Existing law provides for the civil commitment of a person who is determined to be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a procedure by which a person committed as a sexually violent predator may petition for conditional release and requires the court, if it makes a specified determination, to place the person on conditional release. This bill would require a court presiding over any proceeding held pursuant to the above-described provisions that is open to the public to provide the public with a remote access option that allows members of the public to remotely observe the proceeding. The bill would require a court to make the audio of a proceeding accessible to the public if a court is unable to provide a remote access option that includes video due to technological limitations, as defined, that are not reasonably within the control of the court. On and after January 1, 2028, the bill would require a court to provide a remote access option with a visual feed.
The State Bar Act establishes the State Bar of California (State Bar) as a public corporation and assigns to the State Bar various duties with respect to the licensing and regulations of attorneys in the state. The Supreme Court of California issued an administrative order on June 17, 2026, directing the State Bar to circulate for public comment a proposed rule of court that, if adopted, would establish a community justice worker program, as specified. This bill would require the State Bar, after it solicits public comment on the proposed rule, at the time it resubmits the proposal to the Supreme Court of California, to transmit to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary a report specifying any statutory changes the State Bar believes are necessary to implement the community justice worker program. The bill would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2031.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to suspend the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 6 months if they are convicted of either driving under the influence (DUI) of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug or driving while having 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in the person's blood. Under existing law, if a person is convicted of DUI and the offense occurred within 10 years of a separate violation or 2, 3, or 4 or more separate violations for DUI that resulted in specified convictions, the DMV is required to suspend or revoke the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 2, 3, 4, or 5 years, as specified. Existing law requires the department to suspend the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 10 months if they are convicted of a DUI and their blood-alcohol concentration was 0.20% or more or they refused to take a chemical test, and the court refers the person to participate in a licensed program that provides alcohol or drug recovery services, as specified. This bill would require the DMV to suspend the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 1 year if a person is convicted of DUI. The bill would require the DMV to suspend or revoke the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 3, 5, or 10 years, as specified, if a person is convicted of DUI and the offense occurred within 10 years of a separate violation or 2 or 3 separate violations for DUI that resulted in specified convictions. The bill would also require the DMV to permanently revoke the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle if a person is convicted of DUI and the offense occurred within 10 years of 4 or more separate violations. The bill would require the department to suspend the privilege of a person to operate a motor vehicle for 16 months who is convicted of a DUI and whose blood-alcohol concentration was 0.20% or more or who refused to take a chemical test, and who is referred by the court to participate in a licensed program that provides alcohol or drug recovery services, as specified. The bill would make other conforming changes. 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 establishes specified rights for victims and witnesses of crimes, including to be notified or informed regarding specified court proceedings and the right to have a support person present at any interviews with law enforcement for a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault. Existing law requires a law enforcement agency to inform a victim of the rights they may have. This bill would state that a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence has the right to a fair, unbiased, and complete investigation by law enforcement. The bill would require a district attorney to establish a process for reviewing and investigating reported cases of sexual assault or domestic violence and would require that process to include a report to the victim explaining the decision whether or not to bring criminal accusations and which accusations to allege. Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and requires the commission to create courses of training that must be completed by persons before those persons can become peace officers. The commission is also required to create guidelines and training courses for peace officers on specified law enforcement topics, including the investigation of domestic violence complaints and sexual assault. This bill would require those courses and guidelines to include trauma-informed methods for responding to victims, gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language in reporting, and best practices for bias prevention. The bill would require the commission to prepare a course on gender bias in responding to reports of sexual assault and domestic violence and would require that course to adhere to guidance provided by the Department of Justice, as specified. Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and charges it with providing education and outreach to the public on various issues relating to public health, such as lyme disease, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and hepatitis C. This bill would require the department to develop materials to educate the public that all genders may be the victim of sexual assault and domestic violence, that all genders may perpetrate sexual assault and domestic violence, and that all genders have equal rights to safety, shelter, and legal protections and remedies. Because this bill would create new duties for local law enforcement agencies, it 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.
