Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards 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 requires the responsibility for the enforcement and administration of building standards to remain in the state or local agency, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding any other law, would require a controlled environment horticulture space, as defined, that uses single-paned glass windows and either thermal curtains, shade cloths, or equivalent technologies, to be considered compliant under the California Energy Code, provided that the Energy Commission makes a finding that the arrangement is as, or more, energy efficient than current regulations. The bill would require that provision to remain in effect until the next triennial update of the California Building Standards Code. The bill would also require the commission to, commencing with the next triennial edition of the California Building Standards Code and after development of a standard by the Energy Commission, adopt building standards to allow controlled environmental horticulture spaces or conditioned greenhouses to use alternative technologies, such as thermal curtains, thermal screens, shade cloths, or equivalent technologies, in lieu of the requirements for double-paned glass windows or 2 or more glazings separated by either air or gas glazing. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 cities, including charter cities. 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.
(1) Existing law, beginning January 1, 2027, in any county in which the offices of sheriff and the coroner are combined, prohibits the sheriff-coroner from determining the circumstances, manner, and cause of death, as provided, for an in-custody death, as defined. Existing law instead requires the sheriff-coroner to contract with specified entities to determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. Existing law requires the county board of supervisors to annually enter into a service agreement or service agreements with those entities. This bill would remove the requirement that those service agreements be entered into annually. (2) Existing law, when a defendant is returned to court after specified proceedings to restore competency and it appears the defendant is gravely disabled, requires the court to initiate specified conservatorship proceedings. Existing law defines gravely disabled for these purposes as meaning a condition in which a person, as a result of specified disorders, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care, or a condition in which the person has been found mentally incompetent and specified facts exist, including that the person is unable to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings taken against them and to assist counsel in the conduct of their defense in a rational manner. This bill would clarify that gravely disabled includes meeting either or both of these definitions of gravely disabled. (3) Existing law sets forth the grounds and procedures for the issuance of a search warrant. Existing law defines a search warrant to refer to an order in writing, in the name of the people, signed by a magistrate, directed to a peace officer, commanding that peace officer to search for a person or persons, a thing or things, or personal property, and, in the case of a thing or things, or personal property, bring the thing or things, or the personal property, before the magistrate. Existing law prohibits a foreign corporation from transacting intrastate business without a certificate of qualification from the Secretary of State, and requires a statement filed for a certificate of qualification to include, among other things, an agent for service of process within the state. Existing law defines a foreign corporation for these purposes as any corporation that is qualified to do business within the state, as specified. Existing law defines "properly served" for these purposes as, among other things, a search warrant that has been delivered by hand, or by any other means specified by the recipient of the search warrant, as specified. This bill would broaden the foreign corporation definition to include a corporation that transacts intrastate business, except a California corporation. The bill would also broaden the "properly served" definition to include, for recipients not qualified to do business in this state, any means reasonably calculated to give actual notice. (4) Existing law requires the sheriff or city municipal police department, when determining whether a non-California resident is qualified for a license to carry a firearm capable of being concealed on the person, to conduct an in-person or virtual interview of the applicant, unless the application is for a renewal of that license. This bill would require that interview for all applicants, unless the application is for a renewal of that license. By increasing duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law makes it a crime, with exceptions, for a person to knowingly bring or send into, or to knowingly assist in bringing into, or sending into, any county juvenile hall, ranch, camp, or forestry camp, or for a person who is confined in any of those institutions to possess, a prohibited controlled substance, a firearm, weapon, or explosive of any kind, a tear gas or tear gas weapon, or an alcoholic beverage, as specified. Existing law requires the posting of a sign at the entrance of those institutions specifying the prohibited conduct and the penalties. This bill would clarify that those provisions also apply to a secure youth treatment facility within a juvenile hall. (6) Existing law authorizes any county or court to implement a "comprehensive collection program" as a separate revenue collection activity, and requires the program to meet certain criteria, one of which is that the program engages in specified activities in collecting fines or penalties accepting payment of delinquent debt by credit card. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to make an annual report to the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee regarding, among other items, the total amount of revenue collected in the prior fiscal year by each court and county from criminal fines and fees related to infractions and misdemeanors. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to separately list information regarding fines and fees assessed in a year before the current reporting year that had outstanding balances in the current reporting year. This bill would additionally require that the program be administered by a county and superior court working in cooperation, as specified, and would authorize the program to contract with one or more specified entities. The bill would authorize the program to accept electronic payment of debt by credit or debit card, electronic funds transfer, or other online payment method accepted by the program. The bill would also make conforming changes to provisions regarding the report by the Judicial Council regarding the revenue collected from criminal fines and fees. The bill would require the Judicial Council to separately list information regarding fines and fees assessed, without limitation to the year before the current reporting year, that had outstanding balances in the current reporting year. (7) 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.
