Asm. Stephanie Nguyen

This measure would designate the week of January 21, 2024, to January 27, 2024, inclusive, as Nurse Anesthesiologist Week.

Existing law makes it a crime to possess for sale or purchase for purpose of sale, transport, import, sell, furnish, administer, give away, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, derive, process, or prepare various controlled substances, including, among others, fentanyl, peyote, and various other opiates and narcotics. This bill, Alexandra's Law, would require the court to advise a person who is convicted of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, the above crimes, as specified, of the danger of selling or administering illicit drugs and counterfeit pills and that, if a person dies as a result of that action, the defendant can be charged with homicide. The bill would require the court to read the advisory statement in a case in which the defendant exchanged a controlled substance containing fentanyl or its analogs for anything else of value, as specified. The bill would require the advisory statement to be included in a plea form, if used, and specified on the record. The bill would require that the fact the advisory was given be recorded in the abstract of conviction and would prohibit the advisement from being used as evidence in the prosecution of a minor in juvenile court.

Existing law prohibits a local authority from enacting or enforcing an ordinance on matters covered by the Vehicle Code unless expressly authorized by the Vehicle Code. Existing law authorizes local authorities to adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution regarding specified matters, including, among others, crossing guards, the operation of bicycles, the removal of illegally parked vehicles, and cruising, as defined. This bill would remove the authorization for a local authority to adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or regulation regarding cruising. Existing law makes it unlawful to operate a passenger vehicle, or commercial vehicle under 6,000 pounds, that has been modified from its original design so that any portion of the vehicle, other than the wheels, has less clearance from the surface of a level roadway than the clearance between the roadway and the lowermost portion of any rim of any wheel in contact with the roadway. This bill would repeal that prohibition. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 21100 of the Vehicle Code proposed by AB 825 and SB 50 to be operative only if this bill and AB 825, this bill and SB 50, or this bill, AB 825, and SB 50 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law includes the terms "mentally retarded persons," "mentally retarded children," "retardation," and "handicap." This bill, The Dignity for All Act, would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions to eliminate this obsolete terminology. The bill would repeal obsolete provisions of law.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and sets forth its powers and duties, including promoting the development of affordable housing in the state. Existing law creates the California Housing Finance Agency within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and authorizes the agency to make loans to finance affordable housing. Existing law establishes the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee to allocate specified federal low-income housing tax credits. Existing law also establishes the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee for the purpose of implementing the volume limit for the state on private activity bonds established pursuant to federal law. Under existing law, the committee's duties include annually determining a state ceiling on the aggregate amount of private activity bonds that may be issued, and allocating that amount among state and local agencies. This bill would require specified reviewing entities, as defined as the above-described entities, to jointly convene an Affordable Housing Finance Workgroup to develop recommendations for state-administered programs to utilize a consolidated application for multifamily affordable rental housing developers to use to obtain grants, soft loans, low-income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, federal funds, as applicable, and other types of subsidies for building affordable housing, and develop a coordinated review process for the application, as described. The bill would require the workgroup to include representatives of the reviewing entities, nonprofit and for-profit affordable housing developers, and local and tribal governments. The bill would require the workgroup to identify specified information, including any state-administered program that may utilize the consolidated application and coordinated review process, and a timeline for developing a single consolidated application and coordinated review process. On or before, July 1, 2026, the bill would require the workgroup to report recommendations on implementing a single consolidated application and coordinated review process to the reviewing entities, the Legislature, and certain committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the reviewing entities to develop and report to the Legislature a plan to update state-administered programs that may utilize the consolidated application and coordinated review process based on the recommendations of the workgroup on or before January 1, 2027, as specified.

Existing law provides that libel is a false and unprivileged written publication that injures the reputation and that slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, that injures the reputation, as specified. Existing law makes certain publications and communications privileged and therefore protected from civil action, including complaints of sexual harassment by an employee, without malice, to an employer based on credible evidence and communications between the employer and interested persons regarding a complaint of sexual harassment. This bill would include among those privileged communications a communication made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination, as defined, and would specify the attorney's fees and damages available to a prevailing defendant in any defamation action brought against that defendant for making that communication.

