Sen. Brian Jones

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 42 designates May 2025 as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Awareness Month in California. It does not create new laws, funding, or direct policy changes - it is a symbolic resolution to raise public awareness about ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The resolution highlights ALS statistics (e.g., diagnosis every 90 minutes, limited survival rates), notes military service connections, and emphasizes support for research and advocacy. It calls on Californians to support ALS research and stand in solidarity with affected individuals and families. This is a ceremonial measure with no concrete policy impact.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a commemorative resolution that acknowledges April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month. It aims to raise awareness about child abuse prevention.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 40 designates May 2025 as National Stroke Awareness Month in California. It urges all Californians to learn stroke risk factors and warning signs (like sudden face drooping or speech difficulty), and to call 9-1-1 immediately at the first signs of a stroke. The resolution does not create new laws or funding but promotes public education based on the "B.E.F.A.S.T." warning signs and emphasizes the urgency of early treatment ("Time Is Brain"). It directly affects all California residents by encouraging awareness and immediate emergency response.

Maddy summaryCalifornia's Senate Concurrent Resolution 20 designates February 2025 as Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) Awareness Month. This symbolic resolution raises public and medical awareness about PPCM, a rare heart condition affecting pregnant or postpartum people that can cause fatigue, swelling, and heart failure if undiagnosed. It does not create new laws or policies, but aims to highlight symptoms (like sudden shortness of breath or rapid weight gain) and risk factors (such as advanced maternal age or pregnancy complications). The resolution was unanimously adopted by the California Legislature in March 2025 and filed with the Secretary of State. It directly affects the public and healthcare providers by promoting education about a condition that contributes to pregnancy-related deaths.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 26 symbolically recognizes March 2025 as Problem Gambling Awareness Month in California. It commends state agencies (like the Office of Problem Gambling) and organizations (including the California Council on Problem Gambling and UCLA) for their efforts in raising public awareness about gambling disorder. The resolution does not create new programs, allocate funding, or change existing laws - it solely serves as a formal acknowledgment of ongoing awareness work.

Maddy summarySenate Resolution 15 designates February 2025 as "2-1-1 Month" and February 11, 2025 as "2-1-1 Day" to recognize and promote California's 2-1-1 information and referral service. The resolution does not create new laws or funding but formally encourages public awareness of the free, confidential service that connects residents to community, health, housing, disaster, and other support resources. It acknowledges 2-1-1's role in handling over 2 million annual referrals and supporting emergency response, but the resolution itself has no binding effect on service operations or funding. The measure was unanimously adopted by the Senate on February 27, 2025.

Maddy summarySCR 10 is a California state resolution recognizing January 2025 as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. It does not create new laws or policies but serves as a symbolic gesture to raise public awareness about human trafficking - a crime involving exploitation through force, fraud, or coercion. The resolution highlights the severity of trafficking through statistics on global and California victim numbers but does not directly affect any specific groups or alter legal frameworks. This non-binding measure aligns with broader efforts to combat trafficking through education and community engagement.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to establish a formal liaison with the United States Department of Defense and school districts and county offices of education that enroll military dependents to, among other things, create model memoranda of agreement between military bases and school districts or county offices of education regarding enabling schoolage military dependents to experience a smoother transition from one school to another school. Existing law authorizes a governing board of a school district and a county office of education to undertake certain activities to properly address the needs of military dependents. This bill would require the State Department of Education to establish a nonmonetary California Purple Star School Designation Program to reduce the burden on military-connected pupils and their families and to publicly recognize and designate public schools that meet certain requirements related to supporting military-connected pupils and their families' unique needs, as provided. The bill would require the department to develop an annual application process and adopt application criteria for the California Purple Star School Designation Program, as specified, and would provide that a Purple Star School designation is valid for 3 years, after which a schoolsite seeking to renew its designation is required to reapply.

Existing law prohibits the production, development, duplication, distribution, or possession, as specified, of matter, in specified formats, that depicts a person under 18 years of age engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined. Existing law separately prohibits this conduct where it is done for consideration or where such matter is shared with a minor. Existing law also prohibits the employment or use of a minor, or the permitting by a parent or guardian of the employment or use of a minor for the production of such matter. Existing law authorizes the forfeiture and destruction of such matter regardless of whether a conviction is sought or obtained. This bill would expand the scope of certain of these provisions to include matter that is digitally altered or generated by the use of artificial intelligence, as such matter is defined. 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. This bill would become operative only if AB 1831 of the 2023–24 Regular Session is enacted and takes effect on or before January 1, 2025.

The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that California's postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. This bill would state that the Trustees of the California State University and the Regents of the University of California have the primary responsibility to prevent and address conduct that either creates a hostile environment for students on campus or results in differential treatment of students on campus, as specified. The bill would require the trustees to, among other things, adopt rules and procedures, as specified, to prohibit violent, harassing, intimidating, or discriminatory conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus, to prohibit conduct that limits or denies a person's ability to participate in or benefit from the free exchange of ideas or the educational mission of the California State University, and to establish, and require each campus to publish on campus internet websites, reasonable content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions and, if applicable, any advance permitting requirements for protests on campus. The bill would require the trustees to develop mandatory training programs to educate students on what constitutes violent, harassing, intimidating, or discriminatory conduct that creates a hostile environment on campus, the procedures for investigating violations of the student code of conduct, when and where protests and gatherings may be held, as specified, and on how to exchange views in an atmosphere of mutual respect and civility. The bill would require the trustees to submit a report, on or before January 2, 2025, and annually thereafter, to the Legislature on the implementation and administration of the bill. The bill would request the University of California to comply with these provisions. The bill would make its provisions severable.