Existing law specifies procedures for manual vote counts for a semifinal official canvass in a precinct, including, among others, after the polls have closed, commencing a public count of the ballots cast, unopened, to ascertain whether the number of ballots corresponds with the number of signatures on the roster. These manual vote count procedures apply to all elections in which ballots are counted by hand. Ballots counted manually in a central place are required to be counted by precinct, separately, under the direction of the elections official or their authorized deputies, in the same manner as provided where ballots are counted at the polling place. This bill would prohibit an elections official from performing a manual vote count in a semifinal official canvass pursuant to the above procedures in any contest held on an established election date, as specified, where there are more than 1,000 registered voters eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election, or in any contest held on a date other than an established election date, where there are more than 5,000 registered voters eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election. The bill would only allow an elections official to conduct a manual vote count for a semifinal official canvass in a precinct pursuant to the above procedures if the count is conducted pursuant to a plan approved by the Secretary of State, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to adopt regulations regarding manual vote counts. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a local jurisdiction to adopt a voting system for use in an election if the system has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State. This bill would require an elections official or the governing body of a jurisdiction that administers elections to use a certified voting system, as specified. This bill would make the termination of a contract for a certified voting system provisional unless and until the jurisdiction has a transition plan and has finalized and signed a new contract for a certified voting system. By requiring local elections officials to perform additional duties, 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, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program, administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to award competitive grants for the purpose of violence intervention and prevention. Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges. This bill, the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act, would, commencing July 1, 2024, impose an excise tax in the amount of 11% of the gross receipts from the retail sale in this state of a firearm, firearm precursor part, and ammunition, as specified. The tax would be collected by the state pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. The bill would require that the revenues collected be deposited in the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund, which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The bill would require the moneys received in the fund to be used to fund various gun violence prevention, education, research, response, and investigation programs, as specified. The bill would require the Director of Finance to transfer, as a loan, $2,400,000 from the General Fund to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to implement these provisions, as specified. The bill would require each licensed firearms dealer, firearms manufacturer, and ammunition vendor to register with the department for a certificate, as specified. The bill would also provide procedures for the issuance, revocation, and reinstatement of a permit. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Because this bill would expand the scope of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a 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 defines the term "serious felony" for various purposes, including, among others, enhancing the punishment for felonies pursuant to existing sentencing provisions commonly known as the Three Strikes Law. This bill would include human trafficking of a minor within the definition of a serious felony for all purposes, including for purposes of the Three Strikes Law, except as specified. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, 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 requires every restroom of every public and private school maintaining any combination of classes from kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, to be maintained and cleaned regularly, fully operational, and stocked at all times with toilet paper, soap, and paper towels or functional hand dryers, and kept open during school hours when pupils are not in classes. Existing law requires that a sufficient number of restrooms be kept open during school hours when pupils are in classes. Existing law authorizes a school to temporarily close a restroom as necessary for pupil safety or as necessary to repair the facility. This bill would revise the conditions under which a restroom is authorized to be temporarily closed to instead be as necessary (1) for a documented pupil safety concern, (2) for an immediate threat to pupil safety, or (3) to repair the facility. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2026, each school district, county office of education, and charter school, including charter schools operating in a school district facility, maintaining any combination of classes from grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide and maintain at least one all-gender restroom for voluntary pupil use at each of its schoolsites that meet specified criteria. The bill would require the all-gender restroom to meet certain requirements, including, among other things, that it has signage identifying the bathroom facility as being open to all genders and is unlocked, unobstructed, and easily accessible by any pupil. The bill would require the local educational agency to designate a staff member to serve as a point of contact for these purposes and to post a notice regarding these requirements in a prominent and conspicuous location outside at least one all-gender restroom. The bill would require these requirements to be subject to compliance review, as specified. By imposing additional requirements on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a local educational agency to use an existing restroom to satisfy these requirements, as provided. The bill would require the State Department of Education to post on its internet website guidance for implementation of these provisions. Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (the Greene Act) , requires the State Allocation Board to allocate to applicant school districts prescribed per-unhoused-pupil state funding for the construction and modernization of school facilities, including hardship funding, and supplemental funding for site development and acquisition. This bill would require the governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school that applies for state funding pursuant to the Greene Act for a school modernization project to include, as part of the modernization project, an all-gender restroom designed exclusively for pupil use for specified schoolsites, as provided. The bill would provide that these provisions apply only to those projects that are submitted for approval on or after July 1, 2026. 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 measure would apply to the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention under Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the purpose of proposing a constitutional amendment relating to firearms, as specified.
