Asm. Darsh Patel

Maddy summaryACR 83 designates May 22, 2025, as California Maritime Day. This symbolic resolution does not create new laws or impose obligations but serves to recognize and honor California's maritime industry and its historical significance. It has no direct impact on individuals, businesses, or policy implementation. The measure is purely commemorative and aligns with the state's tradition of acknowledging key sectors through designated days.

Maddy summaryACR 103 designates the week of July 14-18, 2025, as "California Western Monarch Protection Week." The bill is purely ceremonial, recognizing efforts to protect monarch butterflies in California. It does not create new laws, funding, or obligations. The measure serves to raise public awareness about monarch conservation during that specific week.

Maddy summaryHR 67 designates November 9 as "All California Day" to celebrate California's shared history and cultural ties with Baja California and Baja California Sur. The resolution encourages community events and cultural celebrations across the state to honor this interconnected heritage, including contributions from Indigenous peoples and Mexican heritage communities. As a ceremonial resolution (not a binding law), it has no direct regulatory or financial impact on any specific group or policy. The measure was adopted by the California Assembly on September 4, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution (HR 58) declares October 2025 as "California Promotoras Month" to formally recognize the work of promotoras - community health workers who serve as cultural brokers and connect underserved communities (particularly Latino populations) to essential services like health, housing, and disaster response. It acknowledges their role in improving community resilience and access to resources, while highlighting the need for better support, training, and equitable compensation for this workforce. The resolution is symbolic and does not create new laws, funding, or programs; it solely aims to raise awareness and honor promotoras' contributions through a designated month of recognition.

Maddy summaryThis is a symbolic resolution, not a substantive bill. It designates September 7-13, 2025, as "Direct Support Professional Recognition Week" in California. The resolution acknowledges direct support professionals who assist Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) through the state's Lanterman Act system, which serves over 450,000 residents. It formally recognizes their role in enabling community inclusion and independence but does not create new policies, funding, or legal obligations.

Maddy summaryThis symbolic resolution recognizes September 20, 2025, as National Fried Rice Day in California, highlighting the dish's cultural significance to Asian American communities and its connection to California's rice-growing economy (noting the state's status as the second-largest rice producer). It has no legal effect or policy changes - it serves solely to celebrate culinary traditions and community diversity. The resolution was adopted by the California Assembly with no opposing votes.

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution designates a month as Filipino American History Month in California. It recognizes the historical contributions of Filipino Americans to the state, including early settlement (dating to 1587), agricultural labor, community building (such as "Little Manila" in Stockton), and military service during World War II. As a symbolic resolution, it does not create new laws, policies, or direct effects on any specific group.

Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, led by the Small Business Advocate, and sets forth its powers and duties relating to advocacy on behalf of small business and providing small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Existing law requires the advocate to, among other duties, collaborate with the Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services in their activities under the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, including promoting small business certification. This bill would require the advocate to also collaborate with local agencies on the development and implementation of local strategies to increase small business participation in local procurement opportunities, as specified. In this connection, the bill would authorize a local agency, as defined, to establish a Small Business Utilization Program (SBUP) to increase small businesses' participation in local agency procurement opportunities. This bill would require an SBUP, to facilitate the participation of small businesses in the provision of goods, information technology, and services to the local agency, to establish a small business certification process. As part of this process, the bill would require the SBUP, to the extent feasible, to include all of specified criteria, including, among other things, a minimum goal of 25% procurement participation for small businesses certification. The bill would authorize a local agency that establishes an SBUP to engage in specified activities to facilitate contract awards to small businesses. This bill would authorize a local agency to submit information on its small business procurement participation to the Office of Small Business Advocate, including progress toward meeting utilization goals. The bill would require the Office of Small Business Advocate, subject to funding being available, and upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, to issue its first data call to local agencies by November 15, 2027, and every year thereafter, as specified. The bill would require the Office of Small Business Advocate to prepare an annual report that may contain, among other things, information received from the data call and to post the report on its internet website within 6 months after each data call. The bill would include related legislative findings. Existing law creates the California Small Business Technical Assistance Program within the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, under the direct authority of the Small Business Advocate. Existing law requires the office to administer the program to provide grants to expand the capacity of small business development technical assistance centers in California that are administered by and primarily funded by federal agencies and other nonprofit small business technical assistance centers, as specified. Existing law sets forth the criteria that an applicant must meet to be eligible to participate in the program. Existing law authorizes specified state funding provided pursuant to these provisions to be used for outreach efforts. This bill would remove provisions that require an applicant to provide a plan of action and commitment to fully draw down all specified federal funds available to it, that authorize the office to require an applicant to provide details relating to the source and amount of nonstate funds, and that require an applicant to demonstrate the ability to fully draw down substantially all federal and private funds available to it in order to be eligible to participate in the program. The bill would authorize an applicant to utilize federal and private funding contracts, as specified. The bill would authorize up to 25% of specified state funding awarded pursuant to these provisions to be used for outreach and limit the awarded funds that may be used for direct program administration expenses to 15%.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt standards, rules, and regulations for school library services. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission, among other duties, to recommend the adoption of minimum standards for courses of study in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools to the state board upon request. Existing law requires the courses of study in public schools to conform to those minimum standards when adopted. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2028, and every 8 years thereafter, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in consultation with the state board, to consider recommending revisions to the standards for school library services to the state board. The bill would require, if the Superintendent decides to recommend revisions, the Superintendent to convene a group of experts to assist the Superintendent in developing the recommended revisions. The bill would require the Superintendent, in consultation with the Instructional Quality Commission, to hold a minimum of 2 public hearings in order for the public to provide input on the recommended revisions. The bill would require the Superintendent, within 18 months of convening the experts, to present to the state board the revised content standards for school library services, which the state board is required to adopt, reject, or modify, as provided. The operation of the bill would be subject to an appropriation being made for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

This measure would call on members of the United States Congress to oppose reductions to funding that negatively impact educational services for students with disabilities and would call on the President of the United States and Congress to ensure that services and funding for students with disabilities are uninterrupted.