Senate Resolution 71 officially designates September 2024 as Service Dog Appreciation Month in California to honor the vital contributions of service dogs and their handlers. This legislative measure does not alter laws or create new regulations but serves as a commemorative proclamation acknowledging the training, dedication, and life-improving benefits these animals provide to individuals with disabilities. The resolution highlights the significant challenges in obtaining service dogs, such as long wait times and rigorous training standards, while celebrating their role in enhancing health and independence for owners across the state.
Senate Resolution 68 formally designates the week of September 17 to September 23, 2024, as Constitution Week in California. This resolution urges all Californians to reflect on the importance of the U.S. Constitution and its role in preserving individual freedoms. The text highlights historical facts about the Constitution's creation and its principles, such as the separation of powers and the ability to amend the document. It does not change any laws or create new programs but serves as a commemorative statement to encourage civic engagement.
Existing law authorizes the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, in consultation with the California State University and the University of California, to authorize the establishment of district baccalaureate degree programs, as provided. Existing law requires, as part of the application and review process, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to ensure that a community college district is provided with 2 timelines in which to apply for a baccalaureate degree program and receive notice of approval or rejection, as specified, that only 15 baccalaureate degree programs are approved during each application period allowing for a total of 30 baccalaureate degree programs per academic year, and that a minimum of 30 working days is taken to validate the submitted information and assess the workforce value of the proposed baccalaureate degree program, as specified. This bill would instead require that a community college district is provided with one timeline in which to apply for a baccalaureate degree program, with a total of 30 baccalaureate degree programs approved per academic year, and that a minimum of 90 days is taken to validate the submitted information and assess the workforce value of the proposed baccalaureate degree program. Existing law requires the chancellor to consult with and seek feedback from the Chancellor of the California State University, the President of the University of California, and the President of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities on proposed baccalaureate degree programs, as specified. Under existing law the California State University and the University of California may assess whether proposed baccalaureate degree programs are duplicative of existing baccalaureate programs offered by state universities. If the California State University or the University of California believes there is program duplication they are required to submit written objections with supporting evidence to the chancellor within 30 working days of receipt of the proposal, and the chancellor has 30 working days after receipt of written objections to convene with the applicant and the segment or segments that raised an objection to collaborate and establish a written agreement before the program is approved. This bill would instead provide that the California State University and the University of California have 105 days after receipt of the proposal to submit written objections with supporting evidence and the chancellor has 90 days after receipt of written objections to convene with the applicant and the segment or segments that raised an objection to collaborate and establish a written agreement before the program is approved.
Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers for the provision of community services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities and their families. Existing law, until June 30, 2024, requires a meeting regarding the provision of services and supports by the regional center, including a meeting to develop or revise a consumer's individual program plan (IPP) , to be held by remote electronic communications if requested by the consumer or, if appropriate, if requested by the consumer's parents, legal guardian, conservator, or authorized representative. Existing law, the California Early Intervention Services Act, provides a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive, family-centered, multidisciplinary, and interagency programs that are responsible for providing appropriate early intervention services and supports to all eligible infants and toddlers and their families. Under the act, direct services for eligible infants and toddlers and their families are provided by regional centers and local educational agencies. The act requires an eligible infant or toddler receiving services under the act to have an individualized family service plan (IFSP) , as specified. Existing law, until June 30, 2024, requires, at the request of the parent or legal guardian, an IFSP meeting to be held by remote electronic communications. This bill, beginning January 1, 2025, would indefinitely extend the requirements that, if requested, IPP and IFSP meetings be held by remote electronic communications. By extending a requirement for local educational agencies, 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 Senate Resolution formally recognizes July 4 as Independence Day and encourages Californians to celebrate the occasion with reverence and gratitude. The document highlights the historical significance of the date, noting its role in commemorating American independence and the principles of liberty and democracy. It serves as a symbolic gesture to honor the sacrifices of military service members and the contributions of citizens to the nation. The resolution does not create new laws or change existing policies but rather expresses the Senate's collective sentiment regarding the holiday.
This House Resolution formally recognizes the urgent need to improve behavioral health care in California by prioritizing early prevention and intervention over crisis management. The measure calls for establishing a statewide minimum standard for mental health services that ensures equitable access for all residents, regardless of their location or insurance status. By adopting this resolution, the Assembly acknowledges the importance of shifting the current care model to address gaps in service and reduce disparities in underserved communities.
