Sen. Kelly Seyarto

Maddy summaryThis bill designates September 2026 as Service Dog Appreciation Month in California. The measure serves to formally recognize and honor the contributions of service dogs and their handlers within the state. It does not create new laws, regulations, or funding, but rather establishes a commemorative period for public awareness.

Existing law prohibits a school district from permitting access to pupil records to a person without written parental consent or under judicial order except as authorized by law. Existing law requires access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the pupil to, among other individuals, a pupil 14 years of age or older who is both a homeless child or youth, as defined, and an unaccompanied youth, as defined. This bill would additionally require access to those particular records relevant to the legitimate educational interests of the pupil to a pupil 14 years of age or older who is a foster youth, as defined. To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on school districts related to pupil record requests, 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 49076 of the Education Code proposed by AB 2478 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2478 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with possession and control of all state highways, and authorizes the department to do any act necessary, convenient, or proper for the construction, improvement, maintenance, or use of all highways that are under its jurisdiction, possession, or control. This bill would, until January 1, 2032, authorize the Western Riverside Council of Governments, in required coordination with the department, to establish and administer a traffic signal synchronization pilot program for its member local agencies to evaluate a regional model for coordinating traffic signal timing between state highways and local street and road systems, as specified. The bill would require the Western Riverside Council of Governments, in coordination with the department, to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, including assessing its impacts on congestion, travel time reliability, operational efficiency, and vehicle emissions, and to submit, on or before January 1, 2028, a specified report to the Legislature relating to the pilot program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the local agencies that constitute the Western Riverside Council of Governments.

Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude those compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments to tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. This bill would ratify the 5th amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California, the tribal-state gaming compact between the State of California and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, and the first amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Pechanga Band of Indians. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to this amended compact are not projects for the purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act imposes obligations on consumer credit reporting agencies, users of consumer credit reports, and furnishers of credit information, and establishes remedies for a consumer who suffers damages resulting from a violation of those provisions. Existing law makes specified provisions of the act applicable to an escrow rating service, as defined, requires an escrow agent rating service to establish policies and procedures to safeguard personally identifiable information obtained from an escrow agent, and provides that an escrow agent is a consumer for purposes of those provisions. Existing law repeals those provisions of the act applicable to escrow agent rating services and escrow agents on January 1, 2027. This bill would extend the operation of those provisions indefinitely.

Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to develop and implement a Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program for nongasoline heavy-duty onroad motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds. Existing law requires that the program include, among other things, test procedures for different motor vehicle model years and emissions control technologies that measure the effectiveness of the control of emissions of oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter. Existing law requires, as part of the program, the state board to develop a Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Compliance Certificate. Existing law requires the state board to issue the certificate to the legal owner, registered owner, or designee of a vehicle that, at the discretion of the state board, meets the requirements of the program so that vehicle owners and operators may easily demonstrate proof of compliance for specified purposes. This bill would limit specified testing of all nongasoline heavy-duty onroad motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 14,000 pounds that are considered low use, as defined, that have an engine that is from the 2012 model year or older, and that are registered in this state, to not more frequently than annually. The bill would require the state board to adopt rules and regulations to implement this provision.

Existing law, until January 1, 2028, and to the extent funds are made available for these purposes, requires the State Department of Public Health to establish a system for the collection of information determining the incidence and prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases, including, but not limited to, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) , also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Existing law requires a hospital, facility, physician and surgeon, or other health care provider diagnosing or providing treatment to a patient for a neurodegenerative disease to report each case of a neurodegenerative disease to the department, as prescribed. Existing law requires the department to designate the specified neurodegenerative diseases required to be reported in the state or any part of the state. Existing law specifies that for this purpose, "neurodegenerative disease" may include, but need not be limited to, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington's disease. This bill would require the department to establish a system for the collection of information determining the incidence and prevalence of frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) . This bill would specify that "neurodegenerative disease" may also include other dementias. The bill would extend the requirements of these provisions until January 1, 2032.

The California Constitution limits the amount of ad valorem taxes on real property to 1% of the full cash value of that property, defined as the county assessor's valuation of real property as shown on the 1975–76 tax bill and, thereafter, the appraised value of the property when purchased, newly constructed, or a change in ownership occurs after the 1975 assessment, subject to an annual inflation adjustment not to exceed 2%. Existing property tax law, pursuant to specified provisions of the California Constitution, provides that the purchase or transfer of real property that is the principal residence or a family farm, as those terms are defined, of an eligible transferor in the case of a purchase or transfer between parents and their children, or between grandparents and their grandchildren if all the parents of that grandchild or those grandchildren are deceased as of the date of purchase or transfer, is not a "purchase" or "change in ownership" for purposes of determining the "full cash value" of property for taxation, as provided. Existing law defines "transfer" for these purposes to include, but not be limited to, any transfer of the present beneficial ownership of property from an eligible transferor to an eligible transferee through the medium of an inter vivos or testamentary trust. Existing law authorizes the establishment of a special needs trust if a court makes specific determinations, including that the minor or person with a disability has a disability that substantially impairs the individual's ability to provide for their own care. This bill would revise the definition of "transfer" for purposes of the above-described property tax law provisions to require that a special needs trust, established as described above, be considered an eligible medium of transfer.

The California Constitution provides that all property is taxable and requires that it be assessed at the same percentage of fair market value, unless otherwise provided by the California Constitution or federal law. The California Constitution and existing property tax law provide various exemptions from taxation, including, among others, a disabled veterans' exemption and a veterans' organization exemption. This bill would exempt from taxation, as provided, 50% of that part of the full value of the property that does not exceed $1,000,000 that is owned by, and that constitutes the principal place of residence of, a veteran, the veteran's spouse, or the veteran and the veteran's spouse jointly, if, among other things, the veteran is 100% disabled. The bill would provide an unmarried surviving spouse a property exemption in the same amount that they would have been entitled to if the veteran were alive and if certain conditions are met. In the case of a disabled veteran or unmarried surviving spouse whose household income does not exceed a specified amount for the relevant assessment year, as prescribed, the bill would exempt 100% of that part of the full value of the property that does not exceed $1,000,000 from taxation. The bill would require certain documentation to be provided to the county assessor to receive the exemption and would prohibit any other real property tax exemption from being granted to the claimant if receiving the exemption provided by the provisions of this bill. The bill would make these exemptions applicable for property tax lien dates occurring on or after January 1, 2027, but occurring before January 1, 2032. By imposing additional duties on local tax officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives 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. 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 state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation. This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes declaring September 2026 as California Emergency Preparedness Month. The measure directly affects the state government by establishing an official observance period to raise awareness about emergency readiness. It does not create new laws or funding but serves as a symbolic proclamation to encourage public attention to safety planning. The change is administrative and focuses on recognizing a specific time for education rather than altering existing regulations.