Existing law establishes the California Veterans Board, composed of 7 members with specified qualifications who are appointed by the Governor and subject to the confirmation of the Senate, to advise the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on policies for operations of the department. Existing law authorizes a veteran who has applied to the department for benefits to appeal a decision by the department to the board, as specified. Existing law requires the board to grant a hearing if requested. Under existing law, the decision of the board is final, with the exception of judicial review. This bill would state that the board is a separate and independent entity from the department. The bill would require the board to independently advise the department and secretary on policies for operations of the department. The bill would authorize the board, in conducting an independent hearing of a veteran appeal of a decision from the department, to be supported by department staff, as specified. The bill would require the board to be assisted by independent counsel during the hearing.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the driver of any vehicle, upon meeting or overtaking any schoolbus equipped with required signs that is stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading any schoolchildren and displaying a flashing red light signal and stop signal arm, if equipped with a stop signal arm, to bring the vehicle to a stop immediately before passing the schoolbus and to not proceed past the schoolbus until the flashing red light signal and stop signal arm cease operation. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would authorize a school district to install and operate an automated video traffic enforcement system, as defined, for the purpose of enforcing the prohibition described above. The bill would allow school districts to contract with private vendors for the equipment, operation, and maintenance of an automated video traffic enforcement system, under certain circumstances, and create working agreements with local jurisdictions and local law enforcement. The bill would require the video enforcement system images to capture only the vehicle make and model, color, and license plate displayed, and not any person in the vehicle or any other vehicles or persons in the vicinity of the vehicle. The bill would make any information, image, or other data captured or generated by the automated video enforcement system confidential, and, unless demanded by court order, available only to the law enforcement agency or offender for limited purposes. The bill would require additional signage on schoolbuses relative to the video enforcement system. The bill would prohibit a school district from using automated schoolbus video enforcement systems or information gathered from those systems for any purpose other than those authorized by these provisions and would specifically prohibit the use of video or images captured by a system for employee surveillance or discipline. The bill would allow the State Board of Education to adopt standards, rules, and regulations to address privacy concerns arising from the use of an automated video traffic enforcement system. The bill would require a school district that operates an automated video traffic enforcement system to provide notice to people in the district and to send warning letters in lieu of citations for violations captured by the system during the first 90 days. The bill would allow for some reduced penalties when a violation was captured by an automated video traffic enforcement system. 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.
Existing law establishes the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy to, among other things, acquire and manage public lands within the Lower Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River watersheds, and to provide open-space, low-impact recreational and educational uses, water conservation, watershed improvement, wildlife and habitat restoration and protection, and watershed improvement within the territory. Existing law establishes the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy Fund for the deposit of certain funds received by the conservancy and for the expenditure of these funds by the conservancy, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes. Existing law also establishes the Wildlife Conservation Board and requires the board to take various actions with regard to the preservation of public lands to protect wildlife and habitat in the state. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, establish the West Coyote Hills Conservancy Program, to be administered by the conservancy and to undertake projects and award grants in the West Coyote Hills area, as described, for purposes relating to improvement of public access, and the protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural resources in the area. The bill would prescribe the duties of the conservancy with regard to the implementation and administration of the program. The bill would create the West Coyote Hills Conservancy Program Account within the fund, for the purpose of depositing and disbursing funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for program purposes. The bill would require that the $28,500,000 appropriated in the Budget Act of 2021 for the purposes of this bill be deposited in the account to be used for the purchase of specified property and related projects. The bill would make findings and declarations regarding funding under the bill for the board to open up, operate, and maintain the Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve, and would state the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to specify the particular uses of the appropriated funds.
