Sen. Tony Strickland

Existing law provides optional procedures for a landlord to dispose of personal property that remains on the premises, including common areas, after a tenancy has terminated and the premises has been vacated by the tenant. This bill would establish similar optional disposition of personal property that remains in a common area during a tenancy. The bill would require the landlord to give written notice to the tenant or any other person the landlord reasonably believes is the owner of the personal property, as provided. The bill would require the property to either be left in the common area or stored by the landlord in a place of safekeeping until the landlord releases the property, disposes of the property, or retains the property for the landlord's own use. The bill would prohibit the landlord from requiring the tenant to pay the cost of storage if the tenant reclaims the property within 15 days of having received the notice or 18 days after the notice was mailed, as provided.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution establishes April 16, 2026, as "Breaking the Silence Day of Awareness" in California to highlight the issue of unreported child sexual abuse. The measure encourages individuals, schools, and community organizations to participate in educational outreach that helps people recognize signs of abuse and fosters open dialogue about the topic. By promoting awareness and reducing stigma, the resolution aims to support survivors and encourage early intervention without imposing new legal requirements or funding mandates.

Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law provides for a system of unemployment insurance providing benefits for persons unemployed through no fault of their own and exempts from the definition of "employment" for that purpose services performed as a real estate, mineral, oil and gas, or cemetery broker or as a real estate, cemetery, or direct sales salesperson, or a yacht broker or salesman, by an individual if certain criteria are met, including that the individual is licensed, as specified, or is engaged in the trade or business of primarily in-person demonstration and sales presentation of consumer products, including services or other intangibles, in the home or sales to any buyer on a buy-sell basis, a deposit-commission basis, or any similar basis, for resale by the buyer or any other person in the home or otherwise than from a retail or wholesale establishment. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above, including an exemption for a direct sales salesperson described in the above-described unemployment insurance exemption. This bill would revise the above-described unemployment insurance exemption to additionally exempt from the definition of "employment" an individual engaged in the trade or business of primarily person-to-person sales activities door-to-door, telephonically, or online or sales to any buyer on a buy-sell basis, a deposit-commission basis, or any similar basis, for resale by the buyer or any other person in the home or otherwise than from a contractually required retail or wholesale establishment.

Maddy summaryThis Senate Resolution formally acknowledges the Armenian Genocide, a systematic campaign of mass killing and deportation that occurred between 1915 and 1923 against Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey. The document details historical events, including the deaths of over 1.5 million people, the seizure of their property, and the subsequent denial of these atrocities by the modern Republic of Turkey. By reciting these facts, the resolution aims to preserve the historical record and honor the survivors and victims of this event.

Existing law provides that all property has an owner, whether that owner is the state, and the property is public, or the owner is an individual, and the property is private. This bill would prohibit a foreign actor from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding a controlling interest, as defined, in agricultural land within the State of California. The bill, among other things, would exempt land held by prohibited foreign actors before January 1, 2027, from that provision. The bill would provide that land transferred in violation of these provisions would be subject to divestiture, as specified. The bill would make its provisions operative upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 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 law requires the State Department of Social Services to maximize all available food choices for CalFresh recipients, as specified. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to adopt regulations, on or before June 1, 2028, to define "ultraprocessed foods of concern" and, when defining the term, to consider specified factors, including, among others, whether, based on reputable peer-reviewed scientific evidence, a substance or group of substances are linked to health harms or adverse health consequences. This bill, the SNAP to Thrive: Shop Nutritiously and Preventatively to Thrive Act, notwithstanding the requirement to maximize food choices, would require the State Department of Social Services on or before July 1, 2027, to seek a federal waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture to prohibit CalFresh recipients from using CalFresh benefits to purchase soft drinks, candy, and prepackaged desserts, as defined. If a food product is determined to be an ultraprocessed food of concern, as described above, the bill would require the State Department of Social Services to seek a federal waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture to prohibit CalFresh recipients from using CalFresh benefits to purchase that food product. Upon receipt of a waiver granted by the United States Department of Agriculture for purposes of prohibiting the purchase of soft drinks, candy, prepackaged desserts, or ultraprocessed foods of concern, the bill would require the State Department of Social Services to implement the prohibitions granted within 6 months.

Existing law, known as the Administrative Procedure Act, governs the procedures for the adoption, amendment, or repeal of regulations by state agencies and for the review of those regulatory actions by the Office of Administrative Law. Existing law requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative regulation to, among other things, assess the potential for adverse economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals, and requires a state agency proposing to adopt, amend, or repeal a major regulation on or after November 1, 2013, to prepare and submit to the Department of Finance for comment, a standardized regulatory impact analysis, as provided. Existing law defines "major regulation" for purposes of the act to mean any proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation subject to review by the office that will have an economic impact on California business enterprises and individuals in an amount exceeding $50,000,000, as provided. Existing law establishes procedures for the adoption of emergency regulations, including requiring that the state agency make a finding that the adoption of a regulation or order of repeal is necessary to address an emergency, as defined. Under existing law, a regulation, amendment, or order of repeal adopted as an emergency regulatory action may only remain in effect for up to 180 days, unless the adopting agency complies with specified requirements. This bill, the Restoring Accountability Act, would prohibit a state agency from taking final action to adopt a major regulation until certain requirements are met, including that after the state agency prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance, as described above, the state agency submits a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation and the Legislature enacts a law expressly authorizing the state agency to adopt that major regulation. The bill, notwithstanding that prohibition, would authorize a state agency to adopt an emergency regulation that is a major regulation if the state agency complies with specified requirements governing the adoption of emergency regulations. The bill would prohibit the emergency regulation from being in effect more than 180 days, except that the state agency may twice readopt an emergency regulation that is the same or substantially equivalent to the emergency regulation previously adopted for a period not to exceed 90 days, if the state agency prepares a standardized regulatory impact analysis and submits the analysis to the Department of Finance for comment, as described above, and the state agency submits a proposal to the Legislature recommending legislation to authorize the adoption of the major regulation.

Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city, which includes, among other mandatory elements, a housing element. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with the council of governments, to determine the existing and projected need of housing for each region, as provided. Existing law requires the council of governments or delegate subregion, as applicable, to adopt a final regional housing needs plan that allocates a share of the regional housing need to each city, county, or city and county. Existing law requires each council of governments and delegate subregion to distribute a draft allocation of regional housing needs to each local government in the region or subregion. Existing law authorizes a local government within the region or the delegate subregion or the department to appeal to the council of governments or the delegate subregion for a revision of the share of the regional housing need proposed to be allocated to one or more local governments, as specified. Existing law requires the council of governments or the delegate subregion to make a final determination that either accepts, rejects, or modifies each appeal, as provided. This bill would provide that the final determination by the council of governments or the delegate subregion is subject to judicial review, as specified.

Existing law designates specific days as holidays in this state, including Cesar Chavez Day on March 31, and requires the Governor to annually proclaim March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day. This bill would instead designate March 31 as Farmworkers Day and would require the Governor to annually proclaim March 31 as Farmworkers Day. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law makes it a crime to intentionally disturb or disquiet an assemblage of people met for religious worship by profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior, or by any unnecessary noise. Existing law makes a violation of this crime a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would additionally make a violation of the above-described crime a felony punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By making an existing crime punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, 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.