Asm. Tasha Boerner

Maddy summaryThis House Resolution recognizes May 17, 2026, as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia within the California Legislature. The measure formally acknowledges the ongoing discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals globally and reaffirms the state's commitment to equality and civil rights. By adopting this resolution, the Assembly encourages all Californians to support inclusive practices and stand against hate toward the LGBTQ+ community.

The California Constitution establishes the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , which consists of 5 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate. The California Constitution authorizes the PUC to establish its own procedures and authorizes a commissioner as designated by the PUC to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to PUC approval. This bill would require the Governor, in appointing members of the PUC, to ensure a diverse composition of commissioners by considering factors that contribute to diversity, as provided. The bill would recodify as a statutory provision the PUC's authority to establish its own procedures and the authority of a commissioner to hold a hearing or investigation or issue an order subject to PUC approval. The bill would specify that the recodification only becomes operative if ACA 9 of the 2025–26 Regular Session is approved by the voters, becomes operative, and repeals the corresponding provision in the California Constitution. Existing law vests the PUC with regulatory jurisdiction over public utilities. Existing law defines "telephone line" to include all conduits, ducts, poles, wires, cables, instruments, and appliances, and all other real estate, fixtures, and personal property owned, controlled, operated, or managed in connection with or to facilitate communication by telephone. This bill would revise the definition of "telephone line" to restrict those items specified above to those in connection with or to facilitate voice communication by telephone. Existing law establishes the California Broadband Council for the purpose of promoting broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and broadband adoption throughout the state for the benefits of all Californians. Existing law requires the PUC to develop, implement, and administer the California Teleconnect Fund program to advance universal service by providing discounted rates to qualifying schools, community colleges, libraries, health clinics, and community organizations, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC to develop, implement, and administer the California Advanced Services Fund to encourage the deployment of high-quality advanced communications to all Californians. Existing law requires the PUC to design and implement a program, commonly known as the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, to provide telecommunication devices capable of serving the needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as specified, that is funded by the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program Administrative Committee Fund. Existing law establishes the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund in the State Treasury, and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the PUC to be available to fund costs related to the financing of the deployment of broadband infrastructure by a local governmental agency or nonprofit organization, as provided. Existing law requires the PUC to maintain and update a statewide, publicly accessible, and interactive map showing the accessibility of broadband service in the state. This bill would create the Broadband and Digital Equity Commission (Broadband Commission) with specified membership, and would, on July 1, 2028, repeal the California Broadband Council and establish the members of the council as a committee of the Broadband Commission, as specified. The bill would establish the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity for the purpose of promoting ubiquitous and universal broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and to increase broadband adoption throughout the state for the benefit of all Californians. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, declare the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity to be the only centralized state department for broadband and digital equity activities within the state authorized to establish rules or regulations for broadband internet access service and internet service providers, as provided. The bill would require the Broadband Commission to appoint the executive director of the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity, who serves at the pleasure of the Broadband Commission, as specified, and would authorize the executive director to appoint, with the approval of the Broadband Commission, necessary staff, as provided. The bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, require the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity to assume the administrative functions of the California Teleconnect Fund Program, the California Advance Services Fund, Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, and the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund. The bill would specify that, on and after July 1, 2028, the moneys in the Broadband Loan Loss Reserve Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, are available to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity for the financing of the deployment of broadband infrastructure by a local governmental agency or nonprofit organization, as provided. The bill would, on or after July 1, 2028, transfer the duties to maintain and update a statewide, publicly accessible, and interactive map showing the accessibility of broadband service in the state to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity. Existing law requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy to oversee the acquisition and management of contracts for the development and construction of a statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network to provide an opportunity for last-mile providers, anchor institutions, and tribal entities to connect to, and interconnect with other networks and other appropriate connections to, the statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network to facilitate high-speed broadband service. This bill would require the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity, on and after July 1, 2028, to assume the above-described duties. The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006 establishes a procedure for the issuance of state franchises for the provision of video service, defined to include cable service and open-video systems, administered by the PUC. This bill would, on and after July 1, 2028, transfer the administration of that act to the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity. Existing law requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy, with a third-party administrator, to develop and construct a statewide open-access middle-mile broadband network that prioritizes last-mile connections to unserved and underserved areas and locations. Existing law requires the office and third-party administrator to work directly with last-mile project grant awardees to ensure that network segments, including prioritized stand-alone Department of Transportation construction projects, support last-mile connections, and requires the Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy and the third-party administrator, to the extent feasible, to minimize disruption due to excavations, as provided. This bill would repeal the above-described provisions. This bill would make conforming changes.