(1) Under the Swimming Pool Safety Act, upon the issuance of a building permit for construction of a new swimming pool or spa, or the remodeling of an existing pool or spa, at a private, single-family home, the pool or spa is required to be equipped with at least 2 of 7 drowning prevention safety features. The act requires the local building code official to inspect and approve the drowning prevention safety devices before the issuance of a final approval for the completion of permitted construction or remodeling work. This bill would encourage the use of an isolation fence or removable isolation mesh fencing, as specified, to meet these requirements, and would specify that these requirements are not met by an exit alarm and a self-closing, self-latching device, as defined, used on the same door or on 2 separate doors that provide access to the swimming pool or spa. The bill would require these requirements to apply equally to all local jurisdictions, and would prohibit a local jurisdiction from imposing different or stricter requirements. Because this bill would impose requirements on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, as part of the definition of home inspection for the transfer of real property, specifies that an appropriate inspection of real property with a swimming pool or spa includes noninvasive physical examination of the pool or spa and dwelling for the purpose of identifying which, if any, of the 7 specified drowning prevention safety features the pool or spa is equipped with. Existing law also requires the information to be included in the home inspection report, as specified. This bill would require, for a home inspection of real property with a swimming pool or spa, in connection with a prelisting inspection or transfer, as defined, that a home inspector be certified by a professional association or entity as having completed a continuing education training module on drowning prevention, as described below. The bill would require that the examination of the pool or spa and dwelling during the home inspection be for the additional purposes of determining whether a drowning prevention safety feature is in good condition, as described, whether it is approved by ASTM International or meets the description of the safety features required by the Swimming Pool Safety Act, and whether the only 2 safety features are an exit alarm and self-closing, self-latching device used on the same door or on 2 separate doors, as described above. The bill would require, if specified conditions are present, the home inspector to provide the relevant section of the home inspection report to the buyer's home insurance or mortgage company upon the company's request, made at the company's discretion. (3) Existing law requires certain building officials to obtain certification from a recognized state, national, or international association and to complete a minimum of 45 hours of continuing education for every 3-year period. This bill would require, no later than January 1, 2023, an association or other entity that certifies home inspectors or building officials to develop a continuing education training module on drowning prevention that provides instruction on specified topics. The bill would require, commencing on January 1, 2024, a building official and home inspector to complete the training module in order for a building official to maintain certification and for a home inspector to maintain the certification required to conduct a home inspection for real property with a swimming pool or spa. Because this bill would impose requirements on local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) This bill would also make conforming changes. (5) 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.
(1) Existing law authorizes a voter who has signed an initiative, referendum, or recall petition to remove their name from the petition by filing a written request to do so with the appropriate elections official prior to the day the petition is filed. This bill would extend that period by authorizing a voter to file the written removal request until the day prior to the 45th day after the petition is filed. (2) The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies. Under the act, state and local recall petitions and related memoranda prepared by county elections officials are not public records and are not open to inspection, except as provided. This bill would, unless the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the recall election is less than 50,000, authorize the target of a recall petition to inspect the petition and related memoranda for purposes of communicating with registered voters to determine whether they signed the recall petition and whether they understood the recall petition they may have signed, and to assist registered voters to withdraw their signatures on the recall petition, if they so desire. The bill would require the target or the target's designated representatives to complete an application, certified under the penalty of perjury, to obtain a copy of the petition from a city or county elections official. The bill would require the elections official to redact the signatures of the signers of the petition before providing it to an applicant, and to maintain records of the application and associated documents for specified periods of time. The bill would prohibit the target, the target's designated representatives, and entities contracting with them from publicly disclosing the names or addresses of the signers of a recall petition, except as specified, and would specify various requirements relating to ensuring the security of, and safeguarding against unauthorized use of, the information contained in the recall petition. The bill would prohibit a public officer from discriminating against a person based on the fact that the person signed a recall petition. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly or willfully permit the list of signatures on an initiative, referendum, or recall petition to be used for any purpose other than qualification of the measure or recall question for the ballot, except as provided by law. This bill would clarify that this crime also applies to the misuse of personal identifying information on a petition. (4) Existing law specifies the format of a recall petition. This bill would require each page of a recall petition to include, at the top of the page, the words "Petition for an Election to Remove from Office:" followed by the title and first and last name of the target of the recall, as specified. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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 specified reasons.
The Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006 requires every retailer, as defined, to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of used rechargeable batteries for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. The act requires the system for the acceptance and collection of used rechargeable batteries to include, at a minimum, specified elements, including, among others, the take-back at no cost to the consumer of a used rechargeable battery of the type or brand that the retailer sold or previously sold. The Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004 prohibits the sale of a cell phone in this state to a consumer unless the retailer of that cell phone has in place a take-back system for the acceptance and collection of used cell phones for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal. This bill would make the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Act of 2006 and the Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004 inoperative as of June 30, 2025, and would repeal those acts as of January 1, 2026. The bill would enact the Battery and Battery-Embedded Product Recycling and Fire Risk Reduction Act of 2021, which would require producers, as defined, either individually or through the creation of one or more stewardship organizations, to establish a stewardship program for batteries and battery-embedded products. The bill would require a stewardship organization or producer, on or before June 30, 2025, to submit to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of batteries or battery-embedded products in the state. The bill would require the plan to include specified elements, including consultation with an advisory body, which the bill would require the department to create, a collection system for batteries and battery-embedded products with a specified minimum distribution of collection sites, and a funding mechanism to provide sufficient funding for implementation of the plan. The bill would provide for review and approval of the stewardship plan by the department and any other state agency with relevant jurisdiction and would require the stewardship organization or producer to fully implement its stewardship program on or before June 30, 2026. The bill would require a stewardship organization or producer to annually be audited and submit a report and budget to the department, as prescribed, and would require a stewardship organization, producer, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, importer, recycler, or collection site to, among other things, provide the department with relevant records necessary to determine compliance with the bill. The bill would require reports and records provided to the department pursuant to the bill to be provided under penalty of perjury, thereby creating a state-mandated local program by expanding the crime of perjury. The bill would restrict public access to certain information collected for the purpose of administering a stewardship program. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2026, and each year thereafter, to post on its internet website a list of producers, brands, and batteries and battery-embedded products that are in compliance with the bill. The bill would prohibit a retailer or distributor from selling, distributing, offering for sale, or importing a battery or battery-embedded product in or into the state unless the producer of the battery or battery-embedded product is listed as in compliance on that list for that brand and battery or battery-embedded product, except as specified. The bill would require a stewardship organization or producer to quarterly reimburse the department and any other relevant state agency for their respective reasonable regulatory costs that are directly related to implementing and enforcing the bill in relation to the stewardship organization's or producer's activities. The bill would require the department and each state agency to deposit those moneys into the Battery and Battery-Embedded Product Recycling Fund, which the bill would establish, and would authorize the department and any other relevant state agency to expend those moneys, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer and enforce the stewardship program. The bill would provide for enforcement of its provisions, including authorizing the department to impose an administrative civil penalty on a stewardship organization, producer, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, importer, recycler, or collection site in violation of the bill not to exceed $10,000 per day, unless the violation is intentional, knowing, or reckless, then in that case not to exceed $50,000 per day. The bill would require the department to deposit those moneys into the Battery and Battery-Embedded Product Recycling Penalty Account, which the bill would establish in the fund, and would require the department to expend those moneys, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer and enforce the stewardship program. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2024, and in consultation with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to adopt regulations to implement the bill. 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. 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.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires the Director of Transportation, upon consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, to review and modify all bid specifications relating to the purchase of paving materials and base, subbase, and pervious backfill materials using certain recycled materials. Existing law requires the specifications to be based on standards developed by the Department of Transportation for recycled paving materials and for recycled base, subbase, and pervious backfill materials. Existing law requires a local agency that has jurisdiction over a street or highway to either adopt these standards developed by the Department of Transportation or to discuss at a public hearing why the standards are not being adopted. Existing law requires the State Procurement Officer, when purchasing materials to be used in paving or paving subbase for use by the Department of Transportation and any other state agency that provides road construction and repair services, to contract for those items that use recycled material in those materials, unless the Director of Transportation determines that the use of the materials is not cost effective. This bill would authorize