Asm. Rhodesia Ransom

Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain an index of all reports of child abuse and severe neglect submitted by an agency mandated to make those reports. Existing law requires the department to make relevant information contained in the index available to specified law enforcement agencies, county welfare departments, and other agencies that are conducting a child abuse investigation. Existing law authorizes a designated Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program to submit fingerprint images and related information of employment and volunteer candidates to the department for the purpose of obtaining information as to the existence and nature of a record of a child abuse investigation contained in the Child Abuse Central Index, state- or federal-level convictions, or state- or federal-level arrests for which the department establishes that the applicant was released on bail or on their own recognizance pending trial. Existing law requires the department to charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of processing the requests for federal-level criminal offender record information and prohibits the department from charging a fee for state-level criminal offender record information. This bill would instead require a CASA program to submit fingerprint images and related information of employment and volunteer candidates to the department for the purpose of conducting a state and federal criminal history background check. The bill would require the department to monitor the Child Abuse Central Index and notify the CASA program if a record of a child abuse investigation involving a CASA employee or volunteer is added to that index. The bill would impose notification and review requirements on a CASA program to request that the department remove the notification for an individual who is no longer employed by or volunteering with the CASA program, as specified. The bill would require the department to terminate notification for an individual upon receipt of that request. The bill would authorize the department to increase its fee for a CASA employment and volunteer candidate to cover the cost of processing those subsequent notifications.

Former law, Chapter 319 of the Statutes of 2020, until July 1, 2023, established a task force to, among other things, identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies, as specified, and to recommend the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded, and who should be eligible for this compensation. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, establishes the Civil Rights Department and sets forth its powers and duties, including, among others, receiving, investigating, and prosecuting complaints alleging violations of civil rights, as specified. This bill would establish the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the department, under the control of the deputy director, who would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would require the bureau to create a Genealogy Division, as specified, and to verify an individual's status as a descendant and would require proof of an individual's descendant status to be a qualifying criterion for benefits authorized by the state for descendants. The bill would also require the bureau to create an Education and Outreach Division and a Legal Affairs Division. The bill would impose various requirements on the bureau relating to the collection, storage, and disclosure of personal and genetic information, as specified. The bill would authorize the bureau to receive moneys from any federal, state, or local grant and from any nongovernmental entity, as specified. This bill would make implementation of its provisions contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature, as specified. This bill would include findings and declarations relating to a gift of public funds. 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.

Existing law governs the obligations of tenants and landlords. Existing law authorizes a tenant to deduct the payment made to a public utility or publicly owned utility or a district from the rent, as specified. Existing law prohibits a lessor who has retaliated against a lessee for exercising the lessee's prescribed rights from recovering possession of a dwelling, causing the lessee to quit involuntarily, increasing the rent, or decreasing services within 180 days of the occurrence of specified events relating to tenability, if the lessee is not in default on their rent, as specified. Existing law presumes that the hiring of real property is renewed for a specified amount of time, under specified circumstances. For any residential tenancy commenced, renewed, or continuing on a month-to-month or other periodic basis, on or after January 1, 2026, this bill would require a landlord or their agent to allow the tenant to opt out of paying for any subscription from a third-party internet service provider for specified services in connection with the tenancy. If the landlord or their agent violates this provision, the bill would authorize the tenant to deduct the cost of the subscription from the rent. The bill would prohibit a landlord or their agent from retaliating against a tenant for exercising their rights pursuant to this bill and consistent with the above-described provision on retaliation, as provided.

