Rep. Blanca Rubio

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses and generally makes a violation of the act a misdemeanor. Existing law defines "beer" for purposes of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act as any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any combination thereof in water, as specified. This bill would revise the definition of "beer" for purposes of the act to provide that beer may be produced using other grain and to specify that fermentation occurs in drinkable water. Existing law requires specified licensees who sold and delivered alcoholic beverages to a retailer and did not receive payment within 42 days of the date of delivery to charge 1% of the unpaid balance on the 43rd day and an additional 1% for each subsequent 30-day period. This bill would instead require the above-described licensees to charge 1% of the unpaid balance on the 32nd day after 30 days without payment and an additional 1% for each subsequent 30-day period. The bill would make other nonsubstantive and conforming changes. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a payment from a licensed retailer to a licensed wholesaler for the delivery of alcoholic beverages to be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) pursuant to certain conditions, except as specified. Among other things, existing law requires the wholesaler to initiate the EFT and requires any service fees related to the EFT to be applied in an equitable manner. Existing law also provides for the selection of the third-party payment processor used to facilitate the EFT, including requiring the use of the processor used by the parties on July 1, 2025, if the parties cannot agree on a processor, and if no processor was used as of July 1, 2025, requiring the wholesaler to select the processor. This bill would revise and recast the above-described provisions to instead apply to the sale of alcoholic beverages. The bill would define "initiate" and "equitable manner" for these purposes. The bill would require the parties to either use the third-party payment processor used by the parties on July 1, 2025, or a payment processing service offered by a financial institution that held a deposit account of the licensed retailer on that date, and, if neither apply, would require the wholesaler to select the processor. The bill would make various other clarifying and nonsubstantive changes. 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 Health and Human Services Agency, headed by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. Existing law further establishes, within the agency, a number of departments and other entities, including the State Department of Social Services. Under existing law, these departments oversee the provision of various services to children and a number of programs serving children including, among others, the provision of family preservation services. This bill would establish, within the State Department of Social Services, the California Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to staff and administer the council. The bill would require the council to be cochaired by the Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Director of Social Services, or their designees, and would specify the membership of the council, which would include 19 members, as specified. The bill would establish the duties of the council, including, among other things, the duty to determine considerations to evaluate whether a policy proposal, budget provisions, or pending legislation increases or decreases child poverty. The bill would also require the council to submit various reports to the Legislature, including, among others, a progress report by January 1, 2030. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2030, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2031.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to ensure that, among other things, emergency response services are coordinated with the implementation of specified program models. Existing law also requires each county to provide the department with a disaster response plan describing how county programs that receive federal assistance for child and family services would respond to a disaster. Existing law also requires the department to review its disaster plan, revise the plan to clarify the role and responsibilities of the state in the event of a disaster, and consult with counties to identify opportunities for collaboration in the event of a disaster. This bill would establish the Child Welfare Disaster Response Program, to be administered by the department. The bill would establish the Child Welfare Disaster Response Account to fund the program. The bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the Child Welfare Disaster Response Account to be used for purposes of the program and to support the needs of foster children and youth, as defined, and their caregivers during a disaster. The bill would require the department to determine eligibility criteria for applicants and would authorize county child welfare agencies, county probation departments, or Indian tribes, as specified, to apply for funds. The bill would require funds awarded pursuant those provisions to be available to meet the housing, clothing, transportation, and other tangible needs of foster children and youth and their caregivers that occur within 180 days of a local emergency proclamation by a local government or a state of emergency proclamation by the Governor. The bill would authorize the department to implement, interpret, or make specific these provisions by means of all-county letters or similar written instructions.

