This bill designates the week of April 19 to April 25, 2026, as Crime Victims' Rights Week. The primary purpose is to formally recognize and highlight the rights and needs of individuals who have been affected by crime. It does not create new laws or alter existing legal procedures but serves as a commemorative resolution to raise awareness during a specific time period.
Existing law prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified. Existing law allows a defendant to establish a violation of these provisions under specified circumstances, including when a longer or more severe sentence was imposed on the defendant than was imposed on other similarly situated individuals convicted of the same offense and other specified conditions are met. This bill would instead compare the defendant to similarly situated individuals who have engaged in similar conduct, as specified. The bill would make these provisions apply to disparities in plea negotiating and diversion, among other things. Existing law authorizes a defendant in these cases to file a motion requesting disclosure to the defense of all evidence relevant to a potential violation of these provisions, as specified. This bill would additionally authorize a defendant to request any data that has been previously disclosed pursuant to those provisions in another criminal case, and require the court to grant that request, unless the data has no relevance to the current charges. The bill would also revise and recast definitions for these provisions.
Existing law prohibits a public agency, which includes the state, a city, a county, a city and county, or any agency or political subdivision of the state, a city, a county, or a city and county, including, but not limited to, a law enforcement agency, from selling, sharing, or transferring automated license plate recognition (ALPR) information, except to another public agency, and only as otherwise permitted by law. Existing law defines ALPR information as information or data collected through the use of an ALPR system. This bill would provide that "public agency" does not include a transportation agency, a public transit operator, or a local department of transportation or public works department, as specified. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2026, require new, updated, expansions of, or addendums of contractual agreements with ALPR vendors, manufacturers, or suppliers to mandate that no default access is provided to any national ALPR database and that an agency's collected scans are by default not accessible to any other agency, and would impose new requirements on sharing between California state law enforcement agencies. The bill would authorize a law enforcement agency to use ALPR information only for purposes of locating vehicles or persons when either are reasonably suspected of being involved in the commission of a public offense. The bill would prohibit a public agency from retaining ALPR information for more than 60 days after the date of collection if it does not match information on an authorized hot list, as defined, and as of January 1, 2026, would require a public agency to delete all ALPR information that has been held for more than 60 days and does not match information on an authorized hot list within 14 days. By imposing new requirements on public agencies, which include local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law defines an ALPR operator as a person that operates an ALPR system, which does not include a transportation agency. Existing law defines an ALPR end-user a person that accesses or uses an ALPR system, which does not include, among other things, a transportation agency. This bill would additionally exclude from the definitions of "ALPR operator" and "ALPR end-user" a public transit operator, a local department of transportation or public works department, or an airport or airport operator, as provided. Existing law requires an ALPR operator and ALPR end-user to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices, including operational, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. This bill would require those security procedures and practices to include safeguards for managing which employees can see the data from their systems, as specified, and requiring data security training and data privacy training for all employees that access ALPR information. Existing law requires an ALPR operator and ALPR end-user to implement a usage and privacy policy that includes, among other things, a description of the job title or other designation of the employees and independent contractors who are authorized to access and use ALPR information. This bill would require the usage and privacy policy to identify what purpose employees and independent contractors access and use ALPR information for. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to, contingent upon an appropriation of sufficient funds, conduct annual random audits on a public agency that is an ALPR operator or ALPR end-user to determine whether they have implemented and are adhering to that usage and privacy policy. Existing law requires an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to require that ALPR information only be used for the authorized purposes described in the usage and privacy policy and to maintain a record of that access that includes, among other things, the purpose for accessing the information. This bill would instead require that record of access maintained by the ALPR operator to include the case file number or task force name, as applicable, that justifies the search query, and would provide that no queries shall be allowed without a log entry with a valid and current case file number or task force name from the agency conducting the query. 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 provides for various employment programs to assist formerly incarcerated individuals in finding and retaining employment, including the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Prison to Employment Program administered by the California Workforce Development Board. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce. This bill would, by January 1, 2028, require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in partnership with the Department of Industrial Relations, to establish the Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program. The bill would, until January 1, 2032, provide incarcerated individuals access to preapprenticeship training in the skilled construction and building trades. The bill would require the program to provide, among other things, instruction based on the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum and content coordinated with joint apprenticeship training committees. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement the program at one men's facility and one women's facility. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, beginning January 1, 2029, to annually report certain data regarding participation in the program to the Legislature.
