Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act.

In Section 95020(g)(1) and (g)(2), 'the family's native language' is changed to 'the family's native preferred language,' giving families more explicit recognition of their language preference in the individualized family service plan process.

The legislative counsel's digest adds the phrase 'update other terminology' to describe the bill's purpose, broadening the stated scope slightly beyond just replacing 'consumer' and removing gendered language.

The fiscal committee determination changes from 'yes' to 'no,' indicating the Senate amendment no longer triggers a state-mandated local program or significant fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee review.

The term 'consumer' is replaced with 'person eligible for regional center services' throughout the entire bill, affecting dozens of sections in the Welfare and Institutions Code and Government Code. This standardizes terminology to align with the statutory definition in Section 4512.

Gendered language is removed throughout: 'his or her' becomes 'their,' 'He' becomes 'They,' and 'his' becomes 'their' in references to the Director of Developmental Services and other individuals.

Section 4500 was removed from the list of Government Code sections being amended. It appears this was a drafting error, as Section 4500 belongs to the Welfare and Institutions Code (where it still appears in the WIC section list).

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has a fiscal impact or state-mandated local program that requires fiscal committee approval before passage.

The legislative counsel's digest removed language stating the bill would make 'technical, nonsubstantive changes' to certain provisions, suggesting the amended version may contain additional substantive content beyond purely technical edits.

The bill expanded from amending a single section (WIC 4500, a typo fix) to amending over 200 sections across the Welfare and Institutions Code (Sections 4401 through 4905) and adding two new Government Code sections (95016 and 95020) governing early intervention services for infants and toddlers.

The definition of 'in-home respite services' is expanded to include provision of care and supervision in the client's local community, not just their own home, and authorizes services designed to attend to the client's appropriate community integration and socialization that would ordinarily be performed by family members.

The term 'consumer' is replaced with 'person eligible for regional center services' throughout the entire act, a terminology change that affects how individuals receiving developmental services are identified in all statutory provisions.

Gendered language (his/her, he/she) is replaced with gender-neutral alternatives (their, they) across all amended sections, including references to the Director of Developmental Services and service recipients.

New Government Code Section 95020 establishes requirements for individualized family service plans (IFSPs) for eligible infants and toddlers, including a 45-day timeline for initial meetings, content requirements for the plan, annual review processes, and service categorization into early intervention services, other state program services, and nonrequired referral services.

A new in-person meeting requirement mandates that if a regional center has not held an in-person IFSP meeting or visit in the previous six months, it must hold one at a location and time convenient to the parent or guardian. This requirement is subject to a departmental review with reports due to the Legislature by January 10, 2026 and May 14, 2026.

New Government Code Section 95016 establishes requirements for timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluations of infants and toddlers referred for early intervention services, including family interviews, sharing of evaluations between regional centers and local educational agencies, and consistency with Part C of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

With parental consent, a referral shall be made to the local family resource center or network at the initial IFSP meeting, with the consent request offered again at subsequent meetings if not previously obtained.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now requires fiscal committee review and carries budgetary implications that were not present in the originally introduced version.