Existing law establishes the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to ensure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain unsolved sexual assault offenses if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report information regarding rape kit evidence, within 120 days of the collection of the kit, to the Department of Justice through a database established by the department. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, whether biological evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis and if a probative DNA profile was generated. The bill would additionally require a public DNA laboratory, or a law enforcement agency contracting with a private laboratory, to provide a reason for not testing a sample every 120 days the sample is untested, except as specified. The bill would only impose these requirements for a kit collected on or after January 1, 2018. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that money received by the Office of Emergency Services from the federal Office on Violence Against Women be used before appropriating money from the General Fund for purposes of reimbursing any costs determined by the Commission on State Mandates to be mandated by the state to a local law enforcement agency by the bill. This bill would require the department to file a report to the Legislature on an annual basis summarizing the information in its database. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies or laboratories from being compelled to provide any contents of the database in a civil or criminal case, except as required by a law enforcement agency's duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a defendant in a criminal case. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. 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 these statutory provisions.
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Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to initiate and carry on any program or activity, or to otherwise act in any manner which is not in conflict or inconsistent with, or preempted by, any law and which is not in conflict with the purposes for which school districts are established. Existing law prohibits discrimination against a person on the basis of, among other things, gender in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid. This bill, until January 1, 2025, would authorize a school district with an average daily attendance of 400,000 or more pupils to maintain any single gender schools and classes that were enrolling pupils as of July 1, 2017, if certain requirements are met. The bill would authorize a charter school authorized by a school district with an average daily attendance of 400,000 or more pupils that was operating as a single gender school or with single gender classes as of July 1, 2017, to be maintained as a single gender school or to maintain single gender classes, if those same requirements are met. The bill would require a school district that maintains a single gender school or class, and a charter school maintained as a single gender school or that maintains a single gender class to conduct certain evaluations at least once every 2 years, and to report the findings of those evaluations to the State Department of Education and specified legislative committees. The bill would require the department to order corrective action, as specified, if the department finds that a single gender school or class fails to comply with certain federal requirements. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law specifies that a food facility that donates any food that is fit for human consumption at the time it was donated to a nonprofit charitable organization or a food bank is not liable for any damage or injury resulting from the consumption of the donated food, unless the injury resulted from negligence or a willful act in the preparation or handling of the donated food. This bill, the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, would expand these provisions to persons and gleaners who donate food, as defined. The bill would narrow the exception to protection from liability to injury resulting from gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The bill would specify that the immunity from civil liability provided by these provisions applies to the donation of food that is fit for human consumption and that has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would authorize food facilities to donate food directly to end recipients for consumption. Existing law specifies that a nonprofit charitable organization or food bank is not liable for an injury or death from distributing food without charge that is fit for human consumption unless the injury or death is a direct result of negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. This bill would narrow the exception to protection from liability to injury or death as a direct result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Existing law authorizes a person engaged in the business of processing, distributing, or selling an agricultural product to donate, free of charge, a product that is in a condition that it may be used as food for human beings, to a nonprofit charitable organization. Existing law limits the liability of a county, its agencies, and persons who donate agricultural products. Existing law provides that these provisions do not relieve any nonprofit charitable organization from any liability for any injury, including, but not limited to, injury resulting from the ingesting of an agricultural product, as a result of receiving, accepting, gathering, or removing any donated agricultural product. This bill would expand this provision to include a gleaner and also authorize food facilities to donate food directly to end recipients for consumption. The bill would specify that these donations are protected under this act if the donated food has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would repeal these provisions relating to not relieving nonprofit charitable organizations from liability for injuries. Existing law authorizes a food facility to donate food to a food bank or to any other nonprofit charitable organization for distribution to persons free of charge. Existing law exempts a food facility that donates food from civil or criminal liability or penalty for violation of any laws, regulations, or ordinances regulating the labeling or packaging of the donated product or, with respect to any other laws, regulations, or ordinances, for a violation occurring after the time of the donation. This bill would also authorize a person or gleaner to donate food to a food bank or to a nonprofit charitable organization and exempt the person or gleaner from civil or criminal liability relating to the donated food. The bill would also expand these provisions to include the donation of food by food facilities directly to end recipients. The bill would specify that the immunity from civil or criminal liability or penalty applies to the donation of food that has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would require enforcement officers to promote the recovery of food fit for human consumption, as specified. Because the bill would require local officials to perform additional duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make other conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 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 establishes a statewide system of courts with a superior court of one or more judges in each county. Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to prescribe the methods, means, and standards for electronic collection of data related to court administration, practice, and procedure. This bill would require the Judicial Council, if certain funding is provided, to report to the Legislature, on or before June 1, 2020, on a study of veterans and veterans treatment courts that includes a statewide assessment, as specified, of veterans treatment courts currently in operation and a survey of counties that do not operate veterans treatment courts that identifies barriers to program implementation and assesses the need for veterans treatment courts in those counties. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2021.