Existing law requires an electrical corporation to submit to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety a wildfire mitigation plan at least once every 4 years for review. Existing law requires the office to approve or deny each wildfire mitigation plan within 9 months of its submission. Existing law requires the Public Utilities Commission to assess a penalty on an electrical corporation that fails to substantially comply with its wildfire mitigation plan. Existing law prohibits a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share for the first $5,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditure, as provided, and authorizes those expenditures to be financed through a financing order, as described. Existing law requires the commission, in addition to the $5,000,000,000, to prohibit a large electrical corporation from including in its equity rate base its share of the first $6,000,000,000 expended in aggregate by large electrical corporations on fire risk mitigation capital expenditures approved by the commission on or after January 1, 2026, and authorizes the electrical corporation's share of the fire risk mitigation capital expenditures and the debt financing cost of these fire risk mitigation capital expenditures to be financed through a financing order, as provided. This bill would require the commission, on or before June 30, 2027, to complete a one-time independent audit of all wildfire mitigation expenditures incurred by each electrical corporation between January 1, 2021, and January 1, 2027, as provided. The bill would require that the audit be conducted by an independent third-party auditor. The bill would require the commission, in the next appropriate proceeding following the audit, to consider the findings of the audit in determining the terms and conditions under which an electrical corporation's requested cost recovery may be authorized, as provided. The bill would require the commission to establish a schedule for conducting future independent audits of each electrical corporation's wildfire mitigation expenditures incurred during the preceding 4 calendar years. The bill would require the commission, pursuant to that schedule, to conduct an independent audit of an electrical corporation's prior wildfire mitigation expenditures before any proceeding in which the electrical corporation seeks to recover, collect, or expend ratepayer funds for wildfire mitigation programs, including, but not limited to, expenditures authorized pursuant to an approved wildfire mitigation plan. Under existing law, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the commission is a crime. Because a violation of a commission action implementing the bill's requirements would be a crime, 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.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates the week of May 17 to May 24, 2026, as National Public Works Week throughout California to honor the contributions of public works professionals. It directly affects engineers, managers, and employees in government and the private sector who maintain essential infrastructure like transportation systems, water supplies, and public buildings. The resolution requests that the Governor issue a proclamation encouraging the public to observe the week with educational programs and activities that highlight the importance of these workers.

Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of Industrial Relations. Existing law authorizes the division, which is headed by the Labor Commissioner, to enforce the Labor Code and all labor laws of the state, the enforcement of which is not specifically vested in any other officer, board, or commission. This bill would prohibit an employer from using a worker's personal information, as defined, to train an artificial intelligence system to replicate, automate, or replace a worker's job, and would prohibit an employer from selling, disclosing, or otherwise providing access to a worker's personal information to a third party for the purpose of training an artificial intelligence system to replicate, automate, or replace a worker's job. The bill would prohibit a vendor providing services to an employer under a contract from providing access to the personal information of an employer's worker to a third party or using the personal information of an employer's worker to train artificial intelligence, as specified. The bill would require a contract between an employer and vendor to include a requirement that the vendor implement and maintain reasonable security procedures to protect the worker's personal information from, among other things, unauthorized or illegal access. The bill would define terms for these provisions, including "employer" and "personal information." The bill would require the Labor Commissioner and authorize a public prosecutor to enforce these provisions. The bill would authorize a worker, or their exclusive representative, who suffered a violation of these provisions to bring a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages, and attorney's fees and costs. The bill would establish a statutory penalty for a violation of these provisions of up to $500 for each violation. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.

Existing law requires that every person, including both public and private entities, operating or maintaining a public swimming pool do so in a sanitary, healthful, and safe manner, and authorizes the State Department of Public Health to supervise the sanitation, healthfulness, and safety of public swimming pools. Existing law requires the department to make and enforce regulations pertaining to public swimming pools as it deems proper and to enforce specified building standards relating to public swimming pools. Existing law also requires every health officer to enforce the specified building standards relating to swimming pools and other regulations adopted by the department. Existing law defines public swimming pool for these purposes. Existing law makes a person who violates these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a specified fine or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. This bill would expand the definition of a public swimming pool to include a cold spa. The bill would define a cold spa for these purposes, and would require cold spas to be subject to specified requirements related to the construction and operation of a spa or spa pool, except as specified. Because this bill would expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would also establish requirements for a cold plunge tub, including, among other things, that the cold plunge tub is prohibited from being placed or used within the same enclosure as a public pool or spa. The bill would define a cold plunge tub to mean an aboveground, individual use therapeutic tub that is maintained at temperatures between 35 degrees Fahrenheit and 60 degrees Fahrenheit by use of a mechanical chiller, among other things. The bill would specify that a cold plunge tub is not considered a public swimming pool and is not subject to any of the construction or sanitation standards mentioned above. 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.