Existing law requires each state and local agency that employs peace officers to annually report to the Attorney General specified data on all stops conducted by that agency's peace officers for the preceding calendar year. Existing law defines "stop" for purposes of these provisions to mean any detention by a peace officer of a person or any peace officer interaction with a person in which the peace officer conducts a search of the person's body or property in the person's possession or control. Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish the Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board (RIPA) for the purpose of eliminating racial and identity profiling and improving diversity and racial and identity sensitivity in law enforcement. Existing law requires RIPA to include various members, including 2 representatives of human or civil rights tax-exempt organizations, 2 representatives of community organizations, and 2 religious clergy members, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Governor, President pro Tempore of the Senate, and Speaker of the Assembly to each prescribe up to 2 other members to membership of RIPA. This bill would require RIPA to include in its membership the president of the California District Attorneys Association, or their designee. Existing law requires RIPA to issue a report annually that provides RIPA's analysis of, among other things, the reported stop data described above. Existing law also requires the report to provide detailed findings on the past and current status of racial identity profiling and to make policy recommendations for eliminating racial and identity profiling, as specified. This bill would authorize any member of RIPA to cause a dissenting opinion to be included in the report, as specified. The bill would additionally authorize RIPA to include a response to a dissenting opinion in its report.
Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps in the Natural Resources Agency and requires the corps to implement and administer the conservation corps program. Existing law authorizes the Director of the California Conservation Corps to establish various training and educational program, including, among others, the Education and Employment Reentry Program, within the corps, to provide education and training to formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully served on a California Conservation Camp program crew. This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to jointly evaluate the Ventura Training Center and would require the evaluation to include specified components, including, among others, an evaluation of ways to increase the rate of graduated trainees entering the firefighter workforce. The bill would require the departments to submit a report describing the evaluation to certain legislative committees by January 1, 2026, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates specified programs that employ inmates, including the joint venture program, which is established by the Secretary of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation within state prisons that allows a public entity, nonprofit or for-profit entity, organization, or business to employ inmates confined in the state prison system for the purpose of producing goods or services. Existing law also establishes the Prison Industry Authority within the department for the purpose of developing and operating industrial, agricultural, and service enterprises employing prisoners in institutions under the jurisdiction of the department and for the purpose of creating and maintaining working conditions within the enterprises to ensure prisoners employed have the opportunity to work productively, to earn funds, and to acquire or improve effective work habits and occupational skills. Existing law requires, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development to establish the California Employee Ownership Hub that would, among other things, work with all California state agencies whose regulations and programs affect employee-owned companies, and businesses with the potential to become employee owned, to enhance opportunities and reduce barriers. Existing law, the Cooperative Corporation Law, governs the organization and operation of cooperatives, including, among others, worker cooperatives. Existing law defines a worker cooperative as a corporation formed under the Cooperative Corporation Law that includes a class of worker-members who are natural persons whose patronage consists of labor contributed to or other work performed for the corporation. Existing law requires specified information to be included in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, including, among other things, the apportionment and distribution of net earnings and losses of a worker cooperative. Existing law makes the violation of specified provisions under the Cooperative Corporation Law a crime. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish the Inmate Cooperative Program to facilitate operations of inmate worker cooperatives within state prison facilities. The bill would authorize a group of inmates who seek to establish a worker cooperative to apply to the program by submitting an application to the warden of the facility. The bill would require the warden to approve an application only if the applicant, or a cooperative community partner acting on their behalf, submits a plan of operation to the warden containing specified information, including, among other things, the cooperative's draft bylaws, which describe the cooperative's mission, the cooperative's internal governance structure, an initial management structure, and compensation structure. The bill would define a cooperative community partner as a nonprofit organization, cooperative association, cooperative corporation, or individual that supports