Existing law establishes the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge children to be dependents of the court under certain circumstances, including when the child suffered or there is a substantial risk that the child will suffer serious physical harm, or a parent fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment. Existing law establishes the grounds for removal of a dependent child from the custody of the child's parents or guardian. Existing law requires the court, at the initial petition hearing, to examine the child's parents, guardians, Indian custodian, or other persons having relevant knowledge and hear the relevant evidence, and order the release of the child from custody unless a prima facie showing has been made that the child comes within the court's jurisdiction, the court finds that continuance in the parent's or guardian's home is contrary to the child's welfare, and any of a number of circumstances exist. Existing law requires the social worker to report to the court on the reasons why the child has been removed from the parent's, guardian's, or Indian custodian's physical custody, the need, if any, for continued detention, and the available services and the referral methods to those services that could facilitate the return of the child to the custody of the child's parents, among other things. This bill would require the social worker's report to also include information regarding the short-term and long-term harms to the child that may result from their removal, including the child's perspective on removal, the existing relationship between the child and members of the household, and the disruption to the child's schooling, social relationships, and physical or emotional health that may result from placement out of the home, and in the case of an Indian child, the child's connection to their tribe, extended family members, and tribal community. The bill would also require the social worker's report to include placement options, including an assessment of the least disruptive alternatives to returning the child to the custody of their parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, and other measures that may be taken to alleviate disruption and minimize the harms of removal. The bill would require the court to determine whether less disruptive alternatives to removal were considered, as specified. The bill would, if the court finds that removal is necessary, require the court to set forth, in a written order or on the record, the child's placement and the basis for its findings, whether the placement complies with specified placement preferences, and would require the court to include any orders necessary to alleviate any disruption or harm to the child resulting from removal. By imposing additional duties on counties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 319 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 81 and AB 448 to be operative only if this bill and AB 81, this bill and AB 448, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.
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Existing law establishes the California Transportation Commission in the Transportation Agency. Existing law vests the California Transportation Commission with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs. This bill would require the commission to convene relevant state agencies to assess the procurement and implementation of data, modeling, and analytic software tools to support the state's sustainable transportation, congestion management, affordable housing, efficient land use, air quality, economic, and climate change strategies and goals, as provided. On or before July 1, 2025, the bill would require the commission to develop a proposal to procure data, modeling, and analytic software tools and a process to grant access to the data it procures directly, or provide a process for direct allocation of funding to agencies for data procurement, or both of those, as provided.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes the Administrative Claiming process under which the department is authorized to contract with local governmental agencies and local educational consortia for the purpose of obtaining federal matching funds to assist with the performance of administrative activities relating to the Medi-Cal program that are provided by a local governmental agency or local educational agency (LEA) . Existing law requires the department to engage in specified activities relating to the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, including amending the Medicaid state plan to ensure that schools are reimbursed for all eligible services, consulting with specified entities in formulating state plan amendments, examining methodologies for increasing school participation in the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, and conducting an audit of a Medi-Cal Billing Option claim consistent with prescribed requirements, such as generally accepted accounting principles. Existing law requires the department to issue and regularly maintain a program guide for the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option program. Existing law requires the department to file an annual report with the Legislature that includes, among other things, a summary of department activities. This bill would require the department, when conducting an audit of a Medi-Cal Billing Option claim, to complete the audit and notify the LEA of the findings within 18 months of the date that the Cost and Reimbursement Comparison Schedule (CRCS) is submitted. The bill would require the department to provide an interim settlement or final settlement within 12 months of the March 1 due date for the CRCS. The bill would require the department to update and distribute the program guide to all participating LEAs by July 1, 2024, as specified. The bill would require the department's summary of activities in the above-described report to also include training for LEAs and a summary of the number of audits conducted of Medi-Cal Billing Option claims, as specified. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
(1) Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include certain areas of study, including, among others, English, mathematics, social sciences, science, and visual and performing arts, as specified. This bill, with respect to both of the above-referenced adopted courses of study, would require the science area of study to include an emphasis on the causes and effects of climate change and methods to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The bill would require that appropriate coursework including this material be offered to pupils as soon as possible, commencing no later than the 2024–25 school year. Because the bill would impose new duties on school districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51210 of the Education Code proposed by AB 446 and SB 509 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (3) 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 generally entitles a state employee to be given time off with pay for specified holidays and entitles a state employee to one personal holiday per fiscal year. Existing law authorizes the department head or designee to require the employee to provide 5 working days' advance notice before a personal holiday is taken, to deny use subject to operational needs, and to provide by rule for the granting of the personal holiday for employees. Existing law authorizes a state employee to elect to receive 8 hours of holiday credit for certain holidays in lieu of receiving 8 hours of personal holiday credit, as specified. This bill would authorize an employee to elect to receive 8 hours of holiday credit for observance of a holiday or ceremony of the state employee's religion, culture, or heritage in lieu of receiving 8 hours of personal holiday credit. Existing law, the State Civil Service Act, regulates employment with the state and vests in the Department of Human Resources all powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system. Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act, grants state employees the right to form and join employee organizations for the purpose of representation of all matters of employer-employee relations. Existing law establishes procedures by which an agreement in the form of a written memorandum of understanding may be reached between the Governor and the recognized employee organization, and presented, as appropriate, to the Legislature for determination. This bill would apply its provisions to a bargaining unit only after the bargaining unit meets and confers with the Department of Human Resources in the ordinary process and timeline for negotiating and renegotiating the bargaining unit's collective bargaining agreement, as specified.