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. 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. Existing law requires a lead agency to be responsible for determining whether the project is exempt from CEQA and whether an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration is required, as provided. Existing law, for certain projects, establishes a ministerial review process with modified environmental assessment procedures, as provided. This bill, notwithstanding the above-described provisions relating to determinations by a lead agency, would require an environmental impact report, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration, as determined by the lead agency, for any project, except as provided, that includes the development, intensification, or substantial expansion of an industrial use if the project is located in or within 12 mile of an overburdened community, as defined. The bill would disqualify these projects from receiving a statutory exemption or ministerial review process. Because a lead agency would be required to determine the applicability of this requirement, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require, on and after July 1, 2027, specified categories of notices prepared pursuant to the requirements of CEQA to be translated into all threshold languages, as defined, in the city or county where the project is located to ensure meaningful involvement of all impacted people. Because this bill would impose additional requirements on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Office and Land Use and Climate Innovation, by July 1, 2027, to develop guidelines for this requirement, and would require the guidelines to allow lead agencies to develop a procedure for an interested party to request that interpretation services be made available, as specified. The bill would authorize the lead agency, if it develops that procedure, to require mandatory interpretation services only when a request has been made in advance of the hearing or meeting. This bill would require the lead agency to, among other things, provide a notice of any public hearing subject to the above-described requirements to owners and occupants of property located within 12 half mile of any parcel or parcels, and to any school located within one mile of any parcel or parcels, of a project site, not less than 30 days before the public hearing. The bill would require this public hearing to include oral translation services in all threshold languages spoken in the city or county, as provided. Because this bill would impose additional requirements on a lead agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would prohibit a minor inaccuracy in the translation of a notice or hearing from being a basis for invalidation of a public agency decision, unless the inaccuracy is found to preclude relevant information from being presented to the public, as provided. 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 defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power. Existing law classifies electric bicycles into 3 classes with different restrictions. Existing law defines a "class 1 electric bicycle" as a bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, that is not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Existing defines a "class 2 electric bicycle" as a bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 20 miles per hour. Existing law defines a "class 3 electric bicycle" as a bicycle equipped with a speedometer and a motor that, in pertinent part, provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 28 miles per hour. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would instead define a class 1 electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, that is not capable of exclusively propelling the bicycle, and that ceases to provide assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 16 miles per hour. The bill would define a class 2 electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with a motor that may be used exclusively to propel the bicycle, and that is not capable of providing assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of 16 miles per hour. The bill would provide that, notwithstanding these definitions, an electric bicycle manufactured prior to January 1, 2027, that was equipped with a motor that is not capable of exceeding 750 watts of continuous power and otherwise met the legal requirements for the relevant class at the time of manufacture shall retain its classification. This bill would authorize a cargo electric bicycle to be equipped with an electric motor with a maximum continuously rated power of 750 watts. The bill would define a cargo electric bicycle as an electric bicycle that is built with a reinforced frame and integrated rack or platform designed to transport goods or additional persons. This bill would prohibit a manufacturer from equipping, and a retailer from offering for sale or advertising, any device labeled as an electric bicycle with a motor that is capable of exceeding 750 watts of peak power. The bill would also prohibit a manufacturer from equipping, and a retailer from offering for sale or advertising, any device labeled as a class 1 or class 2 electric bicycle with a motor that is capable of exceeding 250 watts of continuous power or that is capable of providing assistance to reach speeds greater than 16 miles per hour. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $15,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $50,000 for each subsequent violation, upon an action brought by the Attorney General, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney. The bill would specify that a violation of this provision is not a criminal offense. Existing law prohibits a person under 16 years of age from operating a class 3 electric bicycle, and authorizes a peace officer to remove the electric bicycle being operated by the person. Existing law requires an agency to release a seized electric bicycle to the owner, violator, or their agent after a minimum of 48 hours if certain conditions are met, including that the costs of removal, seizure, and storage have been paid. Existing law authorizes an agency to require, as a condition of release of an electric bicycle removed under this provision, proof that the violator has completed an electric bicycle safety and training program or a related local bicycle safety course, as described. This bill would prohibit a person under 16 years of age from operating an electric bicycle with a motor that is capable of exceeding 250 watts of continuous power, and would authorize a peace officer to remove the electric bicycle that is being operated by the person. The bill would authorize an agency to require proof that the violator has completed an electric bicycle safety and training program or a related local bicycle safety course, as described, as a condition of release of the electric bicycle. Because a violation of this prohibition would be a crime, the 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.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates April 2026 as Second Chance Month in California to raise awareness about opportunities for individuals reentering society after incarceration. The measure is a ceremonial proclamation that does not alter laws, allocate funding, or change government operations. Its primary purpose is to encourage public recognition of the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated people and to highlight available support resources during that specific month.

This measure would proclaim the week of April 20, 2026, to April 24, 2026, inclusive, as California Home Visiting Week, and would encourage all Californians to recognize and celebrate the contributions of home visiting programs and professionals and the families they serve.