Sen. Sabrina Cervantes

(1) Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 years of courses in English and 3 years of courses in social studies, including one-year courses in United States history and geography and world history, culture, and geography, a one-semester course in American government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics. Existing law requires the Instructional Quality Commission to develop, and the State Board of Education to adopt, modify, or revise, a model curriculum in ethnic studies. Existing law also encourages each school district and charter school that maintains any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, and that does not otherwise offer a standards-based ethnic studies curriculum to offer, beginning in the school year following the adoption of the model curriculum, a course of study in ethnic studies based on the model curriculum. This bill would add the completion of a one-semester course in ethnic studies, meeting specified requirements, to the graduation requirements commencing with pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, including for pupils enrolled in a charter school. The bill would expressly authorize local educational agencies, including charter schools, to require a full-year course in ethnic studies at their discretion. The bill would require local educational agencies, including charter schools, to offer an ethnic studies course commencing with the 2025–26 school year, as specified. The bill would authorize, subject to the course offerings of a local educational agency, including a charter school, a pupil to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement by completing either (A) a course based on the model curriculum in ethnic studies developed by the commission, (B) an existing ethnic studies course, (C) an ethnic studies course taught as part of a course that has been approved as meeting the A–G requirements of the University of California and the California State University, or (D) a locally developed ethnic studies course approved by the governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school. The bill would prohibit a course that does not use ethnic studies content as the primary content through which the subject is taught from being used to satisfy the ethnic studies course requirement. The bill would require a pupil who completes a course described above to also accrue credit for coursework in the subject that the course is offered, including, if applicable, credit towards satisfying a course required for a diploma of graduation from high school. These provisions would become operative only upon an appropriation of funds by the Legislature for these purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. Because the bill would add new duties to local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 makes it a misdemeanor to willfully disobey the terms, as written, of a process or court order or out-of-state court order, lawfully issued by a court. Under existing law, if a person violates this provision by willfully contacting a victim by telephone or mail or directly and has a prior conviction for stalking, as defined, the person is punished by not more than one year in county jail, a fine of $5,000, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would specify that this fine is to be no more than $5,000. The bill would expand the above punishment to a person with a prior conviction for stalking who has violated a court order by willfully contacting the victim by social media, electronic communication, or electronic communication device. By expanding the definition of a crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(1) Existing law defines rape as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator under certain circumstances, including where the victim is incapable of giving legal consent because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, where the victim is not aware of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the act serves a professional purpose, and where the victim submits to the act under the belief that the perpetrator is someone known to the victim other than the perpetrator, and the perpetrator intentionally and fraudulently induces that belief. Existing law separately defines rape of a spouse as an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with the spouse of the perpetrator under similar circumstances as nonspousal rape, except that spousal rape does not include acts of sexual intercourse accomplished under the specific circumstances described above. This bill would repeal the provisions relating to spousal rape and make conforming changes, thereby making an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a spouse punishable as rape if the act otherwise meets the definition of rape, except that sexual intercourse with a person who is incapable of giving legal consent because of mental disorder or developmental or physical disability would not be rape if the 2 people are married. By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law authorizes an employer to request from the Department of Justice records of all convictions or any arrest pending adjudication for specified offenses for a person who applies for a license, employment, or volunteer position, in which the person would have supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor and requires the employer to notify the parent or guardian of a child if a person with specified convictions will have supervisory or disciplinary power over that child. Existing law exempts certain convictions, including spousal rape, from that notification requirement. This bill would remove the exemption for spousal rape or any other felony conviction and would instead exempt only misdemeanor convictions from that notification. The bill would make numerous conforming changes. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1103 of the Evidence Code proposed by AB 939 to be operative only if this bill and AB 939 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (4) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 3044 of the Family Code proposed by SB 320 and AB 1579 to be operative only if this bill and SB 320, AB 1579, or both, are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 13956 of the Government Code proposed by SB 299 to be operative only if this bill and SB 299 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The California Constitution provides that the civil service includes every officer and employee in the state except as otherwise provided in the Constitution, and existing statutory law, the State Civil Service Act, prescribes a comprehensive civil service personnel system for the state. Existing law, the Teachers' Retirement Law, establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and creates the Defined Benefit Program of the State Teachers' Retirement Plan, which provides a defined benefit to members of the program, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. STRS is administered by the Teachers' Retirement Board. Existing law authorizes the board, upon a finding by the board that necessary investment expertise is not available within existing civil service classifications, and with approval of the State Personnel Board, to contract with qualified investment managers, as provided. This bill would additionally authorize the board to contract with investment advisers, as defined, upon the same finding by the board and approval by the State Personnel Board. The bill would, pursuant to a policy adopted by the board, authorize the board to establish a competitive bidding process and to specify the contract terms and conditions the board solely deems necessary and prudent to contract with qualified investment managers and investment advisers.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of various healing arts professions, including, but not limited to, physicians and surgeons, by various boards within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law imposes certain fines and other penalties for, and authorizes these boards to take disciplinary action against licensees for, violations of the provisions governing those professions. Existing law requires a licensed health care practitioner who provides prenatal or postpartum care for a patient to offer to screen or appropriately screen a mother for maternal mental health conditions. This bill would specify that the category of licensed health care practitioner to whom this requirement applies includes those who provide interpregnancy care.