Existing law requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses and certain acts of human trafficking for purposes of committing various sex offenses or extortion, as specified, or attempts to commit those offenses, to register with local law enforcement agencies while residing in the state or while attending school or working in the state. Willful failure to register, as required, is a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the underlying offense. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to make available to the public information concerning registered sex offenders on an Internet Web site, as specified. Existing law requires that information to include, among other things, whether the offender was subsequently incarcerated for another felony. Existing law also authorizes a person to file an application for exclusion from the Internet Web site and establishes the requirements for exclusion. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2021, instead establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of at least 10 years, at least 20 years, and life, respectively, for a conviction of specified sex offenses, and 5 years and 10 years for tiers one and two, respectively, for an adjudication as a ward of the juvenile court for specified sex offenses, as specified. The bill would allow the Department of Justice to place a person in a tier-to-be-determined category for a maximum period of 24 months if his or her appropriate tier designation cannot be immediately ascertained. The bill would, commencing July 1, 2021, establish procedures for termination from the sex offender registry for a registered sex offender who is a tier one or tier two offender and who completes his or her mandated minimum registration period under specified conditions. The bill would require the offender to file a petition at the expiration of his or her minimum registration period and would authorize the district attorney to request a hearing on the petition if the petitioner has not fulfilled the requirement of successful tier completion, as specified. The bill would establish procedures for a person required to register as a tier three offender based solely on his or her risk level to petition the court for termination from the registry after 20 years from release of custody, if certain criteria are met. The bill would also, commencing January 1, 2022, revise the criteria for exclusion from the Internet Web site. Existing law requires all basic information stored in state or local criminal offender record information systems to be recorded in the form of specified data elements, including the disposition of the offense. This bill would require that information to include sentence enhancement data elements. Existing law establishes the Sex Offender Management Board within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law requires the board to address issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of adult sex offenders. This bill would instead require the board to address any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of all sex offenders. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 290 of the Penal Code proposed by AB 484 to be operative as specified.
Existing law requires, by July 1, 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of any state, as specified. This bill would require the transition assistance program for veterans to provide information to noncitizens who are leaving military service in California or who have already been discharged from military service in California on how to become citizens, including information on where to acquire state legal assistance. Existing law establishes the militia of the state, consisting of the National Guard, State Military Reserve, and the Naval Militia. Under existing law, the militia of the state consists of all able-bodied male citizens and all other able-bodied males who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, who are between 18 and 45 years of age, and who are residents of the state. This bill would require the California National Guard to inform its members that it will assist noncitizen members in acquiring United States citizenship as soon as they are eligible. The bill would additionally require the California National Guard to, upon request of a noncitizen member, assist the member in filing all forms and paperwork necessary to become a United States Citizen. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes various programs that provide cash assistance and other benefits relating to health care, food, and housing, among other things, to qualified low-income families and individuals, including, among others, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , and the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program. This bill would establish the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force, for the purpose of submitting a report to the Legislature and the executive branch administration of the state, as specified, that recommends future comprehensive strategies to achieve the reduction of deep poverty among children and reduce the overall child poverty rate in the state. The bill would require the report to be completed by November 1, 2018. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to invite and convene the task force and to assist the task force in carrying out its duties, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020.
Existing law authorizes, the prosecution to apply for an order that a victim's testimony at the preliminary hearing be video recorded and the video recording preserved when the defendant has been charged with certain sex crimes, including rape and sodomy, and the victim is a person 15 years of age or less or is developmentally disabled as a result of an intellectual disability. This bill would also authorize the prosecution to apply for an order that a victim's testimony at the preliminary hearing be video recorded and preserved when the defendant has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age or charged with sexual intercourse, sodomy, sexual penetration, or oral copulation with a child under 10 years of age.
Under existing law, the court is required to consider, at the time of sentencing, issuing a protective order, which may be valid for up to 10 years, in a case in which a defendant has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence or of specified sex offenses, restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim. Under existing law, contempt of a court order is a misdemeanor, as specified. This bill would require the court to consider issuing a protective order restraining the defendant from any contact with a percipient witness to a crime involving domestic violence, a violation of specified sex offenses, or a violation of laws relating to criminal gangs, if it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that the witness has been harassed, as specified. The bill would also require the court to consider issuing that restraining order, which may be valid for up to 10 years, for a victim if the defendant is convicted of a violation of laws relating to criminal gangs. By expanding the scope of an existing 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.
Existing law authorizes specified peace officers, including, among others, police officers, members of the University of California Police Department, and members of the California National Guard, in the performance of the officers' duties, to display a steady or flashing blue warning light visible from the front, sides, or rear of their emergency vehicles. This bill would also authorize probation officers to display the blue warning light from their emergency vehicles. The bill would require a probation officer to complete a 4-hour classroom training course regarding the operation of emergency vehicles that is certified by the Standards and Training for Corrections Division of the Board of State and Community Corrections before operating an emergency vehicle with a blue warning light.