Asm. Evan Low

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. Existing law requires the applicable board to take action against any licensed physician and surgeon who is charged with unprofessional conduct, as provided. This bill would designate the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or "COVID-19," as unprofessional conduct. The bill would also make findings and declarations in this regard.

(1) The federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the California Building Standards Code require that specified buildings, structures, and facilities be accessible to, and usable by, persons with disabilities. Existing law establishes a Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, within the Division of the State Architect for purposes of increasing disability access and compliance with construction-related accessibility requirements and developing educational resources for businesses to facilitate compliance with federal and state disability laws, as specified. Existing law requires the State Architect to establish and publicize a program for voluntary certification by the state of any person who meets specified criteria as a certified access specialist (CASp) , as provided. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2018, and until December 31, 2023, inclusive, requires any applicant for an original or renewal of a local business license or equivalent instrument or permit to pay an additional fee of $4 for that license, instrument, or permit, or in any city, county, or city and county that does not issue a business license or an equivalent instrument or permit, existing law requires an applicant for a building permit to pay an additional fee of $4, to be collected by the city, county, or city and county that issued the license, instrument, or permit for specified purposes related to disability access, including the CASp program. Commencing January 1, 2024, that fee is reduced to $1. Existing law requires a portion of those fees to be deposited in the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund. This bill would repeal the provision reducing the fee to $1 commencing January 1, 2024, thereby extending the operation of this fee at the amount of $4 indefinitely. By expanding the increased fee deposited into the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund, this bill would make an appropriation. (2) Existing law requires that the city, county, or city and county retain a specified percentage of the fees collected under the above-described provision, to fund administrative costs and the remainder to be deposited in a special fund, established by the city, county, or city and county to be known as the "CASp Certification and Training Fund," and used for increased CASp training and certification within that local jurisdiction. On and after January 1, 2018, and until December 31, 2023, the specified percentage to be retained is 90%. Commencing January 1, 2024, the percentage is reduced to 70%. Existing law requires that the remaining percentage of the fees be transmitted on a quarterly basis to the Division of the State Architect for deposit in the Disability Access and Education Revolving Fund. This bill would repeal the provision reducing the percentage to be retained, thereby allocating 90% of the fees to be retained by the city, county, or city and county indefinitely. The bill would expand the purpose for which the moneys in the special fund may be used to include providing financial assistance to small business owners for accessibility-related inspection, renovation, and construction and would rename the fund to be known as the "Accessibility Compliance Fund." (3) Existing law requires a city, county, or city and county to submit a report to the Division of the State Architect on the total fees collected in the prior calendar year and distribution of the proceeds, as specified. This bill would require a city, county, or city and county to include additional information in that report regarding financial assistance provided to small businesses for construction of physical accessibility improvements. By imposing an additional requirement on a local government, this 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.

Under existing law, when a public offense is committed in part in one jurisdictional territory and in part in another jurisdictional territory, or the acts constituting or requisite to the consummation of the offense occur in 2 or more jurisdictional territories, the jurisdiction for the offense is in any competent court within either jurisdictional territory. This bill would establish the jurisdiction of a criminal action brought by the Attorney General for theft, organized retail theft, or receipt of stolen property as including the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which the merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of the offense. The bill would also, if multiple offenses of theft or other specified crimes all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise, or the same defendant or defendants and the same scheme or substantially similar activity, occur in multiple jurisdictions, establish that any of those jurisdictions is a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses. The bill would extend jurisdiction to all associated offenses connected together in their commission to the underlying theft offenses.

Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim various days as holidays and days of remembrance. Existing law requires the Governor to annually proclaim the month of June as LGBT Pride Month. This bill would require the Governor to annually proclaim the month of June, instead, as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The Equity in Higher Education Act requires a public postsecondary educational institution, including a campus of the California Community Colleges, to update a former student's records to include an updated legal name or gender if the institution receives government-issued documentation from a former student demonstrating that the former student's legal name or gender has been changed. This bill would require the governing board of each community college district to implement a process by which current students, staff, and faculty can declare an affirmed name, gender, or both name and gender identification to be used in records where legal names are not required by law. This bill would, commencing with the 2023–24 academic year, require each community college campus to be capable of allowing current students, staff, or faculty to declare an affirmed name, gender, or both name and gender identification. The bill would prohibit a community college campus from charging a higher fee for correcting, updating, or reissuing a document or record based on the declaration of an affirmed name or gender identification than the fee it charges for correcting, updating, or reissuing that document or record generally. By imposing new duties on community college districts, the bill would constitute 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 specifies the content of a certificate of death, including the full name of the father, birthplace of the father, the full maiden name of the mother, and birthplace of the mother. This bill would, instead, require the certificate of death to include the current first and middle names, birth last names, and the birthplaces of the parents, without reference to the parents' gendered relationship to the decedent. The bill would require the State Registrar to electronically capture information on the parents' relationship to the decedent and any additional last names used by the parents, which would not be transcribed onto the actual hard copy of the death certificate. The bill would require the State Registrar to implement the changes made by the bill no later than July 1, 2024.