(1) Existing law sets forth the Labor Commissioner's duties, including investigating employee complaints and providing for a hearing in any action to recover wages, penalties, and other demands for compensation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner, as an alternative to a judgment lien, to create a lien on real property for amounts due under a final order in favor of the employee or employees named in the order with the county recorder of any county in which the employer's real property may be located, at the Labor Commissioner's discretion and depending upon the information the Labor Commissioner obtains concerning the employer's assets. Existing law provides that unless the lien is satisfied or released, the lien continues until 10 years from the date of its creation. This bill would authorize the lien to be renewed at any time prior to its expiration for additional periods of 10 years by recording a renewal of certificate of lien or a copy of a renewed judgment. (2) Existing law precludes an employer or other person or entity who may be liable for a violation of the Labor Code from introducing as evidence in an administrative proceeding contesting a citation or writ proceeding under specified provisions, certain books, documents, or records that are not provided pursuant to a duly served written request by the Labor Commissioner within a specified time period, except as specified. This bill would also preclude an employer or other person or entity from using or relying on the above-described books, documents, or records as evidence, would revise the types of books, documents, or records to which the provisions are applicable, and would make those provisions applicable to a specified administrative proceeding contesting citations for retaliation or discrimination complaints. (3) Existing law defines the term "public works" for purposes of requirements regarding the payment of prevailing wages, the regulation of working hours, and the securing of workers' compensation for public works projects. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to issue a civil wage and penalty assessment to a contractor or subcontractor, or both, if, after an investigation, the commissioner determines there has been a willful violation of the laws regulating public works. Existing law authorizes an affected contractor or subcontractor to obtain a review of the civil wage and penalty assessment by requesting a hearing from the office of the Labor Commissioner, after which the director shall issue a written decision, as specified. Existing law authorizes an affected contractor or subcontractor to obtain review of the decision of the director by filing a petition for a writ of mandate to the appropriate superior court, as specified. This bill would preclude a contractor or subcontractor from introducing as evidence, or in any other way using or relying on as evidence, at a hearing or writ of mandate proceeding described in the provisions above, any books, documents, or records that are not provided pursuant to a duly served written request by the Labor Commissioner within the time that the Labor Commissioner requests those books, documents, or records to be produced, except as specified. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to take into consideration a reasonable request from the contractor or subcontractor for an extension of time for production of books, documents, or records, as specified.
Existing law prohibits a public agency, which includes the state, a city, a county, a city and county, or any agency or political subdivision of the state, a city, a county, or a city and county, including, but not limited to, a law enforcement agency, from selling, sharing, or transferring automated license plate recognition (ALPR) information, except to another public agency, and only as otherwise permitted by law. Existing law defines ALPR information as information or data collected through the use of an ALPR system. This bill would provide that "public agency" does not include a transportation agency, a public transit operator, department of transportation, public works department, or campus transportation agency, as specified, a public agency or contracted parking operator when engaging in specified activities in a parking facility, a state agency operating specified parking facilities, or the State Air Resources Board. The bill would require a public agency that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to maintain a record of that access, as provided. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2027, require new, updated, renewed, extended, expansions of, or addendums of contractual agreements with ALPR vendors, manufacturers, or suppliers to mandate that no default access is provided to any national ALPR database and that an agency's collected scans are by default not accessible to any other agency, except as specified, and would impose new requirements on sharing between California state law enforcement agencies. This bill would authorize a law enforcement agency to use ALPR information only for purposes of locating vehicles or persons when either are reasonably suspected of being involved in the commission of a public offense or locating an individual who has been reported as missing to a law enforcement agency. The bill, as of January 1, 2028, would require a public agency to archive all ALPR information that has been held for more than 60 days within 14 days, unless that ALPR information is retained in the evidence file of an active investigation or criminal proceeding or matches information on an authorized hot list, as defined, and retain ALPR information that becomes part of an investigation or criminal proceeding in the evidence file as long as the evidence file is required to be held by state law or court order. The bill would prohibit a public agency from querying any archived information except pursuant to a warrant, as specified. By imposing new requirements on public agencies, which include local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law defines an ALPR operator as a person that operates an ALPR