Asm. Sharon Quirk-Silva

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt at least 5 basic instructional materials in specified subject areas, including, among others, social science, for use in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, as specified. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission, as specified, and requires the commission to, among other things, develop criteria for evaluating instructional materials. This bill would require the commission, when the state board adopts new instructional materials for history-social science on or after January 1, 2025, to consider providing for inclusion, in its evaluation criteria, content on the case of Mendez v. Westminster School District of Orange County. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51226.3 of the Education Code proposed by AB 1821 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1821 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law requires the court to refrain from making an order granting or modifying a child custody order on an ex parte basis unless there has been a showing of immediate harm to the child, as defined, or immediate risk that the child will be removed from the State of California. This bill would require a court to consider a parent's illegal access to firearms and ammunition when determining whether there is a showing of immediate harm to the child, as specified. Existing law governs the determination of child custody and visitation in contested proceedings. Existing law requires the court, for purposes of deciding custody or visitation, to determine the best interests of the child based on certain factors, including the health, safety, and welfare of the child, and the nature and amount of contact with both parents, except as specified. If a protective order has been issued restraining a parent, existing law requires the court to determine whether to require that visitation to be supervised, suspended, limited, or denied. This bill would also require the court to determine whether to require that visitation be supervised, suspended, limited, or denied if it has found that circumstances warrant making an order granting or modifying a custody order on an ex parte basis because there has been a showing of immediate harm to the child or immediate risk that the child will be removed from the State of California.

Existing law requires the Governor to create an Interagency Council on Homelessness, consisting of specified members. Among other goals, existing law requires the council to coordinate existing funding and applications for competitive funding. Existing law requires the council to create a statewide data system, which is known as the Homeless Data Integration System, that collects local data through the Homeless Management Information System, with a goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. Existing law also requires the council to collect, compile, and make available to the public financial data provided to the council from all state-funded homelessness programs. Existing law defines state programs as any programs a California state agency or department funds, implements, or administers for the purpose of providing housing or housing-based services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified. This bill would additionally require the council to include the Governor's Tribal Advisor. The bill would remove the above-mentioned reference to competitive funding and would instead require the council to coordinate applications for funding. The bill would require council staff to develop and regularly maintain a strategic funding guide and a calendar of new or existing funding opportunities. The bill would require agencies and departments administering state programs to provide the council updated information on new or existing funding opportunities on a quarterly basis. The bill would also require council staff to collect fiscal and outcome data, as defined, from state agencies and departments administering state homelessness programs with a grantee or entity that is required to enter data elements on the individuals and families it serves into its local Homeless Management Information System, as specified. The bill would require the state agencies and departments to submit the fiscal and outcome data to council staff on or before February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter. The bill would require council staff to make the data publicly available on or before June 1, 2027, and annually thereafter. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by SB 1443 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1443 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development and requires it to administer various programs intended to promote the development of housing, including the Multifamily Housing Program, pursuant to which the department provides financial assistance in the form of deferred payment loans to pay for the eligible costs of development of specified types of housing projects. Existing law sets forth various general powers of the department in implementing these programs, including authorizing the department to enter into long-term contracts or agreements of up to 30 years for the purpose of servicing loans or grants or enforcing regulatory agreements or other security documents. Existing law, the Administrative Procedure Act, sets forth procedures a state agency is required to follow when adopting, amending, or repealing any regulation, including providing public notice and time for public comment, with exceptions for emergency regulations in the case of a situation that calls for immediate action to avoid serious harm to the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare. This bill would authorize a borrower to use any funds approved, reserved, or allocated by the department following the effective date of specified guidelines and for purposes of providing a loan under specified multifamily housing programs, including the Multifamily Housing Program, or any additional multifamily housing lending program that the department elects, for construction financing, permanent financing, or a combination of construction financing and permanent financing, as provided. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2026, to adopt guidelines as emergency regulations to, among other things, implement these provisions. The bill would also require the department, by January 1, 2027, to adopt guidelines, in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, to, among other things, implement these provisions. The bill would authorize the department to charge fees, including, but not limited to, application and monitoring fees, to cover the enhanced administrative costs under the bill's provisions. The bill would specify that these provisions do not limit the eligible uses of funds otherwise authorized under any program administered by the department. The bill would specify that the implementation of its provisions are contingent upon appropriation by the Legislature of sufficient funds for specified purposes.