The California FAIR Plan Association is a joint reinsurance association in which all insurers licensed to write basic property insurance participate in administering a program for the equitable apportionment of basic property insurance for persons who are unable to obtain that coverage through normal channels. Existing law requires the association's plan of operation and any amendment to the plan to be approved by the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank and authorizes it to issue bonds to provide funds for the payment of costs of a project for a participating party or upon request by a state entity. This bill would authorize the association, if granted prior approval from the commissioner, to request the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank to issue bonds, and would authorize the bank to issue those bonds to finance the costs of claims, to increase liquidity and claims-paying capacity of the association, and to refund bonds previously issued for that purpose. The bill would specify that the association is a participating party and that financing all or any portion of the costs of claims or to increase liquidity and the claims-paying capacity of the association is a project for bond purposes. The bill would authorize the bank to loan the proceeds of issued bonds to the association, and would authorize the association to enter into a loan agreement with the bank and to enter into a line of credit agreement or other agreement This bill would require the association, if the above-described bonds, loan agreements, or lines of credit received the prior approval of the commissioner, and if the association is unable to timely and fully meet its repayment obligation, to assess members in the amounts and at the times necessary to timely pay in full all obligations of the association with respect to those bonds, loan agreements, lines of credit, and other agreements, as specified. The bill would authorize the association to secure those bonds, loan agreements, lines of credit, and other agreements by a statutory lien, as specified. Existing law establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for the purpose of implementing the objectives of the bank. To the extent that the bill would result in additional revenues being deposited into the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law declares the public policy of the state regarding labor organization, including, among other things, that it is necessary for a worker to have full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. Existing law establishes the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in state government as a means of resolving disputes and enforcing the statutory duties and rights of specified public employers and employees under various acts regulating collective bargaining. Under existing law, PERB has the power and duty to investigate an unfair practice charge and to determine whether the charge is justified and the appropriate remedy for the unfair practice. Existing law, the federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) , establishes a comprehensive statutory scheme regulating unfair labor practices on the part of employers and labor organizations in industries affecting interstate commerce, and vests in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) the power to conduct elections to determine employee representatives and to prevent unfair labor practices affecting commerce. Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires that public records, as defined, be available to the public for inspection and made promptly available to any person. This bill would expand PERB's jurisdiction by authorizing a worker, to petition PERB to protect and enforce prescribed rights under specified circumstances, including if the worker is employed in a position subject to the NLRA but the NLRB has expressly or impliedly ceded jurisdiction. The bill would authorize PERB to, among other things, decide unfair labor practice cases pursuant to a specified timeline and order all appropriate relief for a violation, including civil penalties, as prescribed. In order to pursue relief from PERB, the bill would require a covered worker or their representative to file an unfair practice charge or petition that includes specified information, including, where applicable, the original charge or petition filed with the NLRB. The bill would require PERB to hold the supporting documentation and evidence confidential and maintain it as part of its investigatory file and would exempt this documentation and evidence from the California Public Records Act. If PERB determines, among other things, it has insufficient resources to process certain cases or doing so would prevent it from meeting specified statutory deadlines, the bill would require PERB to process and prioritize charges, as specified. The bill would also establish the Public Employment Relations Board Enforcement Fund (fund) in the State Treasury, would require the above-described civil penalties to be deposited into the fund, and would make moneys in the fund available upon appropriation by the Legislature to PERB for the purpose of administering the above-specified provisions. The bill would authorize PERB to rely on its own decisions and precedent under the NLRA and would authorize review of its decisions by a state appellate court, as specified. Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining, as specified, and prohibits agricultural employers and labor organizations from engaging in unfair labor practices. Those provisions establish the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) and empower the ALRB to prevent any person from engaging in those practices. Existing law establishes various definitions for these purposes. Existing law requires the ALRB to follow applicable precedents of the NLRA. This bill would specify that the ALRB has exclusive jurisdiction in all phases of the administration of the act, and to determine whether any person or entity meets one or more of those definitions. The bill would instead authorize the board to follow applicable precedents of the NLRA, but would not obligate the board to follow precedents where the ALRB deems it inappropriate to do so. This bill would make related findings and declarations and would make its provisions severable. 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.

Existing law prohibits a person or business, as defined, from collecting, using, disclosing, or retaining the personal information of a person who is physically located at, or within a precise geolocation of, a family planning center, as defined, except as necessary to perform the services or provide the goods requested and prohibits a person or business from selling or sharing this personal information. Existing law authorizes an aggrieved person or entity to institute and prosecute a civil action against a person or business for a violation of these provisions and specifies the damages and costs authorized to be recovered. This bill would recast the above-described provisions, and instead prohibit the collection, use, disclosure, sale, sharing, or retention of the personal information of a natural person who is physically located at, or within a precise geolocation of, a family planning center, except under certain circumstances, including, among others, for the collection or use as necessary to perform the services or provide the goods requested. The bill would also provide that these provisions do not alter applicable law regarding use by a law enforcement agency, as defined, of personal information generated by an electronic monitoring device. The bill would authorize an aggrieved person to institute and prosecute a civil action against a natural person, association, proprietorship, corporation, trust, foundation, partnership, or any other organization or group of people acting in concert for a violation of these provisions. The bill would also make other nonsubstantive changes. This bill would, subject to specified exceptions, prohibit geofencing, or selling or sharing personal information with a third party to geofence, as defined, an entity that provides in-person health care services in California for specified purposes, and would prohibit the use of personal information obtained in violation of this provision. The bill would provide that violators are subject to an injunction and liable for a civil penalty assessed and recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General, and deposited in the California Reproductive Justice and Freedom Fund. The bill would require those penalties to be awarded by the State Department of Public Health for grants to implement a program or to fund an existing program that provides and promotes medically accurate and comprehensive reproductive and sexual health education, as provided. The bill would also provide that a statement signed under penalty of perjury, as specified, that the personal information will not be used for selling or sharing personal information in violation of these geofencing provisions is prima facie evidence that the personal information was not sold or shared in violation of these geofencing provisions. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) , generally prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, or a contractor from disclosing medical information regarding a patient, enrollee, or subscriber without first obtaining an authorization, unless a specified exception applies. The CMIA prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, a contractor, or an employer from releasing medical information that would identify an individual or related to an individual seeking or obtaining an abortion in response to a subpoena or a request or to law enforcement if that subpoena, request, or the purpose of law enforcement for the medical information is based on, or for the purpose of enforcement of, either another state's laws that interfere with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. This bill would, similar to the provisions of the CMIA, prohibit the release of research records, in a personally identifying form, developed or acquired by a person in the course of conducting research relating to anyone seeking or obtaining health care services, or relating to personal information, in response to a subpoena or a request or to law enforcement if that subpoena, request, or the purpose of law enforcement for the medical information is based on, or for the purpose of enforcement of, either another state's laws that interfere with a person's rights to choose or obtain an abortion or a foreign penal civil action. 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.

