Asm. David Tangipa

Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs. The department, among other services, provides veterans and their dependents and survivors with assistance in processing service-related disability claims, assistance in obtaining affordable housing, and information about health ailments associated with military service. This bill would require the department to establish a program to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, an academic study of mental health among women veterans in California, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit a report that summarizes the findings and recommendations of the study to the Legislature no later than June 30, 2029. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030.

Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to prescribe, by regulation, lighting, insulation, climate control system, and other building design and construction standards that increase efficiency in the use of energy and water for new residential and new nonresidential buildings, and energy and water conservation design standards for new residential and new nonresidential buildings. Pursuant to this authority, the commission has adopted regulations requiring solar-ready buildings and for the installation of photovoltaic systems meeting certain requirements for low-rise residential buildings built on or after January 1, 2020. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, require residential construction intended to repair, restore, or replace a residential building damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster in an area in which a state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor to comply only with the requirements regarding photovoltaic systems pursuant to those regulations, if any, that were in effect at the time the damaged or destroyed building was originally constructed and would prohibit that construction from being required to comply with any additional or conflicting photovoltaic system requirements in effect at the time of repair, restoration, or replacement. The bill would only apply to the construction of a building if certain conditions are met with respect to the building owner's income and insurance coverage and to the location and square footage of the construction. Because a local agency would be required to determine whether any older applicable photovoltaic requirements are met, 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 establishes January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month in California to raise public awareness about human trafficking. The resolution recognizes the severity of human trafficking as a felony crime and highlights statistics showing its prevalence across the country and specific challenges with identifying male victims and labor trafficking cases. It aims to educate the public and encourage reporting and support for victims during this designated month.

The California Constitution includes a balanced budget provision that prohibits the Legislature from sending a budget bill to the Governor, and prohibits the Governor from signing a budget bill, if the total amount of General Fund appropriations and reserve deposits for the fiscal year exceed General Fund revenues for the fiscal year estimated as of the date of the budget bill's passage. The Constitution requires the Legislature to include that revenue estimate in the budget bill. The Constitution also requires the Legislature to pass a budget bill by midnight on June 15 of each year. If that deadline is not met, the Members of the Legislature forfeit any salary or reimbursement for travel or living expenses from midnight on June 15 until the day that the budget bill is presented to the Governor. This measure would authorize the Controller, no later than 30 days after the date of the budget bill's passage, to determine that the budget bill violates the balanced budget provision. If the Controller makes that determination, the Members of the Legislature and the Governor would forfeit their salary and reimbursement for travel or living expenses from the day immediately following the date on which the Controller makes the determination until the date on which a budget bill is enacted.

(1) The Water Recycling Law generally provides for the use of recycled water. Existing law requires any person who, without regard to intent or negligence, causes or permits an unauthorized discharge of 50,000 gallons or more of recycled water in or on any waters of the state to immediately notify the appropriate regional water board. This bill would, for the purposes of the above provision, redefine "recycled water" and provide that water discharged from a decorative body of water during storm events is not to be considered an unauthorized discharge if recycled water was used to restore levels due to evaporation. (2) Existing law regulating the use of recycled water prohibits the use of prescribed potable water by state and local agencies for any nonpotable uses, including cemeteries, golf courses, parks, and highway landscaped areas if prescribed recycled water is available, and deems use of the recycled water in lieu of the potable water to constitute a reasonable beneficial use of that water. The bill would provide that incidental amounts of spray, mist, or runoff are to be permitted to enter outdoor eating areas of parks and open spaces when irrigated with disinfected tertiary treated recycled water that complies with a specified regulation regarding irrigation. (3) Existing law authorizes any public agency, including a state agency, city, county, city and county, district, or any other political subdivision of the state, to require the use of recycled water for irrigation of residential landscaping, as specified. The bill would provide that outdoor landscape irrigation of common areas that does not enter the boundaries of a residence is not to be considered a part of the same premises as an individual residence and is not to be considered a dual-plumbed system. The bill would require recycled water used for this purpose to comply with specified water quality and cost conditions. (4) Existing law authorizes any public agency, including a state agency, city, county, city and county, district, or any other political subdivision of the state, to require the use of recycled water for toilet and urinal flushing in structures, as specified. Existing law defines "structures" for the purposes of these provisions. This bill would include food handling and processing facilities as part of the definition of "structures." The bill would authorize the use of recycled water for toilet or urinal flushing or outdoor irrigation in and around food handling or processing facilities, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings, and cafeterias, provided the recycled water does not enter the room where food handling or processing occurs, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Encampment Resolution Funding program, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, to, upon appropriation of the Legislature, increase collaboration between the department, local jurisdictions, and continuums of care for, among other things, providing encampment resolution grants to local jurisdictions and continuums of care to resolve critical encampment concerns and transition individuals into safe and stable housing. Existing law authorizes a continuum of care or a local jurisdiction to submit a specified application to the department for a program grant. Existing law, for additional rounds moneys, defined as moneys appropriated for the program in or after the 2021–22 fiscal year, requires that an applicant submit an application for a program grant that includes a description of how the applicant intends to use the funds to connect all individuals living in encampments to services and housing, among other things. This bill would, as part of this description, additionally require the applicant to include specified information about safe parking sites, when the application includes operating safe parking sites while locating interim or permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness living in vehicles or recreational vehicles. Existing law requires grant recipients to report specified data to their local Homeless Management Information System and as required by the department. Existing law requires the department to evaluate the data and outcomes reported by recipients to assess efficacy of programs and identify scalable best practices for encampment resolution that can be replicated across the state. Existing law requires the department to report to the chairs of the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on the outcomes, learnings, and best practices models identified through the program. Existing law requires a recipient of program funding appropriated in the 2024–25 and 2025–26 fiscal years to submit to the department a final report of certain data elements no later than April 1 of the year following the expiration of the encumbrance period of funds, as provided. Existing law requires the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department, as specified. This bill would remove the requirement that the department report to the chairs of the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the department to report in the annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature a summary of the data elements required in the final report submitted by recipients of program funding appropriated in the 2024–25 and 2025–26 fiscal years, as provided. The bill would require the department to evaluate the data and outcomes reported by the department in the annual report, instead of reported by recipients, to assess efficacy to assess the efficacy of programs and identify scalable best practices for encampment resolution that can be replicated across the state.

