Existing law prohibits the state from seeking a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified, and, in a case in which judgment has not been entered prior to January 1, 2021, allows a petition to be filed alleging a violation of that prohibition. Existing law authorizes a court that finds a violation of that prohibition to impose specified remedies, including, among other things, vacating the conviction or sentence and ordering new proceedings. This bill would additionally authorize that petition to be filed for cases in which a judgment was entered as final prior to January 1, 2021, as specified, and in cases in which a juvenile disposition resulted in a commitment to the Division of Juvenile Justice, as specified. The bill would, if a motion under these provisions is based on the conduct or statements by the judge, require the judge to disqualify themselves from those proceedings. The bill would additionally make other technical changes. Existing law allows a defendant to file a motion requesting disclosure of all evidence related to a potential violation of the prohibition on seeking a criminal conviction or sentence on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin, and requires the court to order the records to be released upon a showing of good cause. If the records are not privileged, existing law allows the court to permit the prosecution to redact information prior to disclosure. This bill would require the court, upon a showing of good cause, to order disclosure unless a statutory privilege or constitutional privacy right cannot be adequately protected by redaction or a protective order. Under existing law, a conviction or sentence is unlawfully imposed on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin if the defendant proves, among other things, that the defendant was charged or convicted of a more serious offense than defendants of other races, ethnicities, or national origins, or received a longer or more severe sentence, and the evidence establishes that the prosecution more frequently sought or obtained convictions for more serious offenses against people who share the defendant's race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified, or if a longer or more severe sentence was more frequently imposed on defendants of a particular race, ethnicity, or national origin, as specified. Existing law requires this determination to be made pursuant to statistical evidence or aggregate data, as specified. This bill would allow that evidence to include nonstatistical evidence and would require the court to consider the totality of the evidence in determining whether a significant difference in seeking or obtaining convictions or in imposing sentences has been established. The bill would require the court to consider whether systemic and institutional racial bias, racial profiling, and historical patterns of racially biased policing and prosecution may have contributed to, or caused differences observed in, the data or impacted the availability of data overall. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1473 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 467 to be operative only if this bill and SB 467 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law creates the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and prescribes its composition, duties, and powers. Existing law authorizes the board to hold hearings and conduct investigations and requires that certain procedures be the exclusive method of redressing unfair labor practices. Under existing law, any person who willfully resists, prevents, or interferes with a member of the board or its agents or agencies in the performance of their duties is guilty of a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the election by secret ballot process as a polling place election. The bill would establish alternative procedures to the polling place election and authorize a labor organization to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit through either a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election, as prescribed, dependent on whether an employer enrolls and agrees to a labor peace election for labor organization representation campaigns. The bill would provide that a labor peace election or a non-labor peace election permits a bargaining unit to summarily select a labor organization as its representative for collective bargaining purposes without using the existing polling place process. Under the bill, a labor peace election would be a mail ballot election and a non-labor peace election would establish a process for the submission of a petition with proof of majority support, subject to certification by the board. Among other provisions, the bill would require for both alternative procedures that an employer respond to the board with regard to a petition, including providing a specified list of employees to the board. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would establish a schedule for agricultural employers to indicate to the board whether they agree to a labor peace compact, defined to mean an agreement by the employer to, among other things, make no statements for or against union representation to its employees or publicly, in any written or oral form, at any time during employee hire, rehire, or orientation, or after certain documents regarding organization are filed with the board. The bill would prohibit a labor peace compact from prohibiting an employer from communicating truthful statements to employees regarding workplace policies or benefits, as specified. The bill would require the board to develop an online web-based labor peace election process that will allow employers to indicate their labor peace choice online, and that will allow labor organizations to see whether a specific agricultural employer has agreed to a labor peace election campaign. This bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2028. This bill would prescribe civil penalties to be imposed upon an agricultural employer who commits an unfair labor practice in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each violation, and would increase that sum to an amount not to exceed $25,000 for specified violations. The bill would require the board to consider specified factors in determining the amount of a civil penalty pursuant to these provisions. The bill would also authorize the board to impose personal liability for these penalties upon a director or officer of an employer in certain circumstances. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable. 