Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including short-term residential therapeutic programs, by the State Department of Social Services. The act defines a short-term residential therapeutic program as a residential facility licensed by the department and operated by any public agency or private organization that provides an integrated program of specialized and intensive care and supervision, services and supports, treatment, and short-term, 24-hour care and supervision to children that is trauma-informed. Existing law requires specified facilities, including community care facilities, to conduct a clinical and quality review for each episode of the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints, as defined. Existing law requires the facility to conduct a debriefing regarding the incident with the person, and other specified individuals upon the person's request, to discuss how to avoid a similar incident in the future. Under existing law, the person's participation in the debriefing is voluntary. This bill, The Accountability in Children's Treatment Act, would require, in the case of an incident involving the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints in a short-term residential therapeutic program, the facility to notify any foster child who has been subject to seclusion or behavioral restraints of their personal rights by no later than the day following the incident and to provide, within 7 days, a description of the incident, in both oral and written forms, to the person subject to the seclusion or behavioral restraints and, as applicable, to the person's parent, foster parent, guardian, Indian custodian, or other authorized representative, and attorney, if any, and for Indian children, the tribal representative. The bill would require that the description contain certain information, including the actions taken during the incident and its duration, the rationale for the actions, and the personnel approving and implementing the actions. The bill would require the facility to provide a copy of the written description to the department, also within 7 days. The bill would require the department to review all reported incidents involving the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints and to investigate any incidents that indicate a potential health and safety concern or licensing violation. As part of the assessment to determine if an investigation is required, the bill would require the department to determine whether the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints potentially violated any licensing laws and regulations or violated the licensee's approved emergency intervention plan. If the department determines that an incident should be investigated, the bill would require the department to provide the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson with a copy of the incident report and require the ombudsperson to exercise their discretion in determining whether to investigate the incident, as specified. Existing law requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services or their designee to take steps to establish a system of mandatory, consistent, timely, and publicly accessible data collection regarding the use of seclusion and behavioral restraints in specified facilities, including community care facilities, that utilize seclusion and behavioral restraints. Existing law requires that data collected include, among other information, the number of incidents, the duration of time spent per incident, and the number of serious injuries or deaths occurring while the person is in seclusion or subject to behavioral restraints. Existing law requires the secretary to develop a mechanism for making this information, as it becomes available, publicly available on the internet. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services and other specified departments to annually provide information to the Legislature about the progress made in implementing the above-described provisions on data collection, clinical and quality review, and debriefing. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, by January 1, 2026, to display, on its internet website, data that is specific to short-term residential therapeutic programs. The bill would require the dashboard to display the above-described data on seclusion or behavioral restraints as applicable to those programs, the above-described written descriptions of the incidents, and the numbers and types of licensing and administrative actions taken for the improper use of seclusion or behavioral restraints by the short-term residential therapeutic program or an associated individual for the improper use of seclusion or behavioral restraints. The bill would require the department to update the information biannually. Under the bill, this data would exclude any personally identifiable information, as specified, and the provisions of the bill would be implemented to the extent not in conflict with any applicable federal or state privacy laws.
Sponsored bills
Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. This bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to report to the department a collision on a public road that involved one of its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that is operating under a testing or deployment permit that resulted in damage of property, bodily injury, or death within 10 days of the collision. The bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to annually submit to the department specified information regarding the deactivation of the autonomous mode for its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that were operating under a testing or deployment permit that authorized the vehicle to operate on public roads. The bill would prohibit the operation of an autonomous vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more on public roads for testing purposes, transporting goods, or transporting passengers without a human safety operator physically present in the autonomous vehicle at the time of operation. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, by January 1, 2030, or 5 years after commencement of testing, whichever occurs later, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature evaluating the performance of autonomous vehicle technology and its impact on public safety and employment in the transportation sector for autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more. The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Department of Transportation, the State Air Resources Board, and other relevant state agencies to provide additional information needed to research the report.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, under the administration of community college district governing boards, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction at the community college campuses they operate. Existing law establishes a statewide baccalaureate degree program that authorizes up to a total of 30 baccalaureate degree programs at community college districts to be approved per academic year, as provided. This bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program that authorizes select community college districts to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. The bill would limit the pilot program to 10 community college districts statewide and would require the chancellor's office to identify and select eligible community college districts based on specified criteria. The bill would require the chancellor's office to develop a process designed to assist community college districts with nursing programs that are applying for national accreditation for the purpose of qualifying for the pilot program, as provided. The bill would require each participating community college district to give priority registration for enrollment in the pilot program to students with an associate degree in nursing from that community college district. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to conduct an evaluation of the pilot program to determine the effectiveness of the program and the need to continue or expand the program, as specified, to be submitted to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2032. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2034.
