Asm. Buffy Wicks

Maddy summaryThis Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR 7) is a ceremonial resolution honoring Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in California. It recognizes Dr. King’s legacy as a civil rights pioneer, his role in ending segregation through nonviolent action, and California’s historical leadership in establishing his birthday as a state holiday. The resolution encourages legislators and constituents to participate in community service projects that align with Dr. King’s values of equality and unity. As a non-binding resolution, it does not create new laws or policies but formally expresses the legislature’s support for commemorating Dr. King’s life and work.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution (HR 10) symbolically recognizes February 2, 2025, as World Wetlands Day in California. It acknowledges the global importance of wetlands - highlighting their role in climate mitigation, biodiversity, and achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals - without creating new laws or affecting any individuals or entities. The resolution cites the UN's designation of February 2 as World Wetlands Day and references the Ramsar Convention, but it only serves to raise public awareness through official recognition. As a commemorative resolution, it has no regulatory or financial impact.

This measure would recognize the 2nd Saturday of January each year as World Desert Day in California, and would encourage local jurisdictions to partner with organizations, agencies, or community groups to host educational programs and community celebrations highlighting desert conservation.

Maddy summaryACR 10 designates January 13, 2025, as Korean American Day in California. The resolution commemorates the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the U.S. on January 13, 1903, and recognizes Korean Americans' historical contributions to California and the nation. It does not create new laws or policies, but serves as a ceremonial acknowledgment of this community's heritage and impact.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a House Resolution that formally recognizes the work of school board members across California by designating January 2025 as School Board Recognition Month. It directly affects local school districts and county offices of education by honoring the nearly 5,000 elected school board members who serve in these roles. The resolution expresses appreciation for their dedication to public education and encourages community members to support these local officials in their efforts to serve students. This is a commemorative measure rather than a policy change, as it does not alter laws or regulations but instead highlights the importance of school governance.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law imposes various requirements and restrictions on health care service plans and disability insurers, including, among other things, a requirement that every group health care service plan contract or disability insurance policy that is issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 1990, offer coverage for the treatment of infertility, except in vitro fertilization. This bill would require large and small group health care service plan contracts and disability insurance policies issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility services. With respect to large group health care service plan contracts and disability insurance policies, the bill would require coverage for a maximum of 3 completed oocyte retrievals, as specified. The bill would revise the definition of infertility, and would remove the exclusion of in vitro fertilization from coverage. The bill would also delete a requirement that a health care service plan contract and disability insurance policy provide infertility treatment under agreed-upon terms that are communicated to all group contractholders and policyholders. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan or disability insurer from placing different conditions or coverage limitations on fertility medications or services, or the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and fertility services, than would apply to other conditions, as specified. The bill would make these requirements inapplicable to a religious employer, as defined, and specified contracts and policies. Because the violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the 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.

Existing law provides that there is no statute of limitations for actions for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault, as defined, that occurred on or after January 1, 2024. For actions for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault that occurred on or before December 31, 2023, existing law provides that the time of commencement of the action shall be later of within 22 years of the date the plaintiff attains the date of majority, or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault. Existing law generally limits the liability of a public entity for injuries to or proximately caused by prisoners or patients of mental institutions. This bill would, notwithstanding any other law, revive claims for damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault by an employee of a juvenile probation camp or detention facility owned and operated by a county, that would otherwise be barred as of January 1, 2025, by the applicable statute of limitations, claim presentation deadline, or other time limit, as specified. The bill would provide that the limitations on liability described above do not apply to these claims.

