Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas

Existing law requires the Governor to appoint every officer whose mode of appointment is not prescribed by law. Existing law also prescribes the manner of the Governor's appointment of those officers. This bill would require the office of the Governor, commencing January 1, 2026, to maintain on its internet website a list of every state board and commission that includes, for each state board or commission, the membership list, stated purpose, duties, meeting frequency, internet website, and vacancies in the membership. The bill would require the office of the Governor, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to create and publish on its internet website a report containing aggregate demographic information of appointments made by the office during the prior calendar year, as specified.

Existing law requires a person who is incarcerated in state prison or confined in a local detention facility, or a state or local juvenile facility, and who menstruates or experiences uterine or vaginal bleeding to, upon request, have access to, be allowed to use, and continue to use materials necessary for personal hygiene with regard to their menstrual cycle and reproductive system, including, but not limited to, sanitary pads and tampons. This bill would require the person to have ready access to these menstrual products without having to request them. By imposing additional duties on local detention facilities, 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, 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 Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals. Existing law requires, by January 1, 2030, owners of all acute care inpatient hospitals to either seismically retrofit all acute care inpatient hospitals, or demolish, replace, or change to nonacute care use all hospital buildings not in substantial compliance with regulations and standards developed by the department in accordance with the act, as specified. This bill would authorize the Children's Hospital Los Angeles to seek approval from the Department of Health Care Access and Information for an extension to the January 1, 2030, compliance deadline described above by up to 3 years. The bill would authorize the hospital to submit a seismic compliance plan, as specified, and, if necessary, a Nonstructural Performance Category-5 evaluation report in order to seek an extension. The bill would also require the hospital and department to identify least 2 major milestones relating to the seismic compliance plan that will be used as the basis for determining whether a hospital is making adequate progress towards meeting the hospital's seismic compliance deadline. The bill would subject the submitted seismic compliance plan to departmental review for reasonableness and require the hospital seeking the extension to submit any documentation requested by the department to assist its review. The bill would require the department to approve or deny a seismic compliance plan and any extension to the seismic compliance deadline within 120 days. The bill would also authorize the department to adjust the approved extension of time, the milestones agreed upon, or both, as necessary to deal with contractor, labor, or material delays, acts of God, governmental entitlements, or other circumstances beyond the hospital's control. The bill would impose a fine of $5,000 per calendar day for the hospital's failure to comply with a revised construction schedule or to meet any major milestone established by the department until the requirements or milestones, respectively, are met. The bill would also generally prohibit these hospitals from being issued a building permit for any building in the facility except those required for seismic compliance, maintenance, and emergency repairs until the milestone is met and the hospital is adequately progressing toward meeting the hospital's seismic compliance, as determined by the department. The bill would require the department to implement the above-described provisions by regulation, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.

(1) Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to full and equal accommodations in all business establishments regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status. Existing law defines "sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status" for these purposes as including a perception that the person has any particular characteristic or characteristics within the listed categories or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any particular characteristic or characteristics within the listed categories. This bill would revise that definition to include any combination of those characteristics, as specified. (2) Existing law declares that it is the policy of the state to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of specified characteristics, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and states that the purpose of related existing law is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies. This bill would revise that policy statement to include remedies that will eliminate those discriminatory acts, including discrimination not just because of one protected trait, but also because of the combination of 2 or more protected bases. For purposes of certain related educational equity provisions, existing law defines "disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes" to include a perception that the person has any of those characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. This bill would revise that definition to include any combination of those characteristics, as specified. (3) Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , establishes the Civil Rights Department to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment, as prescribed. The FEHA recognizes and declares to be a civil right the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment and housing without discrimination because of a specified characteristic. The FEHA makes certain discriminatory practices based on those characteristics unlawful. The FEHA also declares that its purpose is to provide effective remedies that will eliminate these discriminatory practices. This bill would revise the above-described declaration on providing effective remedies to specify that it includes discrimination not just because of one protected trait, but also because of the combination of 2 or more protected bases. The FEHA defines terms used in connection with unlawful practices. These include "race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decisionmaking, or veteran or military status," which includes a perception that the person has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. This bill would revise that definition to include any combination of those characteristics, as specified. This bill would also state that the above provisions are declaratory of existing law. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51 of the Civil Code proposed by AB 1815 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1815 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1815 and SB 1022 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law requires a state agency to review all proprietary state lands under its jurisdiction, as specified, to determine what land is in excess of its needs, and to report on these lands to the Department of General Services. Existing law prescribes a process for the disposition of surplus state property. Existing law creates the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties in the State Treasury and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund for specified purposes. This bill would authorize the Director of General Services to sell 59,200 square feet of property located at 5401 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, 90043-2407, at fair market value, upon terms and conditions the director determines are in the best interests of the state by January 1, 2030, notwithstanding specified procedures and priorities otherwise applicable to the disposal of surplus property by the department. The bill would require any sale pursuant to these provisions to be for the purposes of redeveloping the property as an affordable housing or mixed-used housing project, as defined. The bill would require the director, in a solicitation for the sale of the property, to solicit proposals from community land trusts, as specified, and to sell the property to a community land trust that responded to the solicitation, unless the director makes specified determinations. The bill would require the director, in evaluating proposals, to consider findings and recommendations from the Los Angeles Black Workers Center, as specified. The bill would require that the proceeds of the sale be expended on bond payments, as specified, and other costs, including costs for the review of the sale of the property and bond counsel. The bill would authorize the director to sell the property below fair market value for purposes of providing an affordable housing or mixed-use housing project, subject to reporting specified information to the Legislature, as prescribed. The bill would require the net proceeds of the sale to be deposited into the Special Fund for Economic Uncertainties, and would specify that moneys in the fund attributable to the sale are not continuously appropriated and are available for expenditure only upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would exempt the sale of the property from the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill, after January 1, 2030, would authorize the director to dispose of the property in accordance with specified procedures and priorities otherwise applicable to the disposal of surplus property by the department. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Los Angeles Black Workers Center.