the department to conduct a study to assess the feasibility, cost effectiveness, and life-cycle environmental benefits and detrimental impacts of including recycled plastics in asphalt used as a paving material in the construction, maintenance, or rehabilitation of a highway or road. If the department conducts the study, the bill would require the Ocean Protection Council to review the study design and findings to determine how including recycled plastics in asphalt for use as a paving material will impact the ocean's health and would require the department to assess, as part of the study, any life-cycle environmental benefits or detrimental impacts identified by the council. If the department determines that this use of recycled plastics is feasible and that recycled plastics can be included in asphalt in a manner that is cost effective and provides life-cycle environmental benefits, the bill would authorize the department to establish specifications for including recycled plastics in asphalt used as a paving material in the construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of a highway or road. The bill would require the department to prepare and submit, on or before January 1 of each year, commencing January 1, 2023, an analysis to the Assembly Committee on Transportation and the Senate Committee on Transportation on its progress studying recycled plastics and its progress toward establishing specifications for including recycled plastics in asphalt, as described above. The bill would require a local agency that has jurisdiction over a street or highway to either adopt the specifications established by the Department of Transportation or discuss at a public hearing why the specifications are not being adopted. By increasing the duties of local agencies, 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.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status of that person. FEHA provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans' preference employment policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring a veteran over another qualified applicant. The bill would require a private employer with a veterans' preference employment policy to annually report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing the number of veterans hired under the preference policy and any demographic information about those veterans that the employer obtained in response to the department's reporting requirements. Under the bill, failure to submit that report would render any preference granted by the employer ineligible for the protections provided by this bill. The bill would require the department to report that information, in addition to the number of discrimination claims received based on an employer's veterans' preference employment policy, to specified legislative policy committees by July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2027. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans' preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of FEHA. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in FEHA to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans' preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act. The bill would prohibit a veterans' preference employment policy from being established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of a protected classification, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
Existing law prohibits a person under 18 years of age from circulating a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition or nominating paper. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to offer or give money or other valuable consideration to another in exchange for that person's signature on a state, county, municipal, or district initiative, referendum, or recall petition. This bill would prohibit a person from paying money or providing any other thing of value based on the number of signatures obtained on a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition. The bill would impose a civil penalty for violations of that prohibition, equal to the greater of $25,000 or $50 times the number of signatures gathered in exchange for compensation. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action for a violation, and it would also authorize a person, acting as a qui tam plaintiff, to bring a civil action for a violation and to share in the recovery, as provided. The bill would require specified portions of the proceeds of a civil action or settlement to be distributed to the Attorney General, the qui tam plaintiff, and the Secretary of State.
Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes the State Department of Public Health, among other state departments charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health has authority over various programs promoting public health, including genetic disease testing and newborn screenings. This bill would establish the Rare Disease Advisory Council within the California Health and Human Services Agency. This bill would specify the purposes of the Rare Disease Advisory Council, including, among others, coordinating statewide efforts for the study of the incidence of rare diseases within the state, and acting as the advisory body on rare diseases to the Legislature and state and private agencies that provide services to persons with rare diseases. Under the bill, the duties of the advisory council would include, among others, adopting implementing regulations, researching and determining the most appropriate method to collect data on rare diseases, and identifying best practices for rare disease care. The bill would specify the composition of the advisory council, including members appointed by the Secretary of California Health and Human Services and the State Public Health Officer. Before any appointments are made, the bill would require the agency to research and report to the Legislature on existing sources of funding that may be used to finance the formation and operation of the advisory council. The bill would require the advisory council to apply for, and accept, any grant of funds from the federal government, private foundations, or other sources. The bill would prohibit the advisory council from accepting funds from the employer of any sitting council member. The bill would require the advisory council to meet at least 3 times annually and to report to the agency and the Legislature every 2 years on its activities, findings, and recommendations.