Asm. Liz Ortega

Existing law regulates the terms and conditions of residential tenancies, and prohibits a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to 2 months' rent, in the case of unfurnished residential property, and an amount equal to 3 months' rent, in the case of furnished residential property, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2024, instead prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of an amount equal to one month's rent, regardless of whether the residential property is unfurnished or furnished, in addition to any rent for the first month paid on or before initial occupancy. The bill, unless the prospective tenant is a service member, as defined, would prohibit a landlord from demanding or receiving security for a rental agreement for residential property in an amount or value in excess of 2 months' rent, in addition to any rent for the first month, if the landlord (1) is a natural person or a limited liability corporation in which all members are natural persons and (2) owns no more than 2 residential rental properties that collectively include no more than 4 dwelling units offered for rent.

Existing law requires that specified actions for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault, as defined, be commenced within 22 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within 5 years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever occurs later. Existing law prohibits certain of those actions from commencing on or after the plaintiff's 40th birthday unless the person or entity knew or had reason to know, or was otherwise on notice, of any misconduct that creates a risk of childhood sexual assault by an employee, volunteer, representative, or agent, or the person or entity failed to take reasonable steps or to implement reasonable safeguards to avoid acts of childhood sexual assault, as specified. Existing law revives claims that would otherwise have been barred as of January 1, 2020, because the applicable statute of limitations, claim presentation deadline, or any other time limit had expired and authorizes the claims to be commenced within specified time periods. This bill would eliminate time limits for the commencement of actions for the recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault, as specified. The bill would eliminate the prohibition on certain actions proceeding on or after the plaintiff's 40th birthday unless specified conditions are met. The bill would specify that its provisions apply to any claim in which the childhood sexual assult occurred on and after January 1, 2024.

(1) Existing law, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (act) , authorizes local public employees, as defined, to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on matters of labor relations. Existing law generally requires that the scope of representation under the act include all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations, while excepting the consideration of the merits, necessity, or organization of any service or activity provided by law or executive order. Existing law states that the Legislature finds and declares that the duties and responsibilities of local agency employer representatives under the act are substantially similar to the duties and responsibilities required under existing collective bargaining enforcement procedures and therefore the costs incurred by the local agency employer representatives in performing those duties and responsibilities under that act are not reimbursable as state-mandated costs. This bill would impose specified requirements with respect to the temporary employees, as defined, of a public employer who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work that is performed by permanent employees represented by a recognized employee organization, subject to limited exceptions. In this regard the bill would require those temporary employees to be automatically included in the same bargaining unit as the permanent employees if the requested classification of temporary employees is not presently within the unit. The bill would further require the public employer to promptly participate in collective bargaining to establish certain employment conditions for the newly added temporary employees if the parties' current memorandum of understanding does not address them, as specified. The bill would also require a public employer to, upon hire, provide each temporary employee with their job description, wage rates, and eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. By imposing new duties on local agencies that employ temporary employees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require complaints alleging a violation of its provisions to be processed as unfair practice charges under the act. The bill would additionally include the same findings and declarations as set forth above. (2) 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 shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this act, but would recognize that a local agency or school district may pursue any available remedies to seek reimbursement for these costs.

The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums, which is defined to include higher education institutions, that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. This bill would urge the University of California to, on or before June 30, 2024, and annually thereafter, report each University of California campus's progress towards completing repatriation pursuant to the California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001. The bill would urge the office of the President of the University of California to provide available funding to sufficiently support those efforts. The bill would urge the University of California to prohibit use of any Native American human remains or cultural items for purposes of teaching or research at the University of California. Existing law requires the California State Auditor to conduct an audit commencing in the year 2019 and again in 2021 regarding the University of California's compliance with the federal and California acts and to report its findings to the Legislature and all other appropriate entities. This bill would require the California State Auditor to additionally conduct an audit again in 2024 and 2026, and to also report its findings to the Native American Heritage Commission.