Existing law establishes various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs to license and regulate various health professionals. Existing law requires specified boards to expedite the licensure process of an applicant who can demonstrate that they intend to provide abortions within their scope of practice and specifies the documentation an applicant is required to provide to demonstrate their intent. This bill would require the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Board of Registered Nursing, the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians of the State of California, the California State Board of Pharmacy, the Dental Board of California, the Dental Hygiene Board of California, the Podiatric Medical Board of California, and the Physician Assistant Board to develop a process to expedite the licensure process by giving priority review status to the application of an applicant for a license who demonstrates that they intend to practice in a medically underserved area or in a health professional shortage area, as reflected in a specified federal database, or serve a medically underserved population, as defined, and who meets specified requirements for the expedited licensure process. The bill would require an applicant for a license to demonstrate their intent to practice in a medically underserved area or in a health professional shortage area, or serve a medically underserved population, by providing a letter addressed to the applicable board from an employer that includes prescribed information. The bill would require the employer to include a written statement, signed and dated by an authorized representative of the employer, on the employer letterhead, declaring that the information provided in the letter to the board is true and correct. Under the bill, no criminal or civil penalty would be imposed for a violation of that requirement. The bill would become operative on March 1, 2025. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.

Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to full and equal accommodations in all business establishments regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, makes it unlawful to engage in specified discriminatory employment practices based on certain protected characteristics, including race, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations, and prohibits housing discrimination based on specified personal characteristics, including race. Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor. Existing law prohibits discrimination because of a perception that a person has one of those protected characteristics or is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act and public school policy define the term race for purposes of those provisions to include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, as defined. This bill would remove the term "historically" from the definitions of race, thus defining race to include traits associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, as defined, and would add those definitions for "race" and "protective hairstyle" to the Unruh Civil Rights Act. This bill would declare that its provisions are declaratory of existing law. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51 of the Civil Code proposed by SB 1137 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1137 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by SB 1022 and SB 1137 to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law grants a person sentenced to imprisonment the right to purchase, receive, and read any and all newspapers, periodicals, and books, as specified, subject to restrictions reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of state prisons, including determining which materials are a threat to legitimate penological interests. Existing law creates the Office of the Inspector General and grants the Inspector General responsibility for oversight of the department, as specified. This bill would require the Office of the Inspector General to post the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications maintained by the department on the office's internet website and would require the department to notify the office each time a change is made to that list. The bill would authorize the office, upon request, to review publications on the list to determine if it concurs with the department's determination that the publication violates department regulations. The bill would require the office to notify the department if it does not concur with the department's determination. The bill would also require the office to include information relating to those notifications in an annual report the Inspector General provides to the Governor and Legislature.

Former law established, until July 1, 2023, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, with a Special Consideration for African Americans Who are Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the United States. Former law required the Task Force to, among other things, identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies that became the United States, and to recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Task Force's findings, as specified. Former law required the Task Force to submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, as specified. This bill would provide that the State of California recognizes and accepts responsibility for all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state, its representatives thereof, and entities under its jurisdiction who promoted, facilitated, enforced, and permitted the institution of chattel slavery and the enduring legacy of ongoing badges and incidents from which the systemic structures of discrimination have come to exist. The bill would further provide that the State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms African Americans have faced and affirms its role in protecting the descendants of enslaved people and all Black Californians. The bill would require a plaque memorializing this apology to be publicly and conspicuously installed and maintained in the State Capitol Building. The bill would impose various duties on the Department of General Services and the Joint Rules Committee relating to the installation and maintenance of the plaque. The bill would authorize the Department of General Services and the Joint Rules Committee to receive money from grants and private donations and would continuously appropriate those funds for this purpose, as specified. The bill would require the Legislature to prepare the formal apology and would request it be signed by specified state leaders. The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit a final copy of this formal apology to the State Archives, where it would be available for viewing by the general public in perpetuity. The bill would include related legislative findings.