(1) Existing law authorizes cities and counties, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in the county not exceed 2%. This bill would authorize the County of Santa Clara to impose a transactions and use tax for general or specific purposes at a rate of no more than 0.625% that, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, would exceed the above-described combined rate limit of 2%, if the county adopts an ordinance proposing the tax and the ordinance proposing the tax is approved by the voters, subject to applicable voter approval requirements, as specified. The bill would specify that a transactions and use tax established pursuant to its provisions would not be considered for purposes of the 2% combined rate limitation. The bill would repeal this authorization on December 31, 2028, if an ordinance proposing the tax has not been approved by that date. (2) Existing law authorizes the Ventura County Transportation Commission to impose a transactions and use tax for the support of countywide transportation programs at a rate of no more than 0.5% that, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, would exceed the above-described combined rate limit of 2%, if the county adopts an ordinance proposing the tax and the ordinance proposing the tax is approved by the voters, subject to applicable voter approval requirements. This bill would amend these provisions to instead authorize the County of Ventura to impose such a transactions and use tax for the support of countywide transportation programs. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Santa Clara and Ventura.
Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may during that period of confinement be deprived of only those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners, including the right to purchase, receive, and read newspapers, periodicals, and books accepted for distribution by the United States Post Office. This bill would include the right to exercise religious freedom, including accommodations for religious grooming, clothing, and headwear, as specified. The bill would allow these rights to be denied only when in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest with regard to institutional security that may impact the facility, staff, the individual, or others in custody. The bill would require a facility to accommodate these rights in specified ways, including, among others, by allowing the individual to purchase or access facility-issued, or Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation-approved, religious clothing and headwear or, if unavailable, allowing the individual to retain their personal religious clothing and headwear until a facility-issued, or department-approved, clothing or headwear can be accessed or purchased. If purchased by an individual in custody, the bill would require the price of facility-issued, or department-approved, religious clothing and headwear to not exceed the purchase price and normal taxes of the items. The bill would authorize the department to promulgate regulations necessary to implement these religious rights, as specified. The bill would require the sheriff of each county or the administrator of each local detention facility to develop and implement a policy following these requirements on or before January 1, 2025. By imposing duties on local jails, this bill would create 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, 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.
The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to permit private, nonprofit organizations to conduct raffles as a funding mechanism to support beneficial and charitable works, if, among other conditions, at least 90% of the gross receipts from the raffle go directly to beneficial or charitable purposes in California. The California Constitution further authorizes the Legislature to amend the percentage of gross receipts required to be dedicated to beneficial or charitable purposes by a statute passed by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature. Existing statutory law implements those provisions and requires the Department of Justice to administer and enforce those provisions. Existing statutory law, until January 1, 2024, authorizes a major league sports raffle at a home game conducted by an eligible organization, as defined, for the purpose of directly supporting specified beneficial or charitable purposes in California, or financially supporting another private, nonprofit, eligible organization, as defined, that performs those purposes if, among other requirements, 50% of the gross receipts generated from the sale of raffle tickets are used to benefit or provide support for beneficial or charitable purposes, as defined, the other 50% is paid to the winner, and the winners of the prizes are determined by a manual draw, as specified. This bill would permanently extend the operation of those provisions beyond January 1, 2024. By extending the operation of provisions that revise the percentage of gross receipts required to go to beneficial or charitable purposes pursuant to the California Constitution, this bill would require a 23 vote of each house.
Under existing law, specified county officers are required to be elected by the voters in that county. Existing law generally requires the election to select county officers to be held with a statewide primary election, but if no candidate for a county office receives a majority of the votes cast for that office at the primary election, the 2 candidates who received the most votes advance to the ensuing statewide general election. This bill would authorize the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara to adopt, and a voter of that county to propose by initiative, an ordinance to elect county officers by ranked choice voting, as specified. The bill would authorize the county, in accordance with such an ordinance, to hold a ranked choice voting election at the statewide primary election at which the election otherwise would be held in accordance with existing law, the first statewide general election following that statewide primary election, or a combination thereof, and to use ranked choice voting in special elections to fill vacancies in county offices, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.
Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) , governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. This bill would enact the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide employees of the Legislature, except certain specified categories of excluded employees, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. For the purposes of bargaining or meeting and conferring in good faith, the bill would define "employer" to mean the Assembly Committee on Rules or the Senate Committee on Rules. The bill would require the employer to meet and confer with representatives of recognized employee organizations regarding matters within the scope of representation. The bill would exclude certain matters from the scope of representation, as specified. The bill would grant exclusive jurisdiction to the Public Employment Relations Board to make an initial determination as to whether charges of unfair practices are justified, and, if so, the necessary remedy, as specified. However, the bill would prohibit the board from issuing a decision or order that intrudes upon or interferes with the Legislature's core function of efficient and effective lawmaking or the essential operation of the Legislature. The bill would require the board to determine appropriate bargaining units, and would prohibit the board from including employees in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the employer. The bill would prohibit the board from including within a bargaining unit employees from both the Assembly and Senate. This bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable. The bill would become operative on July 1, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would additionally exempt from public inspection records related to activities governed by the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act that reveal the employer's deliberative processes, impressions, evaluations, opinions, recommendations, meeting minutes, research, work product, theories, or strategy, or that provide instruction, advice, or training to employees who do not have full collective bargaining and representation rights under the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act. 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.