Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission (commission) within the Department of General Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including approval and adoption of building standards and codification of those standards into the California Building Standards Code (code) . Existing law requires the commission to publish, or cause to be published, editions of the code in its entirety once every 3 years. Existing law establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development (department) in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and requires the department to submit an annual report to the Governor and both houses of the Legislature on the operations and accomplishments during the previous fiscal year of the housing programs administered by the department. This bill would require the department to convene a working group no later than December 31, 2025, to research and consider identifying and recommending amendments to state building standards allowing residential developments to be built, as specified. The bill would require the department, no later than December 31, 2026, to provide a one-time report of its findings to the Legislature in the annual report described above. The bill, if the report identifies and recommends amendments to building standards, would require the department to research, develop, and consider proposing such standards for adoption by the commission, as specified.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Social Services and sets forth its powers and duties, including, but not limited to, the licensing and administration of residential care facilities for the elderly. Existing law authorizes any person to request an investigation of a residential care facility for the elderly by making a complaint to the department, as specified. Existing law requires the department to make a preliminary review, except as specified, and make an onsite inspection within 10 days of receiving the complaint unless the visit would adversely affect the investigation, as specified. Existing law requires the department, upon receipt of a complaint, to make a good faith effort to contact and interview the complainant of the department's proposed course of action and relevant deadline for the department to complete the investigation. Existing law requires the department, within 10 days of completing that investigation, to notify the complainant of the department's determination as a result of the investigation. This bill would instead authorize any person to file a complaint with the department against a residential care facility for the elderly. The bill would require the department to conduct an onsite investigation within one business day of receipt of the complaint if the complaint involves a threat of imminent danger of death or serious harm. The bill would require the department to inform the complainant within 10 calendar days of receipt of the complaint if the department determines that an investigation is not warranted and the reason for that determination. The bill would require the department, prior to conducting an onsite investigation, to send a notification to the complainant notifying them of, among other things, the nature of the allegations to be investigated and the relevant deadline for the department to complete the investigation. The bill would require the department, for complaints received on or after July 1, 2025, to complete an investigation within a specified amount of time and would allow an extension of these time frames due to extenuating circumstances, as specified. The bill would require the department, when providing notification of the outcome of the investigation, to also provide notification of the right to seek an informal conference, and to provide a copy of any reports describing violations and enforcement actions resulting from the investigation, if applicable. The bill would authorize a complainant to appeal a determination made by the department, as specified.
Existing law provides for the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes the State Department of Social Services. Under existing law, the California Health and Human Services Agency is under the direction of an executive officer known as the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, who is appointed by, and holds office at the pleasure of, the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. This bill would create, within the State Department of Social Services, a Food Insecurity Officer, to be appointed by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Governor. The Food Insecurity Officer would be required to report to the Secretary, or the Secretary's designee, of the California Health and Human Services Agency. The bill would require the Food Insecurity Officer to coordinate and address food insecurity throughout state government operations and would authorize the Food Insecurity Officer to engage with state entities for these purposes, as specified. The bill would include among the Food Insecurity Officer's duties advancing the benefit adequacy and enrollment rates of the CalFresh and California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) , as specified. The bill would require the Food Insecurity Officer to consult with relevant state entities and stakeholders with expertise in food insecurity and related best practices in carrying out their duties. The bill would also require the Food Insecurity Officer, beginning January 1, 2026, to submit an annual report to the relevant policy and budget committees of the Legislature that includes, among other things, data on food insecurity, CalFresh and CFAP enrollment rates, and budgetary and policy recommendations, as specified.
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, through managed care or fee-for-service delivery systems. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law covers emergency or nonemergency medical transportation, and nonmedical transportation, under the Medi-Cal program, as specified. This bill would require the department to ensure that the fiscal burden of nonemergency medical transportation or nonmedical transportation is not unfairly placed on public paratransit service operators and would authorize the department to direct Medi-Cal managed care plans to reimburse public paratransit service operators who are enrolled as Medi-Cal providers at the fee-for-service rates for conducting that transportation, as described. The bill would require the department to engage with public paratransit service operators to understand the challenges as public operators of nonemergency medical transportation or nonmedical transportation services and would require the department to issue new guidance to ensure the fiscal burden is not unfairly placed on public operators on or before June 1, 2026. The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on receipt of any necessary federal approvals and the availability of federal financial participation.
Existing law requires the Secretary of Government Operations to develop a coordinated plan to, among other things, investigate the feasibility of, and obstacles to, developing standards and technologies for state departments to determine digital content provenance. For the purpose of informing that coordinated plan, existing law requires the secretary to evaluate, among other things, the legal implications associated with the use of digital content forgery technologies, deepfakes, and technologies allowing public verification of digital content provenance. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2028, require a social media platform, as defined, to redact personal provenance data, as defined, from content uploaded to the social media platform by a user, except as prescribed, and would prohibit a social media platform from redacting system provenance data, as defined, from content uploaded to the social media platform by a user, except as prescribed.