the inmates with the establishment, operation, and governance of certified inmate cooperatives. This bill would require a group of inmates seeking to form a worker cooperative to incorporate as a worker cooperative following the approval of an application by the warden. The bill would require the Inmate Cooperative Program to certify the worker cooperative following approval of an application by the warden and incorporation of the cooperative. The bill would require the department to enter into a contract with the cooperative to outline the terms of operation, responsibilities, and compliance requirements. The bill would require a certified cooperative, as a condition to operate in a state prison facility, to write into their bylaws that their cooperative community partner is required to deduct 40% from each inmate's gross wages and deposit the wages into a specified account. The bill would authorize a certified cooperative to engage in the production of goods, agricultural products, or services for the cooperative's use and sale. This bill would require the California Employee Ownership Hub to choose a cooperative institution, which would, among other things, assist in the selection of a financial institution that would steward and manage an account that would be used to, among other things, create economic opportunities for survivors of crime and other persons impacted by their interactions with the criminal justice system with grants for specified purposes. The bill would define a cooperative institution as a nongovernmental nonprofit organization, cooperative association, or similar entity that is dedicated to supporting, overseeing, and promoting cooperative enterprises. The bill would require the financial institution to submit an annual report to the Governor detailing the account's activities, resource allocations, and measurable outcomes of funded initiatives. This bill would also require the department to deduct from inmate wages mandatory deductions for restitution orders and fines, among other things. The bill would require the department to provide certified cooperatives with access to necessary equipment, materials, and resources to support their operations, with no obligation for the department to fund these resources. The bill would prohibit an employee of the department from serving as a member, officer, or board member of any cooperative established under the Inmate Cooperative Program or from having any direct or indirect financial interest in the cooperative or its operations.
This measure would strongly condemn and denounce mass immigration raids that target immigrant workers and families in California and the engagement of the military in immigration enforcement operations and in response to community protests. This measure would affirm support for safeguarding the rights and safety of all Californians, regardless of immigration status, and support, among other things, the expansion of legal services and emergency response resources to protect workers, children, and families affected by immigration enforcement.
Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a security department under the supervision of a chief of security as designated by, and under the direction of, the superintendent of the school district. Existing law also authorizes the governing board of a school district to establish a school police department under the supervision of a school chief of police and to employ peace officers. This bill would require, commencing with the 2028–29 school year, and each school year thereafter, a rural school district or charter school, as defined, to determine the appropriate number of armed school resource officers, as defined, authorized to carry a loaded firearm for each school of the rural school district or charter school. The bill would require the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school to ensure that at least one armed school resource officer is present during regular school hours at each school of the rural school district or charter school that meets specified criteria, as provided. By imposing an additional requirement on school districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the governing board or body, if it is unable to comply with these requirements due to the unavailability of funding or personnel who qualify to serve as an armed school resource officer, to claim a good cause exception to these requirements by adopting a resolution, as provided. 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 Sex Offender Registration Act (act) , requires a person convicted of specified crimes to register with law enforcement as a sex offender while residing in California or while attending school or working in California, as specified. Existing law establishes 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of at least 10 years, at least 20 years, and life, respectively, for a conviction of specified sex offenses. Existing law exempts from mandatory registration under the act a person convicted of certain offenses involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the person to register. A willful failure to register, as required by the act, is a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the underlying offense. This bill would require offenders convicted of engaging in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than 3 years younger than the offender or, if the offender was 21 years of age or older, engaging in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is under 16 years of age, if the offense occurred on or after January 1, 2026, to register for 10 years as a tier one offender under the act, unless the offender was not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the offender to register. By expanding the scope of a 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.
