Asm. Liz Ortega

Existing law generally requires that the prosecution of a felony sex offense be commenced within 10 years after the commission of the offense. Existing law requires specified sex offenses that are committed when the victim is under 18 years of age and under certain circumstances, such as rape of a person with a mental disorder or disability or sodomy with force or fear, to be commenced by the victim's 40th birthday. This bill would clarify that if the conditions authorizing prosecution for these crimes are not met, the prosecuting agency may nevertheless provide victim assistance to the person, including support with pursuing restorative justice.

Existing law prohibits a person employed by or engaged in a public school from inflicting, or causing to be inflicted, corporal punishment upon a pupil. Existing law prohibits the use of certain restraint and seclusion techniques. Existing law authorizes staff trained in prone containment to use the procedure on a pupil who is an individual with exceptional needs in a public school program as an emergency intervention. If prone restraint techniques are used, existing law requires a staff member to observe the pupil for any signs of distress throughout the use of prone restraint. This bill instead would prohibit the use of prone restraint, defined to include prone containment, by an educational provider. The bill would also prohibit the use of prone restraint, including prone containment, on a pupil who is an individual with exceptional needs in a public school program.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law requires the California State University, on or before December 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Legislature on the investigations and outcomes of sexual harassment reports and formal sexual harassment complaints, and to post the annual reports on its internet website, as provided. This bill would instead require the California State University, on or before December 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Legislature that provides a summation of the activities undertaken by each campus and by the systemwide Title IX office to ensure campus programs and activities are free from sex discrimination, and would revise the content of the report, as provided. The bill would additionally require the California Community Colleges, on or before December 1, 2026, and on or before December 1 every 3 years thereafter, and request the University of California, on or before December 1, 2026, and on or before each December 1 thereafter, to submit an analogous report to the Legislature that provides a summation of the activities undertaken by each district or campus, as applicable, and by each systemwide Title IX office, to ensure campus programs and activities are free from sex discrimination, as provided. The bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, and request the University of California, to post certain annual reports on their respective internet websites. The bill would require the California State University, and request the University of California, to present each report during a public meeting of the trustees or the regents, as applicable. This bill would require, on or before September 1, 2026, and on or before each September 1 thereafter, the governing board of each community college district to prepare and submit to the chancellor's office a report on the activities undertaken by each community college district to ensure campus programs and activities are free from sex discrimination, as provided. The bill would require each community college district to post the annual reports on its internet website and to present each report during a public meeting of the governing board of the community college district. By imposing new requirements on community college districts, 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law provides for various memorials and monuments on the grounds of the State Capitol. Existing law requires the Department of General Services to maintain state buildings and grounds. Existing law, the Apology Act for the 1930s Mexican Repatriation Program, makes findings and declarations regarding the unconstitutional removal and coerced emigration of United States citizens and legal residents of Mexican descent, between the years 1929 and 1944, to Mexico from the United States during the 1930s "Mexican Repatriation" Program. Existing law expresses the apology of the State of California to those individuals who were illegally deported and coerced into emigrating to Mexico and requires that a plaque to commemorate those individuals be installed and maintained by the Department of Parks and Recreation in an appropriate public place in the City or County of Los Angeles. This bill would authorize a nonprofit organization representing Mexican Americans or Mexican immigrants to enter into negotiations to plan, construct, and maintain a memorial to Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants who were forcibly deported from the United States during the Great Depression, as provided. The bill would require the memorial to be located at an appropriate public place in the City or County of Los Angeles. The bill would require the nonprofit organization to enter into negotiations with the Department of General Services and the state agency with jurisdiction over the state property where the memorial is proposed, where applicable, if the nonprofit organization proposes to locate the memorial on state property. The bill would require the nonprofit organization to submit a plan for the memorial to the department and the applicable state agency for review and approval. The bill would require these provisions to be funded exclusively through private sources. This bill would, if the nonprofit organization proposes a site owned by the City of Los Angeles or the County of Los Angeles for location of the memorial, require the nonprofit organization to follow any procedures that the City of Los Angeles or the County of Los Angeles require to consider approving the proposed memorial. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles.

