(1) Existing law divides theft into grand theft and petty theft. Existing law punishes petty theft as a misdemeanor while grand theft is punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Existing law lists specific types of theft which are grand theft and all other cases of theft as petty theft. Existing law authorizes a person to be charged with grand theft if the property taken exceeds $950 over the course of distinct but related acts. This bill would clarify that those related acts include acts committed against multiple victims or in counties other than the county of the current offense. The bill would also clarify that evidence that distinct acts are motivated by one intention, one general impulse, and one plan may include, but is not limited to, evidence that the acts involve the same defendant or defendants, are substantially similar in nature, or occur within a 90-day period. (2) Existing law prohibits the possession or receipt of stolen property, as specified. A violation of this prohibition is punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of the property and whether the offender has certain prior convictions. This bill would make it a crime for any person to possess property unlawfully that was acquired through one or more acts of shoplifting, theft, or burglary from a retail business, if the property is not possessed for personal use and the person has intent to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, or the intent to act in concert with one or more persons to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, and the value of the possessed property exceeds $950. The bill would, for the purpose of determining the value of the property, aggregate the property with any other property possessed by the person with that intent within the prior 2 years and with any property possessed by another person acting in concert with the first person to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, if that property was also acquired unlawfully. The bill would make this crime punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law prohibits shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit theft while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed $950. Existing law requires an act that falls within this definition to be charged as shoplifting and not as burglary or theft. Under existing law, shoplifting is punishable as a misdemeanor, except when the defendant has prior convictions, as specified. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor when the officer has probable cause to believe the person to be arrested has committed the misdemeanor in the officer's presence. Existing law also authorizes a private person to make an arrest for a misdemeanor committed in their presence, and requires the person to deliver the arrested person to a peace officer or magistrate. Existing law additionally authorizes a merchant to detain a person for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner to determine if a person has unlawfully taken merchandise. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for specified misdemeanors relating to domestic violence, violation of a restraining order, and carrying a concealed firearm at an airport that did not occur in the officer's presence. This bill would authorize a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor shoplifting offense not committed in the officer's presence if the officer has probable cause to believe that person has committed shoplifting, as specified. The bill would clarify that local law enforcement or a local jurisdiction is prohibited from bringing a nuisance action against a business solely for the act of reporting retail crime, unless the report is knowingly false. (4) Existing law requires a peace officer to release upon a signed promise to appear any person arrested for a misdemeanor, unless the person demands to be taken before a magistrate. Existing law provides certain reasons a person arrested for a misdemeanor shall not be released including that the person is intoxicated or in need of medical attention, the person is unable to provide satisfactory proof of identification, or there are outstanding arrest warrants for the person. Additionally, existing law exempts from this provision persons arrested for specified crimes including domestic violence, stalking, threatening a witness, and, until January 1, 2026, organized retail theft. This bill would extend that exemption for organized retail theft until January 1, 2031. (5) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, authorizes a city or county prosecuting authority or county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit a theft offense or repeat theft offenses, as specified. This bill would extend that authorization until January 1, 2031. (6) Existing law authorizes the court to suspend a criminal sentence and make and enforce terms of probation for a period not to exceed 2 years, and in misdemeanor cases, for a period not to exceed one year. Existing law authorizes the court to make and enforce the terms of probation for specified theft cases for a period not to exceed 3 years. This bill would, for an offense of shoplifting or petty theft, authorize the court to make and enforce the terms of probation for a period not to exceed 2 years. The bill would require a court that imposes a term longer than one year to consider referring the defendant to a collaborative court or rehabilitation program that is relevant to the underlying factor or factors that led to the commission of the offense, as specified. For a defendant under 25 years of age, the bill would require the court, to the extent such a program is available, to refer the defendant to a program modeled on healing-centered, restorative, trauma-informed, and positive youth development approaches that is provided in collaboration with community-based organizations. By increasing the period of probation, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) 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.
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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, including dance, music, theater, and visual arts. This bill, with respect to both of the above-referenced adopted courses of study, would expand visual and performing arts to also include media arts. To the extent that this bill would create new duties for local educational agencies or local officials, it 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 establishes various commissions within state government. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, establish the California Commission on the United States Semiquincentennial in state government to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States of America. The bill would require the commission to plan and coordinate commemorations and observances of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. The bill would require the commission to be solely supported by private or federal funds made available for the purpose of supporting the commission. The bill would require that these funds be deposited in the Semiquincentennial Fund, and would create that fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require funds in the Semiquincentennial Fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as specified. The bill would require the records, files, and other memoranda of the commission, other than any private possessions, to be deposited and filed with the State Archives before January 1, 2028, and would require the State Archives to receive those materials. These provisions would become operative only if the Treasurer determines that sufficient private or federal funds have been made available.
