Rep. José Solache

The Donahoe Higher Education Act establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in the state. Existing law establishes uniform residency requirements for purposes of ascertaining the amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students of public postsecondary education institutions. Existing law, until July 1, 2032, entitles a Team USA student athlete, as defined, who trains in the state in an elite level program approved by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to resident classification for the purpose of determining tuition and fees. After July 1, 2032, existing law entitles an amateur student athlete in training at the United States Olympic Training Center in the City of Chula Vista to resident classification for that same purpose. These provisions apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents, by appropriate resolution, make them applicable. This bill would remove the July 1, 2032, sunset provision, and make conforming changes, thereby extending the provisions that entitle a Team USA student athlete who trains in the state in an elite level program approved by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to resident classification indefinitely. To the extent the bill would require community college districts to exempt more students from nonresident tuition, 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, 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 measure would proclaim the month of October 2026 as California Firefighter Appreciation Month and October 3, 2026, as California Firefighters Memorial Day.

(1) Existing law establishes various grant and loan programs for research, including, among others, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, and the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program. This bill would establish the California Foundation for Science and Health Research within the Government Operations Agency. The bill would require the Secretary of Government Operations to oversee the process of appointing the director of the foundation, and would authorize the Secretary of Government Operations to delegate the task of hiring and determining the salaries, bonuses, and benefits of additional personnel to the director, as specified. The bill would require the director and personnel of the foundation to be responsible for implementing the strategic objectives of the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as described below, administering grants, loans, and contracts awarded by the council, and all other duties as deemed necessary for the operation of the foundation. This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund and require the moneys in the fund to be used by the foundation to award grants and make loans to, and enter into contracts with, public or private research companies, universities, academic medical centers, institutes, and organizations for scientific research and development and for certain economic sectors, as specified, in specific areas of research, including, but not limited to, biomedical, behavioral health, and climate research. The bill would also create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Benefit Fund, to consist solely of private donations. The bill would make the moneys in the benefit fund available for the same purposes as the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund. This bill would require that, prior to the first grant from the foundation and no later than one year from the date the bill takes effect, the council develop various provisions and requirements to facilitate the foundation's goals of affordability and equitable access. The foundation shall impose various requirements on the grantees, loan recipients, and contractors, as specified, including, among other things, developing strategies to promote equitable access to the subject invention in various specified communities and making the data resulting from the bond-funded research available to the broader scientific community, except in cases involving national security interests. The council shall also establish standards requiring that all grants, awards, and contracts be subject to intellectual property agreements that balance the opportunity for the State of California to benefit from the inventions, technologies, patents, royalties, and licenses that result from research funded by certain public and private grants, as specified. This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as specified, which shall be vested with full power, authority, and jurisdiction over the foundation. The bill would require the council to, among other things, develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the foundation and provide the opportunity for public comment on the foundation's priorities, as specified, determine the research projects that will be funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund, develop objectives and opportunities that offer support to early career researchers, and adopt certain regulations and standards, as specified. The bill would also require the council to consider how the foundation's research priorities relate to or support various economic and industry considerations, as specified. The bill would provide that a majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the performance of any duty, or for the exercise of any power of the council, except as otherwise provided. The bill would authorize the council to establish one or more scientific peer review panels consisting of experts in specified fields of research for the purposes of reviewing and prioritizing proposals on the basis of the scientific merit of the proposal, the potential benefit to the health and well-being of the population, natural resources, and environment of the state, and the demonstrated background, training, and expertise of the researchers and investigators to conduct the proposed work. This bill would require all research and development funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research and Innovation Acceleration Fund to be conducted under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer review, and public oversight. The bill would require the funds and contracts to be awarded on the basis of the research priorities established for the foundation by the council and the scientific merit of the proposed research, as determined by an open, competitive, scientific peer review process that ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality. This bill would enact the California Science and Health Research Bond Act, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $7,500,000,000, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, to finance grants and loans to fund research and operate and maintain facilities for research. The bill would provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the March 7, 2028, statewide primary election. (2) Existing law establishes prohibitions and penalties with respect to ethical obligations and conflicts of interest for public officials, including a prohibition on engaging in activities that are incompatible with their official duties and a prohibition on being financially interested in a contract made by them in their official capacity or the board of which they are a part. This bill would authorize a council member to participate in a decision to approve or award a grant, loan, or contract for the purpose of research into a disease in which the member or their immediate family member has a personal interest, as specified. The bill would provide that service with specified educational institutions and organizations is not incompatible with a council member's duties. The bill would provide that the prohibition on being financially interested in a contract, as specified, does not apply if the council member recuses themself from a decision to award or approve a grant, loan, or contract that would otherwise be subject to the prohibition. The bill would provide that council members are subject to certain disclosure requirements relating to personal investments and potential conflicts of interest, as specified. (3) Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions. This bill would require the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act to apply to all meetings of the council and scientific peer review panels, except as specified for when the council or scientific peer review panels meet to consider or discuss specified matters in closed sessions, including matters involving information relating to patients or medical or scientific research subjects, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law defines "sexual orientation change efforts" as practices by mental health providers that seek to change an individual's sexual orientation, as specified. Existing law prohibits a mental health provider, as defined, from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with a patient under 18 years of age, and provides that such efforts attempted by a mental health provider are considered unprofessional conduct and must subject the mental health provider to discipline by that provider's licensing entity. This bill would define "sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts" as any practices of a licensed mental health provider that seek, during the provision of mental health services, to direct a patient toward a predetermined sexual orientation or gender identity, as specified, and would apply the prohibitions described above to such efforts. The bill would exclude specified practices, including age-appropriate interventions to address unlawful conduct or unsafe practices that do not seek to direct the patient toward a particular sexual orientation or gender identity, from this definition.

