Office of Emergency Services: training: transnational repression.

The digest changed from 'SB 509, as amended, Caballero' to 'SB 509, Caballero', which is standard when a bill reaches enrolled status and is no longer subject to amendment.

Added passage dates (Senate September 11, 2025; Assembly September 10, 2025), signature blocks for the Secretary of the Senate and Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and a line for the Governor's receipt and approval.

Removed all prior amendment history headers (July 9, July 16, September 4, 2025), the original introduction date (February 19, 2025), coauthor credits, line numbers throughout the text, and the vote/appropriation/fiscal committee footer.

The definition of 'transnational repression' in Section 8588.13(c)(2) was expanded to include 'a proxy of a foreign government' as an additional actor, alongside foreign governments and their agents. This broadens who can be considered responsible for transnational repression.

Section 1(b) changed the language from 'through acts such as' to 'through can include acts such as,' making the list of example tactics explicitly non-exhaustive.

Section 8588.13(a) now includes a purpose statement: the training 'is intended to provide law enforcement with unbiased information on transnational repression, including trends and guidance from federal authorities.'

Section 8588.13(b)(2) now requires the training to include 'the specific tactics commonly used by specific foreign governments,' going beyond just identifying which governments use transnational repression most frequently or egregiously.

Section 8588.13(b)(4) added the qualifier that international law enforcement cooperatives 'otherwise play a critical role in addressing transnational crime' before naming INTERPOL, softening the criticism of these organizations.

The state policy section (formerly subsection (f), now (e)) modified sub-item (3) to specify support services for victims and communities 'in the state' that may be targeted, narrowing the geographic scope of the stated policy commitment.

The deadline for the Office of Emergency Services to develop the transnational repression recognition and response training was extended from July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, giving approximately six additional months.

The requirement that the training 'shall be regularly updated to address emerging threats and specific information on tactics used by specific foreign governments' was removed entirely, eliminating an ongoing maintenance obligation.

Training content requirement (b)(2) was changed from naming governments that use transnational repression 'most frequently' AND 'most egregiously' to only requiring identification of those that use it 'most frequently' plus specific tactics. The word 'egregiously' was dropped, softening the mandate.

A new subsection (d) was added stating that the section shall not prohibit the exercise of rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, serving as a free speech savings clause.

Legislative finding subsection (d), which described how digital technologies provide new tools for censoring, surveilling, and targeting individuals across borders, was removed from the findings section.

The legislative finding in subsection (b) was revised to remove the phrase 'any action taken by government officials, diplomatic personnel, and proxies through' and simply state that transnational repression 'can include acts such as,' making the finding less specific about who carries out these actions.

The deadline for the Office of Emergency Services to develop the transnational repression recognition and response training was extended from July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, giving an additional six months.

The definition of 'transnational repression' was narrowed by removing 'a proxy of a foreign government' as a covered actor. Previously the definition covered actions by 'a foreign government, or an agent of a foreign government, or a proxy of a foreign government.' Now it only covers 'a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government.'

The provision about gathering information on diaspora community members was restructured from a separate (and grammatically awkward) sentence into an 'including' clause within the main definition, making it clearer that information-gathering is one form of transnational repression rather than a separate category.

Subsection (b)(6) was changed from 'Culturally competent outreach to impacted diaspora communities' to 'Culturally competent outreach to diverse impacted diaspora communities,' adding the word 'diverse.'

A new subsection (b)(6) requires that the transnational repression training include culturally competent outreach to impacted diaspora communities and subject matter experts in order to support effective and unbiased law enforcement responses.