This measure would proclaim the month of October 2023 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
This measure would declare the month of September 2023 as California Emergency Preparedness Month.
This measure would recognize the month of January 2024 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
This measure would designate, in perpetuity, the 4th week of January as Data Privacy Week and the last Sunday of January as Data Privacy Day.
Existing law provides that a child may be adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court because of abuse or neglect. Existing law requires the court to review the status of certain dependent children no less frequently than once every 6 months and requires a supplemental report to be filed as part of that review. Existing law requires, when the report is regarding a child for whom the court has ordered parental rights terminated and who has been ordered placed for adoption, or, for an Indian child for whom parental rights are not being terminated and a tribal customary adoption is being considered, the report to include, among other things, a description of whether the final adoption order should include provisions for postadoptive sibling contact. This bill would instead require the report to include a description, if applicable, of the status of the postadoptive sibling agreement. Existing law provides a procedure for permanently terminating parental rights with regard to a child who has been adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court. Existing law requires the social worker or probation officer to give notice of a hearing to terminate parental rights to specified individuals, including, among others, any known sibling of the child who is the subject of the hearing if the sibling is either the subject of a dependency proceeding or has been adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court. This bill would also require that notice be provided to siblings who are nonminor dependents as well as to the child's Court-Appointed Special Advocate, if one has been appointed. The bill would establish a procedure for certain children and nonminor dependents for whom the parental rights of their biological parent or parents were terminated to petition the court to reinstate or modify their biological parent's or parents' parental rights, as specified. Existing law requires, if parental rights are terminated and the court orders a dependent child or ward to be placed for adoption, the county, to the extent practicable, to convene a meeting with the child, the sibling or siblings of the child, the prospective adoptive parent or parents, and a facilitator for the purpose of deciding whether to voluntarily execute a postadoption sibling contact agreement. Existing law provides that the county placing agency is not required to convene a meeting to decide whether to voluntarily execute a postadoption sibling contact agreement if specified circumstances occur. This bill would instead specify that the purpose of the meeting is to discuss a postadoption sibling contact agreement within 90 days after termination of parental rights and prior to finalization of the adoption, as specified. Existing law allows, in an adoption proceeding, for continuing contact between the birth relatives and a child if a postadoption contact agreement is entered into voluntarily and is in the best interests of the child at the time the adoption petition is granted. Existing law specifies that a postadoption contact agreement with siblings with whom the child does not have a preexisting relationship may only include provisions for the sharing of information about the child. This bill would permit a postadoption contact agreement with siblings with whom the child does not have a preexisting relationship to also include provisions for visitation and for future contact. The bill would make conforming changes. By increasing the duties of county placing agencies, 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 incorporate additional changes to Section 8616.5 of the Family Code proposed by AB 1650 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1650 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law establishes procedures for state agencies to enter into contracts for goods and services, including generally requiring that certain contracts by a state agency, including, but not limited to, contracts for the construction, alteration, improvement, repair, or maintenance of property, be approved by the Department of General Services. Existing law authorizes a public entity to use, enter into, or require contractors to enter into, a project labor agreement, as defined, for a construction project, if the agreement includes specified taxpayer protection provisions. This bill would permit a state agency to undertake a major state construction project only if that project is governed by a project labor agreement and if that project labor agreement includes community benefit goals, as specified, and would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would authorize the Governor to waive this requirement if the state agency has attempted to comply with this requirement and the Governor makes a written determination that the application of this requirement would be impracticable. The bill would require the Department of General Services, commencing January 1, 2029, to report to the Legislature about the use of project labor agreements, the advancement of community benefit goals, and apprenticeships, as specified. The bill would also make a related statement of legislative findings and declarations.
Existing law makes it unlawful for the owner of any housing accommodation to discriminate against or harass any person because of the race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information of that person or for any person to make any notice, statement, or advertisement, with respect to the rental of a housing accommodation that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination or an intention to make a preference, limitation, or discrimination, based on any of those factors. Existing law prohibits a landlord from making any inquiry regarding or based on the immigration or citizenship status of a tenant, prospective tenant, occupant, or prospective occupant of residential rental property or requiring that any tenant, prospective tenant, occupant, or prospective occupant of the rental property disclose or make any statement, representation, or certification concerning their immigration or citizenship status. This bill would prohibit a housing provider, as defined, from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history, requiring an applicant to disclose their criminal history, or requiring an applicant to authorize the release of their criminal history, unless they are complying with federal law, as specified. The bill would also prohibit a housing provider from basing any adverse action, in whole or in part, on information contained in an applicant's criminal history, if the housing provider received criminal history information about an applicant, unless they are complying with federal law. This bill would require California Housing Finance Agency to make available to housing providers a notice that informs applicants for housing of their rights pursuant to these provisions containing a description of the prohibitions and information about community and public resources available to assist an applicant in connection with a violation. The bill would give an applicant who suffers harm as a result of a violation of these provisions a private right of action for injunctive relief, and actual damages or statutory damages up to 3 times the amount of one month's rent that the housing provider charged for the unit in question at the time of the violation. The bill would authorize a court to award punitive damages if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a violation of this section was committed with oppression, fraud, or malice. This bill would require affordable housing providers to annually submit a certificate of compliance with the requirements of this section to the Civil Rights Department in a format determined by the department. By expanding the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to adopt or revise regulations to establish the format of the certification and the requirements and standards for determining compliance with this section. The bill would authorize the department to impose a civil penalty for failure to comply with this provision that does not exceed the reasonable enforcement costs of the department. 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.
