Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

The California Internet Consumer Protection and Net Neutrality Act of 2018 prohibits fixed and mobile internet service providers, as defined, that provide broadband internet access service, as defined, from engaging in specified actions concerning the treatment of internet traffic. The act also prohibits fixed and mobile internet service providers from offering or providing services other than broadband internet access service that are delivered over the same last-mile connection as the broadband internet access service, if those services have the purpose or effect of evading the above-described prohibitions or negatively affect the performance of broadband internet access service. This bill, the Digital Equity Bill of Rights, would state that it is the principle of the state, to ensure digital equity for all residents of the state, that residents shall have access to broadband that meets specific requirements, and that it is the policy of the state that, to the extent technically feasible, broadband internet subscribers benefit from equal access to broadband internet service within the service area of a broadband provider, as those terms are defined. The bill would also state that it does not create an obligation for the state to enforce that principle or policy and does not create a private right of action against the state to enforce the bill. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

Existing law defines a "hate crime" as a criminal act committed, in whole or in part, because of actual or perceived characteristics of the victim, including, among other things, race, religion, disability, and sexual orientation. Existing law requires state law enforcement agencies and authorizes local law enforcement agencies to adopt a framework or other formal policy on hate crimes created by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. Existing law requires any local law enforcement agency that adopts or updates a hate crime policy to include specified information in that policy, including the content of the model policy framework developed by the commission. This bill would make adoption of a hate crimes policy by a state and local law enforcement agency mandatory by July 1, 2024. The bill would require those policies to include the supplemental hate crime report in the model policy framework developed by the commission and a schedule of hate crime or related trainings the agency conducts. By imposing requirements on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to collect specified information from law enforcement agencies relative to hate crimes, including formal hate crimes policies, and requires the Department of Justice and local law enforcement agencies to post that information on their internet websites. This bill would require the Attorney General to review the submitted materials from those that law enforcement agencies submit and would require the Department of Justice to instruct agencies that did not submit materials or submitted noncompliant materials to submit compliant materials. The bill would require law enforcement agencies to submit the specified materials by a specified date. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to post the names of agencies that submitted compliant materials on its internet website. By imposing these requirements on law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to develop guidelines for instruction and training of law enforcement officers addressing hate crimes. This bill would require the commission to consult with specified subject matter experts if the commission updates the guidelines, and would state that the guidelines and course of instruction are not regulations for purposes of the Administrative Procedures Act. 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, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and regulates the granting of licenses for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within the state. The act requires the department to make and prescribe rules to carry out the purposes and intent of existing state constitutional provisions on the regulation of alcoholic beverages, and to enable the department to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred upon it by the state constitution and the act, not inconsistent with any statute of this state. The act makes it unlawful for any person other than a licensee of the department to sell, manufacture, or import alcoholic beverages in this state, with exceptions. The department, pursuant to its powers and in furtherance of emergency declarations and orders of the Governor under the California Emergency Services Act regarding the spread of the COVID-19 virus, established prescribed temporary relief measures to suspend certain legal restrictions relating to, among other things, the expansion of a licensed footprint, sales of alcoholic beverages to-go, and delivery privileges. Existing law authorizes the department, for a period of 365 days following the end of the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to permit licensees to exercise license privileges in an expanded license area authorized pursuant to a COVID-19 Temporary Catering Authorization approved in accordance with the Fourth Notice of Regulatory Relief issued by the department, as specified. Existing law makes these provisions effective only until July 1, 2024, and repeals them as of that date. This bill, instead, would make those provisions operative only until July 1, 2026, repeal those provisions on that date, and make conforming changes. (2) The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes the legislative body of any city or county to adopt ordinances that regulate zoning within its jurisdiction, as specified. Under that law, variances and conditional use permits may be granted if provided for by the zoning ordinance. Existing law, to the extent that an outdoor expansion of a business to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on indoor dining interferes with, reduces, eliminates, or impacts required parking for existing uses, requires a local jurisdiction that has not adopted an ordinance that provides relief from parking restrictions for expanded outdoor dining areas to reduce the number of required parking spaces for existing uses by the number of spaces that the local jurisdiction determines are needed to accommodate an expanded outdoor dining area. Existing law makes these provisions operative on January 1, 2022, and repeals them on July 1, 2024. This bill, instead, would make those provisions operative only until July 1, 2026, and repeal them on that date. Because the bill would require local officials to perform additional duties for an extended period, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, establishes uniform health and sanitation standards for, and provides for regulation by the State Department of Public Health of, retail food facilities. Existing law restricts satellite food service to limited food preparation in a fully enclosed permanent food facility that meets specified requirements. Existing law requires a permanent food facility, before conducting satellite food service, to submit to the enforcement agency written operating standards. Existing law, for a period of one year after the end of the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or until January 1, 2024, whichever occurs first, authorizes a permitted food facility within any local jurisdiction that is subject to retail food operation restrictions related to a COVID-19 public health response to prepare and serve food as a temporary satellite food service without obtaining a separate satellite food service permit or submitting written operating procedures. With regard to those provisions that authorize a permitted food facility to prepare and serve food as a temporary satellite food service in relation to the COVID-19 public response, this bill, instead, would make those provisions operative only until July 1, 2026. (4) 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, the Cal Grant Program, establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Expanded Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission. Existing law establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. For a student to qualify for a Cal Grant award, existing law requires that the student, among other things, make satisfactory academic progress at a qualifying institution. Existing law defines "satisfactory academic progress" as those criteria required by applicable federal standards published in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Existing law authorizes the commission to adopt regulations defining "satisfactory academic progress" in a manner that is consistent with the federal standards. This bill would require, as part of the criteria to be a qualifying institution under the Cal Grant Program, an institution, by the start of the 2024–25 academic year, to comply with various requirements regarding "satisfactory academic progress" standards used to determine if a student qualifies for a Cal Grant and to develop and implement policies defining "satisfactory academic progress" in a manner that is consistent with the federal standards. The bill would delete the commission's authorization to adopt regulations defining "satisfactory academic progress."