Existing law, the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, authorizes the creation of a not-for-profit entity to be designated as the California Organ and Tissue Donor Registrar and requires that entity to establish and maintain the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry for persons who have identified themselves as organ and tissue donors upon their death. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon issuance of a new driver's license or a renewal of a driver's license or the issuance of an identification card, to provide information on organ and tissue donation. Existing law requires an application for an original or renewal driver's license or identification card to contain a space for the applicant to enroll in the Donate Life California Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. This bill would enact Charlie's Law to require, beginning January 1, 2027, an electronic application for an original or renewal driver's license or identification card to contain a solicitation for the applicant to enroll in the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) registry as a bone marrow or blood stem cell donor. The bill would provide that an applicant's election to enroll in the NMDP's registry constitutes consent to their information being transmitted to the NMDP for the purposes of completing enrollment in the registry. The bill would require the department to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the NMDP, as specified, and to transmit weekly specified applicant information to the NMDP.

Existing law establishes the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, under the administration of the State Department of Public Health's Office of Health Equity, for the purposes of funding grants to create programs, or funding existing programs, focused on coordinating trans-inclusive health care for individuals who identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or intersex (TGI) . Existing law makes the grants available to TGI-serving organizations, defined as an organization with a mission statement that centers around serving transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex people, and where at least 65% of the clients of the organization are TGI. This bill would rename the fund as the Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, and Intersex Wellness and Equity Fund and define the terms transgender, gender nonconforming, and intersex. The bill would add to the definition of a TGI-serving organization a nonprofit that serves as the fiscal agent or sponsor for an above-described organization and would require a nonprofit serving in that capacity to pass all funding to the above-described organization, but would authorize a reasonable or industry standard fee for administrative costs.

Existing law defines the ballot label as the portion of the ballot containing the names of the candidates or a statement of a measure. For statewide measures, existing law requires the Attorney General to prepare a condensed version of the ballot title and summary, including the fiscal impact summary prepared by the Legislative Analyst that is printed in the state voter information guide. This bill would additionally require the ballot label for statewide measures, and, at the option of a county, the ballot label or similar description on the ballot of county, city, district, and school district measures, to include a listing of nonprofit organizations, businesses, or individuals taken from the signers or the text of ballot arguments printed in the voter information guide that support and oppose the measure, as specified. The bill would require a nonprofit organization, business, or individual to meet certain criteria before being listed on the ballot label or similar description of the measure on the ballot. The bill would require the signers of the ballot arguments to submit the lists of supporters and opponents to the Secretary of State or the respective elections official and would require the Secretary of State or respective elections official to provide those lists to county elections officials as part of the ballot label. The bill would make conforming changes and related findings and declarations. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local elections officials, and because it would expand the crime of perjury, it 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law requires a county elections official to cancel a person's voter registration in certain circumstances, including when a person is deemed mentally incompetent, upon proof that the person is presently imprisoned for conviction of a felony, and when a person fails to respond to an address verification mailed by the elections official and does not attempt to vote at the next two federal general elections. Existing law also sets forth criteria and procedures for a person's right to vote to be restored. This bill would require the clerk of the superior court of each county to notify the Secretary of State each month of findings made by the court regarding a person's competency to vote and the number of court proceedings related to the determination of a person's competency to vote, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State, upon receipt of identifying information for the affected persons, to send this information to the appropriate county elections official, who must proceed to cancel the person's registration or notify the person that their right to vote has been restored, as applicable. The bill would require the elections official to provide notice of the intent to cancel the person's registration between 15 and 30 days before the cancellation. The bill would require the Secretary of State to post a report on their internet website each month showing the number of disqualifications and restorations of voting rights that occurred in each county, and to deliver a training to court officers and elections officials regarding the aforementioned requirements. The bill's provisions would become operative on January 1, 2024. By imposing additional duties on county elections officials, 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.