, including that each building within the project is certified as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum or better by the United States Green Building Council. Existing law requires the lead agency, if the university housing development project is exempt from CEQA under the above provision, to file the LEED certificate for buildings within the project and a notice determining that the construction impacts of the project have been fully mitigated with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk of the county in which the project is located. This bill would revise the exemption for a university housing development project to require each building within the project to be certified as LEED gold with a point total of 79 or better. Because the bill would result in additional university housing development projects being exempt from CEQA, thereby increasing the duties of the county clerk, 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.
The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city that includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Under that law, supportive housing, as defined, is a use by right in zones where multifamily and mixed uses are permitted if the developer provides the planning agency with a plan for providing supportive services and the proposed housing development meets specified criteria. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA does not apply to the approval of ministerial projects. This bill would make an office conversion project, as defined, that meets certain requirements a use by right in all areas regardless of zoning. The bill would define "office conversion project" to mean the conversion of a building used for office purposes or a vacant office building into residential dwelling units. The bill would define "use by right" to mean that the city or county's review of the office conversion may not require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary city or county review or approval that would constitute a "project" for purposes of CEQA, as specified. By requiring the approval of housing crisis projects as a use by right, the bill would expand the exemption for approval of ministerial projects under CEQA. This bill would exempt an office conversion project from impact fees, as defined, that are not directly related to the conversion of an office building into residential dwelling units. The bill would allow the proponent of an office conversion project to pay applicable impact fees over a 10-year period, subject to specified requirements. This bill would authorize a local government to adopt an ordinance to implement these provisions and specify the process and requirements applicable to office conversion projects, provided that the ordinance is consistent with, and does not inhibit the objectives of the bill. By imposing new duties on local governments in reviewing and approving office conversion projects, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, upon appropriation of the Legislature, require the Department of Housing and Community Development to establish a program that awards funding to office conversion projects that are eligible as a use by right, as described above. The bill would establish the Office to Housing Conversion Fund, and provide that the moneys in the fund are to be made available to the department for purposes of the program. The 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. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law requires each department or agency in this state that employs peace officers to establish a procedure to investigate complaints by members of the public against the personnel of these departments or agencies, and to make a written description of this procedure available to the public. Existing law also requires each department or agency to keep and maintain records of complaints and investigations, as specified. This bill would require the governing body of each city and county to, by January 1, 2026, create an independent community-based commission on law enforcement officer practices. The bill would authorize each commission to, among other things, conduct independent investigations of complaints against a police officer or sheriff alleging physical injury to a person, including injuries resulting in a person's death. The bill would require the commission to prepare a report after an investigation and include the results of the investigation and a recommended course of action, if any, to be taken by the governing body regarding the law enforcement officer investigated by the commission. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, authorizes a development proponent to submit an application for a multifamily housing development that is subject to a streamlined, ministerial approval process, as provided, and not subject to a conditional use permit, if the development satisfies specified objective planning standards. This bill would require a local government to approve a proposed housing development pursuant to a streamlined, ministerial approval process if the development meets certain objective planning standards, including, but not limited to, a requirement that the proposed parcel for the development be a climate-smart parcel, as described, or be included in the applicable region's sustainable communities strategy as a priority development area. The bill would set forth procedures for approving these developments and would set forth various limitations for these developments. The bill would authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development to review, adopt, amend, and repeal guidelines, rules, and regulations to implement uniform standards or criteria that supplement or clarify the terms, references, or standards set forth by this process. Existing law requires the department to notify a city, county, or city and county, and authorizes the department to notify the office of the Attorney General, that the city, county, or city and county is in violation of state law if the department finds that the housing element or an amendment to the housing element does not substantially comply with specified provisions of the Planning and Zoning Law, or that the local government has taken action in violation of specified provisions of law relating to housing, including, among others, the Housing Accountability Act, the Density Bonus Law, and the Housing Crisis Act of 2019. This bill would add the streamlining procedures added by the bill to the list of laws subject to this notification requirement. The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law also sets forth various procedures related to land use actions and utility service in local jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, a requirement that a tentative a final map be made for certain housing projects, including all subdivisions creating 5 or more parcels. This bill would prohibit a county, or city if certain conditions are met, from increasing the planned density on climate resilient lands, as defined, from approving any tentative, final, or parcel maps for the subdivision of property within climate risk lands or climate refugia lands, as defined, and from approving an extension of water or sewer services on climate resilient lands unless specified planning requirements or conditions are met. The bill would require, as part of those requirements or conditions, the county or city to make certain findings that are confirmed by the Office of Planning and Research. The bill would set forth procedures for requesting those findings from the office. The bill would make conforming changes. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The 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. 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 prohibits new residential-type gas appliances that are equipped with a pilot light from being sold in the state 24 months after an intermittent ignition device has been demonstrated and certified by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. This bill would prohibit state agencies and local governments from adopting or enforcing a rule, regulation, resolution, or ordinance that directly or indirectly results in prohibiting the use of gas stoves in residential and nonresidential buildings. The 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.