Existing law establishes the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) within the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, also known as GO-Biz, to advocate for causes of small business and to provide small businesses with the information they need to survive in the marketplace. Existing law also establishes the California Small Business Technical Assistance Program (SB-TAP) within OSBA, under the direct authority of the Small Business Advocate, for the purpose of assisting small businesses through free or low-cost one-on-one consulting and low-cost training by entering into grant agreements with one or more small business technical assistance centers. Under existing law, OSBA administers the Capital Infusion Program (CIP) pursuant to the SB-TAP, as specified. Existing law sets forth the criteria that an applicant must meet to be eligible to participate in these programs, which can vary depending on whether the applicant is receiving funding from federal or private sources. This bill would revise certain eligibility criteria for the small business technical assistance center grant programs, as specified. The bill would create uniform eligibility requirements for applicants with funding from a nonstate source. The bill would also authorize multiple small business technical assistance centers to apply as a network with a single fiscal agent if their active contracts are under the same funding authority. The bill would also require the OSBA to establish standardized performance metrics, reporting requirements, and outcome measures applicable to all grant recipients participating in the SB-TAP and would require the OSBA to monitor grant recipients during the grant performance period to ensure their compliance with SB-TAP requirements, as provided. The bill would include findings and declarations by the Legislature relating to the administration of the CIP and would require the OSBA to report its findings and actions and aggregate program outcomes to the Legislature.

Existing law, commonly referred to as the Density Bonus Law, requires a city or county to provide a developer that proposes a housing development, as defined, within the city or county with a density bonus, other incentives or concessions, and waivers or reductions of development standards, as specified, if the developer agrees to construct specified units and meets other requirements. Existing law, among other things, requires compliance with certain affordability requirements, including requiring that the applicant agree to ensure, and that the city, county, or city and county ensure, that a for-sale unit that qualified the applicant for the award of the density bonus is either (1) initially sold to and occupied by a person or family of very low, low, or moderate income, as specified, or (2) if the unit is not purchased by an income-qualified person or family within 180 days after the issuance of the certificate of occupancy, the unit is purchased by a qualified nonprofit housing corporation, as provided. This bill would additionally allow the applicant and the city, county, or city and county to comply with the above-described affordability requirements with respect to a for-sale unit by ensuring that the unit is purchased by a nonprofit housing corporation, as specified, for properties to be sold to and occupied by extremely low, very low, or lower income families who participate in a below market interest rate loan program, as described. By adding to the duties of local agencies to implement the Density Bonus Law, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act, authorizes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, governed by a board of directors, to make loans, issue bonds, and provide other financial assistance for various types of infrastructure and economic development projects. Existing law establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to support the bank. This bill would enact the Golden State Infrastructure Corporation Act and would establish the Golden State Infrastructure Corporation, within the State Treasurer's Office, as a not-for-profit corporation for the purpose of administering the act and financing infrastructure projects. The bill would require the corporation to be governed by a board of directors, with a prescribed membership, and would require the business and affairs of the corporation to be managed by an executive director appointed by the Treasurer. This bill would prescribe the powers and duties of the corporation, including entering into financing transactions, borrowing money or issuing bonds, and setting and charging fees for obtaining financing from the corporation. Under the bill, the state would not in any way be liable for any obligation of the corporation, and the corporation would not be required to pay any taxes, except as provided. The bill would require the corporation, not later than January 1 of each year, to submit to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Legislative Analyst's Office a report for the preceding fiscal year containing information on the Golden State Infrastructure Corporation Fund, which the bill would create, and the corporation's activities, including specified information. This bill would authorize the corporation to extend financing to either an infrastructure company, a governmental entity, or a combination of those entities, as provided, if the board determines that the financing meets specified criteria. The bill would authorize the corporation, upon board approval, to issue revenue bonds, in a principal amount that the board determines to be necessary, convenient, or desirable to provide moneys for the corporation's purposes, which may include, among others, to provide financing to one or more governmental entities or infrastructure companies for infrastructure projects, as provided. The bill would prescribe requirements for issuing the bonds. The bill would require the board to approve operational policies prior to providing financing for any infrastructure project. The bill would, for purposes of the California Public Records Act, treat the corporation as a state agency, as defined. The bill would, however, exempt from disclosure under that act specified corporate financial records or critical infrastructure information, as defined, furnished to the corporation that have not previously been made public, and would authorize the board, notwithstanding the provisions of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, to meet in closed session to review or discuss corporate financial records or critical infrastructure information necessary for the board to consider whether to approve or modify a financing, or to discuss the performance of any financing, provided to an infrastructure company for an infrastructure project. This bill would provide that all moneys in the Golden State Infrastructure Corporation Fund are continuously appropriated for the support of the corporation, to be available for expenditure for the purposes stated in the bill. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Under existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (act) , if a person or persons, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes or attempts to interfere, by threats, intimidation, or coercion, with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws of this state, the Attorney General, or any district attorney or city attorney, is authorized to bring a civil action for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in the name of the people of the State of California, in order to protect the exercise or enjoyment of the right or rights secured. Under that act, an individual may also institute and prosecute in their own name and on their own behalf a civil action for damages, as described, for any resulting interference or attempt at interference of the individual's exercise or enjoyment of rights secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States or this state. The act authorizes the court to award the petitioner or plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees in addition to any damages, injunction, or other equitable relief awarded in these civil actions (attorney's fees authorization) . Existing federal law provides that every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any state, territory, or the District of Columbia, subjects or causes to be subjected any United States citizen or other person within the jurisdiction to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, is liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as provided. This bill would also provide that every natural person, as defined, who, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, as defined, subjects or causes to be subjected any citizen of this state or any person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the United States Constitution, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except as specified. The bill would apply the aforementioned attorney's fees authorization, except as specified, to any action brought under these provisions. The bill would authorize a court, in its discretion, to also award costs, except as specified, to the prevailing plaintiff in any action brought under these provisions. This bill would authorize a defendant in an action brought under these provisions to assert and receive the benefit of a defense of absolute or qualified immunity only to the same extent as a person sued under certain federal provisions under like circumstances, as specified, and would specify that nothing in these provisions is to be construed to waive or abrogate any defense of sovereign immunity otherwise available to a party, as specified. The bill would prohibit any civil action brought under these provisions from being commenced later than 2 years after the date that the cause of action accrues. The bill would make its provisions severable. The bill would specify that these provisions apply retroactively to March 1, 2025, as provided. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature in enacting these provisions. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes a specialized license plate program and requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue specialized license plates, also referred to as environmental license plates, on behalf of a sponsoring state agency if the agency receives 7,500 applications for that plate within a 12-month period, among other requirements. Existing law authorizes a person who is the registered owner or lessee of a vehicle to apply to the department for specialized license plates. Existing law imposes a fee, in addition to the regular registration fee, for the issuance, renewal, retention, transfer, and duplication of specialized license plates. Existing law requires that all revenue derived from these fees be deposited in the California Environmental License Plate Fund. This bill would require the Arts Council to apply to the department to sponsor "The Lowrider" specialized license plate program, as specified. The bill would require the design of the plate to reflect lowrider culture and heritage. The bill would require the council to consult with a nonprofit entity for plate design consultation, stakeholder engagement, publicity, and community outreach. The bill would authorize the council to accept and use donated or licensed artwork from a nonprofit entity for these purposes, and to use funds from nonprofit or private sources to augment implementation. The bill would require the department, after deducting its administrative costs, to deposit additional revenue derived from the issuance, renewal, transfer, and substitution of the plate into the Specialized License Plate Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require the council to use those funds, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to fund projects that include, among others, supporting lowrider arts and cultural preservation efforts. The bill would authorize the council to use 4 to 6% of those funds to consult with or enter into an agreement with a nonprofit entity to support implementation of the program.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of disability insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or disability insurer to allow an individual to enroll in or change their health benefit plan as a result of a specified triggering event. This bill would make pregnancy a triggering event for purposes of enrollment or changing a health benefit plan. Because a willful violation of this provision by a health care service plan would be a 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.