Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

The California AI Transparency Act requires a person that creates, codes, or otherwise produces a generative artificial intelligence system that has over 1,000,000 monthly visitors or users and is publicly accessible within the geographic boundaries of the state to make available an AI detection tool at no cost to the user that, among other things, allows a user to assess whether image, video, or audio content, or content that is any combination thereof, was created or altered by the covered provider's generative artificial intelligence system. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 prohibits certain businesses from selling or sharing the personal information of consumers if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, unless the consumer, if the consumer is at least 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age, or the consumer's parent or guardian, if the consumer is less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer's personal information. This bill, the Leading Ethical AI Development (LEAD) for Kids Act, would, among other things related to the use of certain artificial intelligence systems by children, prohibit a person, partnership, corporation, business entity, or state or local government agency that makes a companion chatbot available to users from making a companion chatbot available to a child unless the companion chatbot is not foreseeably capable of doing certain things that could harm a child, including encouraging the child to engage in self-harm, suicidal ideation, violence, consumption of drugs or alcohol, or disordered eating. The act would authorize the Attorney General to recover a certain civil penalty for a violation of the bill, as prescribed. The act would authorize a child who suffers actual harm as a result of a violation of the bill, or a parent or guardian acting on behalf of that child, to bring a civil action to recover, among other relief, actual damages. This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month in California to raise public awareness about human trafficking. The resolution recognizes the severity of human trafficking as a felony crime and highlights statistics showing its prevalence across the country and specific challenges with identifying male victims and labor trafficking cases. It aims to educate the public and encourage reporting and support for victims during this designated month.

Existing law generally provides protections for minors on the internet, including the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act that, among other things, requires a business that provides an online service, product, or feature likely to be accessed by children to do certain things, including estimate the age of child users with a reasonable level of certainty appropriate to the risks that arise from the data management practices of the business or apply the privacy and data protections afforded to children to all consumers and prohibits an online service, product, or feature from, among other things, using dark patterns to lead or encourage children to provide personal information beyond what is reasonably expected to provide that online service, product, or feature or to forego privacy protections. This bill, beginning January 1, 2027, would require, among other things related to age verification with respect to software applications, an operating system provider, as defined, to provide an accessible interface at account setup that requires an account holder, as defined, to indicate the birth date, age, or both, of the user of that device for the purpose of providing a signal regarding the user's age bracket to applications available in a covered application store and to provide a developer, as defined, who has requested a signal with respect to a particular user with a digital signal via a reasonably consistent real-time application programming interface regarding whether a user is in any of several age brackets, as prescribed. The bill would require a developer to request a signal with respect to a particular user from an operating system provider or a covered application store when the application is downloaded and launched. This bill would prohibit an operating system provider or a covered application store from using data collected from a third party in an anticompetitive manner, as specified. This bill would punish noncompliance with a civil penalty to be enforced by the Attorney General, as prescribed. This bill would declare its provisions to be severable.

Existing law, commencing January 1, 2019, made various changes to the law governing ignition interlock devices (IID) , including, among other things, requiring a person who has been convicted of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, as specified, to install for a specified period of time as ordered by the court, an IID on the vehicle they operate, provided however that installation of an IID is discretionary for a first offender, as specified; authorizing a person convicted of driving a motor vehicle under the influence, if all other requirements are satisfied, including the installation of an IID, to apply for a restricted driver's license without completing a period of license suspension or revocation; and requiring ignition interlock device manufacturers to be in compliance with specified provisions relating to payment for the costs of an ignition interlock device. Existing law makes these changes operative until January 1, 2026. On January 1, 2026, existing law, as it relates to these provisions, is generally reinstated to read as it read prior to January 1, 2019. Existing law makes it a crime to violate certain provisions relating to IIDs and motor vehicles equipped with IIDs. This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until January 1, 2033, and would instead reinstate the law to how it read prior to January 1, 2019, on January 1, 2033. By extending the application of 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.