system, which does not include a transportation agency. Existing law defines an ALPR end-user as a person that accesses or uses an ALPR system, which does not include, among other things, a transportation agency. This bill would additionally exclude from the definitions of "ALPR operator" and "ALPR end-user" a public transit operator, department of transportation, public works department, campus transportation agency, or an airport or airport operator, as provided. The bill would also exclude from the definition of "ALPR operator" the Department of General Services and its operators when engaging in specified activities in a parking facility and would exclude from the definition of "ALPR end-user" a state agency operating specified parking facilities and the State Air Resources Board. Existing law requires an ALPR operator and ALPR end-user to maintain reasonable security procedures and practices, including operational, administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. This bill would require those security procedures and practices to include safeguards for managing which employees can see the data from their systems, as specified, and requiring data security training and data privacy training for all employees that access ALPR information. Existing law requires an ALPR operator and ALPR end-user to implement a usage and privacy policy that includes, among other things, a description of the job title or other designation of the employees and independent contractors who are authorized to access and use ALPR information. This bill would require the usage and privacy policy to identify what purpose employees and independent contractors access and use ALPR information for. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to, beginning October 1, 2029, and contingent upon an appropriation of sufficient funds, conduct annual random audits on a public agency that is an ALPR operator or ALPR end-user to determine whether they have implemented and are adhering to that usage and privacy policy. Existing law requires an ALPR operator that accesses or provides access to ALPR information to require that ALPR information only be used for the authorized purposes described in the usage and privacy policy and to maintain a record of that access that includes, among other things, the purpose for accessing the information. This bill would instead require that record of access maintained by the ALPR operator to include a brief, accurate, specific, and plain language statement describing the purpose for accessing ALPR information. 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 cities, including charter cities. 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 governing board of a school district maintaining a secondary school to establish in the school courses in military science and tactics that comply with provisions of federal law regarding Reserve Officers Training Corps units in educational institutions. This bill would revise and recast those provisions by authorizing the governing board or body of a school district, county office of education, or charter school to establish in its schoolsites courses in military science and tactics that comply with provisions of federal law regarding Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) units in educational institutions. Existing federal law requires a public secondary educational institution that maintains a JROTC unit to permit membership in the unit to homeschooled students residing in the area served by the institution who are qualified for membership in the unit but for lack of enrollment in the institution. This bill would require a local educational agency offering a JROTC program within any of its schools to permit membership in the JROTC program for homeschooled pupils who reside within the attendance area of the local educational agency, if those pupils meet all applicable eligibility requirements for participation in the JROTC program other than enrollment in the school offering the JROTC program. The bill would require the State Department of Education to make information about existing JROTC programs available on its internet website and distribute implementation guidance to local educational agencies on an annual basis.
Existing law requires a county auditor to make or contract with a certified public accountant or public accountant to make an annual audit of the accounts and records of every special district within the county for which an audit is not otherwise provided, as specified. Existing law authorizes a special district to replace this annual audit with a financial review, or, until January 1, 2027, an agreed-upon procedures engagement or an annual financial compilation of the special district, if specified conditions are met, including that the special district's annual revenues do not exceed $150,000. Until January 1, 2027, upon receipt of the financial review, agreed-upon procedures engagement, or financial compilation, existing law authorizes a county auditor to appoint a certified public accountant or a public accountant to conduct an audit of the special district, as specified. Existing law prohibits a special district from replacing the annual audit requirement with an annual financial compilation for more than 5 consecutive years, after which existing law requires the special district to use specified procedures. This bill would extend the January 1, 2027, repeal date referenced above to January 1, 2037, and would increase the revenue cap described above to $250,000. After replacing the annual audit requirement with an annual financial compilation for 5 years, the bill would authorize a special district with annual revenues of less than $50,000 to replace the annual audit with a financial review, as described above.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Route 18 in the County of San Bernardino as the Huuc Atam Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost, to erect those signs.
This measure would proclaim the month of October 2026 as California Firefighter Appreciation Month and October 3, 2026, as California Firefighters Memorial Day.
