Sen. Kelly Seyarto

Existing law allows the court to issue a protective order restraining a defendant from any contact with the victim if the defendant has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, human trafficking, a crime in furtherance of a criminal street gang, or a registerable sex offense. Under existing law, the protective order may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. This bill would additionally allow the court to issue a permanent protective order restraining a defendant from any contact with the victim if the defendant has been convicted of any serious or violent felony, as defined, or any felony requiring registration as a sex offender. The bill would also authorize the court to permanently extend certain previously issued orders under certain circumstances. The bill would require the Judicial Council to develop forms, instructions, and rules relating to these orders. The bill would make other conforming changes. By authorizing the issuance of protective orders in certain circumstances and the extension of certain protective orders, a violation of which is punishable as 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.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. Under existing law, the recommendation, continuous evaluation, and execution of statewide environmental goals, policies, and plans are included within the scope of the executive functions of the Governor. Existing law establishes the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation in the Governor's office for the purpose of serving the Governor and the Governor's cabinet as staff for long-range planning and research and constituting the comprehensive state planning agency. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2027, the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to consult with regional, local, state, and federal agencies to develop a technical advisory on thresholds of significance for greenhouse gas and noise pollution effects on the environment to assist local agencies. The bill would require the technical advisory to provide suggested thresholds of significance for all areas of the state, as specified, and would provide that lead agencies may elect to adopt these suggested thresholds of significance. The bill would also require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to post the technical advisory on its internet website.

The Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, allows various deductions from gross income in calculating adjusted gross income. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2036, would allow a deduction in determining adjusted gross income for an amount equal to the qualified tips, as defined, received by a qualified taxpayer, as defined, during the taxable year, not to exceed $20,000. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA requires the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, formerly named the Office of Planning and Research, to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, guidelines for the implementation of CEQA. The CEQA guidelines require a lead agency, immediately after deciding that an environmental impact report is required for a project, to send a notice of preparation stating that an environmental impact report will be prepared to the office and each responsible and trustee agency, as specified. This bill would require the office to conduct a study to, among other things, evaluate how locked-in guidelines could impact regulatory certainty for future project proponents, lead agencies, and stakeholders and assess how locked-in guidelines could affect the speed and efficiency of the environmental review process pursuant to CEQA. The bill would define "locked-in guidelines" as CEQA guidelines, that are in effect at the time of the first issuance of the notice of preparation for a project, that apply to the project throughout the course of the environmental review process pursuant to CEQA, regardless of changes in the guidelines that occur after the first issuance of the notice of preparation. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, the office to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on the study. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.

The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, approved by the voters as Proposition 4 at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election, authorized the issuance of bonds in the amount of $10,000,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. The act makes $135,000,000 available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Office of Emergency Services for a wildfire mitigation grant program to provide, among other things, loans, direct assistance, and matching funds for projects that prevent wildfires, increase resilience, maintain existing wildfire risk reduction projects, reduce the risk of wildfires to communities, or increase home or community hardening. The act provides that eligible projects include, but are not limited to, grants to local agencies, state agencies, joint powers authorities, tribes, resource conservation districts, fire safe councils, and nonprofit organizations for structure hardening of critical community infrastructure, wildfire smoke mitigation, evacuation centers, including community clean air centers, structure hardening projects that reduce the risk of wildfire for entire neighborhoods and communities, water delivery system improvements for fire suppression purposes for communities in very high or high fire hazard areas, wildfire buffers, and incentives to remove structures that significantly increase hazard risk. This bill would include in the list of eligible projects grants to the above-mentioned entities for improvements to public evacuation routes in very high and high fire hazard severity zones, mobile rigid dip tanks, as defined, to support firefighting efforts, prepositioned mobile rigid water storage, as defined, and improvements to the response and effectiveness of fire engines and helicopters. The bill would also include grants, in coordination with the Public Utilities Commission, to local agencies, state agencies, special districts, joint powers authorities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations for backup electrical generators for water reservoirs.

Existing law, as added by the Victims' Bill of Rights, approved as Proposition 8 at the June 8, 1982, statewide primary election, and as amended by the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, approved as Proposition 21 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, among other things, defines a serious felony. 2 3 vote, or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the voters."?> Existing law prohibits plea bargaining in a case in which a serious felony is charged and imposes a 5-year enhancement for conviction of a serious felony if the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony. This bill would include knowingly furnishing fentanyl to a minor within the definition of a serious felony. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, 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.