(1) Existing law specifies procedures and requirements for a levying officer to serve documents, including a writ of execution issued by a court, on a judgment debtor. If the judgment upon which the writ is issued is for personal debt, the judgment creditor must provide the levying officer with a declaration stating that they have verified the judgment debtor's address and specifying the method of verification. Existing law requires a judgment creditor to file with the court the declaration within 5 business days after delivering it to the levying officer. Existing law also requires a judgment creditor executing a levy on the earnings of an employee to serve the earnings withholding order on both the judgment debtor employee and their employer. This bill would specify that transmittal of a legal pleading by first-class mail, certified mail, or other method of transmission through the United States Postal Service providing a return receipt, as specified, is a permissible method of verification. The bill would instead require the judgment creditor to file with the court the declaration described above within 10 business days after delivering it to the levying officer. The bill would also permit the declaration to be signed by an individual with adequate knowledge of the verification process, including a custodian of records or an attorney for the judgment creditor. The bill would delete the requirement that a judgment creditor executing a levy on the earnings of an employee serve the earnings withholding order on the employee. (2) Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor to levy upon the property of a judgment debtor to satisfy a judgment, and authorizes the judgment debtor to claim that certain property is exempt from the levy by following a specified procedure. Existing law authorizes a claimant to file a claim of exemption with the levying officer either in person or by mail. The period for filing a claim of exemption is 15 days if the judgment debtor is personally served with a notice of levy on the property claimed to be exempt, and 20 days if the claimant is served with notice by mail. Existing law deems the filing by mail complete on the date the claim is postmarked if the mailing is assigned a tracking number. If the mailing is not assigned a tracking number, the filing by mail is deemed complete on the date the claim is received by the levying officer. Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor who opposes a claim of exemption to file a notice of opposition to the claim and a notice of motion for an order determining the claim within 15 days after service of the notice of claim of exemption. This bill would authorize, for a personal debt as specified by law, a claimant to file a claim of exemption more than 20 days after the date the notice of levy is served on the judgment debtor. The bill would permit a levying officer to release the funds to the judgment creditor at any time after the expiration of the 20-day period. (3) Existing law specifies various procedures and requirements for a judgment debtor to claim exemptions to property that has been levied upon to satisfy a judgment. Existing law places the burden of proof on the claimant at a hearing to determine the claim of exemption. If the judgment upon which a writ of execution is issued is for personal debt, a court must order the return of any property that was exempt without the need for a claim or that would have been exempt by a claim of exemption, and that was levied upon within specified periods. Existing law specifies procedures and requirements for a money judgment to be satisfied and for the court to enter a satisfaction of judgment. This bill would clarify that the filing of an ex parte application in lieu of a motion for purposes of the procedures described above does not constitute a general appearance for purposes of a court exercising its jurisdiction over a party. (4) Existing law, the Wage Garnishment Law, authorizes a levy of execution on an employee's earnings by service of an earnings withholding order by the levying officer or the employer and requires the employer to provide the judgment debtor a copy of the earnings withholding order and notice of the earnings withholding order, as specified. Existing law requires the employer to complete an employer's return and return it to the levying officer. Under existing law, the employer's return and the form for its return are required to set forth specified information, including the name, address, and, if known, the judgment debtor's social security number. This bill would require the employer's return to include information setting forth the date on which the employer provided the judgment debtor with the earnings withholding order and the notice of earnings withholding order, the name and title of the person who provided the order and notice, and a short description of the manner in which the order and notice were provided. (5) Existing law authorizes a judgment creditor to enforce a money judgment by creating a judgment lien on the real or personal property of a judgment debtor. These judgment liens continue in existence for a specified time or until the money judgment is satisfied or the judgment creditor releases the lien. Existing law also authorizes a judgment creditor to enforce a money judgment by a writ of execution, pursuant to which a levying officer takes possession of the judgment debtor's property to satisfy the judgment. Existing law authorizes a judgment debtor to exempt certain property, and, if the judgment is for personal debt, as defined, requires a court to order the judgment creditor to return to the judgment debtor any exempt property of the judgment creditor that was levied upon, as specified. This bill would authorize a judgment creditor to apply to the court for reinstatement of a released lien and its priority at the time of cancellation, as specified. The bill would require a court to enter in the court's records that the judgment is no longer satisfied to the extent of the returned funds or property, and to issue to the judgment creditor a certificate and notice of reinstatement of judgment lien as specified. The bill would require the application for reinstatement of a lien to be filed with a declaration by the judgment creditor that certifies specified information, including, among other things, that the judgment creditor released a lien with the reasonable belief that the money judgment was satisfied and the date and amount of the original judgment and any renewals thereof. The bill would impose a civil penalty of not more than $1,500 for knowingly certifying false information in the judgment creditor's declaration. The bill would give the judgment debtor an opportunity to object and, if an objection is filed, require the judgment creditor to proceed with a noticed motion for reinstatement of the lien. These provisions of the bill would become operative on July 1, 2026.