Under existing law, Members of the Legislature, elected state officers, and designated employees of state administrative agencies are subject to various restrictions on their activities following their departure from state service. This bill would restrict the postgovernment employment activities of a committee consultant of the Legislature for up to one year following their departure from state service. For a period of one year after leaving employment from the Legislature, a committee consultant designated in the Senate or Assembly's Conflict of Interest Code would be prohibited from engaging in any activity that would require the former committee consultant to register as a lobbyist for influencing any matter under the jurisdiction of their former committee. A violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. By expanding the scope of an existing 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, prescribes statewide limits on the application of local rent control with regard to certain properties. The act generally authorizes an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit, except in specified circumstances, including, (1) when the residential real property has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995, (2) when the residential real property has already been exempt from the residential rent control ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995, pursuant to a local exemption for newly constructed units, and (3) when the residential real property is alienable and separate from title to any other dwelling units, except as specified. This bill would instead authorize an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate for a dwelling or unit when the residential real property has been issued a certificate of occupancy within the 28 years preceding the date on which the owner seeks to establish a rental rate under these provisions, except as specified for dwellings or units exempt from the residential rent control ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995, pursuant to a local exemption for newly constructed units. The bill would also remove the above-described authorizations for an owner of residential real property to establish the initial rental rate if the residential real property has already been exempt from the residential rent control pursuant to an ordinance of a public entity on or before February 1, 1995.
Existing law, the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, prohibits certain persons, including a person intending to use an investigative consumer report for employment purposes, from procuring or causing to be prepared the report unless certain conditions are met. Under that act, one of those conditions require the person procuring or causing the report to be made to provide a clear and conspicuous disclosure in writing to the consumer, at any time before the report is procured or caused to be made and in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, certain information. This bill would require that information to also include either all laws and regulations that impose restrictions or prohibitions for employment on the basis of a conviction, if any, or all the specific job duties of the position for which a conviction may have a direct and adverse relationship that has the potential to result in an adverse employment action, as described. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , prohibits an employer from engaging in various defined forms of discriminatory employment practices, including with respect to denial of applicants because of their criminal history (existing criminal history discrimination provisions) . Existing law provides it is an unlawful employment practice under FEHA for an employer with 5 or more employees to, among other things, include on any application for employment any question that seeks the disclosure of an applicant's conviction history, to inquire into or consider the conviction history of an applicant until that applicant has received a conditional offer, and, when conducting a conviction history background check, to consider, distribute, or disseminate information related to specified prior arrests, diversions, and convictions. Existing law requires an employer who intends to deny an applicant a position of employment solely or in part because of the applicant's conviction history to make an individualized assessment of whether the applicant's conviction history has a direct and adverse relationship with the specific duties of the job, and to consider certain topics when making that assessment, as described. This bill would enact the Fair Chance Act, which would revise, recast, and expand the above-described unlawful employment practices, individualized assessments, and associated remedies, as provided. The bill, among other things, would make it an unlawful employment practice to take adverse action against an employee or discriminate against an employee on the basis of their preemployment arrest or conviction history, except as provided, or to end an interview, reject an application, or otherwise terminate the employment, transfer, or promotion application process based on conviction history information provided by the applicant or learned from any other source, until after the employer, as defined, has made a conditional offer of employment, transfer, or promotion to the applicant. The bill would require an employer to post clear and conspicuous notice informing applicants and employees of certain information, including the act, as described. This bill would require an employer to retain specified records relating to an applicant's employment, transfer, or promotion applications and the individualized assessments and would require employers to provide or provide access to the records and documents to the Civil Rights Department in any administrative enforcement proceeding, as provided, or to the applicant. The bill would provide that any record or document retained or received by a local agency employer or the department is confidential and not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act, except as specified. By imposing additional prohibitions on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would set forth, among other remedies, a training requirement and civil penalties based on the recurrence of the violation and employer size. The bill would set forth procedures for imposing civil penalties and for complainants to make claims for those penalties with the department. The bill would establish the Fair Chance Act Enforcement Fund and make moneys in the fund available to the department upon appropriation for purposes of administering and enforcing the act. The bill would establish the Fair Chance Act Recovery Fund and would make moneys in the fund available to the department upon appropriation for purposes of paying claims made by complainants. This bill would require the department to issue rules and regulations regarding when an employer action constitutes a violation of the act for purposes of imposing civil penalties and for purposes of the additional remedies and penalties under the FEHA. The bill would also require the department to annually publish a report containing statistics regarding the total number of penalties issued pursuant to the act, as described. This bill would provide the existing criminal history discrimination provisions are operative only through December 31, 2023, but that violations of the existing criminal history discrimination provisions arising from actions prior to January 1, 2024, shall continue to be enforced pursuant to those provisions. The bill would make conforming changes and would make related findings and declarations. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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.
