Asm. Jacqui Irwin

Maddy summaryThis bill recognizes August 15, 2024, as India's Independence Day and encourages all Californians to participate in celebrations honoring the occasion. It directly affects the residents of California, particularly the state's large Indian American community, by formally acknowledging the historical significance of the date when India gained independence from British rule. The measure does not create new laws or change government operations; instead, it serves as a symbolic gesture to highlight the cultural contributions of Indian Americans and the shared values of democracy and nonviolence between the two nations.

This measure would declare the month of June 2024 to be Portuguese Heritage Month and would recognize June 10 as the Day of Portugal and May 20 as the Day of the Azores.

Maddy summaryThis bill officially recognizes June 21, 2024, as the 2024 International Day of Yoga within the state of California. It does not create new laws or change existing regulations but serves as a formal acknowledgment of the global event. The measure is intended to highlight the history and benefits of yoga as a wellness practice.

This measure would designate the week of June 23, 2024, to June 29, 2024, inclusive, and every third week of June thereafter, as Roadside Assistance Worker Appreciation Week.

Existing law defines types of theft, including petty theft, grand theft, and shoplifting. Existing law also defines the crimes of robbery and burglary. Existing law sets forth specific rules relating to the jurisdiction for the prosecution of theft by fraud, organized retail theft, and receiving stolen property, including that the jurisdiction for prosecution includes 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 or abetting in the commission of a theft offense or other qualifying offense. Existing law jurisdictionally limits prosecution of each of the above to criminal actions brought by the Attorney General. This bill would no longer limit the jurisdictional rules for the above crimes to criminal actions brought by the Attorney General. If a case is brought by someone other than the Attorney General and multiple offenses are committed by the same defendant in multiple jurisdictions, the bill would allow a criminal action to be brought in any of those jurisdictions subject to a hearing on consolidation of the offenses, as specified. The bill would require the prosecution to present written evidence at the hearing that all district attorneys in counties with jurisdiction over the offenses agree to the venue. The bill would require charged offenses from jurisdictions where there is not a written agreement from the district attorney to be returned to that jurisdiction.

Existing law authorizes the city attorney of any general law city or chartered city to, with the consent of the district attorney of that county, prosecute any misdemeanor committed within the city arising out of violation of state law, as specified. This bill would, notwithstanding the above-described authorization for city attorneys, authorize the city attorney of any general law city to prosecute any misdemeanor committed within the city arising out of violation of state law, provided that specified conditions are met, including that the legislative body of a city passes an ordinance granting that prosecutorial authority to the city attorney.

Existing law provides comprehensive regulation of ticket sellers and makes violations of those provisions a misdemeanor. Existing law imposes various refund requirements on a ticket seller, including a requirement to issue a refund upon request to a ticket purchaser for canceled, postponed, or rescheduled events. Existing law also imposes various disclosure requirements on a ticket seller, including a requirement to disclose to a purchaser the location of the seat represented by the ticket, as specified. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by expanding the definition of a ticket seller to include a primary contractor or platform, as defined, and would instead apply the refund requirement relating to the postponement or rescheduling of an event only to primary contractors. The bill would impose various disclosure requirements on ticket sellers relating to ticket price, including that the ticket seller would be prohibited from advertising, displaying, or offering a price for a ticket that does not include all fees or charges that must be paid in order to purchase the ticket other than taxes or fees imposed by a government on the transaction. The bill would prohibit the resale of tickets that were initially offered at no charge and that were knowingly obtained using software or services that circumvent controls or measures that ensure an equitable ticket buying process for event attendees, and would require a ticket seller to provide printed tickets for a cellular telephone-free event, as defined, at the same price that a mobile or electronic ticket is sold. By expanding the scope of existing provisions regulating ticket sellers and imposing new requirements on ticket sellers and primary contractors, the violation of which would be a 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.

Existing federal law, known as Title IX, prohibits a person, on the basis of sex, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subject to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act known as the Equity in Higher Education Act declares, among other things, that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of, among other things, sex, in any program or activity conducted by any postsecondary educational institution that receives or benefits from state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state financial aid. Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by resolution, to make them applicable. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, a public postsecondary educational institution, defined as any campus of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, or the University of California, in order to comply with the above-described provision of the Equity in Higher Education Act, to establish and designate at least one person to fulfill the positions of confidential student advocate, confidential staff and faculty advocate, and confidential respondent services coordinator to assist students, faculty, or staff who have filed a complaint of sex discrimination, experienced sex discrimination, or are accused of sex discrimination, as provided. The bill would require those positions to, among other things, be independent from the Title IX office, receive specified training, and subject to permission from the student, faculty, or staff, provide, among other things, information about where the student, faculty, or staff can access campus resources, as provided. 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 requires the Department of Food and Agriculture, headed by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law authorizes the department to expend in accordance with law all money that is made available for its use. This bill would find and declare that it is a primary goal of the state to prevent the introduction, and suppress the spread, of invasive species within its borders. The bill would require, in carrying out this goal, the department, in collaboration with relevant state agencies and stakeholders, to develop and implement strategies to detect, control, monitor, and eradicate invasive species to protect the state's agriculture, environment, and natural resources. The bill would require the department, in consultation with other relevant state agencies, to allocate funds, if available, to implement and enforce these provisions.

(1) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency, in implementing actions to achieve the goal to conserve at least 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters by 2030 established by executive order, to prioritize specified actions. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to prepare and submit an annual report to the Legislature on the progress made during the prior calendar year toward achieving that goal, as provided. Existing law requires that annual report to include certain information, including, among other information, the progress made in the prior calendar year to address equity as part of the above-described goal. This bill, the Wildlife Connectivity and Climate Adaptation Act of 2024, would additionally require the agency, as part of that report, to include an update on the state's progress towards addressing the priority wildlife corridors, as defined, identified in the Restoring California's Wildlife Connectivity report by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and goals for wildlife corridor protection in the next five years. The bill would also make related findings and declarations. (2) The Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 requires the Wildlife Conservation Board to acquire real property, rights in real property, water, or water rights as necessary for a program to acquire lands and facilities suitable for recreational purposes and adaptable for the conservation, propagation, and utilization of state fish and game resources. The law establishes the program and makes a policy statement regarding the program and its purposes. This bill would additionally make it the policy of the state to preserve, protect, and restore wildlife habitats and biodiversity through the acquisition and restoration of blocks of habitat and natural lands that are connected by wildlife corridors, as defined, and the infrastructure that supports wildlife corridors. This bill would also require the board to identify priority projects for the acquisition, development, rehabilitation, restoration, protection, and expansion of wildlife corridors and open space. The bill would authorize the board to give priority for this purpose to projects that protect wildlife corridors, including wildlife corridors threatened by urban development, as specified. (3) Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife, contingent upon funding being provided by the Wildlife Conservation Board, or from other appropriate bond funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages, as specified. Under existing law, it is the policy of the state to encourage, wherever feasible and practicable, voluntary steps to protect the functioning of wildlife corridors through various means, as specified. Existing law authorizes those means to include, but not be limited to, acquisition or protection of wildlife corridors as open space through conservation easements. This bill would remove from the contingency requirement that appropriate funds be from bonds and would specify that the department not only investigate, study, and identify, but also track the protection and conservation of the above-described areas. The bill would also revise and recast various provisions involving voluntary steps to protect the functioning of these wildlife corridors to additionally include, among other means, acquisition or protection of wildlife corridors as open space through fee title acquisitions.