Existing law establishes within the state government various commissions, including, but not limited to, the Commission on the State of Hate, the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the California Commission on Disability Access. This bill would establish the LGBTQ+ Commission within the Governor's Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation. The bill would provide for the appointment of 9 members, appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would require members of the commission to serve at the pleasure of the appointing power, to be appointed for terms of four years, except as specified, and to elect one of their number to serve as chairperson of the commission. The bill would authorize the commission to appoint officers from its membership and form advisory committees, as specified, in order to carry out and fulfill its duties, and require the commission to determine the powers and duties of appointed officers and advisory committee chairpersons. The bill would establish the goals of the commission, which would include, among other things, acting in an advisory capacity to the Legislature and the Governor on policy matters affecting the state's LGBTQ+ community and its members. The bill would require the commission to have the powers and authority necessary to carry out its duties, including conducting fundraising activities that may require a payment or purchase to attend. The bill would, commencing April 1, 2026, require the commission to convene quarterly meetings to identify the statewide needs of the LGBTQ+ community and to assist in implementing supportive policies and initiatives to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. The bill would require the commission to submit a report summarizing certain information and making specified policy recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter. The bill would establish the LGBTQ+ Commission Fund as a fund in the State Treasury to carry out the bill's provisions in support of the commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. The bill would require all moneys collected or received by the commission from gifts, bequests, or donation to, subject to the approval of the Department of Finance, be deposited in the treasury to the credit of the fund, as specified. The bill would authorize the commission to accept gifts and grants from any source, as specified, to help perform its functions, and to seek out funding and in-kind contributions from specified sources, including foundations, in order to carry out the work of the commission. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, generally requires, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions, that the meetings of state bodies be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend. This bill would specify that the act does not apply to, among other things, any fundraising event held or organized by the commission, provided that a majority of members of the commission do not hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2035.

(1) Existing law provides that a child may be adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court because of abuse or neglect and generally provides for the placement of dependent children in various foster care placement settings. Existing law requires the court to review the status of every dependent child in foster care no less frequently than once every 6 months and requires the county social worker to file a supplemental report as part of that review. This bill would additionally require the court, in conducting the periodic status review for a child or nonminor dependent who is not residing with their relatives, nonrelative extended family members, or in the case of an Indian child, their extended family members, or an Indian custodian, to determine whether the social worker has continued efforts, and in the case of an Indian child, the active efforts, to locate any relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members who could provide family support or possible placement of the child and the names of those relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members. The bill would also require the supplemental report for a child or nonminor dependent who does not reside with their relatives, nonrelative extended family members, or in the case of an Indian child, their extended family members, or an Indian custodian to additionally include the efforts, and in the case of an Indian child, the active efforts, and findings that the social worker has made to locate any relative, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members who could provide family support or possible placement of the child or nonminor dependent and the name of those relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members. By imposing additional duties on county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the court to place a foster child in the home of a relative, if possible, unless the placement would not be in the best interest of the child. Existing law requires the court to take into consideration other specified factors in making a determination of the placement of a foster child. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to correct an erroneous cross reference in that provision. (3) 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.

The Cyberbullying Protection Act requires a social media platform to disclose all cyberbullying reporting procedures in the social media platform's terms of service and to establish a mechanism within its internet-based service that allows an individual, whether or not that individual has a profile on the internet-based service, to report cyberbullying or any content that violates the existing terms of service. Existing law requires the reporting mechanism to allow, but not require, an individual to upload a screenshot of the content that contains cyberbullying or violates the terms of service. This bill would, beginning January 1, 2026, require a social media platform to disclose all social media-related threat reporting procedures for certain verified reporters in the social media platform's terms of service. The bill would define "social media-related threat" to mean content posted on a social media platform that promotes, incites, facilitates, or perpetrates any of certain things, including cyberbullying, suicide, and drug trafficking. This bill would require a large social media platform, as defined, to, among other things, create a process to verify certain individuals as verified reporters, including a school principal, as specified. The bill would require, in addition to any other reporting mechanism required by state law, a large social media platform to create a process by which a verified reporter can make a report of a social media-related threat or a violation of the large social media platform's terms of service that in the verified reporter's opinion poses a risk or a severe risk to the health and safety of a minor. The bill would require a large social media platform that receives a report from a verified reporter to, on a publicly accessible internet website, report annually on, among other things, the total number of reports from a verified reporter received for the calendar year.

