Rep. Heather Hadwick

Maddy summaryCalifornia Assembly Resolution 129 designates July as Sarcoma Awareness Month to promote public education and support for individuals affected by this rare cancer of bones and connective tissues. The resolution highlights the need for improved early detection, expanded research, and better clinical resources to address the challenges of misdiagnosis and underreporting associated with sarcomas. It directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to send copies of the resolution to the authors for distribution.

Maddy summaryThis bill proclaims September 2026 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in California to raise visibility for mental health resources and reduce stigma. The resolution highlights the severity of suicide as a public health issue, citing statistics on death rates and the increased risk faced by specific groups such as LGBTQIA+ youth and veterans. It encourages residents to openly discuss mental well-being and directs attention to existing support services like the 988 lifeline and local crisis centers.

This measure would recognize the importance of California Native American Day, celebrated this year on September 25, 2026, and the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference, to the enhancement of awareness of California Indian culture.

Maddy summaryThis bill recognizes August 2026 as Chicano Heritage Month to honor the contributions of Mexican Americans to California and the United States. It highlights the history of the Chicano Movement, which sought community empowerment and cultural pride, and notes that over half of California's public school students are of Chicano or Latino origin. The resolution encourages Californians to celebrate this diversity and directs the Chief Clerk to send copies of the document to the sponsoring assembly member for distribution.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates July 23 to July 30, 2026, as Boat People Awareness Week and September 2026 as Boat People Awareness Month to honor Vietnamese refugees who fled Vietnam by boat after the Vietnam War. The measure does not change laws or allocate funding; instead, it establishes a period for public recognition and education about the historical plight of these refugees. It highlights the dangers faced by boat people, including piracy and storms, and acknowledges the significant Vietnamese communities that settled in California and other states. The resolution directs the Assembly Clerk to distribute copies of the document for public distribution.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates a specific month in 2026 as Filipino American History Month to honor the contributions of Filipinos to California and the United States. It recognizes their historical presence dating back to the late 1500s and highlights their roles in agriculture, labor, military service, and community building throughout the state. The resolution serves as a commemorative acknowledgment rather than a law that changes government operations or funding.

Maddy summaryThis House resolution honors California veterans and urges the federal government to speed up the processing of disability claims. It highlights that long wait times for these benefits can cause financial hardship and delay access to necessary medical care. The bill calls on Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to reduce backlogs by improving staffing, increasing administrative efficiency, and modernizing their claims systems. Ultimately, it is a formal request for federal action rather than a law that changes state rules or allocates new funds.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies, and for review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires the office to review regulations on the bases of necessity, authority, clarity, consistency, reference, and nonduplication and requires the office to either approve or disapprove the regulation within 30 working days. If the office disapproves a regulation, existing law requires the office to return it to the adopting agency and include the reasons for disapproval, as specified. This bill would require the office to report a disapproval and the reasons for disapproval to the Legislature within 60 days of returning a regulation to the adopting agency, as specified.

Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth the requirements for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation of regulations by state agencies. The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024 (act) , approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Existing law authorizes certain regulations needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act to be adopted as emergency regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. Existing law requires the emergency regulations to be filed with the Office of Administrative Law and requires the emergency regulations to remain in effect until repealed or amended by the adopting state agency. This bill, notwithstanding the above, would exempt the adoption of regulations for purposes of developing and adopting program guidelines and selection criteria needed to effectuate or implement programs of the act from the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, as provided. The bill would require a state entity that receives funding to administer a competitive grant program established using the Administrative Procedure Act exemption to do certain things, including, among other things, to develop draft project solicitation and evaluation guidelines, to transmit copies of the draft guidelines to the fiscal committees and to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, to hold a noticed public meeting on the draft guidelines, and to submit the final guidelines to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, except as provided. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to post an electronic form of the guidelines submitted by a state entity and the subsequent verifications on the Natural Resources Agency's internet website. The bill would authorize the use of certain previously developed program guidelines and selection criteria for these purposes, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This measure would extend an invitation to the people and government of the Province of Gauteng in South Africa to enter into a sister state relationship with California, would encourage the strengthening of existing partnerships, and would call upon California's universities, research institutions, and public agencies to explore new memoranda of understanding with Gauteng-based counterparts in areas of mutual interest.