(1) Existing law provides that a child may be adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court because of abuse or neglect and generally provides for the placement of dependent children in various foster care placement settings. Existing law requires the court to review the status of every dependent child in foster care no less frequently than once every 6 months and requires the county social worker to file a supplemental report as part of that review. This bill would additionally require the court, in conducting the periodic status review for a child or nonminor dependent who is not residing with their relatives, nonrelative extended family members, or in the case of an Indian child, their extended family members, or an Indian custodian, to determine whether the social worker has continued efforts, and in the case of an Indian child, the active efforts, to locate any relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members who could provide family support or possible placement of the child and the names of those relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members. The bill would also require the supplemental report for a child or nonminor dependent who does not reside with their relatives, nonrelative extended family members, or in the case of an Indian child, their extended family members, or an Indian custodian to additionally include the efforts, and in the case of an Indian child, the active efforts, and findings that the social worker has made to locate any relative, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members who could provide family support or possible placement of the child or nonminor dependent and the name of those relatives, extended family members, or nonrelative extended family members. By imposing additional duties on county officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law requires the court to place a foster child in the home of a relative, if possible, unless the placement would not be in the best interest of the child. Existing law requires the court to take into consideration other specified factors in making a determination of the placement of a foster child. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to correct an erroneous cross reference in that provision. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, generally authorizes a decedent's fiduciary to access and manage digital assets and electronic communications, as specified. The act authorizes a user, defined to mean a person who has an account with a custodian, to use an online tool to direct the custodian to disclose or not disclose the user's digital assets to a designated recipient, which is defined to mean a person chosen by a user using an online tool to administer digital assets of the user. The act specifies that, if a user has not used an online tool to give that direction, the user may give direction regarding the disclosure of digital assets in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record to a fiduciary. The act defines "fiduciary" for purposes of the act to mean an original, additional, or successor personal representative or trustee. Under existing law, the act applies in certain situations, including when a fiduciary is acting under a will. This bill would add conservator and agent to the definition of "fiduciary" for purposes of these provisions. The bill would also define "agent," "conservator," "conservatee," and "principal" for purposes of the act. This bill would also make the act applicable if a fiduciary is acting under a power of attorney or to a conservator, as specified. The bill would require a custodian to disclose to an agent the content of electronic communications or the catalogue of electronic communications sent or received by a principal and digital assets, other than the content of electronic communications, as specified. The bill would require a custodian to disclose to a conservator the catalogue of electronic communications sent or received by a conservatee and digital assets, other than the content of electronic communications, as specified. Existing law imposes the legal duties of care, loyalty, and confidentiality on a fiduciary charged with digital assets. Existing law gives a fiduciary specific authorities when acting within the scope of their duties, including making the fiduciary an authorized user of the property of the decedent or settlor, as specified. Existing law authorizes a fiduciary to request that a custodian terminate a user's account and requires that request to include specific information, including a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, a small-estate affidavit, a court order, a certified copy of the trust instrument, or the certification of the trust, as specified. This bill would extend that authority to a fiduciary with respect to the property of a conservatee or principal. The bill would also authorize a fiduciary, or an affiant acting with respect to a deceased user, as specified, to submit a request for termination with a power of attorney. Existing law requires a custodian to comply with a request from a fiduciary or designated recipient to disclose digital assets or terminate an account within 60 days after the receipt of information, as specified. Existing law specifies that it does not limit a custodian's ability to obtain, or require a fiduciary or designated recipient to obtain, a court order that makes specific findings, including that the account belongs to the decedent, principal, or trustee and that there is sufficient consent from the decedent, principal, or settlor to support the disclosure. This bill would also authorize a custodian to, or require a fiduciary or designated recipient to, obtain a court order that finds that the account belongs to, and that there is sufficient consent from, the conservatee. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes.