Existing law, the Early Education Act, among other things, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer all California state preschool programs. Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, establishes a system of childcare and development services for children up to 13 years of age. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, by rule or regulation, establish requirements for the issuance and the renewal of permits authorizing, among other things, service in the care, development, and instruction of children in childcare and development programs, as specified. Existing law additionally requires the commission to, by rule or regulation, establish requirements for the periods of duration of the above-mentioned permit. This bill would, on or before April 30, 2025, require the commission to, by rule or regulation, authorize a holder of a Child Development Associate Teacher Permit to renew their permit without a limitation on the number of renewals if the permitholder completes specified hours of professional growth activities, as provided.

(1) Existing federal law, the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, creates the Crime Victims Fund and authorizes federal financial assistance to states for the purpose of supporting eligible crime victim assistance programs. Existing law creates various programs under the Office of Emergency Services related to crime prevention and education, including, among other things, programs concerning family violence prevention and domestic violence prevention. This bill, the California Victims of Crime Act, would establish the California Crime Victims Fund in the State Treasury and would require that moneys deposited in the fund be continuously appropriated to the Office of Emergency Services to support crime victims services. The bill would require the Office of Emergency Services to seek advisement from the Victims of Crime Act Steering Committee on priorities for utilizing the funds and would require the Treasurer to provide an annual report to the Legislature on the amounts deposited into the fund. By continuously appropriating moneys to the Office of Emergency Services for the support of crime victim services, the bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law establishes the aggravated white-collar crime enhancement which imposes enhanced penalties against a person who commits 2 or more related felonies, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, that involve a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000, as specified. This bill would authorize a court to impose an additional fine, known as the corporate white collar criminal enhancement, against a corporation that is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. The bill would authorize the court to determine the amount of the fine, but would set specified limits. The bill would require the court to consider certain factors when determining the amount of the fine, including, among other things, the nature and seriousness of the offense and the corporation's assets, liabilities, and net worth, as specified. The bill would require that any moneys collected under this provision be deposited into the California Crime Victims Fund. (3) The California Constitution entitles the victim of a crime to restitution. Existing law requires the court in each criminal case to order a convicted defendant to pay full restitution to the victim and a separate restitution fine, as specified. This bill would, if a corporation is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony offense, require the court to impose a separate and additional restitution fine, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to determine the amount of the restitution fine, but would impose specified maximums. The bill would require any moneys collected under this provision to be distributed to the California Crime Victims Fund and the prosecuting agency that brought the criminal prosecution, as specified.

Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, establishes the Board of Registered Nursing to license and regulate the practice of nursing. Existing law establishes the Nursing Education and Workforce Advisory Committee within the jurisdiction of the board and requires the committee to solicit input from specified groups to study and recommend nursing education standards and solutions to workforce issues to the board. This bill would require the committee to study specified topics, including how approved schools of nursing or nursing programs maintain clinical education standards, and would require the board to submit a report making recommendations to the Legislature regarding how approved schools of nursing or nursing programs manage or coordinate clinical placements. Existing law requires the board to annually collect, analyze, and report information related to the number of clinical placement slots that are available and the location of those clinical placement slots within the state, as specified. This bill would require the board to annually collect, analyze, and report information related to the management of clinical placements and coordination with clinical facilities by approved schools of nursing or nursing programs, as specified. The bill would require the board to annually publish the report on its internet website and to annually submit the report to the Legislature. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.