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 provides for state cooperation with the federal government in the construction of specified flood control projects. For certain flood control projects authorized on or after January 1, 2002, or for small flood management projects for which specified findings have been made on or after that date, existing law requires the state to pay 50% of specified nonfederal costs. Existing law authorizes the state to pay up to 70% of those nonfederal costs upon the recommendation of the Department of Water Resources or the Central Valley Flood Protection Board if either entity determines that the project will advance one of several specified objectives. Notwithstanding these requirements, existing law authorizes the state to provide subvention of funds, up to 100% of the costs, for the project for flood control on the Pajaro River in the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz, as described, to those counties, or to local agencies in those counties, as provided. Existing law authorizes state funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to be used for planning, engineering, designing, and constructing the flood control project, as provided. In the absence of federal funding, existing law authorizes the state, through the Flood Control Subventions Program, to fund the planning, engineering, design, and construction of the project, as provided, so long as state funds do not exceed the state's share of funds if federal funding was provided. Existing law requires the department to make specified findings before any funds appropriated by the Legislature are provided to the flood control project. This bill would authorize the state, through the Flood Control Subventions Program, to advance funds for planning, engineering, designing, and constructing the flood control project, as well as for the acquisition of required lands, easements, rights-of-way, and utility relocations, among other purposes. The bill would grant the state discretion to reduce retention withheld under any cost-share agreement to fund the flood control project to 0%. The bill would revise the limitation on the amount of state funding provided in the absence of federal funding by instead authorizing the state to advance funding in the absence, in whole or in part, of federal funding, in an amount that does not exceed the amount that would be the equivalent nonfederal share if there was federal project funding. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Monterey and Santa Cruz.
Existing law generally regulates pesticide use by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and requires the Director of Pesticide Regulation to endeavor to eliminate from use a pesticide that endangers the agricultural or nonagricultural environment. A violation of those provisions and regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions is generally a misdemeanor. Existing law requires the department, on or before July 1, 2018, to issue a determination with respect to its reevaluation of neonicotinoids, and to adopt control measures necessary to protect pollinator health within 2 years, as specified. This bill would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2024, the sale, possession, or use of neonicotinoid pesticides, as defined, for application to outdoor ornamental plants, trees, or turf, except for use on, or for the protection of, an agricultural commodity, as defined. The bill would authorize the director, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture, to authorize, by written order, the sale, possession, or use of these prohibited pesticides if the director finds that it would address a valid environmental emergency and there are no other, less harmful alternatives, as specified, and would require the director to make reasonable efforts to inform the public of an environmental emergency finding. The bill would also authorize a certified qualified applicator to possess or use a neonicotinoid pesticide for specified purposes, and a licensed pest control dealer to sell a neonicotinoid pesticide, as provided. The bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to certain actions and applications of these pesticides. Because a violation of these provisions and the regulations adopted pursuant to these provisions would be a misdemeanor, 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.
Existing law generally regulates gun shows and events and requires a person producing, sponsoring, operating, or otherwise organizing a gun show or event to possess a valid certificate of eligibility from the Department of Justice. Existing law requires the producer of a gun show or event to post specified notices at each public entrance to the event, and a specified notice in the parking lot. A violation of this requirement or other requirements is punishable as a misdemeanor and makes a person ineligible for a certificate of eligibility for a period of one year. This bill would require additional notices relating to the storage, handling, purchase, and theft of firearms to be posted at each public entrance to the event. This bill would also double the maximum fines for a violation of this and other requirements and make the person ineligible for a certificate of eligibility for a period of 2 years. By expanding an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires a vendor at a gun show or event to make certain certifications, in writing, to the producer, including that they will not display, possess, or offer for sale any firearms, ammunition, knives, or weapons for which possession or sale is prohibited and that they will process any firearm transactions through a licensed dealer. This bill would additionally require a vendor to certify that they will not display, possess, or offer for sale any unserialized frame or receiver, including an unfinished frame or receiver or any handgun conversion kits, as specified. Under existing law, a violation of this and other requirements is punishable as an infraction or misdemeanor, as specified. This bill would add a fine and a suspension from participating as a vendor for a period of one year to the punishment for these violations. By expanding the application of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2022, authorizes the Department of Justice to inspect any firearms dealers, ammunition vendors, or manufacturers participating in a gun show or event to ensure that firearms and ammunition transfers or sales are conducted in accordance with applicable state and federal laws. This bill would authorize the Department of Justice to also inspect any firearm precursor part vendors participating in a gun show or event. The bill would, commencing July 1, 2023, require the department to conduct enforcement and inspections at a minimum of one-half of all gun shows or events in the state to ensure compliance with gun show and event laws. The bill would also require the department to post certain violations discovered on their internet website and would require the department to submit an annual report to the Legislature summarizing their enforcement efforts. 