(1) Existing law prohibits, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes, the admission of evidence of the manner in which the victim was dressed, when offered by either the prosecution or the defendant on the issue of consent, unless the court finds the evidence relevant and admissible in the interests of justice. This bill would prohibit the court from admitting evidence, in the above circumstances, of the manner in which the victim was dressed, upon a finding that the evidence is relevant and admissible in the interests of justice. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1103 of the Evidence Code proposed by AB 1171 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1171 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (3) The California Constitution provides that relevant evidence shall not be excluded in any criminal proceeding except as provided by statute enacted by a 23 vote of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Because this bill would limit the admissibility of evidence in criminal proceedings, it would require a 23 vote.

The Public Employees' Retirement Law establishes the Public Employees' Retirement System, which is funded by employer and employee contributions and investment earnings. Existing law creates the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, a trust fund, which the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System administers for support of the system. The Teachers' Retirement Law establishes the State Teachers' Retirement System, which is funded by employer and employee contributions, state contributions, and investment earnings. Existing law creates the Teachers' Retirement Fund, a trust fund, which the Teachers' Retirement Board administers for support of the system. The California Constitution grants a retirement board sole and exclusive responsibility over the assets of a public retirement system and its administration, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2028, would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement Board to provide reports to the Legislature, commencing March 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, on the status of achieving objectives and initiatives, to be defined by the boards, regarding participation of emerging managers or diverse managers responsible for asset management within each retirement system's portfolio of investments. The bill would require the reports to contain specified information and would require the boards to define "emerging manager" and "diverse manager" for purposes of these reports. The bill would require that the reports be based on contracts that the system enters into on and after January 1, 2022, and be based on information from the prior fiscal year.

Existing law requires county elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter for all elections proclaimed or conducted prior to January 1, 2022. Existing law requires county elections officials to use a specified Secretary of State vote by mail tracking system or a system that meets the same specifications. This bill would extend the requirements to mail a ballot to every registered voter to all elections and apply them to all local elections officials. This bill would require a vote by mail tracking system to be accessible to voters with disabilities. The bill would also make various conforming and technical changes. Existing law requires county elections officials to permit voters with a disability, and military or overseas voters, to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system, and required county elections officials to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system for the November 3, 2020, statewide general election. This bill would require county elections officials to permit any voter to cast a ballot using a certified remote accessible vote by mail system for any election. Under existing law, a vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is voted on or before election day and, if returned by mail, received by the voter's elections official via the United States Postal Service, or a bona fide private mail delivery company, no later than 3 days after election day. This bill would provide instead that a vote by mail ballot is timely cast if it is voted on or before election day and, if returned by mail, received no later than 7 days after election day. This bill would authorize an elections official to consider any information from the United States Postal Service or a bona fide private mail delivery company that indicates the date on which the ballot was mailed, in order to determine whether a vote by mail ballot was timely cast. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction in which vote by mail ballots are cast to begin processing vote by mail ballot return envelopes 29 days before the election. Existing law authorizes a jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing vote by mail ballots on the 15th business day before the election, except, for the statewide general election held on November 3, 2020, these jurisdictions were authorized to start processing the ballots on the 29th day before the election. Existing law authorizes all other jurisdictions to start processing vote by mail ballots at 5 p.m. on the day before the election. Existing law authorizes a county elections official to establish vote by mail ballot drop-off locations, as defined. Existing law authorizes a county to conduct any election as an all-mailed ballot election under certain specified conditions. This bill would require any county that does not conduct an all-mailed ballot election to provide at least two vote by mail ballot drop-off locations within the jurisdiction where the election is held, or at least one vote by mail ballot drop-off location for every 30,000 registered voters within the jurisdiction where the election is held, whichever results in more vote by mail ballot drop-off locations. In a jurisdiction with fewer than 30,000 registered voters, the bill would require at least one vote by mail ballot drop-off location, and would require the elections official to make a reasonable effort to provide a ballot drop-off location in the jurisdiction where the election is held. This bill would require the operation of vote by mail ballot drop-off locations to meet certain specified criteria. This bill would authorize a jurisdiction having the necessary computer capability to start processing vote by mail ballots the 29th day before any election. By requiring local elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered voter, and to take other actions, 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.