Existing law authorizes, until January 1, 2032, the Cities of Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, and Long Beach, and the City and County of San Francisco to establish a speed safety system pilot program if the system meets specified requirements. Existing law requires a participating city or city and county to adopt a Speed Safety System Use Policy and a Speed Safety System Impact Report before implementing the program, and requires the participating city or city and county to engage in a public information campaign at least 30 days before implementation of the program, including information relating to when the systems would begin detecting violations and where the systems would be utilized. Existing law requires a participating city or city and county to issue warning notices rather than notices of violations for violations detected within the first 60 calendar days of the program. Existing law also requires a participating city or city and county to develop uniform guidelines for, among other things, the processing and storage of confidential information. Existing law designates all photographic or administrative records, not including data about the number of violations issued or the speeds at which they were issued for, made by a system as confidential, and would only authorize public agencies to use and allow access to these records for specified purposes. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2032, the City of Malibu to establish a similar program for speed enforcement that utilizes up to 5 speed safety systems on the Pacific Coast Highway. Existing law specifies that any violation of a speed law recorded by a speed safety system authorized by the Speed Safety System Pilot Program provisions would be subject only to the provided civil penalties. Existing law provides, among other things, for the issuance of a notice of violation, an initial review, an administrative hearing, and an appeals process, as specified, for a violation under this program. Existing law requires any program created pursuant to these provisions to offer a diversion program for indigent speed safety system violation recipients, as specified. Existing law requires a city or city and county participating in the pilot program to submit a report to evaluate the speed safety system to determine the system's impact on street safety and the economic impact on the communities where the system is utilized. Existing law requires revenues derived from any program to first be used to cover program costs, including, among other things, the construction of traffic-calming measures, as specified. This bill would require the City of Malibu to also implement the above provisions if it establishes the speed safety system program on the Pacific Coast Highway. The bill would additionally require the City of Malibu to enter into an agreement with the Department of Transportation regarding the use of any excess revenue for traffic-calming measures on the Pacific Coast Highway, in the City of Malibu. Existing law establishes a $25 filing fee for specified appeals and petitions. This bill would require a $25 filing fee for an appeal challenging a notice of violation issued as a result of the City of Malibu's speed safety system program until January 1, 2032. 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. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Malibu.
Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation in the Transportation Agency. Existing law authorizes the department subject to approval of the Secretary of Transportation, to enter into an interagency transfer agreement under which a joint powers board assumes responsibility for administering state-funded intercity rail service in certain rail corridors, including the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. Existing law defines the LOSSAN Rail Corridor as the intercity passenger rail corridor between San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Luis Obispo. Pursuant to this authority, the department entered into an interagency transfer agreement with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency to administer intercity passenger rail service in the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. This bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to provide guidance and recommendations to, and coordination between, stakeholders as necessary to ensure the performance of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, as specified. This bill would also require the Secretary of Transportation, with technical and subject matter assistance from the Secretary for Environmental Protection and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency, to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the LOSSAN Rail Corridor that includes specified information no later than 2 years after an appropriation is made by the Legislature for purposes of this report. The bill would also require the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with stakeholders responsible for operating rail services along the LOSSAN Rail Corridor, to submit a report to the Legislature on the performance of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor no later than 3 years after an appropriation is made by the Legislature for purposes of this performance report and biennially thereafter. This bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to convene a working group composed of representatives of certain types of entities, including, among others, metropolitan planning organizations from specified counties. The bill would require the working group to submit consensus recommendations and feedback in a report to the Legislature on or before February 1, 2026, on various topics relating to rail service in the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. Before submitting the report to the Legislature, the bill would require the recommendations and feedback to be submitted to the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, and the North County Transit District for review and consideration. By adding to the duties of local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the LOSSAN Rail Corridor. 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, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, affords all persons within the jurisdiction of this state the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of political affiliation, any specified personal characteristic, or position in a labor dispute, or because another person perceives them to have one or more of those characteristics. Existing law specifies that whoever denies this right, or aids, incites, or conspires in that denial, is liable for each and every offense for the actual damages suffered by any person denied that right and, in addition, exemplary damages, a civil penalty of $25,000, and attorney's fees. Existing law authorizes a person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful practice in violation of this right to also file a verified complaint with the Civil Rights Department. Existing law defines the phrase "intimidation by threat of violence" for purposes of this provision. This bill would expand the definition of "intimidation by threat of violence" for purposes of these provisions to also include terrorizing the owner or occupant of private property with the distribution of materials on the private property, without authorization, with the purpose of terrorizing, as defined, the owner or occupant of that private property. The bill