Existing law requires the official canvass for an election to begin no later than the Thursday following the election and to be continued daily until completed. Existing law requires the elections official to submit a certified statement of the results of the election to the governing body within 30 days of the election, except as specified, and to post the statement on the elections official's internet website. Existing law also requires the elections official, on the 2nd day after the election, to send a report to the Secretary of State containing the estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots, and beginning on the 6th day after the election, to send an updated report on any day that the elections official publicly releases updated election results. Under the California Constitution, a person is ineligible to serve as a State Assembly Member or State Senator if they have not been a resident of their legislative district for one year immediately preceding the election. Existing statutory law also requires the Secretary of State to compile the results of an election for State Assembly Member and State Senator, as specified, and to transmit a certificate of election to each person who is elected. This bill would require the elections official, beginning no later than the Thursday following the election until submission of a certified statement of the results, to post updated information regarding the election on their internet website at least once per week. The information must at a minimum include updated results for any candidate for office or measure appearing on the ballot, the number of ballots processed and an estimated number of outstanding unprocessed ballots, according to specified categories, and the date and time when it is expected that the next results will be posted. The bill would permit the elections official to stop posting the results when either a certified statement of results is published or the only ballots left to count are vote by mail ballots for which a voter has the opportunity to cure their ballot by verifying or providing their signature. This bill would require the Secretary of State, when transmitting a certificate of election or unofficial election results to the State Assembly or State Senate regarding a person who appears to have received the plurality of votes in an election for legislative office, to include a notation, if applicable, that the person was not continuously registered to vote in the district in which the person appears to have received a plurality of votes from the date the candidate filed their declaration of candidacy to the date on which the Secretary of State transmits the certificate of election or unofficial election results. By imposing new duties on local elections officials, 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, 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 governing board of each community college district, the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and the governing boards of independent postsecondary institutions, in order to receive state funds for student financial assistance, to enter into memoranda of understanding, agreements, or collaborative partnerships with existing on-campus and community-based organizations, to the extent feasible, to refer students for assistance or make services available to students, including counseling, health, mental health, victim advocacy, and legal assistance, and including resources for the accused. As a condition of receiving state funds for student financial assistance, this bill would require the trustees and the regents to ensure, to the extent feasible, that a student who seeks support after experiencing sexual violence receives information about the student's options and rights to obtain a sexual assault forensic medical examination, as specified, and commencing with the 2025–26 school year, to the extent practicable and necessary, to provide to their students without charge and in a manner that protects student confidentiality, transportation to and from a local Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) or Sexual Abuse Response Team (SART) exam center for a qualified health care provider to administer the sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit, as provided. The bill would require, on or before June 30, 2026, and biennially thereafter, as a condition of receiving state financial assistance funds, the trustees and the regents to submit a report to the Legislature on whether their respective institutions have provided transportation for students to and from a local SAFE or SART exam center for a qualified health care provider to administer the sexual assault forensic medical evidence kit and the manner in which students received the transportation.