Existing law imposes taxes upon income and real property, and taxes upon certain transactions and excise taxes. The Fee Collection Procedures Law provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges and is administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) . Under existing law, a violation of the Fee Collection Procedures Law is a crime. This bill would, beginning July 1, 2028, establish the Private Detention Facility Tax Law, which would impose an annual tax on each private detention facility operator, as defined, equal to 25% of the operator's gross income, as defined, for the prior fiscal year, as defined. The bill would establish the Due Process for All Fund in the State Treasury, except as provided, and would require all revenues collected, less refunds and reimbursement to the CDTFA, be deposited into the fund. In the event that Assembly Bill 2465 is enacted, the bill would instead require all revenues be deposited into the Due Process for All Fund as established by that bill. The bill would direct moneys in the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for immigration-related services. The bill would require the CDTFA to administer and collect the tax pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. By expanding the application of the crimes associated with the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. 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. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law regulates various businesses to preserve and regulate competition and prohibit unfair practices, among other purposes. Existing law imposes various business practice restrictions on a food delivery platform, defined as an online business that acts as an intermediary between consumers and multiple food facilities to submit food orders from a consumer to a participating food facility, and to arrange for the delivery of the order from the food facility to the consumer. Existing law prohibits a food delivery platform from arranging the delivery of an order from a food facility without first obtaining an agreement with the food facility expressly authorizing the platform to take orders and deliver meals, as prescribed. This bill would prohibit a person from selling or transferring, or facilitating the sale or transfer of, a reservation for a restaurant, as defined, for an amount higher than that person paid to acquire the reservation, except as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, any county counsel or city attorney, and an individual or entity who suffers actual harm as a result of a violation of the act to recover specified civil penalties. The bill would require a civil penalty recovered by the Attorney General pursuant to the act to be deposited in the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of the public institutions of higher education, including the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. The 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, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable. This bill would prohibit the University of California, California State University, or California Community Colleges from disqualifying a student from being hired for an employment position due to the student's failure to provide proof of federal work authorization, except where that proof is required by federal law or where that proof is required as a condition of a grant that funds the particular employment position for which the student has applied. This bill would require the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges to treat a specified prohibition in federal law on hiring undocumented noncitizens as inapplicable because that provision does not apply to any branch of state government. The bill would further provide that, to the extent student employment is considered a "benefit" for purposes of federal law, the bill constitutes authorization to provide that benefit for purposes of specified federal law. This bill would require the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges to implement the bill by January 6, 2027. The bill's provisions would apply to the University of California, unless it is found inapplicable to the University of California and then only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable. 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 prohibits a person, other than a provider of electronic or wire communication service for specified purposes, from installing or using a pen register or a trap and trace device, as those terms are defined, without first obtaining a court order. Existing law authorizes a person who has been injured by a violation of that prohibition to bring an action against the person who committed the violation to enjoin and restrain the violation, as well as to bring an action for monetary damages, as specified. This bill would instead authorize only the Attorney General to bring that action for a violation of the above-described provision if the action is alleged to arise from conduct occurring on an internet website, online application, or mobile application. The bill would provide that this limitation applies retroactively to any pending claim in an action commenced within 2 years before the operative date of the bill. The bill would declare the severability of its provisions.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates September 2026 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. It directly affects state agencies and organizations by encouraging them to recognize this specific month for awareness activities. The measure does not change laws or allocate funding but serves as a formal commemorative resolution.

Existing law, until January 1, 2030, generally prohibits a person from possessing, importing, shipping, or transporting in the state, or from placing, planting, or causing to be placed or planted in any water within the state, invasive mussels, and authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife, or the director's designee, to engage in various enforcement activities with regard to invasive mussels. Existing law, until January 1, 2030, requires a public or private agency that operates a water supply system to cooperate with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement measures to avoid infestation by invasive mussels and to control or eradicate any infestation that occurs in a water supply system. Existing law requires any person, or federal, state, or local agency, district, or authority that owns or manages a reservoir, where specified activities are permitted, except as specified, to develop and implement a program designed to prevent the introduction of invasive mussel species, as provided. Existing law requires any entity that discovers invasive mussels within the state to immediately report the discovery to the department. This bill would prohibit a public agency from prohibiting imported water deliveries for groundwater replenishment, as defined, due to invasive mussels if the importation complies with a specified invasive mussel control plan and unless there is substantial, documented evidence of a proven health and safety risk as a result of the invasive mussels. 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 and counties, including charter cities and charter counties.