Existing law establishes in state government the Natural Resources Agency and provides that the agency consists of, among other things, the Department of Parks and Recreation. Existing law designates all parks, public campgrounds, monument sites, landmark sites, and sites of historical interest established or acquired by the state, or that are under its control, as the state park system, except as specified. This bill would establish the Conservation Stewardship Endowment Fund, as provided, and would require moneys in the fund to be allocated to the Natural Resources Agency, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to support the maintenance and stewardship of lands and facilities owned or managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation and generate funding through investment earnings for the support of stewardship and maintenance of these lands and facilities. The bill would require moneys in the fund to be invested by the Treasurer with the goal of achieving capital appreciation to create a balance sufficient to generate ongoing earnings to cover the estimated annual costs associated with the purposes described above. The bill would authorize the fund to receive donations or contributions from public and private entities, partnerships between public and private entities, fees, cash advances, and transfers from the General Fund or other public sources. The bill would require any funds, public or private, allocated from the Endowment Fund to supplement, not supplant, the department's budget allocations for any fiscal year. The bill would require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to establish a governing body, consisting of specified members, including the Director of Parks and Recreation, to oversee the administration of the fund and the disbursement of the moneys in the fund. The bill would require, on or before December 31, 2030, the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report to the Legislature that reviews the impact and performance of the fund, as specified.
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 law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan and a health insurer that contracts with providers for alternative rates of payment to publish and maintain a provider directory or directories with information on contracting providers that deliver health care services enrollees or insureds, and requires a health care service plan and health insurer to regularly update its printed and online provider directory or directories, as specified. Existing law authorizes the departments to require a plan or insurer to provide coverage for all covered health care services provided to an enrollee or insured who reasonably relied on materially inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information contained in a health plan's provider directory or directories. This bill would require a plan or insurer to annually verify and delete inaccurate listings from its provider directories, and would require a provider directory to be 60% accurate on July 1, 2025, with increasing required percentage accuracy benchmarks to be met each year until the directories are 95% accurate on or before July 1, 2028. The bill would subject a plan or insurer to administrative penalties for failure to meet the prescribed benchmarks. The bill would require a plan or insurer to arrange care and provide coverage for all covered health care services provided to an enrollee or insured who reasonably relied on inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information contained in a health plan or policy's provider directory or directories and to reimburse the provider the contracted amount for those services. The bill would prohibit a provider from collecting an additional amount from an enrollee or insured other than the applicable in-network cost sharing. The bill would require a plan or insurer to provide information about in-network providers to enrollees and insureds upon request, and would limit the cost-sharing amounts an enrollee or insured is required to pay for services from those providers under specified circumstances. On or before January 1, 2025, this bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance to develop uniform formats for plans and insurers to use to request directory information from providers and to establish a methodology and processes to ensure accuracy of provider directories and consistency with other laws, regulations, or standards. The bill would require the health plan or the insurer, as applicable, to ensure the accuracy of a request to add back a provider who was previously removed from a directory and approve the request within 10 business days of receipt, if accurate. Because a violation of the bill's requirements by a health care service plan would be a 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.
(1) The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act covers certain single-use packaging and plastic single-use food service ware, as provided. As part of its comprehensive statutory scheme, the act requires producers of those covered materials to reduce and recycle the covered plastic material and to ensure that covered materials that are offered for sale, distributed, or imported in or into the state on or after January 1, 2032, are recyclable or compostable, as provided. The act authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to identify materials that are trending toward meeting specified requirements and criteria to be considered recyclable within the state, as provided, and requires those material types and forms to be considered and labeled as recyclable in the state as long as the material types and forms meet certain requirements. This bill would instead authorize a producer or group of producers of products using covered materials to, on or before January 1, 2026, petition the department to identify material types and forms that meet those specified requirements and criteria to be considered as recyclable in the state. The bill would require the department to review the petition and approve or deny it within 60 days of receipt, as provided. (2) Existing law provides that a product or packaging that displays a chasing arrows symbol, among other symbols, statements, or directions, is deemed to be a deceptive or misleading claim unless the product or packaging is considered recyclable pursuant to statewide recyclability criteria and is of a material type and form that routinely becomes feedstock used in the production of new products or packaging, except for products or packaging manufactured up to 18 months after the date the department publishes or updates a specified material characterization study, as provided. This bill would additionally exempt from the above-described provisions any product or packaging that has been manufactured up to 24 months after the date the department publishes its first update to a specified material characterization study and for which a producer or group of producers has submitted a specified petition to the department. (3) Existing law provides that a product or packaging is not considered recyclable in the state unless the product or packaging meets specified criteria, including that the product or packaging does not contain an intentionally added chemical identified pursuant to specified regulations. This bill would exclude chemicals that are disclosed only for purposes of compliance with a specified regulation governing the disclosure of chemicals on a list produced under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) from the intentionally added chemicals that would affect whether a product or package is considered recyclable in this state.