Asm. Pilar Schiavo

Existing law classifies certain criminal offenses as a "violent felony" for the purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code, including sentencing enhancements for prior convictions, as well as numerous other provisions. Existing law includes among the list of violent felonies rape accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear, or rape accomplished against the victim's will by threat of violent retaliation, but does not include rape of a person unable to give consent due to disability, intoxication, or unconsciousness, rape under false pretenses, or rape accomplished by threat of incarceration, arrest, or deportation. This bill would also include the rape of an intoxicated person wherein the defendant drugged the victim, as specified, in the list of violent felonies. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, 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.

The existing federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from authorizing casinos of the type operating in Nevada and New Jersey and authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude tribal-state gaming compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. Existing law, the Gambling Control Act, provides for the regulation, oversight, and licensure of gambling establishments by the California Gambling Control Commission. Existing law prohibits a list of specified gambling games or any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, or any device, for money, checks, credit, or any representative of value, and provides that any person who offers for play or participates in these games is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable as specified. Existing law authorizes gambling establishments to operate controlled games utilizing a player-dealer position, as defined, and to contract with a third party for the provision of proposition player services subject to specified conditions and regulatory requirements. Existing law generally specifies the persons or entities that may bring a civil action as prescribed for relief. Existing law authorizes a court to grant a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order at any time prior to judgment, if the verified complaint or affidavits provide sufficient grounds to do so and the opposing party has been given notice. This bill would authorize a California Indian tribe, under certain conditions, to bring an action solely against licensed California card clubs and third-party proposition player services providers to seek a declaration as to whether a controlled game operated by a licensed California card club and banked by a third-party proposition player services provider constitutes a banking card game that violates state law, including tribal gaming rights under the constitutional provisions described above, and to request injunctive relief. The bill would require that any review of such a challenge be conducted de novo. The bill would prohibit a claim for money damages, penalties, or attorney's fees and would require that actions be filed no later than April 1, 2025, as specified. The bill would clarify that it does not intend to authorize an action, or otherwise impose any liability, against the state and would prohibit a court from issuing a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order under certain circumstances. This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

Existing law establishes various educational benefits for dependents of veterans who were killed during military service or are totally disabled, as specified. Existing law defines "dependent of a veteran" to include the spouse of a totally disabled veteran. Existing law prohibits a dependent of a veteran from receiving these educational benefits during the time the dependent is entitled to receive specified federal educational benefits or duplicate assistance from any other government source. This bill would repeal that prohibition.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in the state. This bill would require the California State University and community college districts to stock drug testing devices, as defined, available and accessible, free-of-charge, in the health center located on each campus and post a notice on these requirements in a prominent and conspicuous location, as specified. The bill would encourage the University of California, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions to implement these provisions. By imposing new duties 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 establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. Under existing law, the department is responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program, which, among other things, provides rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to ensure housing affordability for people who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. Existing law, the Housing Authorities Law, creates a housing authority in each county and each city, which is authorized to transact business and exercise specified powers upon adoption of a resolution by the governing body of the county or city declaring that there is a need for the authority to function. Among other things, existing law authorizes a housing authority to provide leased housing to persons of low income. This bill would require all public housing authorities to report specified data, including their monthly success rates as of the first of each month, to the department beginning on July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, as specified. Because the bill would require local housing authorities to perform additional duties, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to make the data publicly available, beginning on January 1, 2026, and each year thereafter. The bill would require the department, beginning on July 1, 2025, and bi-annually thereafter until June 30, 2027, to convene a group of public housing authorities to discuss factors that impact success rates and recommendations for state and local intervention. The bill would also require the department, in consultation with participants in the Housing Choice Voucher program and other stakeholders, to publish a report, which shall be made publicly available, with recommendations for state and local interventions to improve success rates, on or before July 1, 2026. 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 establishes the California Racial Mascots Act, which prohibits public schools from using the term Redskins as a school or athletic team name, mascot, or nickname. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish and implement a system of complaint processing, known as the Uniform Complaint Procedures, for specified educational programs. This bill would exempt public schools operated by an Indian tribe or a tribal organization from this prohibition. The bill would prohibit, beginning July 1, 2026, public schools, except for public schools operated by an Indian tribe or tribal organization, from using any derogatory Native American term, as defined, as a school or athletic team name, mascot, or nickname, except as provided. The bill would require the Uniform Complaint Procedures to apply to school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames pursuant to the bill. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on public schools, 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 vests the Public Utilities Commission with regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations and gas corporations. Existing law requires the commission to establish a program of assistance to low-income electricity and gas customers with annual household incomes that are no greater than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines levels, referred to as the California Alternate Rates for Energy or CARE program. Existing law establishes the Multifamily Housing Program administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development. Existing law requires that specified funds appropriated to provide housing for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness and who are inherently impacted by or at increased risk for medical diseases or conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other communicable diseases be disbursed in accordance with the Multifamily Housing Program for specified uses. This disbursement scheme is referred to as Homekey. This bill would require that the CARE program include public housing authority owned or administered Homekey housing facilities where the residents of the facility substantially meet the CARE program's income eligibility requirements, as determined by the commission, and the account is in the name of Homekey, a nonprofit funded by Homekey, or the public housing authority that owns or administers the facility. The bill would require the commission to authorize electrical corporations and gas corporations to offer discounts to those facilities and to establish a feasible process for certifying that the assistance is used for the direct benefit of the residents of those facilities. Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act, or of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because the provisions of this bill would be a part of the act, and because a violation of a commission action implementing its requirements 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.

(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 authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. This bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to report to the department a collision on a public road that involved one of its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that is operating under a testing or deployment permit that resulted in damage of property, bodily injury, or death within 10 days of the collision. The bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to annually submit to the department specified information regarding the deactivation of the autonomous mode for its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that were operating under a testing or deployment permit that authorized the vehicle to operate on public roads. The bill would prohibit the operation of an autonomous vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more on public roads for testing purposes, transporting goods, or transporting passengers without a human safety operator physically present in the autonomous vehicle at the time of operation. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, by January 1, 2030, or 5 years after commencement of testing, whichever occurs later, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature evaluating the performance of autonomous vehicle technology and its impact on public safety and employment in the transportation sector for autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more. The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Department of Transportation, the State Air Resources Board, and other relevant state agencies to provide additional information needed to research the report.

Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, imposes safety responsibilities on employers and employees, including the requirement that an employer establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention program, and makes specified violations of these provisions a crime. Existing law also requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt standards developed by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health that require specified types of hospitals to adopt a workplace violence prevention plan as part of the hospital's injury and illness prevention plan to protect health care workers and other facility personnel from aggressive and violent behavior. This bill would require the standards board, by March 1, 2027, to amend the standards to include a requirement that a hospital implement a weapons detection screening policy that requires the use of weapons detection devices that automatically screen a person's body at specific entrances of the hospital, a requirement that a hospital assign appropriate personnel who meet specified training standards, a requirement that a hospital have reasonable protocols for alternative search and screening for patients, family, or visitors who refuse to undergo weapons detection device screening, and a requirement that a hospital adopt reasonable protocols addressing how the hospital will respond if a dangerous weapon is detected, as specified. Among other provisions, the bill would require that the standards include a requirement that a hospital post, in a conspicuous location, within reasonable proximity of any public entrances where weapons detection devices are utilized, a notice notifying the public that the hospital conducts screenings for weapons upon entry but that no person shall be refused medical care, pursuant to specified federal law. The bill would require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to set an effective date that is no longer than 90 days after the standard is adopted for hospitals to comply with these requirements. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, 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.