Existing law requires every city, county, or city and county, whether general law or chartered, that requires the issuance of a permit as a condition precedent to the construction, alteration, improvement, demolition, or repair of any building or structure, to require the execution of a permit application, as specified. Existing law permits a local agency, defined as a city, county, or city and county, to authorize its enforcement agency to contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform plan-checking functions for a nonresidential building, but the local agency is not required to do so if it determines that no entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services. Under existing law, when there is an excessive delay, as defined, in checking plans submitted as part of an application for specified nonresidential projects, a local agency is required to, upon request of the applicant, contract with or employ a private entity or persons on a temporary basis to perform the plan-checking function. Existing law defines "excessive delay" to mean, among other things, the local agency has taken more than 50 days to check plans and specifications, as provided. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, revise and recast the above-described provisions related to private plan checking. The bill would, upon receipt of a complete application for a nonresidential building permit, require the city or county to provide the applicant with an estimated timeframe in which it will determine if the completed application is compliant with permit standards. This bill would require the local agency to, upon an applicant's request, contract with or employ a private plan-checking entity if the estimated timeframe would result in an excessive delay or if there is excessive delay by the local agency. The bill would prohibit a local agency from reducing, eliminating, or failing to fill budgeted civil service positions within the building department as a result of the use of private professional providers, as provided. If the local agency determines no private entities or persons are available or qualified to perform plan-checking services, the bill would authorize the applicant to retain, at their sole expense, a private professional provider, as specified. The bill would shorten the timeframe constituting an "excessive delay" from 50 days to 30 business days. This bill would require an applicant who retains a private professional provider to notify the city or county of their intent to retain the private professional provider within a prescribed timeframe. If a private professional provider performs the plan-checking function, the bill would impose additional requirements, including, among other things, requiring the private professional provider to prepare a specified affidavit, under penalty of perjury, and the applicant to submit to the city or county a specified report of the plan check. This bill would require the city or county, within 10 business days of receiving the report, to consider the report and, based on the report, either issue the residential building permit, as provided, or notify the applicant that, according to the report prepared by the private professional provider, the plans and specifications do not comply, as specified. If the city or county notifies the applicant that the plans and specifications do not comply, the bill would authorize the applicant to resubmit corrected plans and specifications to the city or county, as specified. The bill would authorize a city or county to adopt requirements that limit the size of an eligible nonresidential building, as provided, or specify the eligible types of businesses or occupancy, provided that the requirements do not prohibit or effectively prohibit the use of a private professional provider as authorized by the bill. Existing law, the Government Claims Act, establishes the liability and immunity of a public entity for its acts or omissions that cause harm to persons. Where a public entity is under a mandatory duty imposed by an enactment that is designed to protect against the risk of a particular kind of injury, existing law imposes liability upon the public entity for an injury of that kind proximately caused by its failure to discharge the duty unless the public entity establishes that it exercised reasonable diligence to discharge the duty. This bill would, notwithstanding existing public entity liability provisions, grant a public entity immunity from liability for an injury caused by their discretionary or ministerial acts or omissions relating to the issuance or denial of any nonresidential building permit pursuant to the bill's provisions. The bill would require the applicant to enter into an agreement to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the local agency and its agents, officers, and employees from any claim, action, or proceeding brought against the local agency or its agents, officers, or employees relating to any property damage or personal injury arising from construction in accordance with the plans checked by a private professional provider under the bill's provisions. Existing law permits the governing body of any county or city, including a charter city, to adopt an ordinance prescribing fees for filing applications for specified building permits, as provided. This bill would broaden the above-described permission and require a county or city that prescribes fees for a nonresidential building permit to prepare a nonresidential building permit fee schedule and post the schedule on the county's or city's internet website. This bill would additionally require a local building department to conduct an inspection of the permitted work for specified new nonresidential buildings or structures within 10 business days of receiving a notice of the completion of the permitted work authorized by a building permit issued for those projects. By expanding the crime of perjury, and by imposing new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include 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. 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 specified reasons.