(1) Existing law requires a county social worker to investigate the circumstances of each child taken into temporary custody by a peace officer under specified circumstances. Existing law requires the social worker to conduct an investigation, within 30 days of the child's removal, to identify and locate adult relatives of the child, as specified, and to provide them with a notification that the child has been removed from the custody of the child's parents, guardians, or Indian custodian, and an explanation of the various options to participate in the care and placement of the child. Existing law requires a social worker to use due diligence in investigating the names and locations of relatives, and defines "due diligence" to include family finding, as specified. This bill would authorize a county child welfare agency or probation department to conduct family finding and engagement activities prior to the removal of a child from parental custody, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide for protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need of those services. Existing law, in this regard, and with some exceptions, requires all applications and records concerning any individual made or kept by any public officer or agency in connection with the administration of public social services for which grants-in-aid are received by this state from the federal government be kept confidential. Existing law exempts from those confidentiality provisions the disclosure of information between employees of a county's adult protective services agency and a county's child welfare agency for the purpose of multidisciplinary teamwork in the prevention, intervention, management, or treatment of child abuse or neglect or abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly secure or possess a list of persons who have applied for or who have been granted any form of public service in violation of these provisions. This bill would additionally exempt from these confidentiality provisions information regarding children receiving child welfare services to be disclosed to relatives and nonrelative extended family members without consent if the disclosure is directly connected to the administration of the child welfare program and serves the purpose of identifying placement and support resources for children. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law defines "child welfare services" to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of various purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, and includes, among other services, emergency response services and family maintenance services. This bill would modify the definition of "child welfare services." The bill would require, upon providing child welfare services to a child or family, whether court-ordered or voluntarily accepted, the county child welfare agency or probation department to develop a case plan, as specified. The bill would authorize, as part of the case planning process, a county child welfare agency or probation department to conduct family finding and engagement activities to support the goals identified in the case plan. The bill would define "family finding and engagement" for these purposes. To the extent this bill increases the duties of county welfare agencies or probation departments, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program. (4) 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, until January 1, 2031, authorizes a city or county prosecuting attorney or county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit a theft offense or repeat theft offenses. Existing law requires the prosecuting attorney in a participating county to either refer the case to the county probation department to conduct a prefiling investigation report and determine the appropriateness of program placement or, if the prosecuting attorney's office operates the program, determine if the case is appropriate for referral. Existing law requires the county probation department or prosecuting attorney's office to consider certain factors for referral, including, among others, whether the person has a violent or serious prior criminal record or has previously been referred to a diversion program and failed that program. This bill would require the prosecutor or county probation department, for certain theft offenses, including shoplifting and vandalism, to determine whether, based on certain criteria, specified defendants are eligible for a theft diversion program. The bill would require the prosecuting attorney to review their file for certain factors, including whether the offense charged involved a crime of violence or threatened violence and, if the defendant is eligible, would require the attorney to file a declaration or state for the record the grounds for the determination of the defendant's eligibility. The bill would require the court to dismiss the action against the defendant at the end of the period of diversion if the defendant has complied with the imposed terms and conditions of diversion. By increasing the duties on 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 authorizes every person who is unlawfully imprisoned or restrained of their liberty to prosecute a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of that imprisonment or restraint. Existing law also authorizes a writ of habeas corpus to be prosecuted on the basis that competent and substantial expert testimony relating to intimate partner battering and its effects was not presented to the trier of fact at the trial court proceedings and is of such substance that, had the competent and substantial expert testimony been presented, there is a reasonable probability, sufficient to undermine confidence in the judgment of conviction or sentence, that the result of the proceedings would have been different. This bill would additionally authorize a writ of habeas corpus to be prosecuted on the basis that evidence or argument likely to trigger gender-based stereotypes was admitted or relied upon by the prosecution at trial in a manner that created a reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different if such evidence was not admitted or argument offered. The bill would provide that evidence or argument likely to trigger gender-based stereotypes includes, but is not limited to, information concerning a defendant's sexual activity, sexual orientation, sexual partners, reproductive choices, gender presentation, clothing, or romantic relationships, when offered in a matter that may invoke gender-based stereotypes. 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. Because this bill may result in the exclusion of evidence that would otherwise be admissible in a criminal proceeding, the bill would require a 23 vote of the Legislature.
Existing law imposes various fees, contingent upon a criminal arrest, prosecution, or conviction, for the cost of administering the criminal justice system, including traffic violator school fees, costs for when a minor is adjudged a ward of the court, as specified, or costs incurred by a state or local agency for the disposal of various substances if the person is convicted of the sale, possession, or transportation of a controlled substance, as specified. This bill would repeal the authority to collect many of those fees, among others. The bill would make the unpaid balance of most court-imposed costs unenforceable and uncollectible and would require any portion of a judgment imposed by those costs to be vacated. The bill would relieve a person who is sentenced to state prison or confined in a county jail from being required to pay any trial court filing fees or costs related to the person's underlying criminal conviction. The bill would make related findings and declarations. The bill would also make various conforming changes.
Existing law provides that any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act, including any of the acts constituting other crimes, as provided, upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under 14 years of age, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 6, or 8 years. The bill would require the Department of Justice, upon completion of an investigation of a person who holds an elected office in which the department determines the person committed specified crimes relating to rape, that the victim was a minor, and that the case is appropriate for prosecution, to bring criminal charges against that person within 30 days. Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant suffering from a mental disorder, on an accusatory pleading alleging the commission of a misdemeanor or felony offense, in order to allow the defendant to undergo mental health treatment. Existing law makes a defendant ineligible for this diversion program if the defendant is charged with specified offenses, including, among other offenses, any sex offense except indecent exposure. This bill would, when the facts alleged in the accusatory pleading or disclosed in the preliminary hearing transcript would constitute an offense for which a defendant would be ineligible for diversion under these provisions, and the defendant has not been charged with those offenses, require the prosecution to state on the record why those charges are not being sought and whether they have conferred with the victim about the charges filed. By increasing duties on prosecutors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1001.36 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 46 to be operative only if this bill and AB 46 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 subjects a person between 12 and 17 years of age, inclusive, who commits a crime, and a person under 12 years of age who commits specified crimes, to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge that person to be a ward of the court. Under existing law, as added by the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, approved as Proposition 21 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, a minor may be eligible for deferred entry of judgment if certain circumstances apply, including, among others, that the minor has not previously been declared to be a ward of the court for the commission of a felony offense. Existing law requires, once eligibility is established, the court to determine whether the minor is suitable for deferred entry of judgment and would benefit from education, treatment, and rehabilitation efforts. This bill would require the court to consider whether the minor is charged with an offense of carrying a loaded firearm, as specified, when evaluating suitability of the minor for deferred entry of judgment.