Existing law establishes the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations to promulgate and enforce occupational safety and health standards for the state, including standards dealing with exposure to harmful airborne contaminants. Existing law requires the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the department to enforce all occupational safety and health standards, as specified. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime. This bill would prohibit a person engaged in fabrication activities or fabrication shops from using dry methods, and require the use of effective wet methods in any fabrication activities. The bill would make a violation of these provisions grounds for, among other disciplinary action, an immediate order prohibiting continued fabrication activities. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2025, the department to consult with representatives of approved apprenticeship programs to adopt a training curriculum regarding the safe performance of fabrication activities that meets specified requirements, including classroom instruction, and to certify an individual who has completed that curriculum immediately upon completion. The bill would prohibit, beginning July 1, 2026, an owner or operator of a slab product fabrication shop from permitting any individual from performing fabrication activities or employing an individual to perform work on the shop floor where those activities are conducted, unless the individual is certified by the department as having completed the training curriculum, except as specified. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2026, the department to develop an application and licensing process for fabrication shops to lawfully engage in fabrication activities known as a "slab product fabrication activity" license. The bill would authorize fabrication shops to engage in fabrication activities during the pendency of the application development and licensing process. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, the department to grant a 3-year license to a fabrication shop that demonstrates satisfaction of specified criteria involving workplace safety conditions and precautions, and would authorize license renewal, as specified. Among other conditions, the bill would establish certain regulatory fees in specified amounts for the license and renewal thereof. The bill would authorize the department to suspend or revoke a licensee in certain cases, including for gross negligence, as specified. The bill would prohibit a person or entity, or an employee thereof, from engaging in fabrication activities unless the person or entity has a license. The bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2026, a person from supplying a slab product directly to a person or entity engaged in fabrication activities if the person or entity does not have a valid license. The bill would require a person that, among other things, supplies a slab product to a person or entity engaged in fabrication services to verify the person or entity has a license, as specified. The bill would require a person that supplies a slab product to a person or entity that is not engaged in fabrication activities to rely on written certification issued under penalty of perjury that, among other things, they will not directly engage in fabrication activities with the product without a license. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify that a violation of any of the above-described provisions may be grounds for disciplinary action, as specified, but is not a crime. The bill would establish the Slab Fabrication Activity Account in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund in the State Treasury, and require all fees, penalties, or other moneys collected by the department under the above-described provisions to be deposited into the account. The bill would authorize moneys in the account to be expended by the department for the purposes of administering the above-described provisions, and would make that authorization contingent on an appropriation of funds for that express purpose. The bill would require, beginning January 1, 2026, the Director of Industrial Relations to maintain a publicly accessible database on the department's internet website that includes, among other things, information on any active orders issued by the department in the prior 12 months prohibiting an activity at a fabrication shop, as specified. On or before July 1, 2025, the bill would require the department, in consultation with specified agencies, to submit a report to the Legislature pursuant to prescribed requirements, including specifying the number of violations issued for failure to comply with any temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica adopted by the board, and the geographic areas in the state with the highest numbers of those violations. On or before January 1, 2027, and January 1, 2029, the bill would require the department, in consultation with other specified entities, to submit a report to the Legislature pursuant to prescribed requirements, including, in addition to the information contained in the initial report, the number of licenses issued by the department pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would require the department to collect and include in those reports the disaggregation of applicable data by stone industry, as specified. The bill would also require the department and the division to consider the findings of the reports to prioritize enforcement of the requirements of the bill's provisions in geographic areas with the highest numbers of violations or other penalties issued by the department relating to respirable crystalline silica. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would make findings and declarations related to these provisions. 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 Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes the establishment and operation of charter schools. Existing law sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school based on the charter school's performance level as determined by data reported on the California School Dashboard, with specific requirements for renewal applicable to 3 specified tiers of performance for those charter schools. Existing law, operative on January 1, 2020, requires a chartering authority to, until January 1, 2026, consider verified data, as defined, in order to determine whether a charter school in the 2 lower tiers demonstrates measurable increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes, and to include that consideration, in addition to the charter school's performance level, in its decisions as to whether to renew the charter for the 2 renewal terms immediately following the enactment of that measure. Existing law requires a chartering authority to consider verifiable data provided by the charter school for the purposes of charter renewal if the dashboard for the previous year is not yet available at the time of renewal. Existing law will require a chartering authority, after January 1, 2026, to consider the data reported on the dashboard for of all subgroups of pupils served by the charter school in its decision as to whether to renew the charter. This bill would extend the requirement of a chartering authority to consider verified data for the purposes described above until the State Board of Education adopts the performance standards for growth for the state board adopted pupil-level academic growth measure for English language arts and mathematics, instead of until January 1, 2026. The bill would also require a chartering authority to consider the data the State Department of Education uses to produce the dashboard, instead of verifiable data, for the purposes of charter renewal if the dashboard for the previous year is not yet available at the time of renewal. This bill would require a chartering authority, after the adoption of the performance standards for growth for the state board adopted pupil-level academic growth measure for English language arts and mathematics, to consider performance on those standards, in addition to the data reported on the dashboard, in its decision as to whether to renew the charter. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the department to publish on its internet website resources for chartering authorities to use during charter renewal related to data analysis. The bill would require the department to, on or before the 60th day following the release of the California School Dashboard, publish on its internet website a list of the names and performance levels of each charter school in the state. The bill would require a charter school to authorize its chartering authority to receive verified data from each assessment publisher. 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 legislative body of a local agency, as defined, to make, by ordinance, a violation of an ordinance subject to an administrative fine or penalty, as specified. Existing law requires the local agency to set forth by ordinance the administrative procedures that govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and administrative review by the local agency of those administrative fines or penalties. Existing law authorizes a person contesting a final administrative order or decision to seek review by filing an appeal to be heard by the superior court, as specified. This bill would make the above-described appeal the exclusive means of judicial review for an administrative fine or penalty that does not exceed a specified amount and that is imposed for violation of a local law regulating or prohibiting commercial cannabis activity, as specified. This bill would authorize a local agency to establish, by ordinance, a procedure to collect those administrative fines or penalties by lien upon the parcel of land on which the violation occurred, as specified. For specified administrative fines or penalties, this bill would authorize a local agency, after the exhaustion of the administrative and appeal procedures referenced above, to file with the clerk of the superior court of any county a certified copy of a final administrative order or decision of the local agency that directs the payment of an administrative fine or penalty and, if applicable, a copy of an order of the superior court rendered on an appeal from the local agency's decision. The bill would require the clerk to enter the judgment immediately and prohibit the clerk from charging fees related to that requirement. This bill would make the remedies and penalties provided by the above-described provisions governing the imposition, enforcement, collection, administrative review, and appeal of administrative fines and penalties cumulative to the remedies or penalties available under other law.
Existing law, the Planning and Zoning Law, requires a city or county to adopt a comprehensive general plan for the city's or county's physical development that includes various elements, including, among others, a land use element that designates the proposed general distribution and general location and extent of the uses of the land in specified categories, and a circulation element that identifies the location and extent of existing and proposed major thoroughfares, transportation routes, terminals, any military airports and ports, and other local public utilities and facilities, as specified. This bill, the Local Electrification Planning Act, would require a city, county, or city and county to prepare and adopt a specified plan, or otherwise integrate a plan into the general plan, that, among other things, identifies opportunities to expand electric vehicle charging to meet the needs of the city's, county's, or city and county's current and future visitors, residents, and businesses, and includes policies and implementation measures that address the needs of disadvantaged communities, low-income households, and small businesses for investments in zero-emission technologies that directly benefit these groups, as specified. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county to adopt a specified plan, or otherwise integrate the plan into the general plan, on or after January 1, 2026, but no later than January 1, 2029. The bill would deem a plan adopted pursuant to these provisions as a regional plan for specified purposes. The bill would require that the above-described provisions only apply to a city, county, or city and county with a population greater than 75,000 residents. Because the bill would increase the duties of local public officials, it would establish 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 regulates the transfer of property. Existing law generally permits any kind of property to be transferred, subject to specified exceptions. This bill would prohibit a homebuilder of a new single-family dwelling unit, as defined, from conducting a bundled sale of 2 or more parcels of real property containing one to 4 single-family dwelling units, inclusive, under a single assessor's parcel number, in a single transaction to an institutional investor, as defined, if the certificate of occupancy was issued for a single-family dwelling unit within the bundled sale and the contract of sale was entered into on or after January 1, 2025. The bill would exempt a homebuilder from this prohibition if the homebuilder obtains an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury from the buyer that the buyer is not an institutional investor, among other things. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize the Attorney General or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions. If the Attorney General or a district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney prevails in the civil action, the bill would authorize a court to order the payment of a civil penalty, as specified, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. 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, the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, categorizes controlled substances into 5 schedules and places the greatest restrictions on those substances contained in Schedule I. Under existing law, the substances in Schedule I are deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use while substances in Schedules II through V are substances that have an accepted medical use, but have the potential for abuse. Existing law restricts the prescription, furnishing, possession, sale, and use of controlled substances, and makes a violation of those laws a crime, except as specified. Existing law defines drug paraphernalia and prohibits, among other things, the manufacture, sale, and possession, as specified, of drug paraphernalia. Existing law excludes from these prohibitions any testing equipment that is designed, marketed, used, or intended to be used to analyze a substance for the presence of fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or any analog of fentanyl. This bill would add xylazine to the list of Schedule III substances, as specified. If an animal drug containing xylazine that has been approved under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act is not available for sale in California, the bill would create an exception for a substance that is intended to be used to compound an animal drug, as specified. The bill would exclude from the prohibitions on paraphernalia any testing equipment to analyze a substance for the presence of xylazine. By creating a new crime, the 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.