Existing law requires the attorney for the plaintiff or cross-complainant in any action arising out of the professional negligence of an architect, professional engineer, or land surveyor to file and serve a certificate declaring either that the attorney has consulted and received an opinion that the action is reasonable and meritorious from an architect, professional engineer, or land surveyor, licensed to practice in this state or in any other state, or that the attorney was unable to obtain that consultation for specified reasons. This bill would expand the malpractice complaints covered by the provision to include those against landscape architects and geologists or geophysicists. This bill would limit the practitioners that may be consulted to those who are licensed in this state. The bill would specify that these provisions only apply to actions filed on or after January 1, 2027.
Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to appropriate and expend county general fund money to establish county programs or fund other programs to meet various social needs of the county population and the needs of physically, mentally, and financially handicapped persons and aged persons. Existing law authorizes the board of supervisors to contract with other public agencies, private agencies, or individuals to operate programs that the board of supervisors determines will serve public purposes. Existing law prohibits an Orange County Board of Supervisors member from awarding district discretionary funds to a community organization or a nonprofit organization unless the board of supervisors approves that award by a majority vote. Existing law requires the Orange County Board of Supervisors to post on its internet website a log of appropriated district discretionary funds at the end of each quarter, as specified. Existing law prohibits, within 90 days preceding an election, an Orange County Board of Supervisors member who is on the ballot as an Orange County Board of Supervisors member candidate and has an opponent on that ballot from taking any action related to spending district discretionary funds, as specified. This bill would prohibit the Alameda County Board of Supervisors from awarding discretionary funds, as defined, to a community organization, nonprofit organization, or private entity, unless the board of supervisors approves that award by a majority vote and the award includes a description of how the award provides resources of communitywide significance for the district that the member of the board requesting the award represents and identifies the public purposes, as defined, that the award will serve. The bill would prohibit the Alameda County Board of Supervisors from appropriating discretionary funds for an award that is not for a public purpose and from appropriating any funds in a way that allows a member, or less than a majority, of the board to appropriate funds, as specified. The bill would require the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to post on its internet website a log of appropriated discretionary funds at the end of each quarter, as specified. The bill would prohibit, within 90 days before an election, an Alameda County Board of Supervisors member who is on the ballot as an Alameda County Board of Supervisors member candidate from, among other things, placing an agenda item seeking approval to appropriate discretionary funds on the agenda for a meeting of the board. The bill would prohibit discretionary funds from being awarded at a special meeting or on the consent calendar. The bill would make its provisions severable. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for County of Alameda.
Existing law establishes an archery season for the taking of deer with bow and arrow. Existing law generally prohibits a person taking or attempting to take deer during that archery season from carrying, or having under their immediate control, a firearm of any kind, except for an active or honorably retired peace officer, as specified. This bill would repeal that prohibition.
Existing law requires a plaintiff who files an action to comprehensively determine rights to extract groundwater from a basin to provide the court a draft notice of commencement of groundwater basin adjudication and a draft form answer to adjudication complaint, as specified. Existing law also requires a plaintiff to file, within a specified timeframe, a motion for approval of the draft notice and draft form answer. Under existing law, once the court approves the draft notice, the plaintiff is required to serve the notice, as specified. Following a court order approving both the notice and draft form answer and authorizing service thereof, existing law requires the plaintiff to take additional steps to provide notice to defendants including, but not limited to, mailing, by registered mail or certified mail, return receipt requested, the notice, complaint, and form answer to all holders of fee title to real property in the basin. Under existing law, if a return receipt is not received for a parcel of real property, the plaintiff must post a copy of the notice, complaint, and form answer in a conspicuous place on the real property. After completing these notice procedures, existing law requires the plaintiff to file a notice of completion of the mailing with the court. Existing law permits a court to authorize any other procedures it finds appropriate and necessary to provide notice to persons who may hold groundwater rights in basin. This bill would impose additional requirements on a plaintiff when filing the notice of completion of mailing. The bill would require the plaintiff to include with the notice of completion an affidavit of the person who mailed the notice and the certified or registered mail delivery receipt for each parcel stating the date, time, and place of mailing. The bill would further require the notice to include as an attachment any certified or registered mail delivery receipts received as of the date of the filing. If a return receipt is not received for a parcel of real property, the bill would require the plaintiff to also include with the notice of completion an affidavit of the person who posted the notice specifying the date, time, and physical location of each parcel where the posting occurred, accompanied by a photograph depicting the posted notice. The bill would clarify that the court may authorize additional procedures necessary to provide notice to persons who may hold groundwater rights in basin, including, but not limited to, requiring the plaintiff to utilize restricted delivery of all mailed notices.
