Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh

Existing law requires the California Postsecondary Education Commission, on or before November 15 of each year, to submit a higher education report to the Legislature and the Governor that provides information to the citizens of the state on the significant indicators of performance of the public colleges and universities, as specified. Existing law requires the commission to consider including, for community colleges, the proportion of remedial or developmental education courses taught by full-time faculty. The Budget Act of 2011 deleted funding and personnel from the California Postsecondary Education Commission. This bill would require the California State Auditor, on or before September 1, 2027, to report to the chairs of certain legislative committees the results of an audit of the California State University and the University of California regarding the use of remedial instruction and supports, as specified.

Existing law provides for the administration of the constitutional oath of office and seating of Members of the Legislature at the beginning of any regular session of the Legislature. Existing law requires each Member of the Legislature and each designated employee of the Legislature to attend certain orientation courses conducted by the appropriate legislative ethics committees at least once in each biennial session. This bill would require Members and designated employees of the Legislature to attend an orientation course regarding the United States Constitution and the California Constitution, as specified. The bill would require the Legislative Counsel Bureau, in consultation with the Joint Rules Committee, to develop and conduct the course, as specified. The bill would authorize Members and designated employees of the legislature to opt out of the course if they are able to demonstrate proficient knowledge of specified topics or if they are licensed to practice law in California.

Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 50 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their sentence. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering the release of qualifying inmates, to give special consideration to whether certain criteria have reduced the elderly inmate's risk for future violence. Existing law excludes various persons from these provisions, including, among others, persons convicted of serious felonies, persons convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer, or persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This bill would additionally exclude, among others, persons receiving an enhancement to their sentence for committing certain sexual offenses including, among others, rape, sodomy, or lewd and lascivious acts, and habitual sex offenders. The bill would specify that these exclusions apply to all persons incarcerated as of January 1, 2027, regardless of the person's previous eligibility for parole or the status of any parole petition filed prior to that date.

The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to affirm, modify, or reverse the decision of the Board of Parole Hearings with respect to the granting, denial, revocation, or suspension of parole of a person sentenced to an indeterminate term upon conviction of murder. Existing law classifies certain felonies as violent felonies for purposes of various provisions of the Penal Code. This bill would additionally authorize the Governor to reverse or modify the decision of the board to grant parole to an inmate sentenced for conviction of a violent felony to an indeterminate prison term, as specified, or to a determinate prison term, as specified, if the board's decision is to grant the inmate parole pursuant to the Elderly Parole Program or youth offender parole program. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings to meet with each indeterminately sentenced inmate during the 6th year before the inmate's minimum eligible parole date for the purpose of reviewing and documenting the inmate's activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. One year before the inmate's eligible parole date, existing law requires a panel of the board to meet with the inmate and to grant parole unless the panel or board sitting en banc determines that the gravity of the current convicted offense, or the timing and gravity of current or past convicted offenses, is such that consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration for the inmate. Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law authorizes certain state bodies to hold closed session meetings for certain purposes, including allowing a state body to hold a closed session when considering and acting upon the determination of a term, parole, or release of any individual or other disposition of an individual case. This bill would require the board to provide an annual report to the Legislature, and publish that report on its internet website, detailing, among other things, the voting record of commissioners, as specified, and whether the prosecuting agency appeared at the parole hearing. The bill would also require recording of parole, en banc, and rescission hearings to be recorded and transcribed, and the recording retained indefinitely by the board. The bill would prohibit an en banc review conducted by the board from being held in a closed session. Existing law, as amended by Proposition 9, the Victim's Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law, at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, requires the board, following a decision denying parole, to schedule the next hearing 3, 5, 7, 10, or 15 years from the date of the last hearing, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the board, in its discretion and after considering the views and interests of the victim, to advance a hearing to an earlier date, when a change in circumstances or new information establishes a reasonable likelihood that consideration of the public and victim's safety does not require additional incarceration. Existing law authorizes an inmate, every 3 years, to request that the board exercise its discretion to advance a hearing and provides the procedure for an inmate to make that request. This bill would require the Board of Parole Hearings, in determining suitability for parole, to consider specified information and give substantial weight to the nature and circumstances of the commitment offense that includes, among other things, the degree of violence involved and the vulnerability of the victim. The bill would change the length of time between requests to advance to 5 years and would also change the inmate's burden to require the inmate to show that there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances or new information. The bill would require the board to provide notice of a request to advance to the prosecuting agency and registered victim, and would authorize the board to summarily deny a request to advance in certain circumstances, including when the request is duplicative or repetitive or fails to include sufficient documentation or explanation. The bill would require the board to set a hearing, following a decision denying parole, at 5 years if the inmate is serving a term of conviction for, among other things, murder involving a victim 14 years of age or younger, or various sexual offenses involving a victim 14 years of age or younger. The bill would require that the board deny a request to advance for an individual serving a term for those offenses, unless the request demonstrates clear and convincing evidence of a material and substantial change in circumstances. These provisions would become operative only if Assembly Constitutional Amendment ____ of the 2025–26 Regular Session, amending Section 8 of Article V of the Constitution, is approved by the voters at the November 3, 2026, statewide election. The bill would make related findings and declarations and would declare that its provisions are severable.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates March 22, 2026, as California STEAM Robotics Day to recognize the importance of robotics within science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education. The measure directly affects schools and educational organizations across the state by providing a specific date for them to host events or activities focused on robotics. It does not create new funding, change laws, or mandate specific actions, but rather serves as a formal proclamation to raise awareness about the field. The legislation was passed by the state legislature and signed into law as part of the 2026 statutes.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution formally acknowledges the Armenian Genocide, a systematic campaign of mass killing and deportation that occurred between 1915 and 1923 against Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey. The document details historical events, including the deaths of over 1.5 million people, the seizure of their property, and the subsequent denial of these atrocities by the modern Republic of Turkey. By reciting these facts, the resolution aims to preserve the historical record and honor the survivors and victims of this event.

This measure would recognize March 21, 2026, as the beginning of the International Day of Nowroz and extend best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous Nowroz to all Californians.

This measure would proclaim the month of March 2026 as California Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The measure would also proclaim March 21, 2026, as California Down Syndrome Awareness Day, and would encourage all Californians to support and participate in related activities.

Existing law governs a patient's access to their health records. Existing law requires a health care provider, as defined, to provide a patient or the patient's representative with all or any part of the patient's medical records that the patient has a right to inspect, subject to the payment of clerical costs incurred in locating and making the records available, following a written request from the patient. Existing law entitles a patient, employee of a nonprofit legal services entity representing the patient, or the personal representative of a patient, to a copy, at no charge, of the relevant portion of the patient's records upon written request. Existing law also prohibits a health care provider from charging a fee to a patient for filling out forms or providing information responsive to forms that support a claim or appeal regarding eligibility for a public benefit program. Existing law makes a willful violation of these provisions by specified health care providers an infraction. This bill would additionally prohibit a health care provider form charging a fee to a patient for completing health-related forms required by an educational institution or childcare provider for participation in school, childcare, or school-sponsored activities. By expanding the requirements on health care providers and thereby expanding a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides that all property has an owner, whether that owner is the state, and the property is public, or the owner is an individual, and the property is private. This bill would prohibit a foreign actor from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding a controlling interest, as defined, in agricultural land within the State of California. The bill, among other things, would exempt land held by prohibited foreign actors before January 1, 2027, from that provision. The bill would provide that land transferred in violation of these provisions would be subject to divestiture, as specified. The bill would make its provisions operative upon appropriation by the Legislature.