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 establishes the Department of Housing and Community Development in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. The department is responsible for administering various housing programs throughout the state, including, among others, the California Emergency Solutions and Housing Program, which, among other things, provides rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services to ensure housing affordability to people who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness. This bill, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature, would establish the House California Challenge Program, to be administered by the department, in partnership with the California Health and Human Services Agency, for the purpose of providing direct rental assistance to help persons who are experiencing homelessness obtain housing. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation of those funds by the Legislature, to allocate $1,000,000,000 for purposes of the program each fiscal year for 5 years, beginning with the 2022–23 fiscal year. The bill would require 10% of the funds to be awarded as grants to recipients, as defined, for the purpose of helping participants locate and obtain permanent housing and would require 80% of the funds to be allocated by the department for specified uses, including long-term rental assistance, master leasing of units, and short-term funds for prevention, self-resolution, and diversion services, as specified. The bill would authorize up to 10% of the funds to be used for administrative costs. Under the bill, and to the extent allowable under federal law, any assistance, services, or supports received pursuant to the program would not be considered income or a resource of the participant for purposes of determining eligibility for, or benefits pursuant to, any public assistance program. This bill would require a recipient that receives grant funds under the program to submit an annual report to the department that includes specified information, including ongoing tracking of the specific uses and expenditures of grant funds, the number of homeless individuals and households served by the grant funds, and outcome data for households served through program funds. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, as specified, to submit a report to specified Senate and Assembly committees that includes a summary of the reports submitted to the department by recipients and an evaluation of the outcomes and status of the program.
Existing law requires the Department of Community Services and Development to, among other things, plan and evaluate strategies for overcoming poverty in the state, mobilize resources in support of antipoverty and community services programs, and administer public and private funds designed to support antipoverty programs that are not currently administered by other departments. Existing law establishes the Cradle-to-Career Data System for the purpose of connecting individuals and organizations to trusted information and resources, as a source for actionable data and research on education, economic, and health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities, and to provide for expanded access to tools and services that support the education-to-employment pipeline, as specified. This bill, the It Takes a Village Act of 2022, subject upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes, would establish the California Coordinated Neighborhood and Community Services Grant Program to be administered by the State Department of Social Services or another department within the California Health and Human Services Agency. The bill would require the department to grant awards on a competitive basis to eligible entities that are Promise Neighborhoods, other community-based networks, or multineighborhood regional cradle-to-career networks, as those terms are defined, to either implement a comprehensive, integrated continuum of cradle-to-career solutions at the neighborhood level or support the civic infrastructure and backbone of cradle-to-career networks that support their network partners to accomplish systems change. The bill would define "cradle-to-career" to mean a system of integrated services that begins before birth and leads to appropriate postsecondary success, including academic, occupational, and independent living, that benefits the individual and community as a whole. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to develop an application process and would require the department to establish performance standards to measure progress on indicators and results relevant to the evaluation of the grant program. The bill would require grant recipients to contribute matching funds and prepare and submit an annual report to the department, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information. Existing law establishes various programs within the department, including the Licensed Mental Health Service Provider Education Program, which authorizes licensed mental health service providers who provide direct patient care in a publicly funded facility or a mental health professional shortage area to apply for grants to reimburse their educational loans, as specified. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes, would establish the Golden State Social Opportunities Program, to be administered by the department, to provide grants to students who are enrolled in a postgraduate program of a University of California or California State University campus or an independent institution of higher education, if the students commit to working in a California-based nonprofit, as defined, for a period of 2 years upon completion of the postgraduate program. The bill would require a grant recipient to, upon completion of the postgraduate program, satisfy the requirements to become an associate clinical social worker, an associate professional clinical counselor, an associate marriage and family therapist, or a registered psychological associate.
Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, Medi-Cal services may be provided pursuant to contracts with various types of managed care health plans, including through a county organized health system. Under existing law, in-person contact between a health care provider and a patient is not required under the Medi-Cal program for services appropriately provided through telehealth. Existing law provides that neither face-to-face contact nor a patient's physical presence on the premises of an enrolled community clinic is required for services provided by the clinic to a Medi-Cal beneficiary during or immediately following a proclamation declaring a state of emergency. Existing law defines "immediately following" for this purpose to mean up to 90 days following the termination of the proclaimed state of emergency, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Under existing law, federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, to the extent that federal financial participation is available, to providers on a per-visit basis. "Visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between an FQHC or RHC patient and any of specified health care professionals. Under existing law, "visit" also includes an encounter between an FQHC or RHC patient and specified medical professionals when services delivered through that interaction meet the applicable standard of care. Existing law prohibits an FQHC or RHC from establishing a new patient relationship using an audio-only synchronous interaction and authorizes the department to provide specific exceptions to that prohibition, developed in consultation with affected stakeholders and published in departmental guidance. This bill would authorize the department to authorize an FQHC or RHC to establish a new patient relationship using an audio-only synchronous interaction when the visit is related to sensitive services, as defined, and authorize an FQHC or RHC to establish a new patient relationship using an audio-only synchronous interaction when the patient requests an audio-only modality or attests they do not have access to video. Existing law provides that face-to-face contact is not required when covered health care services are provided by video synchronous interaction, audio-only synchronous interaction, remote patient monitoring, or other permissible virtual communication modalities when those services and settings meet certain criteria. Existing law, effective as specified, requires a provider furnishing services via audio-only synchronous interaction to also offer those same health care services via video synchronous interaction to preserve beneficiary choice. Existing law authorizes the department to provide specific exceptions to that requirement based on a Medi-Cal provider's access to requisite technologies, as specified. Existing law also prohibits a health care provider from establishing a new patient relationship with a Medi-Cal beneficiary via, among other interactions, telephonic (audio-only) synchronous interaction. Existing law authorizes the department to provide specific exceptions to that prohibition, as specified. This bill would authorize the department to take into consideration the availability of broadband access when providing those specific exceptions. The bill would authorize the department to authorize a health care provider to establish a new patient relationship using an audio-only synchronous interaction when the visit is related to sensitive services, as defined, and authorize a health care provider to establish a new patient relationship using an audio-only synchronous interaction when the patient requests an audio-only modality or attests they do not have access to video. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 14132.100 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by SB 966 to be operative only if this bill and SB 966 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law, the Money Transmission Act, generally prohibits a person from engaging in the business of money transmission, as defined, without a license from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. This bill, the Digital Financial Assets Law, would, on and after January 1, 2025, prohibit a person from engaging in digital financial asset business activity, or holding itself out as being able to engage in digital financial asset business activity, with or on behalf of a resident unless any of certain criteria are met, including the person is licensed with the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, as prescribed. The bill would define "digital financial asset" to mean a digital representation of value that is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, and that is not legal tender, whether or not denominated in legal tender, except as specified. This bill would, among other things, authorize the department to conduct examinations of a licensee, as prescribed, and would require a licensee to maintain, for all digital financial asset business activity with, or on behalf of, a resident for 5 years after the date of the activity, certain records, including a general ledger posted at least monthly that lists all assets, liabilities, capital, income, and expenses of the licensee. This bill would authorize the department to take an enforcement measure against a licensee or person that is not a licensee but is engaging in digital financial asset business activity with, or on behalf of, a resident in any of certain instances, including the licensee or person materially violates the provisions of the bill, a rule adopted or order issued under the bill, or a law of this state other than the bill that applies to digital financial asset business activity of the violator with, or on behalf of, a resident. The bill would prescribe certain civil penalties for violations of its provisions. This bill would require a licensee, before engaging in digital financial asset business activity with a resident, to make certain disclosures to the resident, including a schedule of fees and charges the licensee may assess, the manner by which fees and charges will be calculated if they are not set in advance and disclosed, and the timing of the fees and charges. This bill would require an applicant, before submitting an application, to create and, during licensure, maintain in a record policies and procedures for, among other things, an information security program and an operational security program. Existing law, the California Financial Information Privacy Act (CFIPA) , generally regulates the disclosure by a financial institution, as defined, of a consumer's nonpublic personal information. This bill would include a person licensed under its provisions in the definition of "financial institution" and would include digital financial asset business activity in the definition of "financial product or service" for the purposes of the CFIPA.