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries sustained in the course of employment, which, in the case of the death of an employee, includes a death benefit. Existing law provides, however, that no benefits, except reasonable expenses of burial not exceeding $1,000, shall be awarded under the workers' compensation laws on account of the death of an employee who is an active member of the Public Employees' Retirement System, unless the death benefits available under the Public Employees' Retirement Law are less than the workers' compensation death benefits. In that case, the surviving spouse and children of the employee are also entitled to the difference between the 2 death benefit amounts. Existing law exempts local safety members and patrol members, as defined, from this limitation. This bill would expand that exemption to include state safety members, peace officers, and firefighters for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who are members of Bargaining Unit 8 and would apply the exemption for these employees retroactively to January 1, 2019, for injuries not previously claimed or resolved.

Existing law classifies controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Existing law classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. Existing law prohibits a person from possessing for sale or purchasing for purposes of sale specified controlled substances, including fentanyl, and provides for imprisonment in a county jail for 2, 3, or 4 years for a violation of this provision. Existing law also imposes an additional term, and authorizes a trial court to impose a specified fine, upon a person who is convicted of a violation of, or of a conspiracy to violate, specified provisions of law with respect to a substance containing heroin, cocaine base, and cocaine, if the substance exceeds a specified weight. This bill would add fentanyl to the substances for which additional terms or fines can be imposed and would require a defendant who violates those laws with respect to a substance containing heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine, as specified, to know of the substance's nature or character as a controlled substance to be subjected to an additional term and authorized fine. By increasing the penalty for, and by changing the definition of, 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.

Existing law, the Contractors State License Law, establishes the Contractors State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of contractors. Existing law generally requires, as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, an applicant for a contractor's license or a licensee to have on file at all times a current and valid Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance, except as specified. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor. This bill would require an active licensee who has on file a current and valid Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance, or is required to provide those certificates, to certify on the license renewal form the workers' compensation classification codes endorsed on the licensee's policy, as specified, and would prohibit renewal without that certification. The bill would provide that the board is not required to verify or investigate the accuracy of the licensee's classification codes and would prohibit the board from being held liable for any misreported classification codes. The bill would require the board, when it updates the public license detail on its internet website for an active renewal, to include the classification codes certified by the licensee. The bill would make its provisions operative on July 1, 2024. Because the bill would expand the scope of a crime under the Contractors State License Law and expand the crime of perjury, 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.

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's requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to develop a maternal mental health program designed to promote quality and cost-effective outcomes. Existing law encourages a plan or insurer to include coverage for doulas. This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer, on or before January 1, 2025, to develop a maternal and infant health equity program that addresses racial health disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes through the use of doulas. Under the bill, a Medi-Cal managed care plan would satisfy that requirement by providing coverage of doula services so long as doula services are a Medi-Cal covered benefit. The bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care, in consultation with the Department of Insurance, to collect data and submit a report describing the doula coverage and the above-described programs to the Legislature by January 1, 2027. Because a willful violation of the provisions relative to health care service plans 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.