The California Children and Families Act of 1998, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 10 at the November 3, 1998, statewide general election, requires that the California Children and Families Program, established by the act, be funded by certain surtaxes imposed on the sale and distribution of cigarettes and tobacco products and deposited into the California Children and Families Trust Fund, and that the fund be used for the implementation of comprehensive early childhood development and smoking prevention programs. Existing law establishes a state commission, the California Children and Families Commission, also known as First 5 California, with specified powers and duties relating to the administration of the act on a state level. Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, which includes departments charged with the administration of health, social, and other human services. Existing law establishes the Early Childhood Policy Council to advise on statewide early learning and care policy. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to establish, by March 1, 2025, a workgroup with specified membership, including members from First 5 county commissions, to create recommendations for a statewide comprehensive, equity-focused prenatal-to-3 system agenda, as specified. The bill would require the workgroup to submit its recommendations to the administration and to the Legislature by January 31, 2026, and to provide updates to the Early Childhood Policy Council before that date.
Existing law gives a judge discretion when deciding various matters in a criminal proceeding, including, among other things, issuing bail or releasing a defendant on their own recognizance, accepting a diversion or deferred entry of judgment agreement, and imposing sentences and granting probation. This bill would, when a court is exercising its discretion with regard to these matters, make a rebuttable presumption against detention and incarceration of a pregnant or postpartum defendant, as defined, if the defendant provides the court and district attorney with notice of the defendant's status as a pregnant or postpartum defendant at each applicable stage of the proceedings. The bill would require a court that decides to detain or incarcerate a defendant after this consideration to make specific findings on the record that the risk to public safety or any other factor the court is required to consider is substantial enough to outweigh the risk of incarceration, as specified. The bill would authorize any pregnant or postpartum defendant to request a stay of execution of their sentence by filing a written request to the court if the pregnant or postpartum defendant is detained or incarcerated in a county jail or state prison for any period of time through the end of the pregnancy or the postpartum period, except as specified. The bill would require the court to apply the rebuttable presumption above when considering whether to grant that stay of execution. The bill would authorize a court to order a stay of execution of the sentence for any period of time through the end of the pregnancy or the postpartum period. The bill would authorize a person who may be pregnant or postpartum and who is arrested or in custody in a county jail or state prison to request a pregnancy test upon or following admission to the county jail or state prison, and would require the county jail or state prison to provide a pregnancy test upon request and allow the person to take the pregnancy test within 24 hours after the request. By imposing additional duties on county jails, 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.
Existing law, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, establishes the Enhanced Services for Asylees and Vulnerable Noncitizens (ESAVN) program to provide resettlement services for persons granted asylum by the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security or who are eligible to receive refugee cash assistance and services as victims of crime. Existing law requires the program, under the administration of the State Department of Social Services, to provide specified services for up to 90 days within the first year following a person's grant of asylum or eligibility for services as a victim of a crime, respectively. Existing law requires that grants or contracts awarded pursuant to the program be executed only with nonprofit organizations that meet specified requirements, including that an organization have as least 3 years of experience providing both case management services and culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This bill would instead require that a nonprofit organization have at least one year of providing the above-described services. Existing law requires the department, in collaboration with service providers, to determine outcome metrics to define program success. This bill would require the department to collect data related to those outcome metrics from grantees and post the findings on the department's internet website.
Existing law establishes the California Housing Finance Agency within the Department of Housing and Community Development, and authorizes the agency to, among other things, make loans to finance affordable housing, including residential structures, housing developments, multifamily rental housing, special needs housing, and other forms of housing, as specified. This bill would establish, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Mixed Income Revolving Loan Program within the agency to provide zero-interest construction loans to qualifying residential, infill housing developers for purposes of constructing deed-restricted affordable housing. The bill would require the agency to administer the program pursuant to specified requirements, including that any loans provided under the program be for the development of multifamily housing projects where a portion of the housing units in the project are set aside to ensure affordability, as specified. The bill would require the agency to be the administrator of the program and to promulgate rules and regulations deemed necessary for the administration and implementation of its provisions.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health to implement various programs throughout the state relating to public health. The department administers the CDPH Wastewater Surveillance Network Dashboard that provides an overview of wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in California. The dashboard includes wastewater samples collected and analyzed by the department, wastewater utilities, and academic, laboratory, and other partners across the state. This bill would require the department, in consultation with participating wastewater treatment facilities, local public health agencies, and other subject matter experts, to create a pilot program to test for high-risk substances and related treatment medications in wastewater. Under the bill, the goal of the program would be to determine how wastewater data can be used by state and local public health programs to address substance abuse in California. The bill would require the department to develop a list of target substances to be analyzed during the program that may include cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, xylazine, methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2025, to solicit voluntary participation from local public health agencies and wastewater treatment facilities, as specified. The bill would require the department to work with the participating agencies and facilities to collect samples and to arrange for those samples to be tested by qualified laboratories. The bill would require the department, in consultation with public health agencies and subject matter experts, to analyze test results to determine possible public health interventions. This bill would authorize the department to utilize external funding sources to complete the pilot program. The bill would create the Wastewater Testing for Illicit Substances Pilot Program Fund for the purpose of receiving moneys from grants or voluntary donations. The bill would require the department, on or before December 31, 2027, to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, as specified. This bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2028.