Existing law governs the adoption of unmarried minors. Existing law grants a court of this state with jurisdiction of adoption proceedings for minors in specified circumstances, including, among others, when the minor and the prospective adoptive parent are physically present in this state and the minor has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the minor because the minor has been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse or is otherwise neglected. This bill would expand the court's jurisdiction to include adoption proceedings for California-born minors when (1) proceedings to free the minor from the custody and control of one or both parents are not required to make the minor available for adoption and (2) the proceedings to free the minor from the custody and control of one or both parents to make the minor available for adoption are being brought in this state. The bill would clarify that the above provisions do not limit jurisdiction that is otherwise permitted under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. The bill would also require an adoption order issued for unmarried minors to include the names of the adoptive parent or parents and any existing parent or parents who will maintain their parental rights after the finalization of the adoption. Existing law sets forth the procedures for completing an independent adoption, including an investigation and a report by the State Department of Social Services or the delegated county adoption agency on the proposed independent adoption, as specified. For investigations involving petitioners who are residents of a state other than California, existing law requires a review of an updated and current home study report that was conducted and approved by a licensed adoption agency or other authorized resource in the state in which the petitioner resides if the standards and criteria for the home study report in the other state are substantially commensurate with the standards and criteria established in California adoption regulations. This bill would require a petitioner to be responsible for providing any additional documentation or information necessary to complete the investigation described above if the out-of-state home study report is not substantially commensurate with California standards or is otherwise missing required information.

Existing law grants to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who creates and intentionally discloses sexually explicit material if the person knows, or reasonably should have known, that the depicted individual in that material did not consent to its creation or disclosure or who intentionally discloses sexually explicit material that the person did not create if the person knows the depicted individual in that material did not consent to the creation of the sexually explicit material. Existing law defines "sexually explicit material" for purposes of that provision to mean any portion of an audiovisual work that shows the depicted individual performing in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct and defines "depicted individual" to mean an individual who appears, as a result of digitization, to be giving a performance the individual did not actually perform or to be performing in an altered depiction. Existing law authorizes a plaintiff to recover, among other relief, statutory damages of not less than $1,500 but not more than $30,000, or $150,000 for a malicious violation, as prescribed. This bill would revise and recast the provision described above to additionally grant to a depicted individual a cause of action against a person who knows, or reasonably should know, that the depicted individual was a minor when the digitized sexually explicit material was created and would additionally grant a cause of action to that depicted individual against a person who knowingly facilitates or recklessly aids or abets conduct prohibited by that provision. The bill would define "digitized sexually explicit material" to mean any portion of a visual or audiovisual work created or substantially altered through digitization, including an image, that shows the depicted individual in the nude or appearing to engage in, or being subjected to, sexual conduct. This bill would make a person that provides a service that enables the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service presumed to be engaged in knowing facilitation or reckless aiding or abetting, as described above, if a depicted individual or public prosecutor provides the person with evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the person is providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service that engages in conduct described in the provisions described above, and the person fails to take all necessary steps to stop providing services that enable the ongoing operation of a deepfake pornography service within 30 days of receiving that evidence, as specified. This bill would increase the maximum statutory damages available to a depicted individual to $50,000 if the violation was not malicious and $250,000 for a malicious violation and would authorize certain public attorneys to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions, as specified.

Existing law generally regulates social media platforms, including, among other laws, the Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act that prohibits an operator of an addictive internet-based service or application, including a social media platform, from providing an addictive feed, as defined, to a minor user, except as prescribed. This bill would enact the Social Media Warning Law that would require a covered platform, as defined, to display a certain black box warning to certain users each day the user initially accesses the social media platform, again after 3 hours of cumulative active use, and thereafter at least once per hour of cumulative active use, as prescribed. This bill would specify that its provisions shall not be interpreted to serve as the basis for a private right of action, as specified. The bill would make its provisions operative on January 1, 2027, and would declare these provisions severable.