By Executive Order No. N-82-20, Governor Gavin Newsom directed the Natural Resources Agency to combat the biodiversity and climate crises by, among other things, establishing the California Biodiversity Collaborative and conserving at least 30% of the state's lands and coastal waters by 2030. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to prepare and submit, on or before March 31, 2024, and annually thereafter, a report to the Legislature on the progress made in the prior calendar year toward achieving the goal to conserve 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030. Existing law provides that it is the goal of the state to conserve at least 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030, known as the 30x30 goal. Existing law establishes the Equitable Outdoor Access Act, which sets forth the state's commitment to ensuring all Californians can benefit from, and have meaningful access to, the state's rich cultural and natural resources. Existing law declares that it is state policy, among other things, to ensure that all Californians have equitable opportunities to safe and affordable access to nature and access to the benefits of nature, and to prevent and minimize the intentional and unwarranted limitation of sustainable public access to public lands, where appropriate, including, but not limited to, local, regional, state, and federal parks, rivers, lakes, beaches, forests, mountain ranges, deserts, and other natural landscapes. Existing law requires specified state agencies to consider and incorporate, as appropriate, the state policy when revising, adopting, or establishing policies, regulations, or grant criteria, or making expenditures, as specified. Existing law requires all state agencies implementing the above-described state policy to do so in a manner consistent with the mission of their agency and that protects the health and safety of the public and conserves natural and cultural resources. This bill would provide that, to advance and promote environmental, conservation, and public access policies and budget actions, the Governor's office, state agencies, and the Legislature, when distributing resources, shall aspire to recognize the coequal goals and benefits of the 30x30 goal and Outdoors for All, and, to the extent practical, maximize investment in historically underserved urban communities consistent with those initiatives. The bill would encourage decisionmakers, when distributing resources to achieve the goals and benefits of the 30x30 goal and Outdoors for All, to consider factors that are unique to urban settings, including, among other things, higher land value acquisition and development costs per acre, the acute health needs of a local population due to historic lack of greenspace access and development externalities, local park needs assessment plans, current or impending loss of parks or greenspace as a result of state or federal infrastructure projects, and the availability of mobility options near a proposed land conservation site. The bill would encourage regulatory agencies, including the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to work with local communities to restore degraded lands that could contribute to a more equitable strategy for meeting the state's environmental, conservation, and public access goals. The bill would require state funding agencies, including certain state conservancies and the Wildlife Conservation Board, to allow, to the extent consistent with the funding source, the funding program's authorizing statutes, and the state's goals, for urban nature-based projects on degraded lands to be eligible and competitive for state funds.
Existing law establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) with various responsibilities with respect to developing and implementing the state's energy policies. Existing law vests the Energy Commission with the exclusive authority to certify all electrical transmission lines and thermal powerplants, and their sites, in the state, as specified. This bill would require, as part of an application submitted for a permit to install or interconnect a distributed energy resource or an aggregated distributed energy resource, or at the time an aggregated distributed energy resource program is initiated, the applicant or aggregator to provide notice to the Energy Commission that contains specified information about the distributed energy resources, aggregated distributed energy resources, or aggregation program, as provided. The bill would require the commission to share the information in those notices with the Public Utilities Commission, the Independent System Operator, and electrical corporations or local publicly owned electric utilities, as provided.
Existing law grants the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) authority to operate the state prison system and gives the department jurisdiction over various state prisons and other institutions. Existing law requires the department to determine and implement a system of incentives to increase inmate participation in, and completion of, academic and vocational education, consistent with the inmate's educational needs, as specified. Existing law requires the department to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional rehabilitation and treatment services for prison inmates and parolees, and requires the department to expand substance abuse treatment services in prisons to accommodate at least 4,000 additional inmates who have histories of substance abuse, as specified. This bill would establish the position of the California Reentry Officer, independent from the CDCR, to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts to ensure successful reentry services are provided to incarcerated individuals. The bill would require the officer to focus on programming through the period of incarceration that supports successful reentry to society, facilitate the smooth transition of individuals from prison to release, and raise awareness of continuity of care for incarcerated individuals with health and substance use disorders during community supervision and parole, among other things. This bill would require the officer to be appointed by the Governor for a 4-year term and serve at the will of the Governor. The bill would require the officer to prepare a report, to be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature, on or before December 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.