(1) Existing law regulates the employment of workers in grocery establishments, as defined, including requiring an incumbent grocery employer, as defined, where there is a change of control, as defined, to post a public notice of the change in control at the location of the affected grocery establishment within 5 business days following the execution of the transfer document, as specified. Existing law requires the notice to include, among other specified information, the name of the incumbent grocery employer, and to be posted in a conspicuous place at the grocery establishment in a manner where it can be readily viewed by specified persons, including eligible grocery workers. Existing law, the Pharmacy Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of pharmacies by the California State Board of Pharmacy. Existing law authorizes a pharmacy to furnish prescription drugs only to certain entities, including specific health care entities, and individual patients or another pharmacy either pursuant to prescription or as otherwise authorized by law. Existing law defines a pharmacy as an area, place, or premises licensed by the board in which the profession of pharmacy is practiced and where prescriptions are compounded. This bill would require a covered establishment, defined to include a grocery establishment or a pharmacy establishment, to satisfy specified requirements no later than 45 days before its closure, as defined, takes effect, including providing written notice of the closure to specified entities, including the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure and their authorized representatives if the covered establishment employs more than 5 employees, and the Employment Development Department. The bill would require, notwithstanding that provision, a covered establishment that employs 5 or fewer employees to, no later than 30 days before a closure of the covered establishment takes effect, provide written notice of the closure to the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure. The bill would exempt, notwithstanding the same provision, specified covered establishments, including a covered establishment that, among other things, is a pharmacy and is owned by a person or entity who owns 15 or fewer pharmacies nationwide, from providing written notice to specified persons and entities, including the Employment Development Department. The bill would exempt a covered establishment from these requirements if specified circumstances apply, including that the closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or an act of war, except as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes an aggrieved employee of a grocery establishment or their representative, as described, to bring an action, as specified, for violations of the above-described change of control provisions to recover, among other awards, reasonable attorney's fees and costs, if specified requirements are met, including that the employee provided written notice to the employer of the violations, as specified. Existing law also authorizes a civil penalty not to exceed $100 against, among other specified entities, the grocery employer for each employee whose rights are violated under those provisions. Existing law also authorizes an additional amount of $100 per employee payable as liquidated damages for each day of the violation until the violation is cured, as specified, and authorizes that amount to be recovered by the Labor Commissioner, as specified, and paid to the employee as compensatory damages. This bill would authorize a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each closure to be assessed and collected in a civil action against a covered establishment that violates the above-described written notice provisions brought by specified persons or entities, including any person injured by the violation, except as specified. The bill would require the court, in assessing the amount of the civil penalty, to consider relevant circumstances, including the nature and severity of the misconduct, and require the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The bill would require, if the action is pursued by specified entities, including the Attorney General, that specified portions of the civil penalty collected be paid to, among other specified sources, the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered. The bill would entitle an employee that does not receive the written notice to recover in a civil action an additional sum of $100 payable as liquidated damages per employee for each day of the violation until the violation is cured, as specified. The bill would specify that these provisions do not preempt or alter any other rights or remedies, including any causes of action, available under any other federal or state law, except as specified. (3) Existing law, the California Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, establishes local workforce development boards to perform duties related to the planning, oversight, and evaluation of local workforce investment, including identifying workforce training programs. This bill would require a county, after receiving a written notice described above from any covered establishment, to provide the local workforce development board of the county in which the covered establishment is located with information about safety net programs, including the CalWORKs program, and would require a local workforce development board to provide the covered establishment with information about safety net programs and the availability of local workforce training services. The bill would require a covered establishment that receives information from a county or a local workforce development board as described above, no later than 30 days before its closure, to provide any of that information it receives to each of its employees. By increasing the duties of a county and a local workforce development board, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law provides for various public social services programs in the state, which are administered by the State Department of Social Services, including the CalFresh program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county, and the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. This bill would require the department, after receiving a written notice described above from a grocery establishment, to transmit to the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture information stating that the grocery establishment will be closing and the closing date. (5) This bill would make findings and declarations relating to these provisions. (6) 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.