Existing federal law establishes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law requires the State Department of Education, the State Department of Health Care Services, and the State Department of Social Services to work together with specified stakeholders to develop a proposed statewide process for using data collected for purposes of the CalFresh program, Medi-Cal, free and reduced-price school meals programs, and the electronic benefits transfer system in order to increase enrollment in the CalFresh program, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the State Department of Social Services, under CalFresh provisions, to administer outreach programs and adopt rules and regulations requiring counties to conduct outreach programs to the extent permitted by federal law and eligible for federal financial participation. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with various stakeholders, on or before July 1, 2025, to develop a methodology for estimating the CalFresh participation rate and identifying characteristics of Californians who are eligible for, but not receiving, CalFresh benefits. The bill would require the department to utilize the data and metrics to develop informed and targeted outreach strategies and to maximize federal funding for CalFresh outreach to reach Californians who are eligible for CalFresh benefits. The bill would also authorize the department to identify data-sharing opportunities with other state and local public entities, and any other unit of state government, for the purposes of improving the administration of CalFresh, increasing CalFresh participation, measuring the impact of CalFresh, and increasing access to critical public health and poverty-alleviating services and other services and benefits available to low-income individuals.

Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 (CCPA) , approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, requires a consumer, as defined, to have various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected or sold by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that sells or shares personal information about a consumer to third parties to not sell or share the consumer's personal information. The act prohibits a business from selling or sharing the personal information of a consumer if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, unless the consumer, or the consumer's parent or guardian, as applicable, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer's personal information. This bill would instead prohibit a business from selling or sharing the personal information of a consumer if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 18 years of age and would revise the above-described prohibition to prohibit a business from selling or sharing the personal information of a consumer over 13 years of age, but less than 18 years of age, unless the consumer, or the consumer's parent or guardian, as applicable, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer's personal information, as specified. The bill would require a business to treat a consumer as under 18 years of age if the consumer, through a platform, technology, or mechanism, transmits a signal indicating that the consumer is less than 18 years of age. The CCPA requires the Attorney General to solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations, as specified, to further the purposes of the act, including, but not limited to, regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer's parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age. The act requires the California Privacy Protection Agency, as specified, to adopt regulations under the authority assigned to the Attorney General under the act. This bill would instead require the Attorney General to solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations, as described above, including, but not limited to, regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer's parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 18 years of age. The California Consumer Privacy 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 Consumer Privacy Act of 2020.

Existing law, the San Francisco Bay Area Regional Housing Finance Act, establishes the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) to raise, administer, and allocate funding for affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay area, as defined, and provide technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production. The act requires the executive board and the authority board of BAHFA to form an advisory committee, as specified, to assist in the development of funding guidelines and overall implementation of the program. The act authorizes the authority to impose various funding mechanisms including a parcel tax and a special tax measured by gross receipts. The act authorizes the authority to issue general obligation bonds secured by the levy of ad valorem property taxes, in accordance with applicable constitutional requirements. The act requires the executive board and BAHFA, in consultation with the advisory committee, to adopt a regional expenditure plan for the use of housing revenue that includes specified information, including a description of any specific project or program proposed to receive funding, as specified. The act requires up to 20% of the revenue received by BAHFA from any of the aforementioned funding mechanisms to be collected by BAHFA for expenditures consistent with the regional expenditure plan adopted, as specified, and to be eligible to be spent in any county in which the funding measure is in effect. This bill would prohibit the regional expenditure plan from rendering projects ineligible for funding based on the presence or absence of any city, county, or city and county land use or housing policies. Notwithstanding that provision, the bill would authorize BAHFA to use project-specific conditions to prioritize projects for funding. The act requires each county to adopt a county expenditure plan that includes specified information, including the proposed share of revenues that will be allocated to the construction of new affordable housing, affordable housing preservation, and tenant protection programs. The act requires at least 80% of the revenue received by BAHFA from any of the aforementioned funding mechanisms to be allocated to the county of origin for expenditure in that county, consistent with the adopted county expenditure plan. This bill would prohibit the authority from imposing any other conditions for a county expenditure plan to be deemed complete to allocate funds. Notwithstanding that provision, the bill would authorize the authority to enter into an agreement with a county or city that receives an allocation of county housing revenue to ensure that the authority or the county, city, or city and county take the actions necessary or incidental to implementing the above-described provisions. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Francisco Bay area.