Existing law establishes 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 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law provides for the missions and functions of these segments, and states that the University of California has the sole authority in public higher education to award doctoral degrees in all fields of learning, except that it may agree with the California State University to award joint doctoral degrees in selected fields. However, existing law authorizes the California State University to offer doctoral programs in education, audiology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and public health without that agreement. This bill would authorize the California State University to award professional or applied doctoral degrees statewide that do not duplicate University of California doctoral degrees and satisfy certain requirements. The bill would require a California State University campus seeking authorization to offer a professional or applied doctoral degree program pursuant to the bill to submit specified information on the proposed doctoral degree for review by the office of the Chancellor of the California State University, and approval by the trustees, as provided. The bill would authorize professional or applied doctoral degree programs that are approved for implementation by the trustees pursuant to the bill to be implemented at any California State University campus, but would limit the number of doctoral degree programs that may be offered at a California State University campus. The bill would prohibit the trustees from approving more than 10 new doctoral degree disciplines pursuant to the bill per academic year. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to conduct a systemwide evaluation of doctoral degree programs established pursuant to the bill and report the results of the evaluation to the Legislature and the Governor on or before December 31, 2028.

Existing law generally provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes, including emotional injuries where the crime was a violation of specified provisions. This bill would expand eligibility for compensation to include emotional injuries from felony violations of, among other things, attempted murder, rape and sexual assault, mayhem, and stalking. By expanding the authorization for the use of moneys in the continuously appropriated Restitution Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of clinics, including primary care clinics and specialty clinics, by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law excludes certain facilities from those provisions, including a clinic that is operated by a primary care community or free clinic and that is operated on separate premises from the licensed clinic and is only open for limited services of no more than 40 hours a week, also referred to as an intermittent clinic. Existing law imposes various reporting requirements on clinics, including requiring a clinic to provide a verified report to the Department of Health Care Access and Information including information relating to the previous calendar year, such as the number of patients served and specified descriptive information, medical and other health services provided, total clinic operating expenses, and gross patient charges by payer category. Existing law specifies that the reporting requirements apply to all primary care clinics. Existing law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to be the single state agency designated to collect certain health facility or clinic data for use by all state agencies, as prescribed. Commencing January 1, 2027, this bill would repeal and recast these reporting requirements, including, but not limited to, extending their application to intermittent clinics operated by licensed clinics. The bill would establish specific reporting requirements for specialty clinics, as defined. The bill would require an organization that operates, conducts, owns, or maintains a primary care clinic or intermittent clinic, and its officers, to file specified reports with the Department of Health Care Access and Information for every primary care clinic and every intermittent clinic that it operates, conducts, owns, or maintains, on or before the 15th day of February each year, including, but not limited to, a report of all mergers and acquisitions, a detailed labor report, and a report of quality and equity measures. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations necessary to implement these reporting requirements and to require the first annual reports to be submitted on or before February 15, 2028, using information relating to the calendar year beginning January 1, 2027. Because a violation of certain provisions of the bill by a primary care clinic or intermittent clinic 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 classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Existing law classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term, and authorizes a trial court to impose a specified fine, upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, if the substance exceeds a specified weight. This bill would add fentanyl to the substances for which additional terms or fines can be imposed and would require a defendant who violates those laws with respect to a substance containing heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine, as specified, to know of the substance's nature or character as a controlled substance to be subjected to an additional term and authorized fine. By increasing the penalty for, and by changing the definition 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.

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which provides a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University with a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies specified requirements, including a requirement that the student be exempt from paying nonresident tuition or meets equivalent requirements adopted by the Regents of the University of California, and that the student be enrolled in an instructional program, as defined, or, commencing with the 2020–21 academic year, a graduate program. This bill would, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, authorize participating institutions to award DREAM grants to grant-eligible students, as defined, if the institution has unawarded funds in the institution's DREAM revolving fund, as specified. The bill would require the amount of the DREAM grant offered to an individual student to be determined by the institution, not to exceed the student's financial need, and would prohibit a DREAM grant awarded pursuant to these provisions from counting towards the annual or aggregate borrowing limits established for the California DREAM Loan Program.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016, to award funding to local health departments, local governmental agencies, or on a competitive basis to other organizations, as specified, to support or establish programs that provide naloxone or another opioid antagonist to first responders and at-risk opioid users through programs that serve at-risk drug users. Existing law exempts from civil liability a person who, in good faith and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, as provided. This bill would require each stadium, concert venue, and amusement park to maintain unexpired doses of naloxone hydrochloride or any other opioid antagonist on its premises at all times, and to ensure that at least 2 employees are aware of the location of the naloxone hydrochloride or other opioid antagonist. The bill would exempt from civil or criminal liability a person who, in good faith, administers naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist by nasal spray or auto-injector on the premises of a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, except as specified. The bill would exempt from civil or criminal liability a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, or its employees, or an entity that owns, occupies, or operates a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, or its employees, for the administration of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist, or the failure to administer naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist, on the premises of the stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, as provided.