Existing law makes it a crime for a person to manufacture or cause to be manufactured specified firearms. Existing law prohibits a person, other than a state-licensed firearms manufacturer, from using a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine or three-dimensional printer to manufacture a firearm. This bill would prohibit a person from knowingly or willfully causing another person to engage in the unlawful manufacture of firearms or knowingly or willfully aiding, abetting, prompting, or facilitating the unlawful manufacture of firearms, including the manufacture of assault weapons or .50 BMG rifles or the manufacture of any firearm using a three-dimensional printer or CNC milling machine, as specified. The bill would make a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. Existing law authorizes a civil action against a person who knowingly distributes or causes to be distributed any digital firearm manufacturing code to any person, except as specified. For these purposes, existing law defines "digital firearm manufacturing code" to mean any digital instructions in the form of computer-aided design files or other code or instructions that may be used to program a CNC milling machine, a three-dimensional printer, or a similar machine to manufacture or produce a firearm, including a completed frame or receiver or a firearm precursor part. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General, county counsel, or city attorney to bring an action against this person and seek a civil penalty, as specified, for each violation, as well as injunctive relief. This bill would include computer-aided manufacturing files as a digital instruction and include the manufacture or production of a machinegun and specified firearm components, including large-capacity magazines, as part of the definition of digital firearm manufacturing code. The bill would also authorize a person who has suffered harm in California as a result of a violation of these provisions to seek compensatory damages and injunctive relief. The bill would create a rebuttable presumption that a person violated the provision of unlawfully distributing or causing to be distributed any digital firearm manufacturing code if the person owns or participates in the management of an internet website that makes digital firearm manufacturing code available for purchase, download, or other distribution to individuals, and the internet website, under the totality of the circumstances, encourages individuals to upload, disseminate, or use digital firearm manufacturing code to manufacture firearms, as specified. Existing law establishes a firearm industry standard of conduct, which requires a firearm industry member, as defined, to establish, implement, and enforce reasonable controls, as defined, and to take reasonable precautions to ensure that the member does not sell, distribute, or provide a firearm-related product, as defined, to a downstream distributor or retailer of firearm-related products who fails to establish, implement, and enforce reasonable controls. For these purposes, existing law defines firearm accessory and firearm manufacturing machine. This bill would require, prior to completing the sale or delivery in California or to a California resident of a firearm barrel that is unattached to a firearm, firearm accessory, or a firearm manufacturing machine, a firearm industry member to comply with specified requirements, including providing a prospective purchaser with clear and conspicuous notice that specified conduct is generally a crime in California, including manufacturing firearms to be sold or transferred to an individual without a license to manufacture firearms. Existing law, subject to exceptions, provides that any person who has been convicted of certain misdemeanors may not, within 10 years of the conviction, own, purchase, receive, possess, or have under their custody or control any firearm and makes a violation of that prohibition a crime. This bill would also prohibit any person convicted of specified misdemeanor violations, including manufacturing an undetectable firearm or knowingly or willfully causing another person to engage in the unlawful manufacture of firearms, on or after January 1, 2026, from owning, purchasing, or receiving any firearm within 10 years of the conviction, and makes a violation of that prohibition a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail, a fine, or by both the fine and imprisonment. Because this bill would expand the application of a crime to a larger class of potential offenders, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make these provisions severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3273.50 of the Civil Code proposed by AB 1127 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1127 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law creates the Department of Insurance, headed by the Insurance Commissioner, and prescribes the department's powers and duties. Existing law directs the department and commissioner to administer various grant programs that, among other things, defray property retrofitting costs. This bill would establish the California Safe Homes grant program to be developed by the department to reduce local and statewide wildfire losses, among other things. The bill would require the department to prioritize specified needs when awarding grant funds, and would require eligible program applicants, which would include individuals, cities, counties, and special districts, to meet specified criteria. The bill would establish the Sustainable Insurance Account within the Insurance Fund and would make the funds available to the department for the program upon appropriation by the Legislature or upon receipt of federal or other grants or funds. The bill would require the department to collect specified information about the performance of the program and, on or before January 1, 2027, and every 2 years thereafter, to publish a performance report that would be posted to its internet website and submitted to the Legislature.