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would permit a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public funds, as defined, for the purpose of seeking elective office unless the funds are earmarked by a state or local entity for education, transportation, or public safety. The bill would require candidates to abide by specified expenditure limits and meet strict criteria, as defined, to qualify for public funds, and it also would prohibit public funds from being used to pay legal defense fees or fines. The bill would prohibit a candidate receiving public funds from using those funds to repay personal loans to their campaign at any time. The bill would permit a statute, ordinance, or charter to establish standards to increase the expenditure limits for each qualified, voluntarily participating candidate pursuant to a specified formula. The bill would provide that the Fair Political Practices Commission is not responsible for administering or enforcing a system of public funding of candidates established by a local governmental agency. Existing law prohibits a foreign government or foreign principal, as defined, to make a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in connection with the qualification or support of, or opposition to, any state or local ballot measure or in connection with the election of a candidate to state or local office. Under existing law, a person who violates this prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine equal to the amount contributed or expended. This bill would specify that a person who violates the prohibition above is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be fined an amount at least equal to the amount contributed or expended but not exceeding a maximum amount of 3 times the amount contributed or expended. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill to the voters for approval at the November 3, 2026, statewide election, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) , in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Water Resources Control Board, and affected local air quality management districts, to adopt regulations to establish management standards for metal shredding facilities for hazardous waste management activities within DTSC's jurisdiction, as provided. Existing law provides that treated metal shredder waste that is managed in accordance with those regulations is deemed to be solid waste, and not hazardous waste, as provided. This bill would repeal those provisions and would establish a comprehensive scheme for the regulation of metal shredding facilities. The bill would prohibit an owner or operator from operating a metal shredding facility, as defined, in the state unless they have a permit from DTSC or are deemed to have a permit. The bill would prescribe the requirements for obtaining a permit, for being deemed to have a permit, for operating a metal shredding facility, and for transporting certain materials related to metal shredding, as specified. The bill would provide that certain materials related to metal shredding are not hazardous waste if they meet specified requirements. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to report to DTSC any release or threatened release of a hazardous substance and certain emergency situations, as specified. The bill would require an owner or operator of a metal shredding facility to submit to DTSC a closure plan and a cost estimate for closing the metal shredding facility, as specified. The bill would authorize DTSC to enforce these provisions by revoking permits and by other specified means. The bill would require DTSC to adopt regulations for the operation of metal shredding facilities. Existing law authorizes DTSC to collect an annual fee from all metal shredding facilities subject to the requirements of hazardous waste control laws or DTSC's management standards for metal shredding facilities, as provided. Existing law requires DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and authorizes DTSC to adopt those regulations using emergency procedures, as provided. Existing law requires the Controller to establish a separate subaccount in the Hazardous Waste Control Account and for all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount, to be available for expenditure by DTSC upon appropriation by the Legislature. This bill would instead authorize DTSC to collect those annual fees from metal shredding facilities subject to the provisions of this bill, as specified. The bill would require DTSC to adopt regulations necessary to administer the fee and would authorize DTSC to adopt the regulations using the same emergency procedures, as specified. The bill would require the Controller to establish a separate subaccount in the Hazardous Waste Control Account and would require all fees collected to be placed into that subaccount, to be available for expenditure by DTSC for purposes of implementation and administration of the provisions of the bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would prohibit a local agency from deeming a metal shredding facility operating pursuant to these provisions to be conducting hazardous waste treatment or storage operations for purposes of making a land use decision. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
Existing law, the Political Reform Act of 1974, prohibits a public officer from expending, and a candidate from accepting, public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office. This bill would permit a public officer or candidate to expend or accept public moneys for the purpose of seeking elective office if the state or a local governmental entity established a dedicated fund for this purpose, as specified. The bill would prohibit the public moneys for this dedicated fund from being taken from public moneys that are earmarked for education, transportation, or public safety. This restriction would not apply to charter cities. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the act may be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval of the voters. This bill would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the bill to the voters for approval at the November 5, 2024, general statewide election, as specified.
Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution formally acknowledges the 15th anniversary of California-Mexico Advocacy Day, a recurring event that brings together leaders from both countries to discuss bilateral issues. The document highlights the strong economic and cultural ties between the two regions, noting that the border is a major entry point for goods and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. By adopting this resolution, the California Senate recognizes the importance of ongoing dialogue on topics such as public health and cross-border pollution to foster continued cooperation and prosperity.