(1) Existing law prohibits a person, business, or association from knowingly publicly posting or displaying on the internet the home address or home telephone number of a provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive health care services facility, or of persons residing at the same home address as a provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive health care services facility, with the intent to incite a 3rd person to cause imminent great bodily harm to the person identified in the posting or display, or to a coresident of that person, if the 3rd person is likely to commit this harm, or to threaten the person identified in the posting or display, or a coresident of that person, in a manner that places the person identified or the coresident in objectively reasonable fear for the person's or coresident's personal safety. Existing law establishes a cause of action for damages and declaratory relief for violations. This bill would instead prohibit a person, business, or association from knowingly publicly posting, displaying, disclosing, or distributing the personal information, as defined, or image, of a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant, as defined, without that person's consent and with the above-specified intent. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, a fine of not more than $2,500, or both that fine and imprisonment, to post the home address, telephone number, or personally identifying information about a provider, employee, volunteer, or patient of a reproductive health service facility or other individuals residing at the same home address with the intent that another person imminently use that information to commit a crime involving violence or a threat of violence against that person or entity. If the violation leads to bodily injury of the person, existing law makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would make it a crime to post personal information or an image of a provider, employee, volunteer, or patient and would increase the penalty to either imprisonment in a county jail for either one year, a fine of up to $10,000, or both that fine and imprisonment, and would increase the penalty for a violation resulting in bodily injury to $50,000. By increasing the penalty for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the California Freedom of Access to Clinic and Church Entrances Act (the Act) , prohibits specified actions that, by force, threat of force, or physical obstruction, impede access to reproductive health services facilities, as defined. This bill would also make it a crime, within 100 feet of the entrance to or within a reproductive health services facility, to intentionally videotape, film, photograph, or record by electronic means a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant, as defined, with the specific intent to intimidate a person from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant. The bill would also make it a crime to intentionally disclose or distribute material obtained in violation of that provision with the specific intent to intimidate a person from becoming or remaining a reproductive health services patient, provider, or assistant. The bill would exempt specified persons, including news reporters, from these provisions, as specified. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law specifies the penalties for violation of the Act, including imprisonment as a misdemeanor and specified fines. This bill would increase the penalties for the existing crimes, as specified, and would establish the same penalties for the newly added crimes described. By increasing the penalty for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law, the Reproductive Rights Law Enforcement Act, requires the Attorney General to carry out certain functions relating to anti-reproductive-rights crimes in consultation with, among others, subject matter experts, and requires the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls to convene an advisory committee that consists of members of the organizations identified as subject matter experts. Existing law requires the advisory committee to make 2 reports to specified legislative entities, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) , and the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, the first by December 31, 2007, and the 2nd by December 31, 2011, to evaluate the implementation of the act and making recommendations. This bill would require local law enforcement agencies to report, in a manner prescribed by the Attorney General, the number of anti-reproductive-rights crime-related calls for assistance, the total number of arrests for anti-reproductive-rights crimes, and the total number of cases in which the district attorney charged an individual, as specified. The bill requires the Attorney General, beginning January 1, 2023, to annually report this information to the Legislature. This bill would require the advisory committee to make 2 additional reports, the first by December 31, 2025, and the 2nd by December 31, 2029, for the same purposes. Existing law requires POST to develop a 2-hour telecourse on anti-reproductive-rights crimes and make the telecourse available to all California law enforcement agencies and to the advisory committee. This bill would instead require the commission to develop an interactive training course on anti-reproductive-rights crimes and, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or other statute, update the course every 7 years, or on a more frequent basis as specified. This bill would also require all law enforcement agencies to develop, adopt, and implement written policies and standards for responding to anti-reproductive-rights calls by January 1, 2023. By requiring local law enforcement to develop and implement these policies, 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law establishes procedures for stepparent adoptions involving a spouse or partner who gave birth to the child during the marriage or domestic partnership. Among other things, existing law exempts those adoptions from the requirements of a home investigation and a hearing, as well as specified costs, unless the court orders otherwise. This bill would clarify that, in stepparent adoptions, the parties are not required to have been married or in a domestic partnership, as specified, for a minimum period of time prior to the adoption being granted. The bill would also prohibit the parties from being required to provide verification of their income or education.