Asm. Diane Dixon

Existing law, commencing on January 1, 2024, prohibits the possession of a firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification. Existing law provides certain sentencing enhancements for persons who use or possess a firearm in the commission of certain crimes. This bill would add an additional sentencing enhancement for persons who use or possess a firearm without a valid serial number or mark of identification during the commission of certain criminal offenses. Existing law also prohibits certain persons who have been convicted of a criminal offense or have been treated for a mental disorder from possessing a firearm. This bill would impose a sentencing enhancement for this offense if the firearm possessed does not have a valid serial number or mark of identification. By adding new sentencing enhancements, 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 law, the California Public Records Act, requires state and local agencies to make their records available for inspection by the public, subject to specified criteria and with specified exceptions. Existing law exempts from disclosure any investigatory or security file compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes. Under existing law, criminal offenders sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison are sentenced for either a determinate term or an indeterminate life sentence, and a person sentenced to an indeterminate life sentence is held until release by the Board of Parole Hearings. Under existing law, a person sentenced to a determinate sentence is released after serving the term of their sentence, minus any credits earned, and is required to serve a period of time after release under parole supervision. Existing constitutional provisions, enacted by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, make an inmate sentenced to state prison for a conviction of a nonviolent felony offense eligible for early parole consideration after completing the full term for their primary offense, as defined. This bill would provide that Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records pertaining to an inmate's release date and their early release credits are public records and are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, with specified exceptions. The bill would state that the provisions relative to the California Public Records Act are declaratory of existing law.

This measure would condemn and decry the Hamas terrorist organization in the harshest terms for its premeditated, coordinated, and barbaric attacks on Israel, acts of sexual violence, hostage taking, and theft of relief supplies intended for the civilian population of Gaza, and demand the release of all hostages held by Palestinian terrorists. The measure would condemn and denounce in the strongest possible terms all instances of anti-Semitism occurring in California, the United States, and globally.

Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors in the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of property that does not exceed $950 in value petty theft and makes that crime punishable as a misdemeanor, with certain exceptions. The initiative statute defines shoplifting as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed $950. The initiative statute requires that shoplifting be punished as a misdemeanor. Existing law, as amended by Proposition 47, provides that a registered sex offender or a person with a prior conviction for certain serious or violent felonies, such as a sexually violent offense, who commits petty theft is subject to imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. This bill would reinstate a provision of law that was repealed by Proposition 47 that provides that a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft, grand theft, or other specified crimes and who is subsequently convicted of petty theft is subject to imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in a county jail for 18 months or 2 or 3 years. The bill would also make this provision and the provision relating to a person with serious, violent, or sexual prior offenses applicable to a person whose prior or current conviction is for shoplifting. This bill would require the Secretary of State to place the provisions of the bill that amend the initiative statute on the ballot for the November 5, 2024, statewide general election.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including social sciences. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the state board, concurrently with, but not before, the next revision of textbooks or curriculum frameworks in the social sciences, health, and mathematics curricula, to ensure that these academic areas integrate components of, among other things, financial literacy. Notwithstanding that requirement on the state board, existing law requires the commission, when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised after January 1, 2017, to consider including age-appropriate information for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, regarding certain topics on financial literacy. This bill instead would require the commission, when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised after January 1, 2024, to include age-appropriate information and content for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, regarding those financial literacy topics.

Existing law makes it a crime to possess for sale or purchase for purpose of sale, transport, import, sell, furnish, administer, give away, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, derive, process, or prepare various controlled substances, including, among others, fentanyl, peyote, and various other opiates and narcotics. This bill, Alexandra's Law, would require the court to advise a person who is convicted of, or who pleads guilty or no contest to, the above crimes, as specified, of the danger of selling or administering illicit drugs and counterfeit pills and that, if a person dies as a result of that action, the defendant can be charged with homicide. The bill would require the court to read the advisory statement in a case in which the defendant exchanged a controlled substance containing fentanyl or its analogs for anything else of value, as specified. The bill would require the advisory statement to be included in a plea form, if used, and specified on the record. The bill would require that the fact the advisory was given be recorded in the abstract of conviction and would prohibit the advisement from being used as evidence in the prosecution of a minor in juvenile court.

Existing law requires the coroner to inquire into and determine the manner, circumstances, and cause of all violent, sudden, or unusual deaths. Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors, by ordinance, to abolish the office of coroner and provide instead for the office of medical examiner, to be appointed by the board and to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the coroner. This bill would require a coroner or medical examiner who evaluates an individual who died, in the coroner or medical examiner's expert opinion, as the result of an overdose to report the data gathered pursuant to the bill to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program managed by the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program. By imposing new duties on coroners and medical examiners, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would exempt a coroner or medical examiner from civil or criminal liability for making a report in good faith. The California Constitution provides for the Right to Truth-in-Evidence, which requires a 23 vote of the Legislature to exclude any relevant evidence from any criminal proceeding, as specified. This bill would prohibit overdose information reported by a coroner or medical examiner from being used in a criminal investigation or prosecution, thereby requiring a 23 vote. 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 governing board of each school district to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget of the school district in a school district facility, or some other place conveniently accessible to the residents of the school district, as specified. Existing law requires notification of the dates and location or locations at which the proposed budget may be inspected by the public, and the date, time, and location of the public hearing on the proposed budget, to be published by the county superintendent of schools in a newspaper of general circulation in the school district or, if there is no newspaper of general circulation in the school district, in any newspaper of general circulation in the county, at least 3 days before the availability of the proposed budget for public inspection. This bill, on January 1, 2027, would repeal the requirement to publish that information in a newspaper of general circulation and instead require the information to be posted prominently on the homepage of the internet website of the school district at least 3 days before the availability of the proposed budget for public inspection. The bill would require each county superintendent of schools to verify the posting or publishing requirement, as applicable, is met for all school districts in their jurisdiction. By imposing additional duties on local educational agency officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Department of Education to select 3 school districts that agree to provide information to the department regarding how the school district communicates with the school community within the school district, as provided. The bill would require the participating school districts to provide specified information to the department on or before December 31, 2024, on or before December 31, 2025, and on or before December 31, 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, 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.