Existing law defines the crime of burglary as entering specified buildings, places, or vehicles with the intent to commit grand or petty theft or a felony. Existing law clarifies that a structure designed for habitation is being used for dwelling purposes if, at the time of the burglary, it was not occupied solely because a disaster caused the occupants to leave the premises. This bill would specify that neither the fact that the structure entered has been damaged by a natural or other disaster, nor the extent of the damage, shall preclude conviction. Existing law defines looting as the commission of certain offenses during and within an affected county in a state of emergency or local emergency, as specified. Existing law includes any 2nd-degree burglary or grand theft in the definition of looting, and makes looting based on those offenses punishable by either imprisonment in a county jail for one year or as a felony. Existing law also makes the crime of looting based on petty theft punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing regulations define an "evacuation area" as a geographic area from which civilians have been evacuated pursuant to an evacuation order and where movement and entry are controlled by fire and law enforcement personnel having jurisdictional authority. Existing regulations define an "evacuation warning" as alerting community members in a defined area of a potential threat to life or property. This bill would recast the offense of looting to include first degree burglary, 2nd degree burglary, grand theft, trespass, and theft from a vehicle, when those offenses are committed in an evacuation zone, to the crime of looting. The bill would also, for the purposes of the offense of looting, define an evacuation zone to include an evacuation area or an area subject to an evacuation warning, and to include any residential dwelling units in such an area for a period of one year after the evacuation order, or up to 3 years if the property is undergoing construction. The bill would impose increased penalties for these offenses committed within an evacuation zone, as specified. By increasing the punishment of specified crimes, 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. This bill would make the operation of its provisions contingent upon the enactment of Senate Bill 571 of the 2025–26 Regular Session.

Existing law provides for the appointment of a road commissioner in each county by the board of supervisors, with specified powers and duties relating to county roads. Existing law provides for exceptions to this requirement, including authorization for the boards of supervisors of the Counties of Colusa, Glenn, Merced, and Siskiyou to transfer the duties of the county road commissioner to the county director of the department of public works. This bill would also authorize the Board of Supervisors of the Counties of Madera and Tehama to transfer the duties of the county road commissioner to the county director of the department of public works, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Madera and Tehama.

Existing sales and use tax laws, among other things, impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from their sales of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law makes certain sellers of tangible personal property consumers, and not retailers, of the tangible personal property they sell, including, until January 1, 2026, an all-volunteer fire department, as defined, if the profits are used solely and exclusively in furtherance of the purposes of the all-volunteer fire department, as prescribed. This bill would extend the sunset described above until January 1, 2031. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. The bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws. Existing law requires the state to reimburse counties and cities for revenue losses caused by the enactment of sales and use tax exemptions. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding Section 2230 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse any local agencies for sales and use tax revenues lost by them pursuant to this bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Existing law, the legislative code of ethics, prohibits Members of the Legislature and legislative employees from having financial conflicts of interest and engaging in activities that are in substantial conflict with their official duties. This bill would prohibit Members of the Legislature from entering into, or requesting that another party enter into, a nondisclosure agreement relating to the drafting, negotiation, or discussion of proposed legislation. The bill would also make any nondisclosure agreement relating to the drafting, negotiation, or discussion of proposed legislation entered into after the effective date of this bill void and unenforceable. The bill would provide an exception for nondisclosure agreements, or portions thereof, that prevent only the disclosure of trade secrets, financial information, or proprietary information, as specified. A violation of the legislative code of ethics is punishable as a crime, as specified. By creating a new crime under the act, 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.