Existing law authorizes an individual to contribute amounts in excess of personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds, and sets forth administrative provisions applicable to voluntary contributions. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, would allow an individual to designate on their tax return that a specified amount in excess of the taxpayer's personal income tax liability be transferred to the California K–12 Climate Change Education Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund. The bill would continuously appropriate the fund to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for administrative costs, and to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery's Office of Environmental Justice, Tribal Relations, Education and Outreach to award grants to school districts, county offices of education, resource conservation districts, district and county office of education partnerships with higher education institutions, and community-based nongovernmental organizations focused on environmental and climate change education, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on December 1, 2031, or on December 1 of the year that the minimum contribution amount of $250,000 is not met, whichever is earlier, as specified. By continuously appropriating these funds, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law establishes various programs for the enforcement of environmental protection. Existing law defines environmental justice, for certain purposes, as the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Existing law makes legislative findings and declarations that it is in the public interest to provide the people of the state through the Attorney General with adequate remedy to protect the natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment, or destruction. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to intervene in any judicial or administrative proceeding in which facts are alleged concerning pollution or adverse environmental effects that could affect the public generally. This bill would continue in existence, within the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Environmental Justice for the purpose of protecting people and communities that endure a disproportionate share of environmental pollution and public health hazards. The bill would require the bureau to ensure fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies, pursuant to the existing authority of the Attorney General, as specified. The bill would require the Attorney General to ensure the bureau is staffed with a minimum of 12 attorneys and an appropriate number of support staff.
Existing law defines murder as the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought. Various law enforcement agencies and district attorney offices throughout California have established cold case units to investigate unsolved murders. This bill would require an applicable law enforcement agency to review the casefile regarding an open unsolved murder upon written application by a designated person to determine if a reinvestigation would result in probative investigative leads, as specified. The bill would define an open unsolved murder as a murder committed more than one year prior to the date of the application for case review, that was investigated by a law enforcement agency, was committed after January 1, 1990, where all probative investigative leads have been exhausted, and for which no suspect has been identified. If the review determines a reinvestigation would result in probative investigative leads, this bill would require a reinvestigation, as specified. The bill would prohibit a reinvestigation from being conducted by a person who previously investigated the homicide at issue, as specified, and would allow only one reinvestigation from being undertaken at any one time with respect to the same victim. By imposing new duties on local law enforcement 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.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Parks and Recreation to offer to a veteran, as defined, or current active duty or reserve military personnel for the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state a reduced fee or free day use of California state parks, as provided, on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, if proper proof of military service is provided, as specified. This bill would authorize the department to also offer to a veteran or current active duty or reserve military personnel for the United States Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state a reduced fee or free day use of California state parks on any day the department finds appropriate, if proper proof of military service is provided.
Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish the California Legacy License Plate Program, and to create and issue a series of specialized license plates, consisting of one or more of 3 specified designs that replicate license plates from the state's past. Existing law requires the department to collect and hold paid applications for the plates, as specified, and prohibits the department from issuing a specialized license plate until it has received not less than 7,500 paid applications for any one of the particular plates on or before January 1, 2015. This bill would extend the deadline for receipt of the required number of paid applications to January 1, 2026, for plate designs that did not receive the required number of applications by January 1, 2015. This bill would also add an additional plate design to the program, as specified.
Existing law, the California Financing Law, prohibits a person from engaging in the business of a finance lender or broker without obtaining a license from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. This bill would deem a lender to be a licensed finance lender or broker without obtaining a license if the lender does not make or broker residential mortgage loans or consumer loans, makes 5 or fewer commercial loans annually, and the principal amount of all loans made by the lender in the preceding and current calendar year have each exceeded $350,000.
Existing law, the Barbering and Cosmetology Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of barbers and cosmetologists by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology in the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires the board to establish a Health and Safety Advisory Committee to provide the board with advice and recommendations on health and safety issues before the board that impact licensees, including how to ensure licensees are aware of basic labor laws and how to ensure licensees have awareness about physical and sexual abuse their clients may be experiencing. Existing law defines "basic labor laws" for this purpose, and the definition includes the wage and hour rights of an hourly employee. This bill would add to the definition of "basic labor laws" the right to sick pay. Existing law, relating to licenses for activities licensed under existing law, establishes requirements for application for licensure or renewal of licensure, including informational materials on basic labor law being included with the application or renewal form. This bill would require that the informational materials on basic labor law be provided in the application and renewal forms themselves instead of alongside them, and would require the informational materials to include information relating to specified law. Existing law, relating to licenses for establishments where activities licensed under existing law are practiced, establishes requirements for application for licensure or license renewal for any person, firm, or corporation desiring to operate an establishment, including informational materials on basic labor law being included with the application or renewal form. This bill would require that the informational materials on basic labor law be provided in the application and renewal forms themselves instead of alongside them, and would require the informational materials to include information relating to specified law. Existing law requires the board to develop or adopt a health and safety course to be taught in schools approved by the board on, among other topics, basic labor laws. This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations, to develop and, by July 1, 2025, disseminate, a notification to all board-licensed establishments and licensed manicurists that includes specified statements to inform those licensees of a change in the law relating to the employment classification of manicurists and of the legal consequences of employment classification as an employee or misclassification of a worker. This bill would also require the board, in consultation with the Department of Industrial Relations and community-based organizations, to develop a language-appropriate and culturally-appropriate posts on basic labor laws, as prescribed, on the board's internet website or other accessible platform.