Existing law, the Insurance Information and Privacy Protection Act, establishes privacy standards for the collection, use, and disclosure of information gathered in connection with insurance transactions by insurance institutions, agents, and insurance-support organizations. The act requires an insurance institution or agent to provide a notice of information to applicants and policyholders in connection with specified insurance transactions. Existing regulations require an insurance licensee to annually provide a clear and conspicuous notice to customers that accurately reflects its privacy policies and practices. This bill would codify the requirement to annually provide a clear and conspicuous privacy notice to customers. The bill would state that an insurance institution or agent is in compliance with this requirement if specified criteria are met, including informing the consumer of the right to submit a written request to access, correct, amend, or delete their personal information. The bill would authorize the notice to be combined with the notice provided in connection with specified insurance transactions.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires the Franchise Tax Board to conduct audits and field investigations regarding the reports filed by lobbyists. Existing law requires 25% of lobbyist employers and lobbying firms to be subject to a random audit and investigation every 2 years. This bill would transfer the responsibility for conducting audits and field investigations of lobbying reports to the Fair Political Practices Commission. The bill would also exclude lobbying firms and lobbyist employers with less than one dollar in payments or contributions from being selected for audit. Additionally, this bill would require the Fair Political Practices Commission to adopt regulations or policies that would ensure the operational independence of the commission's audit personnel from the Fair Political Practices Commission's enforcement operations. Audits conducted by the commission would be required to be posted on the commission's internet website for 10 years following the conclusion of the audit and the commission would be required to annually report to the Legislature on the number and types of audits completed by the commission. This bill would delay the operation of these provisions until the January 1 of the next odd numbered year following an appropriation made to support the commission's exercise of these responsibilities. Existing law makes a knowing or willful violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 a misdemeanor and subjects offenders to criminal penalties. 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Existing law establishes the California Promise, which requires at least 20 campuses of the California State University to establish a California Promise program by which the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student to support the student in earning a baccalaureate degree within 2 academic years of the student's first year of enrollment to the campus, as provided. This bill would rename the California Promise program the Finish in Four and Through in Two program, as provided. The bill would require, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, that at least 5% of each incoming class at each participating campus of the California State University be a participant in the Finish in Four and Through in Two program, and that at least 70% of those participating students be either low-income students, first-generation students, or students from communities that are underrepresented in postsecondary education. The bill would also require, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, incoming first-time students at each participating campus of the California State University to opt out of, rather than self-select into, the Finish in Four and Through in Two program.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to order an election and submit to the electors of the district the question of whether the bonds of the district shall be issued and sold to raise money for specified purposes. Existing law generally requires, to pass a school bond measure, that either at least 23 of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds to pass the measure, or, if certain conditions are met, at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing bonds be in favor of issuing the bonds. Existing law prohibits the total amount of bonds issued by a school district or community college district from exceeding 1.25% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 2%. (2) Existing law also authorizes a unified school district to issue bonds receiving at least 55% of the votes cast on the proposition of issuing the bonds that, in aggregation with bonds issued with a 23 favorable vote, do not exceed 2.5% of the taxable property of the district, as provided. This bill would raise that limit to 4%. The bill would make a similar percentage increase for community college districts. (3) The Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 provides for the adoption of rules, regulations, and procedures, under the administration of the Director of General Services, for the allocation of state funds by the State Allocation Board for the construction and modernization of public school facilities. This bill would, among other things, require a school district to submit to the Department of General Services a 5-year school facilities master plan or updated 5-year school facilities master plan, as provided, as a condition of participating in the school facilities program under the act, would require the school district to submit specified information in the school district's application for an apportionment of state funds, and would make other changes to requirements a school district is required to comply with before participating in programs under the act. The bill would require the department to process applications to participate in the program, as specified, and would make other changes to the method by which the board makes apportionments of moneys under the act. This bill would establish the 2024 State School Facilities Fund, and authorize the board to apportion, and make disbursements of, moneys in the fund, as provided. The bill would require, for bonds approved by voters in 2024 or thereafter, the board to adjust a school district's required local and state contribution, as specified. The bill would authorize new construction and modernization grants to be used for seismic mitigation purposes and, among other things, to establish schoolsite-based infrastructure to provide broadband internet access. The bill would also authorize modernization grants to be used, among other things, for the control, management, or abatement of lead and for the demolition and construction of a building on an existing schoolsite that meets specified conditions. The bill would prohibit the use of new construction and modernization grants for the purchase of portable electronic devices with a useful life of less than 3 years. This bill would authorize funding for health and safety projects by a school district, as provided. This bill would authorize the board to provide a grant to test for lead in water outlets used for drinking or preparing food on schoolsites serving kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided. The bill would specify procedures that small school districts, as defined, may use to obtain project and construction management, new construction grants, and modernization grants. The bill would also make conforming changes in, and remove inoperative provisions from, the act. (4) The act also requires the board to adopt regulations for determining the amount of funding and the eligibility and prioritization of funding that school districts with a financial hardship may receive from bond acts for construction, modernization, or relocation assistance. The act requires those regulations to include consideration of various factors, including whether the school district's total bonding capacity is $5,000,000 or less, in which case the school district shall be deemed eligible for financial hardship. This bill, for purposes of the regulations related to financial hardship eligibility, would increase the total bonding capacity cap to $15,000,000, to be adjusted as specified. (5) The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from creating a debt or liability that singly or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities exceeds the sum of $300,000, except by an act that (A) authorizes the debt for a single object or work specified in the act, (B) has been passed by a 23 vote of all the Members elected to each house of the Legislature, (C) has been submitted to the people at a statewide general or primary election, and (D) has received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at that election. This bill would set forth the Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2024 as a state general obligation bond act that would provide $15,500,000,000 to construct and modernize education facilities, as specified. This bond act would become operative only if approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election. The bill would also provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at that election. (6) Existing law establishes the California State University, which is administered by the Board of Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as segments of public postsecondary education in this state. This bill would require the Board of Trustees and the Regents to comply with certain conditions, as provided, before receiving funds from the 2024 University Capital Outlay Bond Fund established pursuant to the Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2024. (7) This bill would become effective upon the adoption of the Public Preschool, K–12, and College Health and Safety Bond Act of 2024 by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, superintendent of schools, or the principal of a public or private school in the state to equip the school with a first aid kit whenever a pupil of the school is conducted or taken on a field trip, as specified. Existing law exempts from civil liability any person who, in good faith and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. This bill, commencing with the 2024–25 school year and contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes, would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school to (1) equip each classroom at each of its schoolsites with a trauma kit, as defined, (2) inspect and replace or replenish each trauma kit, as necessary, upon each use and at least once every three years, and (3) notify, at least once each school year, its employees of the location of the trauma kits and provide them with contact information for training in the use of the trauma kit, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would exempt from civil liability a person who renders emergency care or treatment by the use of a trauma kit at the scene of an emergency, 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.