Existing law authorizes a court to grant pretrial diversion to a defendant in specified cases, including when the defendant is suffering from a mental disorder, specified controlled substances crimes, and when the defendant was, or currently is, a member of the United States military. This bill would, until July 1, 2029, authorize the Counties of Sacramento and Yolo to offer secured residential treatment pilot programs, known as Hope California, for individuals suffering from substance use disorders (SUDs) who have been convicted of qualifying drug-motivated felony crimes, as specified. The bill would require the program to meet certain conditions relating to, among other things, a risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment, a comprehensive curriculum, a determination by a judge of the length of treatment, data collection, licensing and monitoring of the facility by the State Department of Health Care Services, and reporting to the department and the Legislature. The bill would require the judge to offer the defendant voluntary participation in the pilot programs, as an alternative to a jail or prison sentence otherwise imposed, if the defendant's crime was caused, in whole or in part, by the defendant's SUD, the crime was not a sex crime, serious or violent felony, nonviolent drug possession, domestic violence, or driving under the influence, and the judge makes their determination based on the recommendations of the treatment providers, on a finding by the county health and human services agency that the defendant's participation would be appropriate, and on a specified report prepared with input from interested parties. Under the bill, the defendant would be eligible to receive credits for participation in the program, as specified. The bill would set forth a procedure for the transfer of a participant out of the secured residential treatment program based on the recommendations of the treatment providers or program administrators or based on the participant's request, as specified. If the participant successfully completes the court-ordered drug treatment, as determined by treatment providers pursuant to the pilot program, the bill would require the court to set aside the conviction and to dismiss the accusation or information against the defendant and would authorize the court to set aside the conviction and to dismiss the accusation or information of any previous drug possession or drug use crimes on the participant's record. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, as defined, and to furnish this information to various state and local government officers, officials, and other prescribed entities, if needed in the course of their duties. Existing law requires the Department of Justice, as part of the state summary criminal history information, to disseminate every conviction rendered against an applicant unless the conviction falls within an exception. This bill would exempt from dissemination a conviction that has been set aside pursuant to the above provisions. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including mental health and substance use disorder services, pursuant to a schedule of benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law, with certain exceptions based in part on the type and location of the service, provides for the suspension of Medi-Cal benefits to an inmate of a public institution. This bill would, to the extent permitted under federal and state law, make treatment provided to a participant during the program reimbursable under the Medi-Cal program, if the participant is a Medi-Cal beneficiary and the treatment is a covered benefit under the Medi-Cal program. If treatment services are not reimbursable under the Medi-Cal program or through the participant's personal health care coverage, the bill would authorize funds allocated to the state from the 2021 Multistate Opioid Settlement Agreement, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, to be used to reimburse those treatment services to the extent consistent with the terms of the settlement agreement and the court's final judgment, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Sacramento and Yolo.

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) grants to a consumer various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that collects sensitive personal information about the consumer to limit its use of the consumer's sensitive personal information to that use which is necessary to perform the services or provide the goods reasonably expected by an average consumer who requests those goods or services, to perform certain other services, and as authorized by certain regulations. The CCPA defines "sensitive personal information to mean personal information that reveals, among other things, a consumer's racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, amended, added to, and reenacted the CCPA. This bill would define "sensitive personal information" for purposes of the CCPA to additionally include personal information that reveals a consumer's citizenship or immigration status. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature, as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.

Existing law establishes various holidays in this state, including Lunar New Year. Existing law requires community colleges to close on specified holidays, including February 12, known as "Lincoln Day," and the third Monday in February, known as "Washington Day." Existing law entitles certain community college employees to be given time off with pay for specified holidays, including for Lincoln Day and Washington Day. This bill would authorize the governing board of a community college district, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding, to replace closing on Lincoln Day or Washington Day with the date corresponding with the second new moon following the winter solstice, or the third new moon following the winter solstice should an intercalary month intervene, known as "Lunar New Year." The bill would require that certain community college employees, in lieu of a paid holiday for Lincoln Day or Washington Day, receive a paid holiday for the Lunar New Year if the governing board of the community college replaces closing on Lincoln Day or Washington Day with closing on Lunar New Year.