Asm. Rick Zbur

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 Governor to appoint and commission individuals designated by a railroad company to serve as police officers. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to coordinate with the Department of Justice to convene a regional property crimes task force to identify geographic areas experiencing increased levels of property crimes and assist local law enforcement with resources, such as personnel and equipment. This bill would require the task force to assist railroad police and would specify cargo theft as a property crime for consideration by the regional property crimes task force. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, commencing for pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies meeting specified requirements. Under existing law, the requirement to complete an ethnic studies course may be fulfilled by the completion of, among others, a course based on the model curriculum developed by the Instructional Quality Commission, an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school. This bill, among other things, would require a school district or charter school to develop an ethnic studies course or any instructional materials for an ethnic studies course with teachers, classified staff, parents, guardians, and community members, as provided. The bill would require a majority of the stakeholders in the development process to be classroom teachers, as provided, and would also authorize the development process to include a piloting process consistent with the guidelines set forth in the "Guidance for Local Instructional Materials Adoptions" adopted by the State Board of Education. The bill would also require a district superintendent and the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school to submit a signed certification to the State Department of Education and the state board that the proposed, adopted, or revised course or instructional materials meets certain requirements, as provided. The bill would require the curriculum, instruction, and instructional materials for an ethnic studies course to additionally foster respect and acceptance and to focus on the experiences of communities of the United States. To the extent these requirements impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (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, 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.

The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to adopt building design and construction standards and energy and water conservation standards for new residential and nonresidential buildings to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including energy associated with the use of water. The act requires those standards to be cost effective when taken in their entirety and when amortized over the economic life of the structure compared with historic practice. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 requires the State Air Resources Board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. This bill would require the commission, on or before July 1, 2026, to evaluate opportunities to increase electrification of industrial heat processes to meet the state's industrial emissions reduction goals, as provided. The bill would, as part of the state board's next update to the scoping plan occurring on or after January 1, 2025, require the state board to assess the potential for the state to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from the state's industrial facilities' heat application equipment and processes, as specified. The bill would require the state board to incorporate the commissions' evaluation required by the bill into the assessment and to identify potential emission reductions associated with the recommendations provided in the commission's evaluation.

Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in coordination with specified agencies, to develop a strategic plan for offshore wind energy developments installed off the California coast in federal waters, and requires the Energy Commission to submit the strategic plan to the Natural Resources Agency and the Legislature on or before June 30, 2023, as specified. Existing law requires the Energy Commission, in coordination with relevant state and local agencies, to develop a plan to improve waterfront facilities that could support a range of floating offshore wind energy development activities, as specified. Existing law, the California Infrastructure Planning Act, requires the Governor to annually submit a 5-year infrastructure plan to the Legislature in conjunction with the Governor's Budget. Under existing law, "infrastructure" means real property, including land and improvements to the land, structures and equipment integral to the operation of structures, easements, rights-of-way, and other forms of interest in property, roadways, and water conveyances. This bill would amend the definition of "infrastructure" described above to include port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development, and would require the 5-year infrastructure plan to include, beginning in the 2026–27 fiscal year, an assessment of funding needs for port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development. The bill would require the Governor, in consultation with specified entities, to assess federal, state, and local funding opportunities, including general obligation bonds and funding from the private sector, that can help build port infrastructure for offshore wind energy development.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. The CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. The CEQA exempts certain projects from its requirements, including actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency. Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of a line, plant, or system, or extensions of those facilities without first having to obtain from the Public Utilities Commission a certificate that the present or future convenience and necessity require or will require the construction. Existing law specifies that the certificate is not required for the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of existing electrical transmission facilities. This bill would, for electrical infrastructure projects, as defined, designate the commission as the lead agency for purposes of the CEQA, would require the commission to prescribe procedures for the preparation of the appropriate environmental review document for those projects, and would specify the manner in which the environmental review for those projects is to be conducted. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2035.

(1) Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program and the homeless youth emergency service pilot projects to provide assistance to homeless persons. This bill would, upon appropriation of the Legislature, establish the California Housing Security Program to provide counties with funding to administer a housing subsidy to eligible persons, as specified, to reduce housing insecurity and help Californians meet their basic housing needs. To create the program, the bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development, by January 1, 2026, to establish a 2-year pilot program, as specified, and to issue suggested guidelines to establish the program that include, among other things, criteria for program eligibility. The bill would specify that the subsidy would not be considered income for purposes of determining eligibility or benefits for any other public assistance program, nor would participation in other benefits exclude a person from eligibility for the subsidy. Under the bill, an undocumented person, as specified, who otherwise qualifies for the subsidy would be eligible for the subsidy. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2026, to also provide each county selected to participate in the pilot program with a specified amount of funding for purposes of administering the housing subsidies. The bill would require, by July 1, 2026, a county participating in the pilot program, in consultation with specified entities, to perform prescribed duties, including reviewing the department's suggested guidelines and developing final guidelines to administer the housing subsidies based on the needs of the county. The bill would require participating counties, by January 1, 2027, to administer housing subsidies through the county and 2 or more grantees that are selected by the county to eligible persons, subject to specified requirements, including that the county is required to consider the final guidelines described above in selecting the grantees. The bill would provide that any resident of a county participating in the pilot program who meets specified eligibility requirements is eligible to apply for housing subsidies from the county or at least one of the selected grantees. Among other things, the bill would require a participating county to enter into a written agreement with the department to use program funds in a manner consistent with the bill's provisions, as specified, and would prohibit the department from providing program funds to a county that refuses or otherwise does not agree to use the funds in that manner. The bill would specify that a county is solely responsible for complying with the bill's provisions. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. (2) Existing law requires the department, on or before December 31 of each year, to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department, as described, that includes specified information, including the number of individuals and households served and their income levels. The bill would additionally require the department, beginning January 1, 2028, and for the duration of the California Housing Security Program, to include specified programmatic performance metrics for the California Housing Security Program funds within that annual report. (3) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Orange.

Maddy summaryThis California Assembly resolution encourages the U.S. Congress to pass legislation creating a National Infrastructure Bank to fund critical repairs and upgrades for roads, bridges, dams, and other public works. The bill cites reports from the American Society of Civil Engineers highlighting billions of dollars in investment gaps and poor conditions affecting California's transportation and water systems. It advocates for a financing model that uses existing federal debt rather than new taxes, aiming to stimulate the economy, create jobs, and prioritize projects in disadvantaged communities. The resolution formally requests that federal leaders adopt this approach to address the state's urgent infrastructure needs.

Maddy summaryThis California House Resolution condemns the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump and calls for an end to political violence. The measure highlights the event where Trump was wounded while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and notes that one attendee died and others were injured while trying to protect him. It urges the state to foster a political environment based on respectful discourse and nonviolence. The resolution is a formal statement of the Assembly's stance and does not create new laws or change existing policies.

This measure would recognize the importance of California Native American Day, celebrated this year on September 27, 2024, and the annual California Indian Cultural Awareness Conference, to the enhancement of awareness of California Indian culture.