Under existing law, a person who solicits, or who agrees to engage in, or who engages in, any act of prostitution with the intent to receive compensation, money, or anything of value from another person is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. Under existing law, if the person solicited was a minor, and the person who solicited the minor knew or reasonably should have known that the person solicited was a minor, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a mandatory minimum of 2 days and not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment. This bill would make this offense applicable only to a defendant who is 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense. The bill would, if the person solicited was under 16 years of age, or if the person solicited was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense and the person solicited was a victim of human trafficking, make the offense punishable as a wobbler by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 1 year and a fine not to exceed $10,000 or by imprisonment in the county jail for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. For a 2nd or subsequent offense under those conditions, the bill would require that the offense be punishable as a felony by imprisonment in the county jail for 16 months or 2 or 3 years. By changing the elements and increasing the punishment of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires persons convicted of certain specified crimes to annually register as a sex offender, as specified, for a term of 10, 20, or 30 years. This bill would require a person who is 18 years of age or older, on or after January 1, 2025, is convicted of, and who has a prior conviction for, soliciting a minor, as specified, to annually register as a sex offender for a term of 10 years if, at the time of the offense, the person was more than 10 years older than the solicited minor. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 647 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 926, AB 1874, and AB 1962, to be operative only if this bill and some or all of those other bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 the Department of Parks and Recreation to issue to a nonresident of this state a special permit to operate an off-highway motor vehicle. Existing law requires the fee for this special permit to be not less than $20, as established by the department. This bill would require the department to issue a special permit to California residents to operate certain off-road motorcycles at sanctioned events, as defined. The bill would require the department to establish a fee for this permit, as specified.
Existing law, the Real Estate Appraisers' Licensing and Certification Law, establishes the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers for the licensure, regulation, and discipline of real estate appraisers. Existing law requires the bureau to provide on the internet prescribed information regarding the status of every license and registration issued by the bureau, including information on suspensions and revocations of licenses and registrations issued by the bureau and accusations filed relative to persons or businesses subject to licensure, registration, or regulation by the bureau. This bill would authorize the bureau, upon petition by a licensee accompanied by a specified fee, to remove from the posting of discipline an item that has been posted on the bureau's internet website for at least 10 years and for which the licensee provides evidence of rehabilitation indicating that the notice is no longer required to prevent a credible risk to members of the public utilizing licensed activity of the licensee, except as specified. The bill would require the bureau, in evaluating a petition, to take into consideration other violations that present a credible risk to the members of the public since the posting of discipline requested for removal, as specified. The bill would authorize the bureau to develop, through regulations, the amount of the fee and the minimum information to be included in a licensee's petition, including, but not limited to, a written justification and evidence of rehabilitation. This bill would also authorize the bureau, upon petition by an immediate family member or heir of a deceased licensee that is accompanied by a specified fee, to remove from the posting of discipline an item that has been posted on the bureau's internet website with regard to the deceased licensee for any duration. The bill would authorize the bureau to develop, through regulations, the amount of the fee and the minimum information to be included in such a petition. This bill would require the bureau to maintain a list of all licensees whose disciplinary records are altered as a result of the petition processes and to update the list and make it available to other licensing bodies, as specified.
Existing law requires the Governor to establish the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, and requires the council to, among other things, identify mainstream resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California, and promote systems integration to increase efficiency and effectiveness while focusing on designing systems to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Existing law sets forth the composition of the council, which includes, among others, the Secretary of Business, Consumer Services, and Housing and the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who serve as cochairs of the council. This bill would add a representative from the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to the council described above. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 8257 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 799 to be operative only if this bill and AB 799 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, each hospital designated by the department as a critical access hospital, and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, is eligible for supplemental payments for Medi-Cal covered outpatient services rendered to Medi-Cal eligible persons. Existing law sets forth various other provisions regarding Medi-Cal reimbursement in consideration of small and rural hospitals. This bill would require the department to convene a Rural Hospital Technical Advisory Group, with a certain composition of stakeholders, at least bimonthly during the 2025 calendar year. The bill would set forth the purposes of the advisory group, including, among other things, analyzing the continued ability of small, rural, or critical access hospitals, as defined, to remain financially viable under existing Medi-Cal reimbursement methodologies, providing related recommendations, and identifying key contributors to the financial challenges of those hospitals, as specified. The bill would require, by March 31, 2026, the department, in consultation with the advisory group, to report to the Legislature on the findings and recommendations arising out of the convenings, as specified.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides for the issuance of various categories of alcoholic beverage licenses, including the imposition of fees, conditions, and restrictions in connection with the issuance of those licenses. The act provides that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell soju, an imported Korean alcoholic beverage, as specified, and shochu, an imported Japanese alcoholic beverage, as specified. This bill would provide that any on-sale licensee authorized to sell wine may also sell domestically produced soju and shochu, as specified.
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 tribal-state gaming compacts entered into between the State of California and the Campo Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation, California, the La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Indian Reservation, California, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians of the Sulphur Bank Rancheria, California, and amendments to the tribal-state gaming compacts entered into between the State of California and the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, California, the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California, and the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to these compacts are not projects for the purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.