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires a city or county to adopt a general plan for land use development within its boundaries that includes, among other things, a housing element. Existing law, commonly referred to as the Housing Element Law, prescribes requirements for a city's or county's preparation of, and compliance with, its housing element, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and determine whether the housing element substantially complies with the Housing Element Law, as specified. Existing law requires the housing element to include an inventory of land suitable and available for residential development. If that inventory of sites does not identify adequate sites to accommodate the need for groups of all household income levels, as provided, existing law requires that the local government rezone sites within 3 years after the date the housing element is adopted or within one year if the local government fails to adopt a housing element that the department finds to be in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law within 120 days of the statutory deadline to adopt the housing element. This bill, for the 7th and each subsequent revision of the housing element, would require a local government to complete the rezoning of sites within one year of the statutory deadline for the adoption of the housing element or 3 years and 90 days of the statutory deadline if the local government satisfies certain requirements, including submitting a draft element or draft amendment to the department for review within specified timeframes and adopting a draft element or draft amendment that the department finds to be in substantial compliance with the Housing Element Law, as specified. (2) Existing law requires a planning agency to submit a draft element revision or draft amendment to the department for review at least 90 days prior to adoption and requires the department, in written findings, to determine whether the draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law. Existing law, if the department finds that the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with the Housing Element Law, requires the legislative body to either change the draft element or draft amendment to substantially comply with the Housing Element Law or adopt the draft element or draft amendment without changes and make specified findings that explain the reasons the legislative body believes the draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law despite the findings of the department. Existing law requires a planning agency, promptly following the adoption of its element or amendment, to submit a copy to the department and requires the department to review the adopted housing element or amendment and report its findings to the planning agency within 60 days. This bill would require a planning agency to submit the above-described findings explaining the reasons that the legislative body believes its draft element or amendment substantially complies with the Housing Element Law to the department. The bill would additionally specify that the duty to submit the findings or a copy of the adopted element or amendment to the department does not excuse a legislative body from taking required actions in response to the department finding that the draft element or amendment does not substantially comply with the Housing Element Law and provide that this is declaratory of existing law. The bill would require the department to review the finding in its review of an adopted housing element or amendment. Because the bill would require planning agencies to submit specified findings to the department with an adopted housing element or amendment, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the department to review any action or failure to act by a city, county, or city and county that it determines is inconsistent with an adopted housing element and requires the department to provide a reasonable time no longer than 30 days for the city, county, or city and county to respond. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption in any action filed on or after January 1, 1991, taken to challenge the validity of a housing element of the validity of the element or amendment if the department has found that the element or amendment substantially complies with the requirements of the Housing Element Law. This bill would create a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any legal action challenging an action or failure to act by a city, county, or city and county if the department finds that the city, county, or city and county's action or failure to act does not substantially comply with its adopted housing element or specified obligations under the Housing Element Law. This bill would also create a rebuttable presumption of invalidity in any action taken to challenge the validity of a housing element or amendment if the department has found that element or amendment does not substantially comply with the requirements of the Housing Element Law. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2667 and AB 3093 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65583.2 of the Government Code proposed by AB 3093 to be operative only if this bill and AB 3093 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (6) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65585 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2667 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2667 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (7) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65588 of the Government Code proposed by AB 2597 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2597 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (8) 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 prohibits certain distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot, unless the media includes a disclosure stating that the media has been manipulated, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law authorizes a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in audio or visual media distributed in violation of these provisions to file specified actions, and it requires a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would prohibit a person, committee, or other entity from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election communication, as defined, that contains certain materially deceptive content, as defined, with malice, as defined, subject to specified exemptions. The bill would apply this prohibition within 120 days of an election in California and, in specified cases, 60 days after an election. The bill would authorize a recipient of materially deceptive content distributed in violation of this section, candidate or committee participating in the election, or elections official, as defined, to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of the media and to seek damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed it, except as specified. The bill would require a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 2655 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2655 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to appropriate and expend county general fund money to establish county programs or fund other programs to meet various social needs of the county population and the needs of physically, mentally, and financially handicapped persons and aged persons. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to contract with other public agencies, private agencies, or individuals to operate programs that the board of supervisors determines will serve public purposes. This bill would prohibit an Orange County Board of Supervisors member from awarding district discretionary funds to a community organization or a nonprofit organization unless the board of supervisors approves, by a majority vote, that award. The bill would require the Orange County Board of Supervisors to post on its internet website a log of appropriated district discretionary funds at the end of each quarter, as specified. The bill would prohibit, within the 90 days preceding an election, an Orange County Board of Supervisors member who is on the ballot as an Orange County Board of Supervisors member candidate and has an opponent on that ballot from taking any action related to spending district discretionary funds, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Orange.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including behavioral health services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative, subject to receipt of any necessary federal approvals and the availability of federal financial participation, in order to, among other things, improve quality outcomes and reduce health disparities. The bill, as part of CalAIM, and with respect to behavioral health services provided under the Medi-Cal program, would require the department to standardize data elements relating to documentation requirements, including, but not limited to, medically necessary criteria, and would require the department to develop standard forms containing information necessary to properly adjudicate claims pursuant to CalAIM Terms and Conditions. The bill would require the department to consult with representatives of specified associations and programs for purposes of implementing these provisions. The bill would require the department to conduct, on or before July 1, 2025, regional trainings for personnel and provider networks of applicable entities, including county mental health plans, Medi-Cal managed care plans, and entities within the fee-for-service delivery system, on proper completion of the standard forms. The bill would require each applicable entity to distribute the training material and standard forms to its provider networks, and to commence, no later than July 1, 2025, using the standard forms. The bill would require providers of applicable entities to use those forms, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to restrict the imposition of additional documentation requirements beyond those included on standard forms, as specified. The bill would require the department to conduct an analysis on the status of utilization of the standard forms by applicable entities, and on the status of the trainings and training material, in order to determine the effectiveness of implementation of the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to prepare a report containing findings from the analysis no later than July 1, 2026, and a followup report no later than July 1, 2028, and to submit each report to the Legislature and post it on the department's internet website.

Existing law prohibits certain public officials, including, but not limited to, state, county, or district officers or employees, from being financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, or by any body or board of which they are members, except as provided. A willful violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law excepts from the above conflict-of-interest provisions certain remote interests, as described, including those of officers or employees of a nonprofit entity exempt from taxation or a nonprofit corporation, except as prescribed. Existing law excepts the remote interest if it is disclosed to the body or board of which the officer is a member and noted in its official records, and thereafter the body or board authorizes, approves, or ratifies the contract in good faith by a vote of its membership sufficient for the purpose without counting the vote or votes of the officer or member with the remote interest. This bill would require a member of the board of supervisors to disclose a known family relationship with an officer or employee of a nonprofit entity before the board of supervisors appropriates money to that nonprofit entity.

This measure would, among other things, urge the United States Congress and President Joseph R. Biden to fully fund the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for the Tijuana River due to the ongoing impacts to public health, the environment, and the local economy caused by cross-border pollution and would urge President Joseph R. Biden to declare a national emergency due to those ongoing impacts.