Existing law establishes the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The Donahoe Higher Education Act prohibits the campuses of those segments from charging mandatory systemwide tuition or fees to specified students who apply for a waiver, including a child of any veteran of the United States military who has a service-connected disability, has been killed in service, or has died of a service-connected disability, an undergraduate student who is a recipient of a Medal of Honor, or an undergraduate student who is a child of a recipient of a Medal of Honor and who is no more than 27 years of age, if certain requirements are satisfied. This bill would additionally prohibit the campuses of the University of California and California State University from charging tuition or fees for specified students who enroll in an extended education course if certain requirements are satisfied and the extended education course is being used to meet the requirements of an undergraduate degree program. The bill would apply to the campuses of the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, make it apply. Existing law establishes various student financial aid programs under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, including the California Military Department GI Bill Award Program. Existing law requires a qualifying member of the California National Guard, the State Guard, or the Naval Militia that receives an award under the program to, among other things, agree to use the award to obtain a certificate, degree, or diploma that the person does not hold at the time they apply for the award. Existing law authorizes the award to be used to obtain one baccalaureate, graduate, or doctoral degree or a certificate, degree, or diploma that leads to a baccalaureate, graduate, or doctoral degree. This bill would authorize the award to also be used for an extended education course at a campus of the University of California or the California State University if the extended education course is being used to meet the requirements of an undergraduate degree program.

Existing law, the California Values Act, generally prohibits California law enforcement agencies from investigating, interrogating, detaining, detecting, or arresting persons for immigration enforcement purposes, including providing information regarding a person's release date or responding to requests for notification by providing release dates or other information, as specified. Existing law provides that responses are never required, but are permitted, provided that they do not violate any local law or policy. Existing law provides the above-described prohibition does not prevent a California law enforcement agency from performing certain limited exceptions to this prohibition that do not violate any policy of the law enforcement agency or any local law or policy of the jurisdiction in which the agency is operating. Existing law provides a law enforcement official with discretion to cooperate with immigration authorities only if doing so would not violate any federal, state, or local law, or local policy, and where permitted by the California Values Act. This bill would instead provide that responses relating to a person's release date, as described above, are required. The bill would instead require a California law enforcement agency to perform certain limited exceptions to the prohibition, as specified. The bill would instead require a law enforcement official to cooperate with immigration authorities only if doing so would not violate any federal or state law or policy, and where permitted by the California Values Act. By imposing new duties on 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.

Existing law prohibits the tenant of a property to remain on a property after the lawful termination of a lease agreement, as specified. Existing law prescribes a procedure for obtaining a judgment against such a tenant and for effecting the eviction of that tenant. Existing law prohibits entering or occupying real property or structures without the consent of the owner. This bill would define a squatter as somebody who unlawfully enters and remains in a residential property and, upon request, refuses to leave or falsely claims a legal right of possession. This bill would prescribe a procedure for the notice and removal of a squatter by a local law enforcement agency. The bill would authorize a property owner or their agent to serve a demand to vacate, as specified, upon a squatter. The bill would authorize the owner or agent, after service of the demand, to submit a request, signed under penalty of perjury, to the local law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction where the property is located, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandate local program. This bill would require the law enforcement agency, upon receipt of the request, to verify the request and, upon verification, to remove the unlawful occupants from the property without unreasonable delay, as specified. The bill would describe the duties of local law enforcement personnel during a removal. By imposing new duties on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize a local law enforcement agency to assess a fee for processing a request and conducting a removal. This bill would prohibit a person from fraudulently causing or attempting to cause the removal of another person pursuant to these provisions. A violation of this prohibition would be punishable as a misdemeanor or felony. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also create a civil cause of action for damages and restoration of possession against a person who fraudulently causes the removal of a person pursuant to the provisions, by the person who was removed. This bill would state that, notwithstanding any other state or local law, it is intended to provide the remedy for unlawful occupation of a residential property by a squatter and would specify that it applies only to situations involving a squatter and not situations involving a tenant or other person with a bona fide claim to tenancy or title. 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.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law. This bill would allow a credit against those taxes for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2031, in an amount equal to the unreimbursed amount paid or incurred by a qualified teacher during the taxable year for instructional materials and classroom supplies, as defined, not to exceed $250. The bill would define qualified teacher as a teacher in a public, charter, or private school offering instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for at least 900 hours during a school year. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill also would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.