This measure would designate November 1, 2025, as Fernando Valenzuela Day, to highlight the positive impact his legacy created in the Latino and Hispanic community.

This measure would recognize the importance of California Native American Day, celebrated this year on September 26, 2025, and the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference, to the enhancement of awareness of California Indian culture.

Existing law requires a mortgage servicer to comply with applicable federal guidance regarding borrower options following a forbearance relating to the COVID-19 emergency. This bill would authorize a borrower who is experiencing financial hardship that prevents the borrower from making timely payments on a specified residential mortgage loan due directly to the wildfire disaster described in the proclamation of a state of emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 7, 2025, or the federally declared disaster, declared on January 8, 2025, related to the Eaton Wildfire, the Palisades Fire, and the Straight-line Winds, to request forbearance on their residential mortgage loan, as prescribed. The bill would limit eligibility for that forbearance to loans that are secured by residential real property improved by 4 or fewer residential units. The bill would require the borrower to affirm that they are experiencing a financial hardship due to the wildfire disaster. Because the bill would expand the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, except as specified, require a mortgage servicer to offer mortgage payment forbearance of a period of up to an initial 90 days, which shall be extended at the request of the borrower in 90-day increments, up to a maximum forbearance period of 12 months. The bill would also prohibit a mortgage servicer from assessing any late fees to the borrower's account or charging a default rate of interest during the forbearance period. The bill would provide that the forbearance period includes any period of forbearance related to the wildfire disaster that a mortgage servicer has provided to a borrower before the effective date of these provisions. The bill would require a mortgage servicer to report the credit obligations of borrowers under a disaster-related forbearance plan in compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. For accounts granted disaster-related mortgage payment relief, the bill would prohibit mortgage servicers from furnishing information during the forbearance period indicating that the payments are in forbearance and would require them to report the credit obligation or account as current or delinquent, as specified. The bill would prohibit a mortgage servicer from initiating any judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure process, moving for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or executing a foreclosure-related eviction or foreclosure during the period of forbearance. This bill would require the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation to post specified information on its website including links to the provisions of servicing guidelines pertaining to disaster-related forbearance relief for federally backed loans and a dedicated telephone number for borrowers seeking assistance. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) , an initiative measure, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities and establishes the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency to administer the act. Existing law, the Cannabis Tax Law, imposes an excise tax upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products sold in this state at the rate of 15% of the gross receipts of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer, and, as enacted by AUMA, imposed a cultivation tax on all harvested cannabis that entered the commercial market, as specified. Chapter 56 of the Statutes of 2022 (AB 195) amended AUMA to, among other things, discontinue the imposition of the cultivation tax on July 1, 2022. AB 195, beginning in the 2025–26 fiscal year and every 2 years thereafter, requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to adjust the cannabis excise tax rate by a percentage that will generate an amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax imposed prior to its discontinuation, as specified, not to exceed 19% of the gross receipts of retail sale. Pursuant to that law, the department increased the cannabis excise tax rate to 19% for the 2025–26 fiscal year. This bill would revise the above-described provisions governing the cannabis excise tax rate. Specifically, the bill, for the period from July 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025, inclusive, would retain the existing cannabis excise tax rate of 19%. For the period from October 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028, inclusive, the bill would decrease the excise tax rate to 15%. Beginning in the 2028–29 fiscal year and every 2 years thereafter, the bill would require the department to adjust the cannabis excise tax rate by a percentage that will generate an amount of revenue that would have been collected pursuant to the cultivation tax imposed prior to its discontinuation, as specified, not to exceed 19%. The bill would also require the DCC, in consultation with the CDTFA and the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before October 1, 2027, to submit a report to the Legislature that analyzes, among other things, the current and future effect of the Cannabis Tax Law on the regulated cannabis market and recommends options for changes to the Cannabis Tax Law to accomplish the intent of AUMA. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.