Asm. Anthony Rendon

The California Constitution provides that a proposed constitutional amendment and a statewide initiative measure each take effect only if approved by a majority of the votes cast on the amendment or measure. This measure would further provide that an initiative measure that includes one or more provisions that would amend the Constitution to increase the voter approval requirement to adopt any state or local measure would be approved by the voters only if the proportion of votes cast in favor of the initiative measure is equal to or greater than the highest voter approval requirement that the initiative measure would impose. The measure would specify that this voter approval requirement would apply to statewide initiative measures that appear on the ballot on or after January 1, 2024. The California Constitution also permits initiative and referendum powers to be exercised by the voters of each city or county under procedures provided by the Legislature. This measure would expressly authorize a local governing body to hold an advisory vote concerning any issue of governance for the purpose of allowing voters within the jurisdiction to voice their opinions on the issue. The measure would specify that an advisory question is approved only if a majority of the votes cast on the question are in favor. This measure would further declare that its provisions are severable and that if any provision is held invalid, the other provisions of the act remain valid, as specified.

Existing law, notwithstanding the requirement that each person between 6 and 18 years of age who is not otherwise exempted is subject to compulsory full-time education, requires a pupil to be excused from school for specified types of absences, including, among others, for certain justifiable personal reasons. Existing law includes attendance at a religious retreat among these justifiable personal reasons and prohibits attendance at religious retreats from exceeding 4 hours per semester for purposes of this provision. This bill, for purposes of the above-described provisions, would instead prohibit attendance at religious retreats from exceeding one schoolday per semester. To the extent that this bill would impose additional duties on local educational entities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 48205 of the Education Code proposed by SB 350 to be operative only if this bill and SB 350 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 a prospective bidder for a construction contract for certain school facility projects to submit a prequalification questionnaire and financial statement, under oath, as part of the bidding process, and requires each prospective bidder to submit a bid by completing and executing a standardized proposal form. That law applies these requirements only to public projects, as defined, for which the governing board of the school district uses funds received pursuant to specified law or from future state school bonds, as specified. This bill would extend the above-referenced requirements to public projects for which the governing board of the school district uses state general funds. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would establish 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 law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to implement and administer the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program to incentivize the construction of distributed energy assets that would serve as on-call emergency supply or load reduction for the electrical grid during extreme events. Existing law requires the commission to also implement and administer the Demand Side Grid Support Program to incentivize dispatchable customer load reduction and backup generation operation as on-call emergency supply or load reduction for the electrical grid during extreme events. Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to implement projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out the purposes of those programs. Existing law authorizes the department to construct, own and operate, or contract for specified types of electrical generation and energy storage facilities for these purposes. The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of statewide greenhouse gas emissions, as provided. The act also requires the state board to adopt greenhouse gas emissions limits and emissions reduction measures by regulation, including the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. This bill would expressly require facilities constructed by the department or under a contract with the department for purposes of the Distributed Electricity Backup Assets Program or the Demand Side Grid Support Program to comply with the regulations adopted by the state board.

Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) , governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. This bill would enact the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide employees of the Legislature, except certain specified categories of excluded employees, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. For the purposes of bargaining or meeting and conferring in good faith, the bill would define "employer" to mean the Assembly Committee on Rules or the Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would require the employer to meet and confer with representatives of recognized employee organizations regarding matters within the scope of representation. The bill would exclude certain matters from the scope of representation, as specified. The bill would grant exclusive jurisdiction to the Public Employment Relations Board to make an initial determination as to whether charges of unfair practices are justified, and, if so, the necessary remedy, as specified. However, the bill would prohibit the board from issuing a decision or order that intrudes upon or interferes with the Legislature's core function of efficient and effective lawmaking or the essential operation of the Legislature. The bill would require the board to determine appropriate bargaining units, and would prohibit the board from including employees in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the employer. The bill would prohibit the board from including within a bargaining unit employees from both the Assembly and Senate. This bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable. The bill would become operative on 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would additionally exempt from public inspection records related to activities governed by the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act that reveal the employer's deliberative processes, impressions, evaluations, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research, work product, theories, or strategy, or that provide instruction, advice, or training to employees who do not have full collective bargaining and representation rights under the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The measure would apply to the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention under Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the purpose of proposing a constitutional amendment relating to firearms, as specified.

This measure would denounce the actions of the Tennessee House of Representatives in expelling two African-American Democratic Representatives.

This measure would proclaim the month of September 2023 as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.