Under existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (act) , if a person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes or attempts to interfere, by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney, is authorized to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California, in order to protect the exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. Under that act, an individual may also institute and prosecute in their own name and on their own behalf a civil action for damages, as described, for any resulting interference or attempt at interference of the individual's exercise or enjoyment of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States or this state. The act authorizes the court to award the petitioner or plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees in addition to any damages, injunction, or other equitable relief awarded in these civil actions (attorney's fees authorization) . Existing federal law provides that every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected any United States citizen or other person within the jurisdiction to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, is liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as provided. This bill would also provide that every natural person, as defined, who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, as defined, subjects or causes to be subjected any citizen of this state or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the United States Constitution, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as specified. The bill would apply the aforementioned attorney's fees authorization, except as specified, to any action brought under these provisions. The bill would authorize a court, in its discretion, to also award costs, except as specified, to the prevailing plaintiff in any action brought under these provisions. This bill would authorize a defendant in an action brought under these provisions to assert and receive the benefit of a defense of absolute or qualified immunity only to the same extent as a person sued under certain federal provisions under like circumstances, as specified, and would specify that nothing in these provisions is to be construed to waive or abrogate any defense of sovereign immunity otherwise available to a party, as specified. The bill would prohibit any civil action brought under these provisions from being commenced later than 2 years after the date that the cause of action accrues. The bill would make its provisions severable. The bill would specify that these provisions apply retroactively to March 1, 2025, as provided. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature in enacting these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing federal law provides for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing federal law, through Disaster SNAP, provides for short-term food assistance benefits to eligible households who are victims of a disaster that disrupts commercial channels of food distribution. This bill would, during a federal government shutdown that impacts the disbursement of CalFresh benefits, require the State Department of Social Services to maintain a clearly marked landing page on the department's internet website to provide the public with information on how their benefits will be impacted, including information on the status of the federal government shutdown and the availability of benefits. The bill would also require the department, in coordination with stakeholders, to establish a strategic communications plan for use during a federal government shutdown that impacts the disbursement of CalFresh benefits that includes updates to the landing page on the department's internet website, deployment of social media posts, and emergency response briefings for local and state officials, local government agencies, community organizations, and participating retailers, as specified. The bill would require the department to develop a benefit issuance mechanism to allow the department flexibility to rapidly provide nutrition benefits on an emergency basis in response to a federal government shutdown that impacts the disbursement of CalFresh benefits, and would require the mechanism to be designed to issue nutrition benefits through the existing electronic benefits transfer system and in a manner that can target various populations depending on the purpose of the specific benefit. The bill would make this provision operative when the department notifies the Legislature that the Statewide Automated Welfare System can perform the necessary automation to implement this provision.
Existing law states the policy of the State of California is to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law establishes the Office of Civil Rights, under the administration of the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Religious Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, a Gender Discrimination Prevention Coordinator, and an LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. Existing law requires each of the coordinators be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Disability Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The bill would change the title of the LGBTQ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator to instead be the LGBTQ+ Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require each of the coordinators, in consultation with the State Department of Education, and under the supervision of the Government Operations Agency, to, among other things, (1) develop, consult on, and provide discrimination education to teachers, staff, governing board and body members, administrators, and other local educational agency personnel to identify and proactively prevent discrimination, as provided, (2) provide technical assistance, upon specified request, to local educational agencies to access restorative justice resources, training, and practitioners, and (3) engage with local educational agencies to ensure administrators are equipped to address conflicts at an early stage with the goal of proactively resolving incidents of discrimination, as specified. This bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to employ a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Black Racism, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (Anti-AANHPI) Discrimination, a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Latino Discrimination, and a Deputy Coordinator on Anti-Native American Discrimination, and would require these deputy coordinators to report directly to the Race and Ethnicity Discrimination Prevention Coordinator. The bill would require the Office of Civil Rights to provide resources and training on how to properly assist in cases of discrimination that involve the intersectionality of protected characteristics, as provided.
Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to develop a plan for the funding and implementation of the Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program. Existing law requires the plan to include, among other things, a description of the method for collecting moneys to support and implement the program and a description of the method for determining the amount of moneys that may need to be collected from water ratepayers to fund the program. This bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Program. As part of the program, the bill would establish the Water Rate Assistance Fund in the State Treasury, available upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide water affordability assistance for residential water services to low-income residential ratepayers, as specified. The bill would establish separate implementation procedures depending on whether the state board determines that the Legislature appropriated enough moneys from the fund for a partial implementation of the program or a statewide implementation of the program. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the fund, including, among other things, tracking and managing revenue in the fund separately from all other revenue. The bill would require the state board, in consultation with relevant agencies and after a public hearing, to adopt guidelines for implementation of the program and to adopt and submit a report to the Legislature or post the report on its internet website, as specified. The bill would require the guidelines to include minimum requirements for eligible systems, including the ability to confirm eligibility for enrollment through a request for self-certification of eligibility under penalty of perjury. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the state board to take various actions in administering the program, including, but not limited to, providing guidance, oversight, and funding for low-income rate assistance for residential ratepayers of eligible systems. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, at the request of the state board, to bring an action in state court to restrain the use of any method, act, or practice in violation of these provisions, except as provided. The bill would make the implementation of all of these provisions contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature. 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 Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, authorizes the involuntary commitment and treatment of a person, when the person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to themselves or others, or is gravely disabled. Existing law grants persons involuntarily detained in state hospitals as a result of developmental or mental health disabilities specified rights, including a right to dignity, privacy, and humane care, to be free from harm, to religious freedom and practice, and to physical exercise and recreational opportunities. This bill, the Civil Detainees' Bill of Rights Act of 2026, would clarify that all persons housed or detained for purposes of civil immigration proceedings in California at any state, county, local, or private locked detention facility, including any county, local, or private locked detention facility in which an individual is housed or detained on behalf of, or pursuant to a contract with, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement or the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have the legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed all other persons by the United States Constitution and federal law and the California Constitution and state law, unless specifically limited by federal or state law or regulations. The bill would grant persons housed or detained for the purposes of civil immigration proceedings in California certain rights, including a right to dignity, privacy, and humane care, a right to clean facilities and living quarters, and a right to safe and healthy food. The bill would reaffirm the intent of the Legislature that individuals housed or detained as a result of developmental or mental health disabilities have the rights described above. The bill would require the rights of individuals involuntarily housed as a result of developmental or mental health disabilities or civilly detained in California to be observed and protected by the operator of any facility in California in which the individuals are housed or civilly detained. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action for injunctive and other relief in order to protect any of the above-described rights, and would additionally authorize the Attorney General to seek a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each violation. The bill would require all necessary access for the observations necessary to ensure compliance with the above-described requirements to be provided to the Attorney General. The bill would make related findings and declarations. The bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prohibits the use of kinetic energy projectiles or chemical agents by any law enforcement agency to disperse any assembly, protest, or demonstration, except in compliance with specified standards. Existing law requires kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents only to be deployed by a peace officer that has received proper training for crowd control, as specified, or to bring an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safely and effectively under control and only in accordance with certain requirements, including that de-escalation techniques have been attempted and have failed, kinetic energy projectiles are not aimed at the head, neck, or any other vital organs, and, if the chemical agent to be deployed is tear gas, only a commanding officer at the scene of the assembly, protest, or demonstration may authorize the use of tear gas. This bill would expand the above prohibition and exception to include flash-bang grenades, as defined. The bill would define law enforcement agency as any department or agency of the state or any local government, special district, or other political subdivision thereof, that employs any peace officer, as defined, or any federal law enforcement agency. The bill would prohibit the use of flash-bang grenades by any law enforcement agency for the purposes of immigration enforcement, except as specified. The bill would also only allow a commanding officer at the scene to authorize the use of flash-bang grenades. Existing law requires each law enforcement agency to publish specified use of force incidents to the Department of Justice and requires the Department of Justice to publish those reports, as specified. This bill would additionally require law enforcement agencies to report the use of flash-bang grenades. By imposing new duties on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law prohibits the possession of any destructive device and makes a violation of this prohibition punishable as a misdemeanor or felony. Existing law exempts specified peace officers from this prohibition. This bill would prohibit a peace officer, as defined, from using an explosive breaching charge, as defined, for the purpose of immigration enforcement, except as specified. 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. The bill would declare the severability of its provisions.
This measure would recognize open water lifeguards as first responders, in acknowledgment of their essential role in emergency response, public safety, and drowning prevention, as provided.
Existing law makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, as defined, to refuse to hire, or to discharge, demote, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of the individual's exercise of the right to bereavement leave or because of the individual's giving information or testimony as to their own or another person's bereavement leave, or to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any of these rights, as specified. This bill would include a designated person identified by the employee, as specified, in the definition of "family member" and authorize an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for purposes of these provisions relating to bereavement leave.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 152 in the County of Santa Clara as the Rusty Areias Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to maintain a canteen at its active facilities, and until January 1, 2028, prohibits the sale prices of the articles offered for sale in a canteen from exceeding a 35% markup above the price of the articles paid to the vendors. Existing law, commencing on January 1, 2028, requires the sale amounts of the articles to be offered for sale to be fixed by the secretary at amounts that will render each canteen self-supporting. This bill would prohibit the sale price of an article offered for sale in a commissary, as defined, at a private detention facility, defined as a detention facility that is operated by a private, nongovernmental, for-profit entity, and operating pursuant to a contract or agreement with a governmental entity, from exceeding a 35% markup above the amount paid to a vendor for that article.