Existing law establishes the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who serves as the director of the State Department of Education and has numerous other duties, including superintending the schools of the state. Existing law requires the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a grant program, in consultation with the department, to award grants to local educational agencies for the purposes of improving access to, and the quality of, drinking water in public schools serving kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and preschools and child daycare facilities located on public school property. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a pilot program to test for and remediate lead contamination in drinking water at participating local educational agency facilities with plumbing that was installed before January 1, 2010. The bill would require the Superintendent to select no fewer than 6 and no more than 10 local educational agencies for participation in the pilot program and, if a selected local educational agency consents to participate in the pilot program, the bill would require the Superintendent to provide grants to the participating local educational agencies for testing and remediating drinking water lead levels at eligible facilities. If sampling results show lead levels in excess of 5 parts per billion in water at any potable water system outlet, the bill would require a participating local educational agency to notify the parents and guardians of pupils who attend the school of the elevated lead levels, as provided, to take immediate steps to shut down all potable water use at potable water system outlets where excess lead levels may exist, and to ensure that a lead-free source of drinking water is provided for pupils at each potable water system outlet that has been shut down. The bill would require a public institution of higher education selected by the Superintendent to provide technical assistance to participating local educational agencies on the requirements of the pilot program, as provided. The bill would require participating local educational agencies to report specified information about the pilot program to the technical assistance provider on or before January 1, 2028. The bill would require the technical assistance provider to provide the Superintendent with a report containing a completed analysis of the pilot program's results on or before July 1, 2028. The bill would require the Superintendent to provide the report to the Department of Finance and the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before July 15, 2028, and would require the Superintendent to make the report publicly available on the State Department of Education's internet website.
Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of the state highway system, including associated property. Existing law authorizes the department to lease to public agencies or private entities areas above or below state highways, subject to any reservations, restrictions, and conditions that the department deems necessary to ensure adequate protection to the safety and the adequacy of highway facilities and to abutting or adjacent land uses. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to submit a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Transportation with specified information on every airspace site leased by the department, including information about site inspections and each site's proximity to sensitive infrastructure, as specified.
(1) Existing law relating to the government of counties authorizes a county board of supervisors to contract for certain types of special services on behalf of the county, any county officer or department, or any district or court in the county. Existing law requires those special services contracts to be with persons who are specially trained, experienced, expert, and competent to perform those services. This bill would require, as of July 1, 2025, each board of supervisors that solicits for and enters into a specified contract for special services, except as specified, to post that contract and any related documents, as specified, on its internet website. The bill would require, as of July 1, 2026, each contract, as described above, to include, among other things, the objectives, desirables, and goals of the contract. The bill would require, before beginning a procurement process to contract for functions, duties, responsibilities, or services, as specified, the board of supervisors, or its representative, to give reasonable written notice to the exclusive employee representative of the workforce affected by the contract of its determination to begin that process. The bill would also require, at least 30 days before the modification or renewal of the above-described contract, the board of supervisors, or its representative, to notify, as specified, the exclusive employee representative of the workforce affected by the contract of the intent to modify or renew the contract. (2) Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to contract with temporary help firms for temporary help to assist county agencies, departments, or offices during any peak load, temporary absence, or emergency other than a labor dispute, if the board determines that it is in the economic interest of the county to do so. Existing law limits the use of temporary help to no more than 90 days for any single peak load, temporary absence, or emergency situation. This bill would impose requirements similar to those described in paragraph (1) for specified board contracts for temporary help. (3) Existing law relating to the government of cities authorizes the legislative body of a city to contract with any specially trained and experienced person, firm, or corporation for special services and advice in financial, economic, accounting, engineering, legal, or administrative matters. This bill would impose requirements similar to those described in paragraph (1) for specified city council contracts for special services. (4) Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a public or municipal corporation or district to contract with persons performing special services in regard to financial, economic, accounting, engineering, legal, and administrative matters if those persons are specially trained and experienced and competent to perform the special services required. This bill would impose requirements similar to those described in paragraph (1) for specified legislative body contracts for special services. (5) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all counties and cities, including charter counties and charter cities. (6) By imposing new duties on local government agencies, the bill would create 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.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a distinguishing placard to a qualified disabled veteran or person with a disability, upon application, to be displayed upon a parked vehicle for the purpose of identifying eligibility for certain parking privileges. Existing law also authorizes the department to issue a special license plate to a disabled veteran or person with a disability, upon application. Existing law authorizes the department to issue a temporary distinguishing placard bearing a specified symbol to a disabled veteran or person with a disability, as specified. Prior to issuing a placard or license plate, existing law requires the submission of a certificate signed by a physician and surgeon, nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, or physician assistant, substantiating the disability, as specified, unless the applicant's disability is readily observable and uncontested. Prior to issuing a temporary distinguishing placard, existing law requires the submission of a certificate substantiating the temporary disability and stating the date upon which the disability is expected to terminate. For the disability of a person who has lost, or has lost use of, one or more lower extremities or one hand, for a disabled veteran, or both hands, for a person with a disability, or who has significant limitation in the use of lower extremities, existing law additionally authorizes a licensed chiropractor to certify these disabilities. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2026, would additionally authorize a licensed physical therapist to certify the loss, or loss of use, of the lower extremities or hands, as described above. The bill, beginning on January 1, 2026, would also authorize a physical therapist to substantiate a temporary disability for the purpose of issuing a temporary distinguishing placard. The bill would make additional conforming changes to those provisions.