Existing law governs professions and vocations that are regulated by various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs, including the Medical Board of California and the Dental Board of California. Existing law requires those boards to require a licensee, at the time of issuance of a license, to provide specified federal taxpayer information, including the applicant's social security number or individual taxpayer identification number. Existing law prohibits a licensing board from processing an application for an initial license unless the applicant provides that information where requested on the application. Existing law, the Licensed Physicians and Dentists from Mexico Pilot Program, allows licensed physicians and dentists from Mexico to be issued a license by the Medical Board of California or a permit by the Dental Board of California to practice medicine or dentistry in California for a period not to exceed 3 years and establishes requirements for the participants in the program, as specified. This bill would, for purposes of the pilot program, notwithstanding the above-described requirements to provide specified federal taxpayer information, require the Medical Board of California to issue a 3-year nonrenewable license to an applicant who has not provided an individual taxpayer identification number or social security number if the applicant meets specified conditions. This bill would require the applicant, pursuant to these conditions, to immediately seek an appropriate 3-year visa and social security number from the federal government within 14 days of being issued the medical license and immediately provide the medical board with their social security number within 10 days of issuance of that card by the federal government. The bill would prohibit the applicant from engaging in the practice of medicine until the board determines that these conditions have been met. The bill would require the board to notify the applicant of their eligibility to practice medicine if the board determines the applicant has met these conditions. This bill would also authorize the Medical Board of California to extend the 3-year nonrenewable license period under specified circumstances, including during the timeframe in which a licensee is unable to work due to an ongoing medical condition or due to a delay in the visa application process, subject to providing sufficient documentation to the board for the extension. The bill would require the board, upon receipt of documentation from the licensee, to grant an extension for the timeframe in which the licensee was unable to work if that board determines that the licensee has satisfied the requirements for an extension. The bill would authorize the medical board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to expend funds to cover staffing costs of monitoring the extensions, as specified.
Existing law, the Uniform Parentage Act, prescribes various circumstances under which an action may be brought for the purpose of determining the existence or nonexistence of a parent and child relationship, and specifies by whom the action may be brought, including, but not limited to, the child, the Department of Child Support Services, or a presumed parent, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016, to award funding to local health departments, local government agencies, or on a competitive basis to other organizations, as specified, to support or establish programs that provide naloxone to first responders and to at-risk opioid users through programs that serve at-risk drug users. This bill would, until January 1, 2029, establish the Overdose Response Team Fund, to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the administration of grants by the Board of State and Community Corrections to county sheriffs' departments' task forces established for overdose response. The bill would authorize a department receiving a grant to establish and implement overdose response teams with the sheriffs' departments of those counties. The bill would require the teams to respond to and investigate overdose deaths and nonfatal overdoses. The bill would require counties participating in these programs to send annual reports to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, including the number of arrests for specified crimes, the amount of fentanyl and opioids seized in each county, and the number of units of opioid antagonists administered, distributed, or recovered at each overdose scene.