would prohibit speech alone from supporting an action brought pursuant to the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 unless there is a showing that the speech itself threatens violence against a specific person or group of persons, the person or group of persons against whom the threat is directed reasonably fears that, because of the speech, violence will be committed against them or their property, and the person threatening violence is acting in reckless disregard for the threatening nature of their speech and has the apparent ability to carry out the threat. The bill would prohibit that restriction on speech alone supporting an action from being construed to negate or otherwise abrogate the requirements set forth in other specified provisions of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 to bring an action pursuant to that act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law authorizes the governing body of a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school to adopt a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school. Existing law, however, specifies circumstances in which a pupil may not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone. This bill would instead require the governing body of a school district, a county office of education, or a charter school to, by July 1, 2026, develop and adopt, and to update every 5 years, a policy to limit or prohibit the use by its pupils of smartphones while the pupils are at a schoolsite or while the pupils are under the supervision and control of an employee or employees of that school district, county office of education, or charter school, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would constitute 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.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to include courses in mathematics. Existing law requires algebra to be included as part of the mathematics area of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as provided. Existing law requires a pupil to complete coursework that meets or exceeds the rigor of Algebra I or Mathematics I and that is aligned to the content standards adopted by the State Board of Education, as provided, before receiving a diploma of graduation from high school. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to recommend, and the state board to adopt, curriculum frameworks, defined as outlines of the components of a given course of study designed to provide state direction to school districts in the provision of instructional programs, as provided. This bill would require the commission, when the mathematics curriculum framework is next revised after January 1, 2025, to consider including that pupils in grade 8 be offered the opportunity to take an Algebra I or Mathematics I course that is aligned to the content standards adopted by the state board.
Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing federal law, the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) , authorizes multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) in which 2 or more employers join together to provide health care coverage for employees or to their beneficiaries. Existing law authorizes an association of employers to offer a large group health care service plan contract, consistent with ERISA, if certain requirements are met. Until January 1, 2026, existing law also authorizes an association of employers to offer a large group health care service plan contract to small group employer members of the association, consistent with ERISA, if certain requirements are met, including that the association is headquartered in this state, was established before March 23, 2010, and is the sponsor of a MEWA, and that the contract includes coverage of employees of an association member in the biomedical industry. This bill would authorize an association of employers to offer a large group health care service plan contract to small group employer members of the association, consistent with ERISA, if certain requirements are met, including that the association was established before January 1, 1966, and is the sponsor of a MEWA, and that the contract includes coverage of employees of an association member in the engineering, surveying, or design industry. The bill would require an association and MEWA to annually file evidence of ongoing compliance with those requirements in a manner specified by the department. This bill would require the department, on or before June 30, 2028, to provide the health policy committees of the Legislature with the most recent filings. The bill would require the department to conduct an analysis of the impacts of MEWAs on the small employer health insurance market, as specified, authorize the department to coordinate with the Department of Insurance for the analysis, require health care service plans, health insurers, and MEWAs to comply with requests for information, and require the department to post a report summarizing its analysis on its internet website on or before July 1, 2026. The bill, on or after June 1, 2025, would prohibit a plan from marketing, issuing, amending, renewing, or delivering large employer coverage to an association or MEWA that provides a benefit to a resident in this state unless the association and MEWA have registered and are in compliance with the requirements described above, or have filed applications for registration, as specified, that are pending with the department. The bill would authorize the department to issue guidance to health care service plans regarding these requirements, as specified. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. 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 requires every constitutional amendment, bond measure, or other legislative measure submitted to the people by the Legislature to appear on the ballot of the first statewide election occurring at least 131 days after the adoption of the proposal by the Legislature. This bill would allow the Legislature to specify, in the text of a measure that proposes an amendment or revision of the Constitution, that the constitutional amendment or revision submitted to the people will appear on the ballot at an election other than the one described above if the election specified in the measure would occur at least 131 days after adoption of the measure by the Legislature.
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor's office. Existing law requires the Office of Planning and Research, by July 1, 2020, in consultation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, and other fire and safety experts, to update the guidance document entitled "Fire Hazard Planning, General Plan Technical Advice Series." Existing law requires the guidance document to include specific land use strategies to reduce fire risk to buildings, infrastructure, and communities. This bill would require the office to conduct a study and prepare a report, including recommendations, that evaluates potential improvements to state standards for ingress and egress and evacuation routes for development, as defined, in the event of a natural disaster, as provided. For purposes of assisting with and informing the development of the report, the bill would require the office to convene and consult with a working group that includes specified voluntary representatives, including from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research, on or before January 1, 2027, to submit the report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor.